Towing 25 FB with 2013 Touareg

[bobwa]

I'm trying to get in touch with Andy now. For those that have worked with CanAm, do they suggest any particular WDH for this set up?

[bobwa]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

I would be very surprised if your VW is within specs pulling that 25FB, with a hitch weight of at least 900+ lbs (with any cargo in the AS up front). Can you tow it; sure; but what payload do you have left in the VW? Many folks here tow with all kinds of SUV's, but why would you stress out when you can get a TV set up for towing knowing you will likely get there safely? Not trying to rain...just asking.

Primarily because I already have the vehicle, it gets about 17 miles per gallon when it's towing, and I don't want a truck if I don't have to have one. Plus, there seems to be dozens, if not hundreds of people that use the T/C/Q vehicles successfully. It looks to be more about set up than anything else. But if I can't get it so I feel comfortable, than a truck or a full size SUV will be the answer.

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by bobwa

Primarily because I already have the vehicle, it gets about 17 miles per gallon when it's towing, and I don't want a truck if I don't have to have one. Plus, there seems to be dozens, if not hundreds of people that use the T/C/Q vehicles successfully. It looks to be more about set up than anything else. But if I can't get it so I feel comfortable, than a truck or a full size SUV will be the answer.

We have received towing help from Can-Am on three different occasions, and we have had two absolutely comfortable and stable tow vehicles based on the advice they gave us.

You are right, for vehicles like the exceptional Touareg, it's more about the setup than anything else. For those who refuse or cannot understand proper setup and it's effect on towing, there are payload numbers and hitch receiver numbers.

Don't count on a truck appeasing the payload number people. They said we wouldn't like or be safe towing our Airstream FC 25' with our two Ram half-ton trucks either, need something bigger.

Andy Thomson and crew told us how to set up and load our two Ram trucks and Airstream and use the engine and brakes for best performance, and said we would then be safer than with a bigger pickup. Five years later and many, many cross-country trips in every western, midwest, south and most of the eastern states we have learned where to get our towing advice.

Note: Can-Am also suggested the properly set up Touareg would be more stable than any pickup towing our FC 25 when we asked about it.

[rich.dev]

Originally Posted by bobwa

I'm trying to get in touch with Andy now. For those that have worked with CanAm, do they suggest any particular WDH for this set up?

Just curious, did you get in touch with CanAm, and whats the verdict?

[Hastalavista]

I’m picking up my new AS 25RBT on Wednesday 10/10/19 at outofdoorsmart in
Greensboro NC with my 2014 Touareg tdi. They are setting everything up for me. Has anyone out there had them set up a comparable rig? If so how did things turn out?
Plan to drive in NC mountains and eventually head west. Appreciate any comments.

[JerryMcMunn]

We own a 2012 International CCD and pull it with a 2014 Touareg TDI. Can Am RV Centre reinforced the hitch receiver, installed and setup the hitch. It all works perfectly. We've driven it in the Rockies, Sierra Nevada and other mountains. It is flawless.

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by Hastalavista

I’m picking up my new AS 25RBT on Wednesday 10/10/19 at outofdoorsmart in
Greensboro NC with my 2014 Touareg tdi. They are setting everything up for me. Has anyone out there had them set up a comparable rig? If so how did things turn out?
Plan to drive in NC mountains and eventually head west. Appreciate any comments.

Welcome to the forum!

I trust the guys at ODM! Though I never have had them set up a hitch for me, I have been a customer for about 25 years.

Congratulations on your new toy.
Enjoy your trip!

[Texas Gal 61]

We pulled our 85 27’ sovereign with a 2010 Touareg TDI. I loved it. But in 2016 we started having computer issues. After taking it to a different dealer the issue was resolved. Whew! So we headed to Balloon fiesta. All ok till we headed north to Colorado. Before we left NM we through the drive shaft. A 100 mile tow into Santa Fe. That was it. My husband was done. It got better when we went to by our Tundra. The first dealer wouldn’t even look at it because of the Diesel issues back then.
I loved driving that Touareg because my tow vehicle was also my daily driver.

[Tom_T]

Read the CanAm "Hitch Hints" article at pg 6 of the attached back issue link, not a Touareg TDI, but essentially the same chassis & drivetrain or very similar -



http://rvlifemag.dgtlpub.com/?i=2546



Cheers!
Tom
///////

[sws323tt]

I have a 28 footer have been pulling it with a 2004 Touareg. I believe I have over 40,000 miles even through Rocky Mountain national Park. I did get a Hensley hitch pretty much straight away when I got my rig. I have had no problems whatsoever

[Tom_T]

You may also want to look at this topic specifically for Porsche Cayenne, VW Touareg, Audi Q7 & other Euro SUV towing.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f463...rs-134917.html



We were actually looking at a Cayenne TDI until the Dieselgate thing hit, & after they reached the settlement my Austrian trained Porsche Mechanic since 1975 said not to get one because they will stop supporting them after the settlement period expires & wash their hands of it, & they're already saying that VW/Audi/Porsche is stopping all other TDIs (V8, V10, V12 & the V6 everywhere).


Otherwise, all of his customers & all the Porsche club folks with the TDI Cayenne love them, & Hans says that they're an engineering marvel.



So enjoy yours & I'm sure that it will tow your AS just fine, but you may have to do some weight & balance in loading the trailer, in order to keep the tongue weight under the 770 lbs limit - & that may be higher with weight distributing hitch, if you look at the sticker on the side of the hitch receiver (it may say no WD in the manual, but that's a carry-over from Europe/UK where WD is illegal).



PS - Contact Andy T. at CanAm on here or at their website if you have any set-up questions, & will probably want to do their hitch reinforcement (either at CanAm if close toyou, or get him to send pix of what they do to have it done locally).


Also get a Sherline Hitch weight scale or rig something up for 1000 lbs or more, so that you can actually weight your AS's tongue/hitch wt. & adjust trailer loading accordingly to stay within limits of your Treg's & hitch's ratings.




Cheers!
Tom
///////

[jeffmc306]

We’ve got a 2016 Touareg TDI pulling a Flying Cloud 23FB with a Blue Ox setup. The dealer originally set it up with 500 lbs. bars since the tongue weight is listed as 473 lbs. After a very scary sway incident I weighed the trailer and found the actual tongue weight was closer to 730 lbs. loaded.

Called Blue Ox - they said I should have 1000 lbs. bars which the dealer swapped for the original set. Start with lower tension as you can over-do it and have a rough ride/light steering.

I also noticed the hitch ball extends longer than necessary and considered drilling another hole to shorten up the extension. Problem is the Blue Ox bar has a cast boss for the hole.

If you talk to CanAM, they like EazLift which has a very short length. If we outgrow our 23FB, I would definitely go the reinforcement route with CanAm.

Good luck and let us know how your setup works!

[waninae39]

As other have stated, try to vist Can-Am RV in London, Ontario

They are the best hitch shop in CAN/USA. They specialize in towing AND fixing up vehicles that were NOT designed for towing
Yours seems to fit that bill.

http://www.canamrv.ca/towing-expertise/contact/

I would also HIGHLY recommend that you take your TV and the trailer to a local truck stop that has a triple weigh scale

1 for the front wheels
2 for the back wheels
3 for the trailer wheels

then you will have an accurate reading of the balance.
ideally it should 1/3 each

too much weight on #2 and you loose steering
Too little on #2, and you lose traction

you also wan the ball to be as close to the TV as possible.

Watch some of the CAN video or other youtube on TV hitch connection

[mojo]

Originally Posted by waninae39

As other have stated, try to vist Can-Am RV in London, Ontario

They specialize in towing AND fixing up vehicles that were NOT designed for towing

What makes you believe that a Touareg was not designed for towing?

[Adventure.AS]

Originally Posted by jeffmc306

We’ve got a 2016 Touareg TDI pulling a Flying Cloud 23FB with a Blue Ox setup. The dealer originally set it up with 500 lbs. bars since the tongue weight is listed as 473 lbs. After a very scary sway incident I weighed the trailer and found the actual tongue weight was closer to 730 lbs. loaded.

Called Blue Ox - they said I should have 1000 lbs. bars which the dealer swapped for the original set. Start with lower tension as you can over-do it and have a rough ride/light steering.

I also noticed the hitch ball extends longer than necessary and considered drilling another hole to shorten up the extension. Problem is the Blue Ox bar has a cast boss for the hole.

If you talk to CanAM, they like EazLift which has a very short length. If we outgrow our 23FB, I would definitely go the reinforcement route with CanAm.

Good luck and let us know how your setup works!

We have the Eaz-Lift and like having the separate sway control mechanism. Perhaps the Blue Ox is set up differently than Eaz-Lift, but from looking at your photo it appears that the WD bars are not parallel with the a-frame. Is this the way that they are supposed to be? They really reduce your ground clearance.

[jeffmc306]

Adventure.AS, thanks for the question about the clearance. That photo was after the dealer set up the trailer. I’m going to review the Blue Ox installation instructions to see if there’s anything that needs to change. If anything, it would be to increase the tension (shortening the chain) to bend the rods so they’re more parallel to the A-Frame. Will test to see if that negatively affects ride height and steering.

Regarding sway control, Blue Ox states on their website:
“Trunnions on each side of the Swaypro™ hitch head employ a caster effect, working with spring bars, to constantly push inward, keeping the trailer in line.” The trunnions are angled down and away which is how they’re able to get the sway control. Different approach to solve the problem.

[waninae39]

we have the eaz-lift WD and sway control system on our AS 22FB pulled by an audi Q5 TV.

we have the 6000 lbs set and it works well.

I agree with @jeffmc306 and @Adventure.AS, the sway bars don't look correct

from all the systems i've seen, the sway bars are roughly parallel to the road as the bend angle as the sway end is 90 degrees.

This might indicate that the hitch is not installed correctly on you vehicle. The say bars should plug in vertically into the hitch head and then the bars should be parallel to the ground. As you tighten them, they will start to bend.

you might want to take them to another dealer to see your TV and trailer together as a set.
I would be very hesitate to drive the AS if i did feel very confident with the hitch setup

again, give Andy at CAN-AM RV a call. he is easy to talk to

[Adventure.AS]

Originally Posted by jeffmc306

Adventure.AS, thanks for the question about the clearance. That photo was after the dealer set up the trailer. I’m going to review the Blue Ox installation instructions to see if there’s anything that needs to change. If anything, it would be to increase the tension (shortening the chain) to bend the rods so they’re more parallel to the A-Frame. Will test to see if that negatively affects ride height and steering.

Regarding sway control, Blue Ox states on their website:
“Trunnions on each side of the Swaypro™ hitch head employ a caster effect, working with spring bars, to constantly push inward, keeping the trailer in line.” The trunnions are angled down and away which is how they’re able to get the sway control. Different approach to solve the problem.

I'm sure that the Blue Ox works to control sway OK. Not sure how they work in slippery road conditions.

Being able to remove the anti-sway bars on the Eaz-lift is great in slippery road conditions where anti-sway would act to keep the whole rig straight even if you wanted to go around a curve, for example. This would be a dangerous understeer situation. The caveat is that if the roads are that slippery you will be travelling more slowly and don't need the anti-sway bars (if your rig is properly loaded.)

[thewarden]

Originally Posted by jeffmc306

We’ve got a 2016 Touareg TDI pulling a Flying Cloud 23FB with a Blue Ox setup. The dealer originally set it up with 500 lbs. bars since the tongue weight is listed as 473 lbs. After a very scary sway incident I weighed the trailer and found the actual tongue weight was closer to 730 lbs. loaded.

Called Blue Ox - they said I should have 1000 lbs. bars which the dealer swapped for the original set. Start with lower tension as you can over-do it and have a rough ride/light steering.

I also noticed the hitch ball extends longer than necessary and considered drilling another hole to shorten up the extension. Problem is the Blue Ox bar has a cast boss for the hole.

If you talk to CanAM, they like EazLift which has a very short length. If we outgrow our 23FB, I would definitely go the reinforcement route with CanAm.

Good luck and let us know how your setup works!

Jeff, I see a couple of issues I would like to point out. Your bars do seem to be a a little bit more of a down angle than they should, but this is only relevant for clearance issues. If you have the proper amount of WD tension, then all is good. The second, and I think you are already aware of this, is the length of your shank. I would try to get one that puts the ball as close as you can to the bumper to negate the leverage effect the long shank is having. Lastly, it may be the angle of your pic, but your safety chains don't look right. They should be crossed under your hitch to provide a cradle effect that would catch the trailer should it break loose from the TV.

[PKI]

The bars on the Blue Ox Sway Pro (BOSP) need to be bent/arched at least 2". They will not appear level as they start in the down position prior to preloading the weight transfer and sway control force into the spring bars.

Note - in the original picture, it is clear that the dealer setup your hitch incorrectly. The spring bars have no or very limited arch/bend. Therefore you had no weight transfer and the coach had to sway a lot to generate any force to control sway. Every link of chain you crank in on the rotators adds to the spring preload. Most users place 8 links from the u-bolt and increase from there if they need more preload to tune the lashup. Your picture looks like you are about three links short of where you should start your tuning. Take care when adjusting spring bar force. Keep your head and body out of the way so it is not hit if the wrench or a chain slips and releases force. Best to use a long handle breaker bar and 1" six point socket in place of the OEM wrench as the breaker bar is easier to control. Also using your tongue jack to lift the tongue makes adjusting the spring force easier. Search on Blue Ox with the Blue box at upper right. There are lots of threads and lots of info. Warning - one poster was hurt seriously with this hitch. When adjusted with the correct method, this is not a hazard.

The Eaz-i-lift hitch has a shank that is replaced with an upgrade when CanAm installs that hitch. If you want to move the pin location on the shank, purchase one with a shorter position. We have a toe stubber like the one in your picture permanently stored in the garage. The hitch now has a shank with the pin hole located two inches closer and could be drilled to move it even closer.

The BOSP works well in slippery conditions. The spring force does not restrict the coach from returning to straight like friction sway control units that must be released in those conditions. However, Andy does not like the BOSP because it does not have a friction SC unit. He must believe the value of friction unit over shadows the value of not needing to release the friction is slippery conditions.

The 1000# bars are excessive unless you plan to travel with more than the measured 730#s of tongue weight. If you do, then you need to reinforce now, because your receiver is likely not rated for that increase in weight. It is better to rack in more bend than less, as in addition to more ground clearance you move higher in the spring rate range.

Additionally - your SUV is well designed for towing. However the receiver may not be well designed/fabricated for heavy tongue weight. Understand the issue. It is worth your study. If the receiver flexes then the weight is not transferred to the steer axle. That means you have less sway control, because the preload is degraded. This all goes away with a torque arm addition to the receiver. However the method where that torque arm is welded to the rear axle carrier, while functional, may not be best if repairs are required. A bolt on configuration is considered by some folks when they upgrade the receiver structure.