[Vwdiesel] Towing boat with 85 Jetta

[Tony and Lillie]

Stability is as important as the actual ability of the vehicle to tow. I 
have probably done about as much questionable twoing as many, and definately 
more than I care to remember. And, the importance of stability is the one 
thing I've learned seems more important than the horsepower to tow with.

The towing I've done with a diesel was as follows: A 1982 Jetta 1.6 NA 
5-speed, very well worn (about 500K miles). I drove from Oklahoma City to 
Custer, SD with a two dolly on the back of the Jetta. It was about 600 lbs. 
Then, I loaded my sisters car into the tow dolly, and towed it home. It was 
a 1994 Plymouth Sundance, at about 2300 lbs. So, that makes about 2900 lbs 
behind a 1900 lb car.

Brakes are another thing to consider. If you are driving a 2000lb car, 
towing 1500lbs, the brakes were not really designed to handle that sort of a 
load. So, trailer brakes would be a very good idea. I didn't have any issues 
because my worn out car wouldn't exceed 45mph floored towing the whole way 
home.

Tongue weight is the other thing to consider. Although, that's pretty easy 
to adjust with a boat.

HTH,
Tony

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Shawn Wright" <vwdiesels at gmail.com>
To: <vwdiesel at vwfans.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2008 3:02 PM
Subject: [Vwdiesel] Towing boat with 85 Jetta


> This is a long shot, but I'm hoping someone here has experience towing a 
> 14'-16' boat with
> their Jetta. Specifically, I'm looking at this boat:
>
> http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified-ad/7065512
>
> I've towed a 14' aluminum with 35hp, and a 14' fiberglass with 75hp, but 
> that was years ago,
> the fg boat I only pulled once, so I don't remember it much. The 90HP 
> outboard on this boat
> is 170kg on (nearly 400lbs), and the trailer is probably 300lbs, with the 
> boat at perhaps 900-
> 1500lbs. So I'm looking at 1600lbs at least. Long term I would probably 
> put a hitch on my
> Westy to pull it, but I'm curious if anyone has tried a similar boat/motor 
> combo on a Jetta  (a
> tired NA diesel at that...)
>
> Thanks.
>
>
> Shawn Wright
> http://members.shaw.ca/vwdiesels
> '88 Westy 1.6TD 5 speed
> '85 Jetta Diesel 1.6NA
>
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