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Anyone know the towing capacity...

P

Pandamonium

Golden Member
VW Beetle is an automatic, non-convertible.
Camry is an automatic LE sedan

The best I've been able to find is a 2000 lbs estimate from what I think is a European website. No US site I've found has cited a towing capacity for the Beetle. Have any of you towed with one?

I'm looking at a UHaul trailer that's either 850 lbs or 900 lbs empty, and I figure the stuff I want to put in it (bulky furniture and lightweight items) will weigh about 500 lbs. (couch, particleboard desk, dresser, small wood table/chairs, boxspring) I am ~150 lbs. The car will be otherwise empty because we don't want to give it more stress than it already has.

The other option is to tow with a 2002 Camry, which has an advertised towing capacity of 2000 lbs. The problem is that the Beetle doesn't have the trunkspace to carry the other stuff that we were going to cram into the Camry.
 
This is really complicated. We would have opted for a 10' truck, but the 10' truck is >7' tall, which is the clearance we have to make in order to get into our apartment complex. UHaul reps seem fully confident that the Beetle can tow 2000lbs (roughly 75% of the Beetle's curb weight), which sounded great. So, we okayed the purchase and installation of a hitch on the Beetle. I dug a bit deeper today, and found a UHaul document that says I should look at the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) to judge carrying capacity. The Beetle's sticker says GVWR=3360 lbs, and specs tell me that the Beetle's curb weight=2780 lbs. That leaves 580 lbs of carrying capacity, which seems awfully low. I mean, 4 passengers can easily be > 580 lbs. So I don't know how much I trust the GVWR calculations. However, I figure exceeding them by 1000 lbs for 680 mi is pretty foolish too.

I ran the numbers on my Camry, and GVWR-curb = 1048 lbs, yet http://www.jbcarpages.com/toyota/camry/2002/specs/ suggests a 2,000 lb towing capacity (as does my manual IIRC). So I have no idea what to believe.
 
get a uhaul truck .. dont tow on that beetle.. + its an automatic, if it was a manual i would reccomend if you know how to drive stick.. you are going to blow your tranny on that VW or the Toyota.
 
I suggest using a U Haul pickup with a trailer if you need it.

The issue isn't just the total weight of the Beetle and the trailer. It's also the unibody. You don't want to put too much stress on the unibody because it will be fatigued or bend. You can replace a transmission that is damaged from towing too much, but you'll never ever replace the unibody unless you buy a new car, so I'd say that's the biggest threat.
 
If you were going on nice flat ground for a short distance I would say go for it. If there's any real hill involved or you're driving for a long ways just rent a truck. The cost of the truck is cheaper than the cost of damage to your vehicles.
 
I just spoke to the UHaul tech that installed the hitch onto the Beetle. He claims he can pull the 5'x8' trailer around the parking lot by hand. This reassures me a lot about the work the engine would have to do. I said I'd try it out on Sunday and either stick with the trailer or rent a 10' truck. The frame issue Throckmorton brought up is now my biggest concern- does anyone have experience with this?
 
Only the trailer's tongue weight counts towards GVWR. GVWR is only for weight on the axles, not towed weight.

So if there is 580 pounds available between curb weight and GVWR, and if you weight 200 pounds (I'm just using a convenient number for the math here), that leaves 380 pounds available as the maximum theoretical tongue weight. In reality, that will be a smaller number since tongue weight is applied largely to the rear axle. Let's say there's a maximum tongue weight of 200 pounds. Tongue weight should only be 10% of trailer weight, so that would mean that you could tow a 2,000 pound trailer with the car without going over GVWR. The caveat being that you have to make sure the trailer is properly balanced. If you put all the heavy stuff towards the front of the trailer, you'll have a problem.

I wouldn't go over any mountains with it, and I'd keep the speed at 60 mph or less, but you should be OK as long as you balance the trailer right.

Also, do not use overdrive. Be sure to push the little button to turn overdrive off while towing.

ZV
 
You also have to remember that the GVWR is only talking about the weight the vehicle itself can CARRY, not TOW. That is the max amount a vehicle is permitted to weigh, fully loaded. That includes a full tank of gas, at approx. 6lbs per gallon, gear, passengers. Basically, if you fill it up and have 4 people inside, you're pretty much at the limit.

Tongue weight of the trailer also counts towards the capacity of the vehicle itself.

From what I can find, your car has no towing capacity. There's a reason for that. I'd say you could put a bike rack on it, but not much else. Is UHaul going to be there for you when you rear end someone because you can't stop? If not, then disregard what they have to say....they don't set tow ratings.

Tow it with the Camry, nothing good is going to come of you pulling a trailer with the Bug.
 
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