The Volkswagen Guide to Towing.

You may think that towing is as easy as 1-2-3. Connect up to your vehicle, load it up, and off you go. However, towing isn’t that straightforward and incorrect use can put serious strain on your vehicle, causing costly repairs further down the track. Below, we lay down the basics to tow safely and correctly.

Before we get into the logistics, it’s important to fully understand the terminology associated with towing.

“Maximum allowed vertical force on the towbar, meaning the weight of trailer which usually sits on the jockey wheel, or in other words the weight when you lift the front part of the trailer.”

Downball force will get transferred over to the main vehicle. This reduces the payload of the base vehicle.

It is important to determine the downball force of every trailer. Do this by placing a towbar height stand on top of a set of scales and then rest the tow coupling on this. You will also need to know the weight of the trailer itself, so you can determine the load capacity. If you don’t know the weight of your trailer, you can confirm this using a weighbridge. There is a public weighbridge situated at Resource Recycling, 62 Chapsmans Road, Woolston, Christchurch.

Downball load has a major effect on steering, braking, handling, and load capability. If we put too much weight on the rear axle (downball load) we lose weight on the front axle. This means the weight gets transferred to back of the car – the rear axle. The rear axle weight could be at it’s limit and therefore restricts the addition of any more weight to the vehicle. The steering is negatively affected, as well. If there is not enough downball force, there will be too much weight on the front axle, which will cause negative effects in lane keeping, as the rear axle is responsible for safe lane keeping.

Trailers heavier than 2,500 kg MUST be fitted with one of the following:

• Direct braking system
• Parking brake
• Breakaway brake

Several brake types are available such as electrical, electro-hydraulic, and pneumatic. Our friends at CM Trailer Parts have created this informative, easy to understand sheet about Brake Operating Systems. For more information please contact our Parts team on 03 377 7144 or send them a message.

Vehicle Overview

Across the Volkswagen range there are several models with varying towing capacities. These are listed in the table below.

Remember it is always important to check the users manual in regards to towing. For further information please contact one of our team on 03 377 7144 or send them a message.