Porsche Cayenne, VW Touareg, Audi Q7 owners

[chris_kelly]

Time to report on the first day towing the 23FB.

Amazing.

I will say it towed better than expected and the torque from the diesel made a difference on the hills of Tennessee and southern Virginia.

I did find the shift points a bit awkward so I put it on cruise then used manual shifting when I needed to down shift for a hill. Never went below sixth gear and often stayed in eighth.

I'm also happy to report I didn't have any issues with the led lights fast flashing. I wonder if it's been all sussed out? The 23fb does have all led so would that be a contributing factor?

So fuel economy took a huge hit but I can only imagine what a petrol engine would do vice a diesel - anecdotally I'm at 40 miles per 1/8 of a tank. Math eludes me at the moment

Wiring the brake controller was a non-starter. Although my wife wanted me to go to the dealership to get it done. Wonder why she doesn't trust me? Oh that's another story for another day!

I used the primus IQ from Tekonsha with no issues whatsoever. The wiring diagram was spot on. Hmmm. What else? Oh. I mounted it closest to the center console vice the door side - didn't want to hit it every time I got in or out. We'll see if I mount it permanently or not.




caw

[Knuff]

Modernvista , vinstream, chris, lovely setups and glad that things are working so well.
I cannot wait hitting the road this year.

[chris_kelly]

Originally Posted by Knuff

Modernvista , vinstream, chris, lovely setups and glad that things are working so well.
I cannot wait hitting the road this year.

Yeah the trip back to MD was just to bring the trailer back - we're going to Williamsburg VA this weekend ... now if the weather would just hold up

The 500'ish mile trip back certainly gave me confidence in the Treg as a tow vehicle, but realized I needed mirrors so ordered them from amazon - I wound up with the Aero towing mirrors ... looking forward to seeing again!

Happy Tregging!

[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by chris_kelly

The 500'ish mile trip back certainly gave me confidence in the Treg as a tow vehicle, but realized I needed mirrors so ordered them from amazon - I wound up with the Aero towing mirrors ... looking forward to seeing again!

Chris,

When you get tired of those JP Aero Mirrors bouncing & jiggling around on your Treg, not to mention tweaking & marring the Treg's mirrors - go to the Hensley site & get yourself a set of their McKesh Mirrors with the optional convex round spotter mirrors.

I think you'll be much happier & they have better rearward vision since they're set-out wider.

I got them for our future CayS, but and used them on rented Pathfinders after the cheap clip-on mirrors from CW gave me dizzying headaches (useless POSs!), so I know they work.

I think I posted a pic earlier in this thread with them on another Cayenne towing an AS, if you want to see them.

Cheers!
Tom
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[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by ModernVista

Trip report: Cayenne S (2012) + Airstream 28'
It's our second trip - this time to Death Valley.
Wind warning on the way - sway was minimal - even when on single lane and large Class-A's passing from other direction.

Based on what i had previously towed (FC20) and Andy's (CanAm) recommendation, i have the following setup:

Eaz-Lift with 1400 bars + Sway
Modified (shortened) hitch with Welded Ball Mount (CanAm mod and shipped to me)
Michelin 15's and removed Spare.

I never felt unsafe, never felt underpowered. Even doing some minor off-road to boondocking was perfect.

The Cayenne S GVWR and Tow ability is seriously amazing. thanks to Andy for the setup advice and confidence to tow a 28' International with my Porsche!!

chris

Great to hear that Chris, cuz I know you did one of our local big passes to get out there, so our smaller & lighter vintage kin Avion T20 should rock!

As for your spare(s) - someone else on here or another topic which I did a while back asking about how the Cayennes towed, they said that they carried a full size spare for the Cayenne in a stow bag inside their AS, & moved the AS spare to the rear bumper on a mount there (although you could do both inside in bags).

They did that to have a "real spare" for the Cay just in case so they could continue on towing - rather than leaving the As to get the Cay flat fixed/replaced nearby, as well as to preserve as much of the Cayenne's useful load in the TV itself for passengers & luggage/etc.

Same deal on spares works for you Treg & Q7 & other Euro & US mid-sized SUV & pick-up folks.

Cheers!
Tom
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[mojo]

Tom, are you still looking for a Cayman, or just dreamin'?

[ModernVista]

That's an interesting idea, re:cayenne full size spare in a bag, I might look at that for our 35+ day trip to Canadian Rockies and back...

[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by mojo

Tom, are you still looking for a Cayman, or just dreamin'?

Geesh! You sound like my wife! LOL

More like looking again.

I had a serious illness & death in the family last year which took up a bunch of time, but still managed to look for the 2006 Titanium ones.

However, I got seriously talked out of the Series 1 in December by a Porsche Tech at the dealership servicing the last `06 Titanium I looked at, since Porsche foreclosed all comers on the coolant pipes settlement, as well as other improvements to the `08> models, & the `11> with the 8-speed, less curb wt., better mpg, etc.ooks sweet too.

So we're now looking for a 2008-12 or maybe 13 CayS.

If we wanted a black one, then I'd have it 3-4x over by now! You'd think finding a blue, silver, grey or maybe a few other interesting color combos wouldn't be this hard! I swear 75% are black, basalt black, metallic black, blah, blah!!

Two weeks ago I thought I had a great 1 owner 54k mile 2010 Marine Blue Met./Beige CayS with the factory back-up camera, but the dealer sales guy went "dark" while off at some PCNA event & it sold! Doofus!!

Then in Jan. another similar 2 owner 45k mile `08 was FS near me, but the guy had hacked up the wiring harness with an aftermarket audio/nav & so the rear camera opened/closed every time a door or hatch was opened, car started, etc. - so no electrical gremlins for me!

We'll find "the right one" one eventually!

Cheers!
Tom
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[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by ModernVista

That's an interesting idea, re:cayenne full size spare in a bag, I might look at that for our 35+ day trip to Canadian Rockies and back...

I won't do a long trip in any car/vehicle without a full sized "real spare"!

So I'd highly recco you're getting a decent used wheel for your Treg on the Treg forum or CL or whatever, then put a fresh spare tire on it - just rotate your oldest one of the 4 on there to it, then put a new tire on that wheel or pair.

IIRC with the Tregs/Cays/Q7s you're supposed to change out the wheels in minimum of pairs to keep the AWD in balance, according to the owners manuals, etc.

So get that extra spare wheel/tire!

Safe Travels!
Tom
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[Knuff]

Originally Posted by Tom_T

Great to hear that Chris, cuz I know you did one of our local big passes to get out there, so our smaller & lighter vintage kin Avion T20 should rock!

As for your spare(s) - someone else on here or another topic which I did a while back asking about how the Cayennes towed, they said that they carried a full size spare for the Cayenne in a stow bag inside their AS, & moved the AS spare to the rear bumper on a mount there (although you could do both inside in bags).

They did that to have a "real spare" for the Cay just in case so they could continue on towing - rather than leaving the As to get the Cay flat fixed/replaced nearby, as well as to preserve as much of the Cayenne's useful load in the TV itself for passengers & luggage/etc.

Same deal on spares works for you Treg & Q7 & other Euro & US mid-sized SUV & pick-up folks.

Cheers!
Tom
///////

We have a full size spare in the back of the airstream under the dinette of our 25FB. Bought a bag at eBay. We ditched the airstream's spare after upgrading to Michelin tires. Works well, but takes 1 min to pull out the tire and to move it into the Pepper each time after setting up. We secure the spare in the cayenne with expander ties. The puny small spare, we leave home when on a trio. BTW, we switched to Nitto Grapplers all terrains. Took us to trailheads way out there and earning us comments: "you guys drove here with THAT?" Funny, because the other comments are: "you tow with THAT?" 😱

[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by Knuff

We have a full size spare in the back of the airstream under the dinette of our 25FB. Bought a bag at eBay. We ditched the airstream's spare after upgrading to Michelin tires. Works well, but takes 1 min to pull out the tire and to move it into the Pepper each time after setting up. We secure the spare in the cayenne with expander ties. The puny small spare, we leave home when on a trio. BTW, we switched to Nitto Grapplers all terrains. Took us to trailheads way out there and earning us comments: "you guys drove here with THAT?" Funny, because the other comments are: "you tow with THAT?" 😱

LOL - yeah, it's that "it's a Porsche" or "it's VW/Audi" etc. attitude "....so it can't tow" or "...or go off-road"!

I forgot that was you knuff who told me about the Cay/Treg "spare in a bag" trick! I blame it on my "half-zymers" - I remember half the ****, half the time!

As to ditching your AS spare - I'm guessing yours is a tandem axle & can linp to service on 3 tires.

Our Avion is single axle, so I'll keep the spare so I'm not caught SOL somewhere on a trip, thank you!

FYI All - here are a bunch of automotive accessories retailers out there who sell tire/wheel bags for the folks who swap summer & winter tires, which one or two can be employed to carry your spare(s) for the TV &/or trailer inside, & prevent damage & black rubber scuffing on your floors & cabinetry.

Cheers!
Tom
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[chris_kelly]

Originally Posted by Tom_T

Chris,

When you get tired of those JP Aero Mirrors bouncing & jiggling around on your Treg, not to mention tweaking & marring the Treg's mirrors - go to the Hensley site & get yourself a set of their McKesh Mirrors with the optional convex round spotter mirrors.

I think you'll be much happier & they have better rearward vision since they're set-out wider.

I got them for our future CayS, but and used them on rented Pathfinders after the cheap clip-on mirrors from CW gave me dizzying headaches (useless POSs!), so I know they work.

I think I posted a pic earlier in this thread with them on another Cayenne towing an AS, if you want to see them.

Cheers!
Tom
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Might have to give those a try - the aero mirrors didn't come so I'm stuck with cheapo mirrors from Curt/Cabela's http://www.cabelas.com/product/curt-...55980.uts&No=0. They work ok but I'm worried about the rubber wearing out the paint on the mirror housing.


caw

[cactusjk]

So are Milenco Grand Aero 3 mirrors no good?

[chris_kelly]

Originally Posted by cactusjk

So are Milenco Grand Aero 3 mirrors no good?

I don't know - Amazon couldn't deliver in enough time for me to even try them out

I'll stick with the ones I have until they break then worry about getting another set ...

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by cactusjk

So are Milenco Grand Aero 3 mirrors no good?

We use them, they are very, very good.

[cactusjk]

Good to know!

[Knuff]

Aero 3's - our pick as well.



Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by chris_kelly

Might have to give those a try - the aero mirrors didn't come so I'm stuck with cheapo mirrors from Curt/Cabela's http://www.cabelas.com/product/curt-...55980.uts&No=0. They work ok but I'm worried about the rubber wearing out the paint on the mirror housing.
caw

Chris & others,

I'd tried those Curt ones initially & it was a total waste of money, plus it didn't go wide enough to provide the legally required rearward view behind the trailer when towing for CA (IIRC it's visibility required down to or as close as 40' behind the trailer).

My first post on these was here at #130 -
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f463...134917-10.html

Here's the link below to the McKesh Mirrors - they are much more pricey, but - as you can see in the pix - they also extend out much further on small & mid-sized TVs like Cay/Treg/Q7/etc. for the full rearward vision required by state law in CA. I've used them on the rented Nissan Pathfinders (not needed on the rented 3/4 ton trucks due to their built in adjustable towing mirrors - except a couple with std. side mirrors).

https://hensleymfg.com/product/mckes...owing-mirrors/

For those concerned about mounting them on your doors - Note that these are similar to the "official" Porsche accessory towing mirrors for the Cayennes & 928s - except those similarly mount on the front fenders (per Euro Stds.) - which is not as good visibility up there vs on your doors.

The McKesh mirrors have been around for a few decades now, & are about 1/4-1/3 the cost of the Porsche parts (even with discount) if you can get them from Europe, & the McKesh ones mount in the proper place for USA/Canada towing. I reccommend adding the round convex wide angle mirrors to your order.

They're on sale now at Hensley, & sometimes they come up for sale used as well.

However, I usually cut pieces of Microfiber cloth for added protection under their already rubber/poly padded door mount points.

The Cayenne in the pic below with the McKesh mirrors isn't mine, but for illustration FYI.



Good Luck!
Tom
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[andreasduess]

These look great. Our Durango is narrower than the Odyssey it is replacing, with smaller mirrors so I am a little worried about our current clip-on solution. I'll investigate these for our use.

[Bambi75]

Per my post #192 on 9/26/15, we towed our 19' Winick Bambi over 51,000 miles with a 2005 Touareg V8 between 2006 and 2014. We used the McKesh mirrors and were happy with them. However, when we replaced the Touareg with at 2015 Cayenne Diesel it turned out the McKesh mirrors didn't work well on the Pepper. They were noisy and interfered with raising the windows. I bought a pair of Aero 2 Mirrors, and they worked great. Of the 31 trailers on the 2015 Airstream Newfoundland (Viking Trail) caravan, three were pulled by German diesel SUVs (a Mercedes, a Touareg, and my Cayenne). All three of us had Aero mirrors and we all liked them. Turns out the Aero mounts allow a variety of mounting positions, and each of us mounted ours differently.