Re: Boating with an S4

["The Stevens" <the_stevens@hotmail.com>]

Geesh. Beyond unbelievable.  (Penny wise and pound foolish never fit the 
occassion better!)

In fact, it probably states in the manual that you shouldn't attempt to tow 
with the vehicle.

My guess is that if you can afford a latter-model 'S' car, you can afford a 
(small, used) pickup truck.  How much did the custom hitch cost?  $200?  
$400?

One can easily find several small pickups for sale in any given area of the 
country all the time.  I could probably go out and buy a dozen right now, 
all for under $1000 each.  It also very easy to find used F150s of late 70's 
vintage for under $500--at least here in the NW.

Please don't try to tow with a sports car!  Would choose an MGB over a 27' 
U-Haul van when you moved?


>From: Don Muirhead <dmr@kwic.com>
>To: "Audi-S (E-mail)" <audi-s-cars@emailsol.com>,        "Quattro (E-mail)" 
><quattro@audifans.com>
>Subject: Boating with an S4
>Date: Tue, 10 Aug 1999 08:38:48 -0400
>
>Last night I had to go to meeting in Port Rowan which is on the north shore
>of Lake Erie.  The water level is also the lowest it's been in 75 years.
>
>I turn the bend look down at the little harbor and spot an Audi that looked
>like it was in trouble.  I turn-around and head down the hill to see what's
>up.
>
>A very nice '95 S4 (NY plates) backed down the boat ramp too far and his
>rear wheels went off the end of the 10 ft concrete pad and into the mud.
>  The owner had badly miscued.  The concrete pad is 10" thick so 
>essentially
>he was sitting on his pan.
>
>I got out the car asked if he needed help.  A young kid in his early 20's
>told me he was in a hurry to leave and get back to Buffalo and his wet foot
>slipped off the brake as he was backing-up.  Sure I thought a 10' miscue.
>  He had a small trailer with one of those personal watercraft.  I asked 
>him
>where he got the hitch from and he said he had it custom made.
>
>He told me he called for a tow-truck to winch him out and it should be t
>here shortly.  I told him winching isn't a very good idea since with your
>wheels are in the mud and your pan is sitting on the concrete pad you're
>going to do some major damage to your car.  He thought he'd be ok so I hung
>around with him and a few on-lookers for about 10 minutes.
>
>Freeman's Tire shows up with their big Volvo truck - the kind they use for
>towing tractors and box vans.  Randy their driver walks over to the car,
>takes off his shoes and walks behind the "S" and feels around the tires.
>
>Randy has towed me on occasion and I buy my tires and have my cars aligned
>there so they know something about Audi's and tells the kid no-way will he
>be winched out.  He says he needs a crane to lift the rear-end out and put
>it back on the pad.  The S4 owner nearly died.  Randy helps the kid out and
>makes a couple of calls trying to find a crane.  The closest one available
>was Powell's from Dunnville a good 1 1/2 hrs away and that it will cost him
>about $500.00.
>
>I was now late for my meeting so I had to leave.  At 11:30PM I'm heading
>home, I pass the harbor and spot a small crowd, an OPP cruiser, a couple of
>Freeman's trucks and flatbed so I go down to see what's up.
>
>What happened was he didn't want to pay the bucks for a crane and called
>another towing firm who showed up after Freeman's left.  The operator told
>him he needed a crane but the S4 owner said he would give him a $100 tip if
>he would winch him and his trailer out.  He hooked up his winch and dragged
>the car about a foot when the rear-end let go as did his exhaust and
>trailer hitch. Btw - the front-end didn't look that healthy either.  The
>bottom of the car from rear wheels and back was nicely crimped.  The rear
>wheels were jammed into the back of the wheel wells.
>
>The kid lost it and the marina operator had to call the OPP.  The kid
>admitted he offered to give the towing firm a big tip to winch him out.
>  The marina operator wanted the car out since people had been waiting 
>hours
>to get their boats out.  The OPP called Freeman's who showed up with the
>Volvo, and one of their regular tow-trucks and the flatbed.  They were
>about to haul the car the rest of the way out when Randy spotted something
>and called me over.
>
>The trailer hitch had let go, but when it did it took a piece of the pan
>with it.  The kid had a very small "T" type hitch that was angled up at the
>back to match the horizontal plane of both the trailer and the car.  The
>hitch was bolted to the pan and supported by a plate the same size on the
>inside of his trunk.  The top of the "T" was no more than a foot in length
>and 4" wide.  He had bolts about every 4" along both sides of the "T" so
>essentially it was like a pre-perforated container - pull it hard enough
>and it opens along the dotted line...no other support and a very dumb move.
>
>It was now 12:30AM and I gotta get home.  As I'm driving home I start doing
>the math on the damage and lose count.  This about the 4th or 5th Audi I've
>seen this summer hauling these little trailers and Sea-Doo's and you think
>people would realize if Audi had designed these cars for towing they would
>also be selling Audi-Brand hitches.
>
>Don Muirhead
>'99 A4
>'96 S6
>'86 CGT x 2


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