And the tow vehicle of the year is....

[Riwright]

..... a Volkswagen Jetta????

From a UK web site
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volkswa...mpaign=October

The tow rating for this car in Europre is listed as 1500 kilograms which translates to 3,300 pounds.

I can't get any American web site even admit that the Jetta has a tow rating.

This one was interesting as well:

http://www.rvlifemag.com/file363/hitchhints363.html

Talks about towing a smaller trailer with a PT Cruiser. Now that's bizarre.

I'd be interested to see the accident statistics with these tee-tiny tow vehicles. I can't see how they could possibly be safe.

I just saw a tv commercial last night of a small SUV towing a larger airstream. I think it was a Nissan Pathfinder, rated at 5000 lbs. It didn't look quite right.
A bit misleading I think.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Riwright

I'd be interested to see the accident statistics with these tee-tiny tow vehicles. I can't see how they could possibly be safe.

I tend to agree. Both of these articles concentrate on engine-related stuff - horsepower, torque, acceleration, gas vs diesel, and so forth. Neither of them mentions any of the parameters that are critical to towing, but not engine-related, such as stopping and emergency maneuvers.

One of them mentions that the Jetta has a tow rating of 3300 pounds in Europe, but less than half that in the US. Why the difference? They lay it off to an attitude that "in the US, nobody cares". Am I buying that? Probably not.

So a Jetta will not find its way onto my list of potential next tow vehicles.

By the way, both of the articles mention the "mechanical brakes" amazingly used on European trailers. Anyone know how these are activated? Surely not surge brakes, as found on U-Haul trailers.

Bill

[T and C]

I once saw a VW Vanagon that towed a travel trailer, looked to be about 18 feet long.

A neighbor tows an A Liner behind his PT cruiser. It has a class 3 hitch.

Tom

Also, AFAIK, the Europeans do not use a WDH. And if you look at their trailers, they all seem balanced on the trailer axle, with little tongue weight. And some of these trailers are quite large.

I just don't see how they can tow them safely, without sway. Although I've always envied the range of diesels available in Europe, I much prefer the N.A. approach to trailering.

Originally Posted by Bill

...
By the way, both of the articles mention the "mechanical brakes" amazingly used on European trailers. Anyone know how these are activated? Surely not surge brakes, as found on U-Haul trailers.
...

Not sure about Europe, but I think surge hydraulic brakes are common on boat trailers over here as they can be submerged without damage.

[T and C]

Originally Posted by brulaz

Also, AFAIK, the Europeans do not use a WDH. And if you look at their trailers, they all seem balanced on the trailer axle, with little tongue weight. And some of these trailers are quite large.

I just don't see how they can tow them safely, without sway. Although I've always envied the range of diesels available in Europe, I much prefer the N.A. approach to trailering.

That explains something I had wondered about. I was checking the specs on a Jaguar S type V8 a while back. With 300 hp it could tow more than the suspension can support. The factory rating is 4200 lbs. But the tongue weight is only rated at 162 lbs. If that is 10% of the trailer weight, that would mean you could only tow less than 2000 lbs.

But...if they balance their trailers, (caravans), different... it begins to add up.

As to sway, perhaps they limit their speed?

Tom

Tom

Originally Posted by T and C

...
As to sway, perhaps they limit their speed?
...

My wife, who grew up in Germany, always refers to trailers as "turtles", so perhaps you are right.

Nissan is marketing their new Pathfinder (unibody) as a crossover with attributes of the old ladder on frame Pathfinder. Good ride, good gas mileage (26 highway), with ability to tow 5,000lbs.
Look forward to hearing some hands on, real world reports before making any judgements.

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by Riwright

.....

I'd be interested to see the accident statistics with these tee-tiny tow vehicles. I can't see how they could possibly be safe.

I wish we had better accident stats for all tow vehicles. The reality is that moderate speed is a tremendous boost to safety. In the extreme examples, staying within single digit mph, people tow lots of crazy things safely, like houses and the space shuttle, albeit not with compact cars. Dynamic loads on hitch and suspension components are ordinarily much greater than the static loads, and dynamic loads are much less at much lower speeds, so you could hypothetically get by with more by taking it easy and going slowly.

In Europe, it's real important to use that $7.50/gal gas carefully. Small cars are the only reasonable options for commuter vehicles in their cities. With great care, short distances, and a willingness to replace transmissions, it's possible they can make things work there that might not work as well for us here.

It has to be a big problem finding solid hitch attachment points when trying to make a tow vehicle out of something that wasn't designed for towing. I would expect that to be a bigger issue than horsepower in both Jaguars and Jettas.

I just spent a couple weeks in Europe. Their RV's tend to be modest in size, with the vast majority being caravans (TT's) and Class C motorhomes having lengths in the very low 20's. The ones I saw on the road and in the RV storage areas were also very plain white, without decals or labels so it's hard to know exactly what you're looking at from any distance.