Alltrack vs Touareg

[Julieswc]

My parents/sister were in the same boat a number of years back in that my sister rides horses and they needed something to tow a horse float. They ended up buying an "old" 80 series Landcruiser as a dedicated tow vehicle which certainly does the job. Depends what you want/need to use the vehicle for in addition to towing the float and whether you have space to have another vehicle in your driveway.

One thing I have to say is that the interior of this vehicle has been a bit trashed as it's been used for picking up feed, carrying all sorts of horse gear, getting in/out with muddy boots from paddocks, etc etc. Basically it's been used as a farm vehicle.

So I'd be thinking twice about buying a new/near new car for this type of work.

Or if you do go for a new vehicle, make sure you get some heavy duty rubber floor mats that you can take out and wash down after each horse event.

Good points but may be a little late now as we picked up the Touareg on Friday. At this stage we will probably only need to tow horse once a month to pony club and the gear will go into the float. We don't own it so don't have to worry about feed. Boots can be taken off so that leaves dirty clothes - maybe a cloth of some kind on seat because yes, the car is luxurious and would like to keep it that way for as long as possible.

One reason we decided to buy the Touareg second hand rather than new Alltrack was in case it doesn't work out down the track, daughter stops riding, don't like driving such a large vehicle, then hopefully won't loose too much on it. In fact when picked it up the dealer said they'd had someone in trying to bribe them to sell to him rather than us! But this may be due to just a short term lack of vehicles.

[Julieswc]

Still researching even though we've bought the Touareg. Knowing the downball weight of the float (and still don't) to determine which vehicle to buy would have helped.

Also found out if you have an accident and are found to be carrying incorrect load then insurance cover might be affected.

Apparently depending on what lights the float is fitted with (LED) we may need to purchase an additional cable otherwise indicators etc may not work.

Transporting horse in one week so hope we are ready. 🐎

[FJ Steve]

Still researching even though we've bought the Touareg. Knowing the downball weight of the float (and still don't) to determine which vehicle to buy would have helped.

Also found out if you have an accident and are found to be carrying incorrect load then insurance cover might be affected.

Apparently depending on what lights the float is fitted with (LED) we may need to purchase an additional cable otherwise indicators etc may not work.

Transporting horse in one week so hope we are ready. 

Congrats on the purchase.

May I suggest you have a look here Club Touareg - Volkswagen Touareg Owners Community
Some very experienced and helpful Touareg owners who will be only too pleased to assist with ANY enquiry.
Yep, the LED light box may have to be purchased if your Float has LED lights fitted.

May I suggest that VW Wangara have them, and were (approximately) $50 cheaper than the cheapest unit I could find on eBay. See Matt in Spare Parts.

Throw some photos of the Touareg up...always love to see the big Panzerwagens

[Julieswc]

Inspected the horse float today and it has a round plug and Led lights. Do you know if I need to get two different adapters or is there one which meets both purposes? Also how much was your cheaper LED adapter from Wangara?

[FJ Steve]

The LED load box (name of the part) was (approx) $214.00 from VW Wangara. Ebay (at the time) was in the order of $260+. This was about 5 weeks ago.

What year Touareg did you get? Join the forum I linked above and ask if the load box is required. I have a 2007 ( MY08 ) and I needed the load box for mine to stop the CANBUS system throwing up "Check Light" error on the dashboard.
I'll have a look at my load box when I get home from work (lunchtime today) and throw a picture of it up here. The other issue is .... how soon do you need it? (because VW Wangara will most likely have to order the part ex Sydney (about 24 - 36hrs)

[Julieswc]

The LED load box (name of the part) was (approx) $214.00 from VW Wangara. Ebay (at the time) was in the order of $260+. This was about 5 weeks ago.

What year Touareg did you get? Join the forum I linked above and ask if the load box is required. I have a 2007 ( MY08 ) and I needed the load box for mine to stop the CANBUS system throwing up "Check Light" error on the dashboard.
I'll have a look at my load box when I get home from work (lunchtime today) and throw a picture of it up here. The other issue is .... how soon do you need it? (because VW Wangara will most likely have to order the part ex Sydney (about 24 - 36hrs)

Ok, joined forum (but you must have a different user name, asked if I was referred). Also called VW Wangara and Chris said still need load box cost $214 and they have in stock, plus need 7 pin round to flat adapter $20. Should be good to go on Sunday. Will take photo then! Thanks for all your help. Oh, and it's MY12.

[FJ Steve]

excellent work. Yes...username at Club Touareg is Steve_L

[Julieswc]

Good news, just saved $214. Connected the wiring and tested the brakes and indicators and all working fine. Was worth the trip to Chittering and also had a practice run hooking it all up and drove around the paddock. Even took a photo. Now just have to work out how to post it here.

[FJ Steve]

Well done.

To host photos, you need to use an on-line hosting service like "Photobucket" or similar.

Upload to that site, then use their linking codes (copy he code and paste it into your thread).
Preview your image (only available in "advanced mode") when posting on this forum (select advanced when you open up the "+REPLY TO THREAD" button).