ERPGURU

Hello all - I have an '09 Q5, and my wife is getting interested in some small travel trailers. I know the Q5 is rated at 4400 lbs, but wanted to know what people's experiences actually were with it.

Is anyone towing with their Q5? Are you using the genuine Audi hitch, or after market? Although the car is rated at 4400lbs would I want to pull a 3500lb travel trailer with it or can it not get out of its own way?

Any experiences shared would be appreciated.

John

billypete

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho....php?t=2785827

ERPGURU

Thanks, I performed searches and saw some of those threads, but didn't see anyone stating 3500+ towing. The trailers we are looking at are 3200 to about 3800 lbs. Has anyone trailed much with that kind of weight? I was hoping that since those threads were up with the time that had passed someone had trailed with higher weights..

EricSLine

Are those the GWVR or dry? Don't forget to add accessories and gear when computing the weight. A good brake controller is necessary and a weight distributing hitch works great but I am not sure one is available for the Q. You aim for about 10-15% of the weight on your hitch so ensure that you don't exceed your rear axle capacity with hitch weight, gear in the back, and people. Most vehicles are spec'd with one person (the driver) in it and each additional person adds into the total weight of the Q (never exceeding the GVWR).

Towing is not a tractor pull contest! It is pulling, handling, and stopping with the latter two with the highest pucker factor. When I towed an RV long ago, I learned a bit. Rule of thumb is to stay below 80% on ratings (max towing capacity, trailer GVWR, vehicle GVWR, etc.)

I towed a 4500lb light-weight hybrid camper with a 1997 Suburban with a weight distributing hitch (with sway control), an a Prodigy brake controller. It was great and towed up the hills and down with no problem. The longer wheelbase helps with stability so I wouldn't tow a travel trailer without sway control on the Q. If ther is too much sag, you'll have to go with a weight distributing hitch otherwise you'll get a lot of swaying and a loose front end when towing. The 3.2L should do fine but it is just a V6 so don't lose sight of that.

AWF Axis

Its important to know what type of travel trailer category your looking at, and if the weight you are referring to (32-3800) is dry weight, or gross weight.

My 2900 lbs 20' trailer weighs in near 4500 loaded. Water, food, clothes, camp supplies, etc, add up.

I have been towing boats and campers for 20 years, and as it comes to travel trailers, they are a different experience due to two things.

1. Tongue and swing weight.
2. Sail - Wind resistance and stability.

Towing utility, car and boat trailers, the weight is centered on the trailer axles. This provides considerable stability.

Campers have even weight distribution from end to end, and have momentum which causes sway. With the distances from rr bumper to axle being large, this has leverage on the tongue. Cross winds and gusts from passing trucks really get felt.

The way this is controlled is through Weight Distribution hitches and sway control bars. As for tongue weight, on a 3000 lb trailer, the tongue weight can start at 350 lbs, yet loaded can exceed 500 lbs.

The affect on a Q5 would be to sink the rear end, which takes some stability away from the steering tires. The WD hitch system pushes it back down, and levels the vehicle a bit.

Now the question is can the Q5 hitch handle the torque from this type of hitch. Typically, a unibody cannot. However, I've looked at the hitch setup from CURT for the Q5, and it bolts up to frame rails, which means there is some strength there. However, I'm not sure if the WD hitch is considered OK by AUDI.

The next consideration is the length of the trailer. For a 110" wheel base Q5, this limits the trailer to about 20 feet, and that is not the box, but the tongue to rear bumper. (There is some factor floating around with TT ft times 5.3 = WB minimum).

The next thing is that the trailer should have electric brakes, not surge. New trailers are all electric, except for some real lightweight teardrops, etc. You indicated 3000 lbs and up, so electric is standard. The Q5 needs to have a controller wired in. About $100 for the unit, not inc. labor. A Prodigy 2 works fine for me.

Now, going back to weight. With safety in mind, you should consider not getting anything heaver than 75% of the tow capacity of the Q5, based on GROSS weight, not dry weight. So don't consider 4400 as the max, it's more like 3300. You may be OK 90% of the time, but someone cutting you off can create a situation where the trailer will overpower the Q5, and its all over.

The last thing is the drag. I had a 403hp Escalade pulling the 20' trailer, and fuel mpg was 10 at 60mph. Like pulling a parachute. The Escalade normally gets 17mpg at 70mph.

You might consider a pop-up. Some of these are pretty comfy, and it would be less stressful on you and the Q5.

One other thing. There are some trailers that are 7ft wide, rather than a full 8ft. You'd need mirror extensions on the Q5 if pulling the wider unit. Our trailer is a Surveyor SP189, and I would NOT pull it with our Q5.

Good Luck.

ERPGURU

Thank you for the info, you all brought up things to consider which I had not thought of, very appreciated.

We are still in the beginning stages of looking at the trailers, it is a bit overwhelming at the number that are available in the 16-18ft range. II had brought up a pop-up, but it was a 'no go' with the wife, diidn't like the bathroom setup on those.

If we move forward with a choice, I will let everyone know and what the experience is like pulling with the Q5.

Thanks again everyone!
John

Stuttgartrob

Back in 2009 I needed something to tow the Skyline from Germany to England to get it tuned. So I went and rented a 2.0TDi 6-speed Q5 at Europcar and a car trailer. The Q5 with the diesel motor did excellent and helped in making my purchase on one a couple weeks ago. it was a 24 hour trip and only had to fill up three times while towing a car that weighed 3300 lbs.

Coolieman1220

more specs and pics on the R34 GT-R
and on the RX8 listed in your sig! very nice cars. Imagine if you used the 3.0TDI Q5 to tow?

Stuttgartrob

The GTR wasn't mine it was a friends car,

2002 Nissan Skyline GTR V-Spec II Nur Edition with the whole HKS catalog pretty much. 566 awhp

The RX8 is in the process of getting changed for this season so don't have alot of accurate specs since it's changing.

Coolieman1220

what a great car that GTR is. very nice, hope he keeps that for a longg time.

my buddy has an RX8, although it has no torque it is a fun car to drive. 9k rpm feels soo good and sounds great. It also handles incredibly well.