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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / December 2005t@b trailer
i have a new beetle. thinking about the t@b ... any information/comments? thanks in advance. > i have a new beetle. Congratulations. > thinking about the t@b Cute. Small. Er, make that TINY. > any information/comments? If you plan to tow with the Volkswagen Beetle, particularly a high(er)-profile trailer such as the t@b, you will probably be VERY DISsatisfied with the performance. Safety will be seriously compromised, too. Good luck. You'll need it. :\ JR  Signature2000 Skamper Ultra 249 TT 2002 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD Vortec 8100 - Allison 1000 Actually on their website they show one being pulled by a beetle. So this prompted me to look up the towing capacity of the beetle: 2200 pounds, which surprised me a bit. The GVWR of the T@B is 1939, so this appears to be a fit towing capacity-wise, with about 12% left over - a decent margin. This means that you can only take about 500 pounds of stuff in the trailer (within the GVWR which is vehicle weight plus carrying capacity of the trailer). This can add up fast, but there is not a lot of room in there anyway, nor is there a lot of room in the beetle as well, so the portable fridge will likely stay home <grin>. This is inherent in this class of very small teardrop campers. Yeah, it has a somewhat high profile, but not all that high and the teardrop shape mitigates this by design, crosswinds is where you would be most susceptible You might want to try driving it around on the highway and also try driving around another lower type such as an A-line or Chalet as a comparison. Good luck with this and enjoy it if you go this route. Tomes > > i have a new beetle. > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > :\ > JR I see where, Tomes managed to write: >Actually on their website they show one being pulled by a beetle. So this >prompted me to look up the towing capacity of the beetle: 2200 pounds, which [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >Good luck with this and enjoy it if you go this route. >Tomes You do remember the fiasco with the Tuareg and the travel trailer don't you? Volkswagen had to buy a Tuareg back and pull it's commercials. Weight that trailer. Is 1939 the GVWR or the Empty weight? In any case, the 2200lb towing capacity doesn't include any passengers in the car or any load you put in the car. SignatureFrank Tabor > Is 1939 the GVWR Yes. The UVW (Unloaded Vehicle Weight) is 1346-lbs for the lightest model. Right there on the T@B website it says, "Check your owner's manual: if you have a tow rating of 2000 lbs or more, you're ready to go!" And they show it hitched to a new Beetle. > In any case, the 2200lb towing capacity doesn't include any passengers > in the car or any load you put in the car. I'm wondering about trailer brakes. http://www.tab-rv.com :) JR I see where, Jim Redelfs managed to write: >> Is 1939 the GVWR > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > :) >JR All three have surge brakes. SignatureFrank Tabor > I see where, Jim Redelfs managed to write: > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > All three have surge brakes. So the numbers seem to add up OK and do note the comments above, Minicooper. I am thinking that my strongest comment is to try it out and see how it really feels for you with stuff (or equivalent weight) in it and in your car on the highway with winds before you buy it. Tomes The main page at http://www.tab-rv.com/ shows it towed by a 4Runner. I would not considered myself towing a 2000# trailer with a beetle... Mel Jim Redelfs a écrit: >>Is 1939 the GVWR > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > :) > JR ALL VW beetles, even the new 2006's with the new larger 2.5L 150 hp engine, are rated as "towing not recommended" under the technical specs at autos.yahoo.com. ----- Original Message ----- > Actually on their website they show one being pulled by a beetle. So this > prompted me to look up the towing capacity of the beetle: 2200 pounds, > which > surprised me a bit. thanks everyone for your comments. i've decided that it's not such a good idea to tow that really cute, teeny trailer with my really cute, teeny car. i'm considering trading in the beetle for a toyota tacoma pickup and then looking at used trailers. sound better? > ALL VW beetles, even the new 2006's with the new larger 2.5L 150 hp > engine, [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >> which >> surprised me a bit. > thanks everyone for your comments. i've decided that it's not such a good > idea to tow that really cute, teeny trailer with my really cute, teeny car. > i'm considering trading in the beetle for a toyota tacoma pickup and then > looking at used trailers. sound better? Depends on what you want to tow. A mini truck will easily pull a small trailer such as a pop-up. Some of the newer pop-up trailers are getting rather heavy at close to 3,000lbs+ though. I pulled 2,000lbs with my 1993 Nissan 4x4 truck. Make sure you get the V6 and not the 4 banger. >> thanks everyone for your comments. i've decided that it's not such a >> good idea to tow that really cute, teeny trailer with my really cute, [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > rather heavy at close to 3,000lbs+ though. I pulled 2,000lbs with my > 1993 Nissan 4x4 truck. Make sure you get the V6 and not the 4 banger. Angela and I towed our Taos (currently for sale if anyone is interested), with her 4 popper Nissan truck for a couple of years. It didn't do badly, just had very little acceleration, and if we hit any hills... Braking was fine however, even without trailer brakes. IIRC, the tow rating was around 3,500#. If we had only towed it in flat country, it would have been "good enough". I wouldn't have wanted to tow anything heavier though - the Taos is around 1,000# empty. SignatureKarl & Angela `02 Durango `05 Fleetwood Allegiance ----- Original Message ----- > thanks everyone for your comments. i've decided that it's not such a good > idea to tow that really cute, teeny trailer with my really cute, teeny > car. i'm considering trading in the beetle for a toyota tacoma pickup and > then looking at used trailers. sound better? Yes. The 2006 Toyota Tacoma has a tow rating of 3500 lbs for the 4 cylinder engine, and 6500 lbs for the 6 cylinder engine (both require trailer brakes). However: For the V6, (depends upon the exact model) the curb weight is just over 4000 lbs, and the GVWR (total truck plus cargo, passengers, etc., in the truck) is 5450 lbs. The GCWR (total of truck with all gear and people plus trailer leaded with all accessories and gear) is 11,100 lbs. You will note, then, as is typical of car ratings, that a fully loaded Tacoma weighing 5450 lbs would have a towing capacity of only 11,100-5450 = 5650 lbs (not the 6500 lbs listed). If you then apply the "standard" safety margin of 75%, the realistic tow rating of this fully loaded truck would be 4237 lbs. This covers a lot of (fully loaded) trailers. For the 4 cylinder, (depends upon the exact model) the GVWR is 4859 lbs, and the GCWR is 7500 lbs, leaving a realistic tow rating of only 2650 lbs (not 3500 lbs). Including the standard safety margin lowers the towed vehicle max to only just under 2000 lbs. Not good enough for most pop-ups. Both of these scenarios are with the factory tow package. See the data at: http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/2006/tacoma/specs_access_cab.html and a thread about towing with the Tacoma at: http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/16479049/gotomsg/16482219.cfm > thanks everyone for your comments. i've decided that it's not such a good > idea to tow that really cute, teeny trailer with my really cute, teeny car. > i'm considering trading in the beetle for a toyota tacoma pickup and then > looking at used trailers. sound better? Not on this group. You need at least a V8 for a pop up and a V12 for a hard side. ;-) |
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