Touareg Tow Vehicle for a 1975 Tradewind?

[CMSmith]

OK, so I have a 1999 1500 Suburban and love it everyday and it does great towing. Unfortunately, it is a 1999 with 185,000 miles on it and about every trip something happens, sometimes big, usually small, but something non the less. My wife needs a new car and I thing it would be good to get a back up tow vehicle. She like the Tourage, and I an intrigued by all the tower with one. Is a 25ft Tradewind a good matchup? What is the best setup for one? The v6 and the v8 have the same tow rating, what about the TDI? Which is the best for towing? Is there a concern for the length of the Tourage compared to the Tradewind? I have done searches and read them, but there always seems to be those that don't like the matchup for some reason. Why? What is the best engine for this? Is the Tourage the best to look for, or the Tourage 2? And why? Thanks

[safari25-05]

hi, I have a 2010 Touareg tdi and tow a 25 FB safari and does very well towing the trailer.The owners manual states that you can use a weight distribution hitch which I do(BLUE OX) however,I heard somebody on this site test drove a 2012 and he had read in the manual that it said not to use a W/D hitch.Starting in 2011 the model was lightened 600 - 700 lbs. somehow.I don,t know what they did to vehicle to loose all that weight,but its still rated to tow 7700 lbs.but haven"t read the manual about W/D hitch.I do know the the 4 wheel diff case consoul switch went from 4 mode to 2 mode on the 2011 and up?There is some used 2010 out at the dealers to look at.The TDI is much better with mileage than my 96 tahoe gas I had.I get at least 10 MPG better and more.The fuel tank is a few gallons smaller than the tahoe 30 gallon tank but I go over twice a far on the same amount of fuel.Forget the big v8 gas engines,I read they will soon be a thing of the passed.Small diesel engines are the way to go now,yes the fuel cost a little more but you spend much less in the end.Clean diesel today is much more advance than the old engines of the passed,you smell nothing and much more quit running.good luck with your truck /suv shopping.

[slowmover]

Quite a bit on Touaregs around here. A search may give you reason to re-open an old thread. That tends to "wake up" the old participants as well as those who subscribed. Recommended.

[InsideOut]

I just traded in my daily driver 2006 MB 320 4-matic on a 2007 Touareg V-8 4-WD. I LOVE it! So far I have used it to tow twice - including once in the mountains to Steamboat Springs. It towed our 1956 Safari (3200 lbs+/- fully loaded) like a champ - 60-62 mph uphill, w/ the A/C on. Which was a huge relief to me having towed with a 1963 Suburban for the last couple of years. The 'burb is very cool, but not as our only tow vehicle option in the steep mountains we usually camp in. My Touareg is rated for 7,700 pounds - and we are well under, but it is great! I wouldn't go any longer than a Tradewind (25 ft), but the wheelbase is better than most other smaller SUV's - the wheels are out at the corners more than other comparable sized SUV's.

The best thing is, it's a nice daily driver that doesn't feel like a truck IMO. Yes, my MB got better gas mileage, but for a dual-purpose tow vehicle, the Touareg is awesome!

We use a weight distributing hitch - but I understand VW doesn't recommend it with the air suspension option that we don't have.

We also have several Airstream towing friends w/ both the V-8 & the TDI-10 that love theirs too.

Shari