Tiguan towing haines signature 542f

[NTMID8]

Hi all,

Hopefully you guys can help me, im looking at buying a family car (baby due in oct). Id like a suv style, prefer turbo diseal (fuel economy) and have a budget to no more than 30k. This is where my dilemma starts, im looking at upgrading my boat in the future to a haines signature 542f, from what ive read they weigh about 1500kg. Ive been looking at a 2009 volkswagon tiguan, they have a tow capacity of 2000kg but have a maximum tow ball weight of 100kg. Do you guys think the tiguan could safely tow the sig? Would it make a difference if the sig had a single or tandem trailer? What other options would i have in the medium sized veh range capable of towing the sig?

Thanks for the advice

[Gon Fishun]

Second hand BT50 crew cab 3lt 4cyl turbo diesel 3000kg towing. Has no problem towing Haines Hunter V16C. 10lts per 100km. Style side with lockable plastic lid to keep pram and shopping dry and mum happy. Dual purpose vehicle.

[Jarrah Jack]

I'm in a similar situation needed something more powerful than the 3 ltr non turbo Hi Lux to tow my 520 sig. I've decided on a Colorado 3ltr turbo diesel for the job. Similar to the BT 50 in specs.

The 100kg tow bar weight for 2 tonne towing capacity is strange, should be at least 200.

[timeout]

Hi all,

Hopefully you guys can help me, im looking at buying a family car (baby due in oct). Id like a suv style, prefer turbo diseal (fuel economy) and have a budget to no more than 30k. This is where my dilemma starts, im looking at upgrading my boat in the future to a haines signature 542f, from what ive read they weigh about 1500kg. Ive been looking at a 2009 volkswagon tiguan, they have a tow capacity of 2000kg but have a maximum tow ball weight of 100kg. Do you guys think the tiguan could safely tow the sig? Would it make a difference if the sig had a single or tandem trailer? What other options would i have in the medium sized veh range capable of towing the sig?

Thanks for the advice

What about a Jeep grand Cherokee they can tow 3 ton

[GBC]

BIL towed ours with a v6 Rav no probs. Get the trailer balance right and possibly a load distribution hitch for your 100 k.g. ball weight and it should do it o.k.

[NTMID8]

Cheers for the replies. The jeep is out if the question as its too big, the vehicle will be used mainly by the wife so it needs to be that "medium" size. I like the idea of dual cabs however dislike there added rego/insurance costs due to being "commercial" vehicle. I would really like a turbo diesel due to there better torque and fuel economy. The only other vehicles i found that would fit the bill are nissan xtrail or pathfinder or hyundai santa fe however the later is probably a bit too big for the wife

[Andy56]

I have an xtrail deisel for a sig 543rf and it pulls well. If your wife does low ks, an xtrail petrol is ok. But don't expect the economy (petrol) to be better than a commodore or falcon, either of which would do the job nicely -- small car, big car thirst. Funny how no one wants a comaford anymore, yet they are more than capable AND almost as good as any other 2litre 4cyle for economy
Proper deisel vehicles start from $36g UNLESS you go chinese, now there is a vehicle in your price range, lol. I am in a similar position concerning my next vehicle. No one supplies a basic deisel/towing vehicle under $30g in this country at the moment.
You would think deisel would be in the mix for a basic car but it seems they want to gouge us by only specing top of the range with deisel.

[Moonlighter]

Santa Fe would be worth a look, great German designed diesel, very economical, rated to 2 tones. The VW are great until you need to buy parts or service them then they are costly.

Cheers

ML

[MyWay]

NTMID8
Very nice car you got on your mind
Very economical awesome to drive and if you wife goin to drive it,
she will love it .
IMO I don't think you going ti have any problem towing your future boat I would only look in to upgrading tow ball
I ' m sure you could just go to super cheep and get one

[fishing111]

Been down that road and you can't increase towball load on VW's.

[NTMID8]

Well after a considerable amount of research it appears that Australia/America trailer makers still use the 10% rule due to simplicity, in Europe however they have done extensive research (allegedly) which shows that trailers upto 2000kg should not exceed 100kg tow ball weight. Now im all sorts of confused!!!! I have never given so much thought to the concept of towing! For my particular case (542 sig) the very worse case is 1600kg, from what i can gather reading around towing forums the basic safety rules are - tow vehicle weighs more than your towing, what your towing is correctly balanced.

Is there any issue towing to the capacity of the vehicle ie - vehicles with a maximum tow capacity of 1600kg? Furthest i tow is 20km (maybe once a year ill tow further but this would be rare)

The other question i have is how safe is it to have a 1500kg setup with a 100kg tow ball weight (about 7% of total weight), running a dual axle trailer surely will reduce the tow ball weight given the total weight is being carried by both axles right?

My wife is pretty set on the Tiguan but im not prepared to buy one if i cant tow the boat i want!

[GBC]

My 542cc will balance on the trailer (mackay 2000 tandem) with no jockey wheel, approx 150mm off the ground. Just move the winch post a little further back and set it up on scales. 100k.g. of down load for a 1600k.g. rig on a tandem trailer is very doable. I'd think it'd be getting close to marginal on a single rig though.
Keeping the tow point of the tiguan down lower will help as the duals take up more load as well.

[Smithy]

Yep what Cameron said above. Also start scrounging the show and shines, weekend markets, specialist caravan places etc. for one of the old school caravan sway bar setups. I've had them on my last two trailerboats as I have been towing with a BA Falcon and a VS Commodore. One boat was single axle on Ford bearings rated to 1800kg and it would have been close to that fully loaded with fuel and ice and my Stabi was on a duals and came in at 1500kg with no fuel and no gear on the dump weighbridge but I would have had a fair bit on the towball. Now the load levellers worked a treat. Around town I didn't bother but on the highway I always put them on and it stiffened the setup up out of sight. Great for wheel ruts and rough sections. Well worth the $25 or so you might be able to get them for.

The VWs are great bits of gear. The father-in-law is towing a 23' van with a Toureg. That is coming from a Nissan Patrol and he is loving it.

[Andy56]

If the boat you want is close to1600/2000kg to tow, understand the reason behind the 10 percent load on the tow ball. It's to keep the whole rig stable and under control under all situations. My understanding is that the trailer can become unstable if there is not enough weight on the ball. 100kg on the ball?, I wouldn't go there. You are better off getting a vehicle that is more up to the job. I would have bought a Tiguan too - if it had a good enough towing ability

[NTMID8]

If the boat you want is close to1600/2000kg to tow, understand the reason behind the 10 percent load on the tow ball. It's to keep the whole rig stable and under control under all situations. My understanding is that the trailer can become unstable if there is not enough weight on the ball. 100kg on the ball?, I wouldn't go there. You are better off getting a vehicle that is more up to the job. I would have bought a Tiguan too - if it had a good enough towing ability

Andy this is where im getting totally confused, from what i can gather (internet research and speaking with a guy at mackay trailers) Australia uses the 10% rule but there is apparently no science behind this concept. The European market (trailers/caravans) must comply with Directive 94/20/EC which i found this quote
"Among all these very precise guidelines is one major variable: tow ball load. There’s a convention that sets tow ball load at around 10 percent of the trailer ATM, but this rule of thumb developed in the days of small trailers. It’s still the practice by many North American and Australian trailer makers to specify 10 percent loadings for heavy trailers, but in Europe, where there has been considerable testing done, the tow ball load range is specified in EC E94/20 regulation as a minimum figure of 25kg and a maximum of 100kg, for trailers up to 2000kg ATM. Even above that figure the heaviest gazetted coupling for cars, light commercials and 4x4s is rated at 120kg tow ball load."
So on this basis i figured that the myth of 10% wouldnt make the tow "dangerous"

At the end of the day the vehicle will be carrying my most precious cargo (wife and newborn) therefore i want maximum safety and im not willing to risk it. I want to remain "legal" and "safe" but from what i can gather the only issue im faced with is the ball weight which seems easily fixed by correct balancing, dual axles and the load assist that Smithy spoke about.