So, do you have a small tow vehicle?

[Brian L]

2000 Jetta TDI 5 speed towing a LG Rascal. No problems . Might downshift on long steep hills. Mileage drops 5 to 10 mpg depending on wind and terrain. TD fits inside the tv provile except for the roof vent sticks up a bit. Still get above 40 (US)mpg.

[Kevin & Sandy]

Anyone add air lift bags?
http://www.autoanything.com/suspension- ... 76374.aspx

A friend recomended them, and I do notice the back end of my car sits a little lower with the hitch on it, and my car is 9 years old so Im sure it could use a little lift. The price is reasonable compared to putting in air shocks.

I like them, I have them on my VW TDI Jetta and the 4Runner. Eliminates sag and when not towing you air down to make the ride nice and smooth.

[Gary and Cheri]

Have the air bags on my 2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI also and would not be without them. Level out the car nicely and do not change the handling. Good buy.

Gary

[rowerwet]

another focus driver with a TD, not much different up to 70, over that the hills are all to big to maintain speed, starting don't notice much, stopping needs about another car length. No tailgating!

[Larry C]

Before whomever wants to starts crying about trailer sway due to no tongue

Boy......... That thing must sway like a hula dancer

[H@nk]

I have a Nissan Cube and was thinking of putting a hitch on it to pull our teardrop. It is four cylinder with a CVT tranmission. Was wondering if anyone was pulling their teardrop with a Cube?

Doris

Towing a teardrop with a Cube with CVT? Than you have the best transmission in the whole world. It was develloped by Van Doorne and built in the DAF. At each speed, you will have the right gear. over 1000 diferent possibilaties. Good choice.

[H@nk]

this tread was started with the question, towing with a FIAT 128. Whel, about 40 years ago, lots of peoples here in The Netherlands had a small Italian car like that, and also taking it on vacation. With a RV behind it. Those RV's that time, where lighter, smaller and basicer than RV's today, but they came all the way in Europe. I don't know what kind of 128 you have, I think about a 1400cc engine and around 65 HP's. When your teardrop has brakes, i guess you can tow till max 1500 lbs. At that weight you need brakes.And the lighter you build, the easyer you tow.

Btw, I tow my minit@b with a Citroën C5, diesel automatique stationwagon.
Weight about 1450 KG, max tow is 1500Kg The weight of the minit@b is 550KG, loaded

[H@nk]

Diesel is cheaper in europe than at your country, yes. BUT, as we in the Netherlands, we pay roadtaxes. They are twice as much as petrolcars. My car weights 1450 KG and I pay for a diesel engine 122€ each month. When it was a petrolcar, I should pay only 65€. ( The costprice of LPG< liquid petroleum gaz, is only 0,70€ per litre, but you pay more, 180€ each month, its less economic, but cleaner in the exhaust.) The costprice of a litre petrol is at this moment 1,62€ per litre and for diesel the price is 1,31€ per litre. The milage per litre for a diesel is more economic than a petrol engine. Now I drive 18 km/litre, with a petrol engine 11 KM/litre. When I go to France with the minit@b, I have 1 tank to get there, so it will cost me about 70€. When I do the same with a petrol engine, in the same size car, it will cost meemore then 150€. same distance. The more you drive with a diesel, the cheaper you drive. Also our cars are smaller than in USA, but your country is bigger.

[KevinR]

I drive a couple of volkswagen diesels everyday. The maintenance costs are no more than a gasser. There are lots of online resources for these old rabbits and parts can be gotten cheaply. Repair information and advice is easy to find. And they are such simple vehicles (no computer) that even a knuckle busting amateur like me can work on them.

My truck only has the 1.5 liter with a 5-speed. It is underpowered for hilly country but pulls pretty good on level ground. It will thump along at 70mph all day long once you get it up to speed.

The four-door has a 1.7 liter and doesn't even notice a hill or a trailer. Plenty of power and torque in a tiny package.

[parnold]

I have no problem towing with my little Hyundai. I have to downshift sometimes on long highway hills, but other than that it's fine.

[80turbota]

Sorry guys, Been a long time since I have posted. This is a very interesting thread. I have a 09 Focus, an 96 Geo Metro (I have no plans to use this as a TV.) and a 99 Chev Astro. I haven't made any decision yet what I will use.
Times are touph everywhere, We gotta tighten our belts and not spend needlesly. Things will have to be better planned on our part. No more random road trips, we will have to have destinations planned out ahead of time.(this is in my case only and not intended for everyone else)
Part of the idea of a TD is to leave your worries behind if only for a short time. I think that needs to be kept in mind. Just my .02 worth.

[Mike-n-Britney]

Towing with a small car can be a challenge - but with knowledge, experience and now-how, it can be a rewarding challenge. As has been said numerous times here: it's not the horsepower, it's the braking power and stability that are key (these are both remedied with trailer brakes). I personally don't tow with a small car - I've been spoiled by big power, big brakes, and size-able cars. Plus I don't like being cramped in a compact car when driving for hours and hours. (I'm 6'3"+ and don't feel comfortable in small cars anyways).

We are thinking about trading in the wife's Mazda 3 5-door on a Subaru Outback H6. The Outback is rated to tow 3,000lbs! With the H6 and AWD the Suby's mileage won't be as good as the Mazda. But it should get a little better mileage than the 6.0L V8 GTO, and with AWD and higher ground clearance, be better on the unimproved roads than the GTO too.

[H@nk]

Towing any weight needs the right gearbox
Diesel has standard lots of horses by low rounds per minute.
A Ferrari has lots of power, but you can't tow a garbedge-box away.
So, its realy not the horsepower and the brakes, its a combination of all.
Ask our British members in this forum for the test results from the towcar of the year.

[angib]

Weferlinger caravan 79" long, maximum weight 610lb.

Bond Minicar, single cylinder 200cc engine, 10hp. Max speed (not towing) 50mph - on a good day.

I imagine the bicycle was carried in case he needed to get somewhere in a hurry....

[anntann]

...
the desil even cost a a dollar more a gallon than petrol or gas here. they over charge you for the oil to put in the engine they over charge you for the filters and the stuff to keep it from geling up in the winter time.
...
slow.

Where are you located? I keep seeing you post that diesel is $1/gal more than gas. Using the Pilot/Flying J gas price list, I see a max of $0.40/gal more than regular unleaded in Wyoming. Around here diesel is the same price as premium, or within a few cents, and that seems to be the case for the rest of the US.

I should hook up the teardrop to my 1984 VW Rabbit diesel, and see just how bad it drives. A whopping 54hp when new, and who knows how much hp is left after 270,000 miles.

Michael