2008 Audi Q7 - Load her up! (my trailer and roof rack experience)
08-24-2008, 04:39 PM
#1
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2008 Audi Q7 - Load her up! (my trailer and roof rack experience)
Here are some photos of my 2008 Audi Q 7 3.6 Premium with a trailer and roof rack. Sorry for all the dirt on the car. I just returned from a 2,000 mile road trip to Sun Valley Idaho.
The 2" receiver tow hitch is factory installed. The hitch did not come with the required receptacle or adapter to mate up with my flat 4-pin plug from my trailer. (The receptacle and the adapter can be purchased at most auto parts stores.) The Audi Q7 owner's manual offered little help in how to set up the vehicle for towing.
The roof rack is a combination of 58 inch Yakima bars with Yakima Lowrider Towers. Attached to the cross bars are two Thule Criterium bike racks and a Thule Atlantis 1200 cargo box. The Yakima Lowrider Towers clamp onto the flush Audi Roof rails. I attached the Yakima Towers to the Audi's roof rails at the factory cross bar attachment points.
<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3251/2794526376_8555d0d205_b.jpg">
I was worried that the Q7 would sag in the back due to the trailer's tongue weight, but that was not a problem. That's good, because adaptive air suspension is not an option for the 2008 3.6 Premium. :-(
The 3.6 V6 engine on the Q7 easily pulled the 2,000 lbs trailer up several mountain passes (as high as 6,500 feet) with no problems. The trailer is made by Kendon. Temperatures were in the 80's and 90's F and there was no overheating. My trip from Seattle to Sun Valley was 675 miles each way, made in one day coming and going. Again, no overheating or straining was apparent.
Here is a close up of the Yakima Lowrider Towers attached to the Audi's factory roof rails.
<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/2794528574_3c241f43d2_b.jpg">
I was able to load two bikes using Thule Criterium bike racks and a 12 cubic foot Thule Atlantic 1200 cargo box. The towers attached very securely. We were struck by EXTREME cross winds near the Columbia River. RV's were pulled off the road left and right to weather the winds. Yet the rack stayed securely attached. Unlike the Audi roof rack bars, the Yakima and Thule products were bullet-proof. (I purchased my Q7 with Audi factory cross bars, but returned them to the dealer right away when the cheap plastic end caps fell off.)
This photo shows limited clearance between the roof rack and the roof of the car. When making my initial installation, I tested opening the front sunroof before adding payload to the roof rack - but during the opening cycle, the glass came a hair's width away from the clamps around the rack's bars. I NEVER opened the front sunroof again while the roof rack was in use. The back sunroof operated with no problems.
<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3190/2794528364_339fdcaf17_b.jpg">
This photo shows the trailer hitch. Note that the ball is mounted higher than Audi recommends. Audi has a very restrictive limit on the offset of the ball relative to the height of the hitch itself. I think the manual said it could vary by half an inch! Perhaps workable with adaptive air suspension to level the trailer, but the ball offset restriction is virtually impossible to comply with otherwise. I decided it was OK to use the greater offset needed to level my trailer because the trailer's weight (2,000 lbs) was well below the hitch's capacity.
<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2339/2794528144_7d3be18cb2_b.jpg">
One final note, my Sirius satellite radio worked fine the whole time. (I was worried the cargo box may interfere with the antenna.)
Enjoy!
The 2" receiver tow hitch is factory installed. The hitch did not come with the required receptacle or adapter to mate up with my flat 4-pin plug from my trailer. (The receptacle and the adapter can be purchased at most auto parts stores.) The Audi Q7 owner's manual offered little help in how to set up the vehicle for towing.
The roof rack is a combination of 58 inch Yakima bars with Yakima Lowrider Towers. Attached to the cross bars are two Thule Criterium bike racks and a Thule Atlantis 1200 cargo box. The Yakima Lowrider Towers clamp onto the flush Audi Roof rails. I attached the Yakima Towers to the Audi's roof rails at the factory cross bar attachment points.
<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3251/2794526376_8555d0d205_b.jpg">
I was worried that the Q7 would sag in the back due to the trailer's tongue weight, but that was not a problem. That's good, because adaptive air suspension is not an option for the 2008 3.6 Premium. :-(
The 3.6 V6 engine on the Q7 easily pulled the 2,000 lbs trailer up several mountain passes (as high as 6,500 feet) with no problems. The trailer is made by Kendon. Temperatures were in the 80's and 90's F and there was no overheating. My trip from Seattle to Sun Valley was 675 miles each way, made in one day coming and going. Again, no overheating or straining was apparent.
Here is a close up of the Yakima Lowrider Towers attached to the Audi's factory roof rails.
<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/2794528574_3c241f43d2_b.jpg">
I was able to load two bikes using Thule Criterium bike racks and a 12 cubic foot Thule Atlantic 1200 cargo box. The towers attached very securely. We were struck by EXTREME cross winds near the Columbia River. RV's were pulled off the road left and right to weather the winds. Yet the rack stayed securely attached. Unlike the Audi roof rack bars, the Yakima and Thule products were bullet-proof. (I purchased my Q7 with Audi factory cross bars, but returned them to the dealer right away when the cheap plastic end caps fell off.)
This photo shows limited clearance between the roof rack and the roof of the car. When making my initial installation, I tested opening the front sunroof before adding payload to the roof rack - but during the opening cycle, the glass came a hair's width away from the clamps around the rack's bars. I NEVER opened the front sunroof again while the roof rack was in use. The back sunroof operated with no problems.
<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3190/2794528364_339fdcaf17_b.jpg">
This photo shows the trailer hitch. Note that the ball is mounted higher than Audi recommends. Audi has a very restrictive limit on the offset of the ball relative to the height of the hitch itself. I think the manual said it could vary by half an inch! Perhaps workable with adaptive air suspension to level the trailer, but the ball offset restriction is virtually impossible to comply with otherwise. I decided it was OK to use the greater offset needed to level my trailer because the trailer's weight (2,000 lbs) was well below the hitch's capacity.
<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2339/2794528144_7d3be18cb2_b.jpg">
One final note, my Sirius satellite radio worked fine the whole time. (I was worried the cargo box may interfere with the antenna.)
Enjoy!
08-24-2008, 07:53 PM
#3
Nice write-up. We also did the same trip this past July.......
but we were coming from the Puyallup area. We were not pulling a trailer which left me with the option of a hitch mounted bike rack.......less wind resistance that way. Our round trip was 1700 miles but included a run down to Mtn. Home AFB for a day.
Just curious, did you happen to figure out you mpg. during your trip?
My pic sig was overlooking The Elkhorn Golf Course.
Just curious, did you happen to figure out you mpg. during your trip?
My pic sig was overlooking The Elkhorn Golf Course.
08-24-2008, 08:01 PM
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Re: Nice write-up. We also did the same trip this past July.......
Thanks. Nice photos! We were getting about 15 MPG on average - not bad given the trailer, roof rack and mountain passes.
08-24-2008, 08:03 PM
#5
So which one of you did I see on 405 north in Bellevue last Saturday?
It seems you both are from Seattle and have the same color. I was in our BMW or would of made myself more noticeable.
08-24-2008, 08:08 PM
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Re: So which one of you did I see on 405 north in Bellevue last Saturday?
It wasn't us, we were in Sun Valley the past two weeks and frequent the west side of the lake (West Seattle).
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08-25-2008, 04:52 AM
#10
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Nice write-up... thanks for sharing.
I dont think I would want my hitch quite so far out from the car despite Audi's anti sway technology.
Looks to me like it would work a couple of inches lower and closer but its a really neat solution anyway.
The 18" rims with Bridgestones in your pic... sit well with the trailer.
Appears you put some serious preperation into your trip.
Thanks again for the write-up
Looks to me like it would work a couple of inches lower and closer but its a really neat solution anyway.
The 18" rims with Bridgestones in your pic... sit well with the trailer.
Appears you put some serious preperation into your trip.
Thanks again for the write-up