Audi RSQ8 towing 27' Globetrotter... Are we nuts or in love?

[jcl]

Originally Posted by Shiny16

I’m not quite sure what your talking about. This country is certainly not free from over zealous regulation.

Substitute Audi engineer with Ford Chevy ect. You know the ones with degrees in this field. What certifications does CanAm have? Does CanAm offer any new certifications for the vehicles they retrofit? I’m sure many things can be done well by outfits like CanAm but again who do you think a jury will believe? I would rather not have to find out. Sticking with the guidelines that the car manufacturer publishes limits that chance.

You referred to a comment from Canada. I suggested, with a smile, that perhaps the land of the free is, in fact, north of you. Where we don’t have as much overzealous litigation.

I m not aware of new certifications being offered. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to ask. Do your universities offer degrees in trailer setup?

I think the jury would believe facts, evidence, and expert witnesses. I know which expert I would look to hire to testify on my behalf. It wouldn’t be the one from Germany.

[Seanlb]

Exceeding the weight rating of any vehicle is dangerous.

[Shiny16]

Originally Posted by jcl

You referred to a comment from Canada. I suggested, with a smile, that perhaps the land of the free is, in fact, north of you. Where we don’t have as much overzealous litigation.

I m not aware of new certifications being offered. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to ask. Do your universities offer degrees in trailer setup?

I think the jury would believe facts, evidence, and expert witnesses. I know which expert I would look to hire to testify on my behalf. It wouldn’t be the one from Germany.

I believe the OP is in the USA so however awesome your judicial system is it wouldn’t be pertinent to the conversation. Again who you would believe is one thing who another would believe is another thing. That whole question could be avoided by staying within the manufacturer’s guidelines. I’d rather avoid the jury.

[Seanlb]

Those Americans are so ridiculous.

[Seanlb]

Whoever that is must be insane...

[DMT]

Originally Posted by jamies

Thanks; it's a blast. Any of those RS cars are just so much fun!




I can handle it, I think! You should see the face we got at the RV park this past weekend.

So Jamie - how’s the armour holding up so far? You hit all the right spots with one post - hitches, tow vehicle and tires!

[BayouBiker]

Originally Posted by JonDNC

This is getting silly

There are two maybe three camps that will never agree

1). I can tow anything I want if I believe it can work. Especially with a German SUV

2). Stay within the numbers, as long as you’re under the number all is good and a few hundred pounds may or may not matter.

3). Be conservative, if you don’t have 20% extra headroom, your probably too close to the edge in the exact wrong situation.

Every tow vehicle thread ends up at the same place that I’ve seen in the last year. No matter what your experience has been someone somewhere will tell you wrong.

True, but I'd make a couple modifications.

Camp one: is happy to tow and recommend that others tow with an unknown safety margin and unknown range of safe operating conditions. They do so because they and others report how nicely they drive under normal circumstances, but generally don't know how it will perform in an emergency.

Camp two: puts their trust in the manufacturer because they know the vehicle best.

Camp three: give yourself 20% additional margin because the limits often don't apply well to US travel trailers.

[SDD]

I'm going to chime in with everyone else and tell you this is not a good plan. That is a large, heavy trailer, it's going to destroy your Audi and be a dangerous rig for towing long distances. If you're going an hour down the street to spend the night, that's fine, but I would not travel with that rig. If you invited me cross country, I would decline because of safety. You have more than enough power, but that's really not the issue here. You need a vehicle with a full frame and preferably an extra couple thousand pounds. That's the biggest takeaway. Also, blue ox makes a terrible weight distributing hitch. Use the Reese design. telling this trailer without a weight distributing hitch should not even be considered. Just because it's fine some of the time doesn't mean it's going to work when there's an emergency situation.

[Dennis C]

I towed quite a bit with a Cayenne S, although I haven't towed an Airstream with it. I found it to be quite capable, particularly in braking. The Cayenne S has huge brakes, and it performs well. It had plenty of power too, so that wasn't an issue. My major concern there would be passenger & cargo capacity. I'd have the same concern on any mid-sized SUV.

[musicman_786]

That is good gravy there! both gorgeous... As much as love Audi's and I do... I have owned 6 and loved every one. I just do not think I would do any serious long trips with it as AS TV. You have lovely taste that is for sure! I think it's fine if you want to tow it short distances and easy climbs but if you were to take this to the mountains, I'm not so sure I'd want to put that kind of wear on such a gorgeous Audi.

[musicman_786]

I'm in camp 3 and like to have at least 20% margin

[Smokey2020]

Congratulations on your AS and welcome to the family! I have an International 2020 27FB and was towing it with a 2019 Silverado 1500 w/6.2l engine. Also installed rear air bags and compressor. I traveled extensively out west this year and found the many Hill climbs and long grades pushed the truck too much. I made the decision to go with the 2020 2500 HD DuraMax and now have zero issues on any grade. I found that I was 80% to Gross Vehicle Weight which is OK but not comfortable when towing on grades.

[Shiny16]

[QUOTE=Shiny16;2424481]

Originally Posted by jcl

You can call it the land of the free, if you like Free to develop and use the best combination towing solutions, free from overzealous litigators, and so on.

Where do we find Audi engineers trained in best practices related to the use of WD equipment? First question: Tell us about your experience setting up Airstream trailers with your products, using WD equipment? No? Let's introduce a different expert witness then (not me). You think the Audi engineer is the last word?


I’m not quite sure what your talking about. This country is certainly not free from over zealous regulation.

Substitute Audi engineer with Ford Chevy ect. You know the ones with degrees in this field. What certifications does CanAm have? Does CanAm offer any new certifications for the vehicles they retrofit? I’m sure many things can be done well by outfits like CanAm but again who do you think a jury will believe? I would rather not have to find out. Sticking with the guidelines that the car manufacturer publishes limits that chance.

So I’m quoting myself here. I just reread this and wanted to be fair to CanAm. I’m sure they know what they are doing and don’t just throw around misinformation. It’s just that no matter what they do and how well they do it at the end of the day it does not change the manufacturer’s specs on a vehicle. In a litigation happy nation such as ours this would make me uncomfortable. Mileage might vary in the friendly country to the north.

[walker]

Originally Posted by BayouBiker

True, but I'd make a couple modifications.

Camp one: is happy to tow and recommend that others tow with an unknown safety margin and unknown range of safe operating conditions. They do so because they and others report how nicely they drive under normal circumstances, but generally don't know how it will perform in an emergency.

Camp two: puts their trust in the manufacturer because they know the vehicle best.

Camp three: give yourself 20% additional margin because the limits often don't apply well to US travel trailers.

I agree totally and each group can and seems to have two subgroups, fan /user of Hensley/Pro Pride and disbelievers, never had one but sure it cant work, may work but not worth the money group. We are a passionate lot, so fiercely convinced ours is “the” correct answer. Which why I love AS, this forum and all of us so much. Its a blast!

[F83]

Lots of comments and I didn’t make it through all. I worked through some similar issues myself and I believe I became pretty well educated on the topic. My thoughts;

A) As others have said, be concerned about that tongue weight overage. The good news is that you can knock down your tongue weight by at least 100 pounds by moving to Viking Propane Cylinders. They weigh next to nothing and drop into the factory locations. You save about 50 pounds right on the tongue that way.

https://www.vikingcylinders.com/

You an lose another 50 pounds or so off the tongue by switching to Lithium Ion Batteries. That will cost you a bit more (a few grand) but they are also better batteries.

Also, you can consider dropping even more weight off the tongue by deleting the trailer spare tire. You have a dual axel trailer which allows you to drive for about 100 miles with one flat. That, plus fix-a-flat and AAA premium + RV will take care of a lot of issues you may have. Only you can decide if that’s a risk you are willing to take, but I would submit the risk of being over on the tongue is greater. When making these adjustments - make sure you don’t take the tongue weight below 10% of the total loaded weight of the trailer. Doing so can cause sway and be dangerous. How do you know if you’ve done that? See the next two items;

B). After you have done these things - and loaded up with your equipment, go to a CAT scale (they exist everywhere, google for the one nearest you) and get an axel by axel weight of your setup. Only then will you really know if you are ok. You will know if you are within the maximum payload of your vehicle, and also for your axel. If you just can’t get your rig to be within the weight limits of your vehicle, I suggest you get a different TV. That said, I suspect you will be able to make it work.

C). Invest in a tongue weight scale (many choices on Amazon) so you always know when you are loaded up what your tongue weight really is. This will allow you to make sure you didn’t overdo it when you loaded up the trailer.

If you’re within your numbers I say you’re good to go - but personally because you are so close to your maximums I wouldn’t go faster than 60 MPH or so. If you want to be booking along at 70 MPG you are going to need a 3/4 ton.

Just my option

[Sailorguy]

Originally Posted by Seanlb

Exceeding the weight rating of any vehicle is dangerous.

This is the Smartest Comment of all!

[sctinman44]

Originally Posted by jeffmc306

Jamies, congratulations on your new Globetrotter and Audi. That is one gorgeous combination!

Our 2019 27' GT's actual tongue weight measured on a Sherline scale is close to 1,100 lbs. loaded for camping. We started with a VW Touareg TDI (same 7,700 lbs. tow / 770 lbs. tongue rating) and a Flying Cloud 23FB. It was a perfect tow vehicle & trailer. We originally wanted a FC25 but backed away due to the 800+ lbs. tongue weight.

Eventually we decided the 23' wasn't enough and moved up to our 27' GT. We considered going the hitch reinforcement route but ultimately decided we needed a tow vehicle with enough payload capacity. We also had concerns about insurance coverage if there was an accident and we were over the limits.

We now have a 2019 RAM 2500 with 2,940 lb. payload and never worry about removing propane tanks or spare tires just to get under the tongue weight.

This is a decision you'll have to make for yourself after towing for a while.

All the best,
Jeff & Caryle

I am interested in your Ram 6.4L Hemi, real world statistics. It would be my daily driver as well as my tow vehicle. If you'd be willing to discuss this in a P.M. I would certainly appreciate it.
Ken

[jeffmc306]

Originally Posted by sctinman44

I am interested in your Ram 6.4L Hemi, real world statistics. It would be my daily driver as well as my tow vehicle. If you'd be willing to discuss this in a P.M. I would certainly appreciate it.
Ken

Hi Ken, I just sent you a PM. I'm happy to answer any questions!

-Jeff

[jamies]

I’ve finally taken photos of the current hitch setup. Been a busy few weeks for us, thanks for your patience... We continue to welcome and appreciate all feedback.









Apologies for the *huge* photos. I also wanted to note we didn’t tow the trailer this day, so please excuse the brake safety disconnect being unattached.

[Shiny16]

So correct me if I’m wrong here. No WD. No sway control of any kind. Way over on the max tongue weight. Looks great! Nice safety chains.