Does anyone tow a boat with a Tiguan?

[mike_6r4]

I have a 2010 Tiguan 103Tdi Auto. I'm just in the process of looking at which boat to buy. Looking at an 18-20ft Bow rider. With a twin axel braked trailer I could possibly be in the 1,600 - 1,900Kg range. I know the to limit is 2,000Kg but I was wondering if anyone on here has / does tow a boat with theirs? In all honesty the boat will live in the water but I will need to pull it out every 3-4 weeks and may possibly take it to a lake for the weekend.

Could anyone tell me how it manages to pull a boat?
Do they struggle on concrete slipways to pull the trailer and boat out of the water?

Would be interested to know what people have towed, the make and model of the boat and the weight if you know it.

Any help or advice appreciated.

Mike

[Creniac]

I have a 2010 Tiguan 103Tdi Auto. I'm just in the process of looking at which boat to buy. Looking at an 18-20ft Bow rider. With a twin axel braked trailer I could possibly be in the 1,600 - 1,900Kg range. I know the to limit is 2,000Kg but I was wondering if anyone on here has / does tow a boat with theirs? In all honesty the boat will live in the water but I will need to pull it out every 3-4 weeks and may possibly take it to a lake for the weekend.

Could anyone tell me how it manages to pull a boat?
Do they struggle on concrete slipways to pull the trailer and boat out of the water?

Would be interested to know what people have towed, the make and model of the boat and the weight if you know it.

Any help or advice appreciated.

Mike

Hi Mike,
Yes I tow a boat with my Tiguan...... I have the Petrol TSI engine with the 6 speed manual, as for yours being Diesel with the Aisin Auto you should have no problem.
My boat is a 5m Aluminium which all up on trailer fully fuelled weighs in around 1150kg..... at the ramp mine has never been a problem, the auto brake is great also. My driveway is far steeper than any boat ramp and the tig pulls the boat up there no worries as well..... but again, my rig is a bit lighter than the one you're looking at.
I see you are looking at a bowrider (no doubt fibreglass being in that weight range) so unfortunately cannot comment on towing any more than I do now.

[mike_6r4]

Thanks for the reply mate, suprised there's not more people towing boats!

[hippyhippy]

i've towed my boat with the auto tdi ... but again my boat is small ... 5meter fibreglass... tows it fine however i'd be under the 1 tonne range... well below you... pretty much the same as above.

[tastig]

Hi Mike
I tow 4.3m aluminium runabout with 50hp plus aux - all up with extra fuel probably only 650kg. I have 103TDI auto and you hardly know the boat is behind, almost glad the chains rattle to remind me its there. Fuel economy is good.
No problems on the boat ramp - auto hold is good for this as is offroad as it creeps off in D1
Steve

[mike_6r4]

Cheers guys.

Steve, am I right with the off road switch it allows you to give it beans and it will creep off? Never tried it.

[tastig]

I now always engage offroad, often launching off sand but also on concrete ramps. My understanding is that in addition to engaging 1st gear it changes the drive ratio from 90:10 front rear to 50:50 and changes the sensitivity of the electronic diff lock. Can get the power down without loss of traction

[hippyhippy]

I now always engage offroad, often launching off sand but also on concrete ramps. My understanding is that in addition to engaging 1st gear it changes the drive ratio from 90:10 front rear to 50:50 and changes the sensitivity of the electronic diff lock. Can get the power down without loss of traction

can someone confirm that it does make it 50 : 50 ?

[mike_6r4]

can someone confirm that it does make it 50 : 50 ?

Can anyone confirm?

[ganue]

HI Guys,
Just towed a Quintrex Freedom Cruiser 570 from Forster, to Sydney southwest, around 400km. Boat and trailer weight around 1200kg, I was very surprised how well it towed, I didn't try break any speed records, Cruised at around 105km/h the whole way. There were no problems getting the boat out of the water, of getting up the various hill climbs of the freeway.

[NZTiguan]

can someone confirm that it does make it 50 : 50 ?

Yes it does !!

Cheers

[Creniac]

HI Guys,
Just towed a Quintrex Freedom Cruiser 570 from Forster, to Sydney southwest, around 400km. Boat and trailer weight around 1200kg, I was very surprised how well it towed, I didn't try break any speed records, Cruised at around 105km/h the whole way. There were no problems getting the boat out of the water, of getting up the various hill climbs of the freeway.

Ganue,

Might want to check your tow ball weight that the trailer is pushing down.... looks like it might be a bit heavy... I had to move my boat back on the trailer 100mm and the axle forward 80mm to acheive a 75kg towball down force.... before doing that mine had 150+kg downforce!! (the Tiggy's are rated for 100kg down force).... the boat yards don't really care too much about the correct balance or COG (centre of gravity) when they sell us our new toys.

[ganue]

Thanks I will check it out

[blue_panther9_9]

Ganue,

Might want to check your tow ball weight that the trailer is pushing down.... looks like it might be a bit heavy... I had to move my boat back on the trailer 100mm and the axle forward 80mm to acheive a 75kg towball down force.... before doing that mine had 150+kg downforce!! (the Tiggy's are rated for 100kg down force).... the boat yards don't really care too much about the correct balance or COG (centre of gravity) when they sell us our new toys.

How come you know that it was on 150KG+downforce?How did you check the towball weight??

[MGV]

I suppose you could just sit the hitching end of the trailer on a set of scales before attaching to the towball !!