[Vwdiesel] tow tow tow your boat

[Dan Sloan]

This site has a nice discussion on towing and trailer weights...its targeted
at Rvers, but still applicable.  Also has a spreadsheet to calculate your
actual towing weight.

http://klenger.net/arctic-fox/weight/index.html

This page (at rversonline.com) is a "whitepaper" devoted to "Toad safety"
the parent site also has a bunch of FAQs on the various towing options
including: brakes, towbars, trailers, lights, and such.

http://www.rversonline.org/ArtDinghy1.html

(I dug this stuff out for my dad's RV...he's either going to be towing a
Rabbit or an old MGB...economy-vs-style...)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com 
> [mailto:vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Carnohan
> Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 11:13 AM
> To: Doyt W. Echelberger; vwdiesel at audifans.com
> Subject: RE: [Vwdiesel] tow tow tow your boat
> 
> I mis-read Shayln's pleas.  Doyt is absolutely correct.  Do 
> not try to drag the pickup from AL to TX with a little 
> economy car of any type.  I was thinking (wrongly) that 
> U-Haul didn't think the dolly was appropriate to tow a 
> Rabbit- Sorry!  Find a reasonable tow vehicle- A big 
> rear-wheel drive V-8 car would do it- A full sized SUV 
> (Bronco or Jimmy), a full size van- no significant mountains 
> b/t Texas and Alabama that I recall.  VW Rabbits are- let's 
> face it guys- small and light.  No reflection on our manhood 
> eh?  I've towed VW pickups with a dolly and a Bronco, a dolly 
> and a 1-ton pickup.  Any full-sized American beast with a 
> good tow hitch should be adequate.  With a Jetta or a 
> mini-SUV it would be a long and damaging drag- one way or another.
> 
> Chuck Carnohan
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com [mailto:vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com]
> On Behalf Of Doyt W. Echelberger
> Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 9:47 AM
> To: vwdiesel at audifans.com
> Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] tow tow tow your boat
> 
> At 11:16 PM 1/11/2005 -0600, you wrote:
> >I have a friend attempting to tow back a non-running Diesel 
> Caddy from 
> >Alabama to Dallas.  His two options to get it here are: 1986 
> Jetta NA 
> >Diesel, and a 1997 Toyota RAV4 with a 5 speed and a 2.0 litre engine.
> >I'm suggesting to him that the Jetta is a poor choice.  Any hope on
> either 
> >count?  I've been in a Caddy only once and never tried to 
> tow one.  I'm
> 
> >going to loan him a tow bar because U-haul etc. won't rent him one
> because 
> >they say he can't do it with those cars.  I don't want to set him on
> his 
> >way to blowing up his wife's Toyota.  Shame you can't just 
> go down to 
> >Hertz or whomever and rent a Ford F100 cheap.  It'd make it 
> much easier
> to 
> >tell all these people here in Texas they really don't need a 3500
> Cummins 
> >4X4 ton truck to haul a few potted plants back from the 
> nursery once a
> year.
> >-Shalyn
>  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> In my opinion, U-Haul is showing considerable caution and 
> good business sense in not providing your friend with the 
> means to cause a serious accident. They are considering 
> liability and risk, compared to the profit they could make. 
> The risk is high and the liability enormous.
> 
> Friends don't let other friends...........finish it any way you want.
> 
> I pull things like that with a 3/4 ton Heavy-Duty Suburban 
> running a 454
> 
> and class 3 hitch. It has the brakes to stop the unit, and 
> the cooling system to handle dragging it up hills and against 
> wind resistance.
> 
> Incidental Note: Rule in Europe for hauling trailers without 
> their own brakes is that the tow vehicle should be at least 
> twice the weight of the towed vehicle.
> 
> Most people have replying to this question indicated they 
> would use a truck for the job. That is because neither of the 
> suggested sedans have the excess braking capacity to reliably 
> stop that load if it needs to be done in a hurry. U-Haul knows this.
> 
> If you are towing at 50 mph, the stopping distance required 
> can't be figured because the linings may get too hot to work 
> if they have to be applied very often.....but it will be a 
> long way. And the vehicle being towed may be pushing the rear 
> of the tow vehicle into a jack-knife at any moment. Picture 
> the Caddy sliding down the right side of the road with its 
> rear end out, with no brakes of course, tow-barred to the 
> Jetta with brakes locked up and tires smoking as it slides 
> down the oncoming lane totally out of control and pointed 
> toward the ditch. Who is driving? The non-person in the 
> Caddy.  Add in a patch of wet road, even a heavy fog would do it.....
> 
> 
> Doyt Echelberger
> 
> 
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