Towing with a FWD car

[danyeates]

Hi,

I originally posted this in the boating forum but thought it would get more exposure here actually as there may be people who tow racing cars or caravans on here that may not see the boating forum.

I’ve sold my Audi S4 as I need something cheaper to run. I’m currently looking at the Skoda Octavia VRS TDI, 170hp, although I am aware that it’s FWD and lighter than my Audi. Does anyone else tow with a FWD car? I’ve only ever towed with Audi Quattro cars or the company 4x4’s so have no experience towing with a FWD car. Most of the runs will be short as the boat is kept 1 mile from the slipway, but ocassionally we do run it down to Cornwall which is a 400 mile round trip.

The towing limit on the Skoda is 1,400kg, whereas my Audi was 1,800kg, so that might be an issue too. I had the boat and trailer weighed at 1,320kg with almost a full tank of fuel so it will be close to the limit there too.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Dan

[ewenm]

I towed the Caterham on a Brian James Minno behind a FWD Audi A3 TDi without much problem. Make sure the nose-weight of the trailer isn't too high and the load is nicely balanced.

[GKP]

On the road won't be an issue with fwd, but I'd be concerned about pulling the whole lot out of the water up a steep, seaweed covered slip.

[kambites]

GKP said:

On the road won't be an issue with fwd, but I'd be concerned about pulling the whole lot out of the water up a steep, seaweed covered slip.

On the road, you wont even notice the difference if the trailer is balanced properly. On a slipway, you might end up with the car in the water as often as the boat on the land.

[paintman]

A slip in that condition might even be fun with a 4x4!
Way round it is to use a rope between the trailer & the towball & keep the car off the slip. Requires PROPER rope,not the blue polyprop stuff.
Its the usual way for recovery of holidaymakers boats from the slip I use in Cornwall as due to its steepness most normal cars struggle with the boat (max permitted length in harbour is about 18') on the trailer. The harbourmaster supervises & they use the 3" rope that's used to pull up the fishing boats.
Also used for launching as if its wet the whole outfit can slide even with all wheels locked - an interesting postion to be in

Edited by paintman on Tuesday 2nd November 09:06

[seefarr]

My Dad always towed his 22 foot trailer-sailer with a Saab 900 turbo. We used to recover from a gravelly beach too - you just need someone sitting on the bonnet!