Sinovac
GT Owner
That looks like great fun. We did Elephant Hill last year in a rented Jeep. I would love to do a camping/4x4 trip, just not enough days in the year.
Trailering advice pls
- Thread starter Xcentric
- Start date
That looks like great fun. We did Elephant Hill last year in a rented Jeep. I would love to do a camping/4x4 trip, just not enough days in the year.
I'm pretty sure this was not approved by Ford
[video=youtube;2LDFWm4z3As]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LDFWm4z3As[/video]
[video=youtube;2LDFWm4z3As]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LDFWm4z3As[/video]
Whether or not the system is capable of withstanding the loads does not diminish the recommendations from the manufacturer. If they define a method of doing it, and one ignores it, then any warrantee claims may be invalidated. Now, only a couple of the cars are still under warranty protection, but nonetheless, why not take the manufacturer's advice - it certainly won't cause any problems if their recommendations are adhered to.
A lot of us are/were engineers, but I'm not about to sit down and recompute all the loads, yield points, and stress levels - I'll just take Ford's recommendations. At 65,000 miles, the #2 car hasn't missed a beat by following Ford's guidelines. I think I'll continue in that direction.
A lot of us are/were engineers, but I'm not about to sit down and recompute all the loads, yield points, and stress levels - I'll just take Ford's recommendations. At 65,000 miles, the #2 car hasn't missed a beat by following Ford's guidelines. I think I'll continue in that direction.
Indy GT
Yea, I got one...too
Yup. Did that trail too last year. There's a section of Canyonlands...the Maze District...where the nearest gas is 90 miles from the START of the off-road trails. Once you're off pavement, you are really remote. With a full tank and 12 gallons of gas in cans on the roof, we barely have enough to make it back. This is about as remote as you can get in the lower 48.
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Sinovac
GT Owner
I drove a small section of the Maze. I wasn't prepared to do much more than I did. The Maze is the popular week long four wheeling camping trip, right?
Yes, but "popular" is a relative term. You can go all day during peak season and not see anyone. You can also end up as bleached white bones if you go alone and break something.
Slow speed stressing of drive train, suspension, frame, steering...pretty much the whole thing. Today, near Moab UT.
[video=youtube_share;43E7xuExoes]http://youtu.be/43E7xuExoes[/video]
[video=youtube_share;43E7xuExoes]http://youtu.be/43E7xuExoes[/video]
Sinovac
GT Owner
I need to put that on my must do list. Off roading out West can be incredibly dangerous. I got into some bentonite in western Colorado and almost lost a rented Durango over a cliff. My son was with me and as we were sliding towards the edge I told my son to unbuckle his seatbelt, open his door and jump when I told him. Fortunately it didn't come to that but I will never forget the look on his face. :lol
Sinovac
GT Owner
Wwabbit
GT Owner
So, after all the advice, I went with Carl Carbon's (the Trailex man) recommendation. In neutral, brake off, snugged the car tight against the front tire stops. Put it in gear. Snugged the rear tight.
Straps through the wheels are a little awkward. If I was trailering frequently, I would use E-track for sure. But, it's really not a big effort to tie it down.
Rear LCAs would work great, but the car has to be perfectly centered on the trailer or you get diffuser rub on one side or the other. Front LCAs also work, but there is a little pressure on the rear of the front splitter/pan.
So...the stock setup, either through the wheels or LCAs to D-rings on the floor, seems to work just fine, although E-track is clearly the best solution for least effort.
The Trailex handles beautifully behind the Touareg TDI with about 250 lbs on the tongue. I only know the trailer is there because the engine is working a little harder. This is a sweet combo if you don't have a need for a truck as a tow vehicle. 406 lb/ft torque at 1,700 rpm and 8 speed auto.
Fuel economy remains to be seen. I'll be happy with 15-17 highway. The TDI gets 29 highway without the trailer.
Another report after the haul to Florida next week.
Straps through the wheels are a little awkward. If I was trailering frequently, I would use E-track for sure. But, it's really not a big effort to tie it down.
Rear LCAs would work great, but the car has to be perfectly centered on the trailer or you get diffuser rub on one side or the other. Front LCAs also work, but there is a little pressure on the rear of the front splitter/pan.
So...the stock setup, either through the wheels or LCAs to D-rings on the floor, seems to work just fine, although E-track is clearly the best solution for least effort.
The Trailex handles beautifully behind the Touareg TDI with about 250 lbs on the tongue. I only know the trailer is there because the engine is working a little harder. This is a sweet combo if you don't have a need for a truck as a tow vehicle. 406 lb/ft torque at 1,700 rpm and 8 speed auto.
Fuel economy remains to be seen. I'll be happy with 15-17 highway. The TDI gets 29 highway without the trailer.
Another report after the haul to Florida next week.
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STORMCAT
GT
Actually there has been reports that leaving the car in gear while trailering has caused damage to the shifting forks. It happened to someone here about 5 or 6 years ago. Ford has this in the manual for this reason.
The transmission is designed for the loads going from the input shaft thru the output shafts. Reversing the direction of forces cause different stress on various parts ( shifting forks). You ever rock a car with a manual transmission back and fort and see the shifter move or pop out of gear? Some cars exhibit this drive line stress more that others. It's only a $ 15 000 hard to repair transaxle so you decide ..
The amount of force generated by the car rocking back and forth and bouncing around is substantial. The stress on the Ebrake should be avoided. You could fracture pads or there would be a remote possibility to damage the cast aluminum caliper mounting ears. Do what ever you want but as Frank points out the manual says out of gear and no Ebrake There was actually one of those tags hanging in the new cars if I recall.. .. end of story.. ,,not .. " well this is what we used to do back on the farm ":biggrin
The transmission is designed for the loads going from the input shaft thru the output shafts. Reversing the direction of forces cause different stress on various parts ( shifting forks). You ever rock a car with a manual transmission back and fort and see the shifter move or pop out of gear? Some cars exhibit this drive line stress more that others. It's only a $ 15 000 hard to repair transaxle so you decide ..
The amount of force generated by the car rocking back and forth and bouncing around is substantial. The stress on the Ebrake should be avoided. You could fracture pads or there would be a remote possibility to damage the cast aluminum caliper mounting ears. Do what ever you want but as Frank points out the manual says out of gear and no Ebrake There was actually one of those tags hanging in the new cars if I recall.. .. end of story.. ,,not .. " well this is what we used to do back on the farm ":biggrin
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Kind of like beating a dead horse and I agree do it however you like. Did you grow up in a farm? I didn't. If you're worried about tearing up transmissions by trailering with the car in gear, you need to rethink how you're securing the car to the trailer. It ain't gonna move if it's done about half right.
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STORMCAT
GT
The smiley face didn't take the first time,, but I see you took it personal. and yes I did grow up on a farm well close to farm country... :biggrin and if you use nylon straps on a car it's going rock.,, If you hit big bumps and humps the cars suspension will load and unload. The car will shift on the bed under certain conditions.
I've towed my GT about 30 000 mile from Florida to every rally but numero uno and to other locations in the Midwest. This whole thread started because it was a question that could have been answered by reading the manual specific for this car.. or having the big tag that came in the car when new, It was an obvious attempt by Ford to make their intention known,,, Someone reported here that their car incurred bent shifter forks from improper trailering. . the rest is just people guessing what if.... .Maybe someone can contact recardo if they need a more technical explination.
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I just like to provoke controversy! :biggrin
Not to provoke any more (well maybe a little), but the Ford instruction refers to towing by wreckers, most of which only carry J-hooks. Good luck finding one with tire baskets...especially for foot-wide tires...in an emergency.
I will concede that I don't see any rationale for leaving the car in gear even if trans damage is not a risk. A last resort in case the straps fail? To keep the car from rolling when I undo the straps and forget to put it in gear? :confused
Well...now that I know the trailer works well, I can move on to something else to worry about...theft. :lol
Not to provoke any more (well maybe a little), but the Ford instruction refers to towing by wreckers, most of which only carry J-hooks. Good luck finding one with tire baskets...especially for foot-wide tires...in an emergency.
I will concede that I don't see any rationale for leaving the car in gear even if trans damage is not a risk. A last resort in case the straps fail? To keep the car from rolling when I undo the straps and forget to put it in gear? :confused
Well...now that I know the trailer works well, I can move on to something else to worry about...theft. :lol
Trip report: Trailered the GT about 1,000 miles with zero issues. In neutral with e-brake off. My VW Touareg TDI, with cargo area loaded to the gills and pulling 5,500 lbs got 14 mpg at 70-75 mph. A few mpg less than I was hoping for. It gets 30 mpg unloaded. I got several comments at fuel stops along the lines of "that's a big trailer for a little car." It does look that way, but 406 lb ft, 8 speed auto and 7,700 lb towing capacity make for a great tow vehicle if you don't need or want a pick-up. Diesel fuel is still an issue, even along I-95. In the south, a lot of pumps do not have "Ultra Low Sulfur" stickers. Some pumps have the large diameter truck nozzles. Two pumps pumped at a rate of about 1/2 gallon per minute. WTF? I can imagine that driving through the inter-mountain west will mean filling at every opportunity and carrying extra fuel. Also, diesel pump handles all are filthy and stink. Carry disposable gloves. This probably sounds goofy to you guys who have driven diesels all your lives. This is my first diesel.
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All diesel sold as motor fuel in the US is ultra low sulphur diesel by law now. Your diesel vehicle should not have an unleaded fuel fill small diameter nozzle hole. These are for unleaded fuel only. Diesel vehicles should have standard diameter fill ports without the restrictor. If yours has an unleaded restrictor, see VW as they installed the wrong one on your vehicle.
The truck stops, at the large truck pumps, some will have larger still fuel nozzles that will not even fit most pickups. Those lanes are for over the road trucks and busses only. Not your VW. The diesel nozzle at any diesel pump for cars and light trucks should fit your inlet.
14mpg towing is about the same as what my F250 gets.
The truck stops, at the large truck pumps, some will have larger still fuel nozzles that will not even fit most pickups. Those lanes are for over the road trucks and busses only. Not your VW. The diesel nozzle at any diesel pump for cars and light trucks should fit your inlet.
14mpg towing is about the same as what my F250 gets.