Touareg tow

[passat140]

Hi there folks I`m wondering as to if the Touareg has a low ratio gearbox and What is the maximum towing capacity of the vehicle? My darling wife is new to towing and needs to tow a horse trailer. An auto is apparently out of the question and I don`t want to be replacing the clutch too regularly once its been cooked due to trailer reversing so low box would help clutch survival. The trailer is plated at 2700 kg it is never loaded to more than 1700 kg but the law says that the vehicle must be able to tow max weight on trailer plate which is stupid that you are not allowed to make an informed decision on what to put in it and be under vehicles max limit. I have an A4 avant with 130 hp under bonnet which copes fine up hill and down dale but is apparently illegal. STUPID!!. So in looking for a new towing vehicle for herself I was wanting to keep it in the VAG family the low box probably not so crucial but would be nice. I have read that it can tow 3500 kg but as few vehicles can I was not sure if this were the case as per vehicle manual. I did see the Jumbo being towed video but that`s not under scrutiny of the law. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

[Rob69]

Check before buying as I've heard you are meant to get a towing pack fitted which I think is extra oil cooler radiator fan etc, a guy I work with traded his Toureg in for a disco once he found this out as the towing kit was a good few K£ and needed to be done to keep warranty valid or something. Sorry no more details but beware!

[passat140]

Thank you for that Rob I`ll keep an eye out for that one. Wouldnae want to cook it. Not sure what budget will stretch to, warranty may already be out anyway.

[niall campbell]

As a rule of thumb, the weight of the trailer/ caravan should be no more than 85% of the weight of the car.

You can if experienced tow heavier.

You do not need a low box to reverse the horsebox. When you start to reverse the horsebox, the brakes initially brake, however there is a mechanism to counteract the brakes sticking on & quickly releases the brakes.

When you have reversed the trailer, you want to pull forward a couple of feet to stop the brakes seizing though, if your leaving the trailer sit for a few days and more.

I have the 505/ 506 ifor Williams and its sits great behind my A6, twin axle helps. It will also tow the 510/ 511 model without any problems.

There are only a few 4x4's that will brake 3.5 tonnes braked trailer, anything will tow 3.5 tonnes, its the stopping the trailer that is the problem.

Another thing to consider, which the 85% ratio takes into account is cross winds when towing. The horsebox is a fair height inline with caravans.

Also with modern cars is ESP programmes & the car knows a trailer is attached ( factory fitted towbar ) through the electric connection, and it adjusts the braking/ stability of the car to suit conditions.

[c4a5er]

The V6 Tdi Touareg is a extremely capable tow car which will pull (and stop) 1700kg with ease.
If you want low ratio your limited to a Mk1 Touareg (up 2010) or if a Mk2 it must be an Escape model to get low ratio box. You must insist on an auto though, 6 speed on Mk1 and a Mk2 is 8 speed auto only, no manual version. Manual gearbox versions of the Mk1 are few and far between and nobody really wants them because the auto is so good. Early autos up to 2005 were troublesome but later models should be fine.