Audi Q7

[blackartist]

I am planning to buy audi Q7 with 6600lb towing capacity. I am not sure if I need TDI diesel engine. Based on this towing capacity, will it be safe to tow a 4800lb travel trailer?
I am locked my TT options to Keystone Bullet 243BH, passport 2400BHS, outback terrain 210TRS or KZ spree connect C231BHS. They all weigh about 4600-4800lb. What I am not sure it length. 210TRS is the shortest one (22ft) with a rear king slide out. The others are all about 26-27ft long. Considering reliability and durability, which is better? I am a little concerned about 210TRS' rear slide mechanism. How reliable is that cable? 210TRS has no side slide out which makes it a little narrower than the other ones with side slide out.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

[cblong]

I think the TDI has a towing capacity of 5500 while the gas has a towing capacity of 6500. That being said when you pick which ever trailer you want you should be more concerned with its loaded weight. The passport 2400bh has an unloaded weight of 4700 pounds then you put in food and all your stuff and that weight adds up quick. search for models by the GVWR which is the trailer with its max payload and a full fresh tank. but that varies by model so check into it. the rule of thumb is stay about 20% below your maximum towing capacity for a safe ride. so 6500-20% is 5200 or thats what the quick math in my head tells me. I think you will be fine, invest in a good weight distribution hitch some even have built in sway control and thats a big plus less stuff to have to mess around with.

[therink]

Like said above, use the gvwr of the trailers that interest you as the deciding factor (not unloaded weight). Also factor in tthat the tongue weight will compromise about 13 percent of the loaded trailer weight (again use the trailer gvwr when estimating loaded tongue weights). For instance, a trailer with gvwr of 6500 will have a loaded tongue weight around 845 lbs. Now add this 845, plus 100 for WD hitch, weight of passengers and gear inside the tow vehicle and make sure you don't exceed the axle ratings or gvwr of the tow vehicle. Many folks ignore this factor and overload their tow vehicle without even knowing it.
Vehicle manufacturers provide tow ratings (what they are rated to pull) based on a flat bed or boat trailers, which generally have light tongues. Travel trailers are a different animal with lots of forward mass and weight. So make sure that the hitch in rated for 845 lb tongue weight.
Food for thought before you lock yourself in.

[blackartist]

I am a newbie and I am a little confused. So I should always use trailer's GVWR to calculate if my car can tow it or not, right? For example, for a trailer with 6000lb GVWR, 6000+6000*0.13+100=6880 lb already. Audi Q7's GVWR is 7044lb. This calculation hasn't count passengers and other things in the car. Does this mean that Q7 can't tow a trailer with GVWR of 6000lb?
The trailer's dry weight is about 4800lb. Net Carrying Capacity is 1200lb. Total GVWR is 6000lb. I am very sure that I won't carry 1200lb of cargo. The fresh water tank is 40 gallon. That weight for water is about 320lb. I normally will bring 600lb of cargo or less. so (4800+320+600+100)/6600=88%. Will this work? Thanks

[Festus2]

To the dry weight of the TT, don't forget to factor in not only the water that you plan on carrying but also the weight of the propane tanks and the battery. I would suspect that you would end up with more than 600 lbs of supplies. By the time you add clothing, food staples and food, dishes, camping supplies (chairs, BBQ stuff, etc.) and anything like toys/bikes or things for kids, the weight can add up in a hurry.

Also, check out the sticker on the Q7's door jam. That will provide you with key information you need to determine what you can tow. The advertised weight of your vehicle is without any other extras that might have been added after the basics.

I would suggest taking your Q7 to a weigh scale and find out for sure what it weighs with a full tank of gas, all of the passengers (including any pets) and any cargo you might normally throw in when going camping. This will take out any guess work.

[blackartist]

Thanks for the quick reply. The problem is that I am still shopping for a new TV. The trailer I am interested in has about 6000lb GVWR. With that be said, what towing capacity I should look for? This will help me to decide which car to buy to tow this trailer.

[JRTJH]

I believe that the "secret" to planning a great towing rig is to match the capabilities. That means finding a tow vehicle with sufficient GCWR, GVW, RAWR, FAWR and PAYLOAD. Couple that to a trailer that is calculated at maximum GVW and maximum tongue weight. Include all the weight it takes to get to trailer GVW and then calculate the tongue weight at the minimum (10%) and the maximum (15%).

Nobody knows how a specific combination of tow vehicle and trailer will handle. Fine tuning the tongue weight (by shifting cargo fore or aft of the trailer axles) is usually necessary with most rigs. Some tow vehicles may tow a specific trailer well at 10% of trailer weight on the tongue while a "similar" but "different" vehicle may not handle the rig well unless the tongue weight is at 15% or possibly even greater.

I'd urge you to calculate the "worst case" (maximum trailer at GVW with maximum tongue weight) as well as plan "heavy" with your "in truck" cargo weights. That way, once you've invested nearly $100,000 in a truck/trailer combination, you won't have a "weak link" that gets in the way of safe towing.

When investing that kind of money, it really doesn't make economic sense (or "safety sense") to "short cut the calculations". Plan to be able to use your rig at its full capability. You may not "normally" tow at those weights, but an extended weekend, when the son AND the daughter both are pushing for a friend to come along, you really don't want to be "short on truck" or "long on trailer". Get something that "adds up" with your worst case scenario.....

[Ken / Claudia]

What makes the tv and tlr combo work best is to get the tv, sounds like your going to. Than see how well you like it, if you feel like it will really tow a RV. Bottom line on any SUV mid size is the payload, some will also say lenght. To know that 100% sure is to weight the vehicle as mentioned. Can the vehicle carry your load of stuff (people etc) and the trailer and hitch. Yes it will pull alot of weight but, carry, not so much.

[blackartist]

Thanks for the suggestions. I should be more conservative in calculating trailer weight. To be safe, I should always use GVWR of trailer to make sure it won't go above GVWR of the towing car, right? A 6000lb GVWR of a trailer + 13% tongue load+100 hitch will make it about 6880lb. Plus passengers and normal cargo in car, the total weight will easily go beyond 7100 lb of q7 GVWR. So I should choose a lighter trailer.
I like these midsize suv because they are more comfortable to my daily commute. I only have 3 weeks vacation per year and won't use trailer that much. So I don't want to commit to buy a full size SUV which I barely use.
Another question is for Chevy Tahoe. It has 8500lb towing capacity. But its GVWR is only 7100 lb or less. How could towing capacity go above GVWR of the car? If I following the above method to calculate max trailer weight. The max weight of trailer Tahoe can tow should be much lower than 8500lb GVWR for the trailer. Correct me if I am wrong. Thanks

[GaryWT]

For the trailer you will have dry weight, loaded weight and tongue weight for the most part. loaded weight needs to be less than tow capacity of tow vehicle and tongue weight must fit into the payload of the tow vehicle. Dry weight or unloaded weight is the number many dealers us to over sell a unit.

For the tow vehicle there is total combined weight, tow capacity and payload. Payload is the weight the tow vehicle can handle on the tires and axles like passengers, fuel, gear, hitch and tongue weight. Tow capacity is what the industry says it can tow based on power and braking etc. Trailer can weigh more than tow vehicle but you want to watch the combined number.

It can be confusing for sure and get more so when people try to get the most trailer they can get for as little tow vehicle for the very reason you are, daily driver vs the amount of camping. I towed with a F150 for 3 years but moved to a 350 this year, it is my daily driver but I love it so the gas station stops don't bother me yet. We have been out 10 weekends so far and have a week and another 3-4 weekends to go so it does get used for towing.

Good luck in matching up the 2, hope it all works out.

[cblong]

I was searching the web for some technical specs for your Audi I found some for a 2013 These should help provide a guideline but may vary dependent on the specifics of the exact vehicle you choose. 2013 Audi Q7 I picked this year because its the only one I could find detailed specs on so I can help you out with some information.
Max weight distributed hitch weight 990 lbs
Max weight distributed towing capacity 6600 lbs

so as far as trailers what can you tow if you find something with a loaded tongue of less than 990 lbs which in the class of trailers your looking is easy but the max tow weight is the number you really need to look at. find a trailer thats GVWR is in the 5500 lbs area. That will provide you with the power you need with out being overloaded

[blackartist]

According to wheel base, I heard 110" of wheel base can tow 20 ft trailer. Increase wheel base by every 4 inch, trailer length can go above 1 ft. My questions is Q7's wheel base is 118 inch, does that mean it can safely tow a 22 ft trailer? For the 22 ft, it is for the box length or it includes the tongue length?