Car Trailer HELP!

I tow a 10,000 87 Thor with an E350 PSD when I take my 355C to NASA events. Wonderful combo especially as I had Sportsmobile do the interior for me so that I have a place to hang out that has fridge power and a/c.

I have never seen anyone else use this combo but it really works well with some minor mods. I cannot imabine how difficult it would be to tow with an SUV at max hitch and MCGVW which is the real limiting factor.

 

I tow a 24' single car trailer with my Range Rover all day long. It's a must to have a trailer brake, drive in manual shift and to get weight distribution right. Once you get it right, it's a breeze.

 

Jes - He did it so he could add his spammy little movie link to your post. You just happend to be the lucky guy!

 

Ah, I see. What an honor... Thanks for explaining.
Jes

 

The Cayenne cannot pull any enclosed car trailer in the market safely, except the Aerovault with the optional low height.

Tow rating is not the problem (Cayenne is rated at 7,700 lbs), it is its short wheelbase.

My Cayenne Turbo has plenty of torque, HP and brakes to handle a gigantic trailer, up to 40 mph, after that aerodynamics start playing hard.

With a crappy U-haul rented open trailer, I can safely do 100 mph regarding brakes, stability, acceleration, obviously you want to tow at 55mph-75mph depending on where you live.

The same SUV and my enclosed trailer (22' long) cannot tow safely beyond 40mph. I installed a weight distribution hitch, also an anti-sway control, got the tongue weight on the spot using my scale, I have a brake controller, 4-electric brakes on the trailer, and still it tows badly. Yes, I have plenty of acceleration and braking power, but handling is deeply compromised.

So, you need a pick-up truck (or Excursion diesel) for enclosed trailers, or an open trailer if you want to tow with a low torque Cayenne GTS (unless you get the Aerovault or perhaps the CT-80180 from Trailex).

Did you install a transmission cooler in the GTS? if not, expect a new tranny every 20,000 towed miles.

Gas mileage with the crappy u-haul open trailer, 14 mpg, I probably can get 15mph with the Featherlite 3110 I sold earlier this year. 6 mpg or less with the enclosed trailer, and I cannot get the SUV in 6th gear.

 

I wonder if one of the "Hitch Buddy" rigs would help that roads off of a small tow rig and help stability. They are typically used to pull a 5th wheel with a Suburban or truck with a cap, but I see here they also have a Reese receiver in the rear aslo. Anyone ever used one of these? Useful or a gimmick?
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So far I have done 2 trips with the Cayenne pulling a enclosed trailer without any problems once I got the weight evenly distributed in the trailer. I did install a brake controller but other than that nothing else has been needed. Doing 65 MPH on the highway without any issues.

Matt

 

Wait until you hit the road with cross winds in the middle of a turn with elevation changes.

I have done my fair share of towing in the last 2 years (over 10,000 towing miles). A good trailer/tow vehicle combination doesn't get upset by the condition I just described.

Indeed, with my featherlite 3110 (1,400 lbs trailer) and a 3,100 lbs car on top, my Hummer H2 that had horrible stability by itself on the highway, was more stable.

The Cayenne is a good SUV, but only the low profile and light enclosed trailers can be towed safely (BRE Aerovault, Trailex 80180 and Montrose Sport car trailer).

There is another issue with the Cayenne that is not a problem with a full-size pickup truck, rear visibility with the side view mirrors is highly compromised. You need 1' 6" extensions on each side to get the proper rear visibility in a Cayenne towing an enclosed 8'6" wide trailer. Any trailer narrower than this cannot fit a 997 GT3 RS (or a 360/430/458).

 

One of my trips had some pretty high cross winds, it was no problem. I do agree about the mirror issue though. My problem with the Cayenne is the fact that it is my wife's car when I take it to the track she is stuck driving my 911, which she does not like the way it drives. So I am planning on getting a Ford truck to haul my trailer next year.

Matt

 

Hello and now youre thinking, see post #5 The main advantage of the Ford 350 crew cab is not only the extra payload but the longer wheelbase which will be much more comfortable hauling on a long trip. Thanks Norm

 

Finally got my truck. First event is mid-April so I have plenty of time to get used to it before I hook up the trailer.

Matt
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So I've pretty much figured out you will never do anything halfassed.

Looks like you have assembled an awesome tow rig. Now getting to the track will be as fun as lapping!

 

damn. that'll tow the house. screw the cars.

 

Hello Matt, absolutly awesome! Youre my Hero.

 

I figured if I was going to get a truck, I might as well get a real TRUCK!!!

Matt

 

Good choice-- the "dually" is much safer. A blow out on the Cayenne would have been bad.

Btw, Isn't it crazy what they charge for those trucks today.. What did it sticker at? 65k?

Now its time for a bigger gooseneck trailer. j/k

 

I think you have gone a little overboard but you made the right decision. A Cayenne IMHO is not meant for seriously track car hauling. A lotus Elise or Spec miata with a short open trailer would be fine but anything beyond that is too much for such a short wheelbase SUV.

 

You did the RIGHT thing!

 

No, not at all. Now we can convince him to get a 4 car stacker race trailer, then the Ford truck won't be big enough, then Matt will have to get his CDL, etc., etc.

 

Don't know why everyone thinks the Cayenne can't tow. I tow my 28 foot Scarab (single 454 with bravo drive) with the Cayenne several times a year (around 6000 pounds) from PA to MD plus launch and recover the boat at ramps. Have never had a problem. The tow capacity with the Porsche trailering system is rated to 7700 so you need this factory system from Porsche to take full advantage of the tow capacity of the truck. Any add on hitch will usually only go to 6000. It's expensive as I've paid around 1800 both times to have it installed on two different cayennes. I have also tow openly my 911TT on an open trailer, again no problems, and will use it to tow the Ferrari once I get one. There are lots of guys the trailer their 911s with Cayennes at the events I have gone too.

Don't know about an enclosed trailer though and how the wind at speeds would effect the ride. That one may be tricky. Haven't seen an enclosed trailer behind a Cayenne that I can recall.

Now I do have a GTS 8 cylinder. I wouldn't try this with a base Cayenne 6 cylinder. And I do use electic breaks as well on the boat. Have 60K now on the Cayenne with probably 10K of that towing and no transmission issues (but I tow in manual mode).

 

Max tow weight is for flat no wind towing. Otherwise tow no more than 80 percent of max. Have towed boats and cars. GTS Bruce

 

IMHO best enclosed trailer out there

CTE-84180

I own this one: CT-8045

Tow vehicle is Porsche Caynne GTS with dealer installed OEM hitch.

 

What is your opinion of the poor excuse for tires that are generally installed on trailers?

 

I drove from Kentucky to Florida this winter with a 22' Intech enclosed trailer and a Ferrari 458 Italia inside using my Mercedes ML350 Diesel. Started having a little sway problem and put on an $80 anti sway bar and that solved it. Plenty of power, even through the mountains and the sway problem is all gone. I agree with you, the Cayenne and Mercedes SUV are good tow vehicles.

 

I am not doubting your experience as it sounds like it was favorable for your situation, but I am going to disagree on some points: it may may be an adequate tow vehicle for an open trailer, but not a good tow vehicle for an enclosed trailer.

The 2014 ML350 diesel has a 3.0 L turbo V6 with 240 hp and 455 torque and a curb weight of 5000 pounds.
The InTech enclosed trailer is a very nice rig, but it is not a lightweight trailer. I would safely guess it is at least 5000 pounds....mine is 6500.

Add a 458 Italia around 3300 pounds.

You are towing at least 8000 pounds, and probably more. The maximum tow capacity for a ML350 is 7200 pounds. It is extremely advisable to never exceed 80% of maximum tow capacity so the realistic safe tow capacity is around 5800 pounds. You have exceeded that by at least a ton.

Your combined vehicle and tow weight for that engine is in excess of 13,000 pounds. That's a lot to ask for 240 hp and 455 torque.

Then you have the wheelbase of only 119 inches. Shorter wheelbase with a tow vehicle will exponentially reduce your safety margin. Add an enclosed trailer and the wind resistance that it creates, both head wind and cross winds, and it can be a challenge under ideal circumstances, let alone if you need to take an evasive maneuver or have a tire blowout.

Factory mirrors are insufficient for towing and an enclosed trailer requires mirrors even further extended. There are no good aftermarket solutions available.

I had a Lexus LX470 with tow package that was rated to tow 10,000 pounds and had similar hp and tq to the ML350. It could tow my InTech but it was by no means adequate. Mirrors were a problem, sway was a problem even with a sway handler and weight distributing hitch, and it often never got into high gear. The accelerator pedal was often all the way to the floor for the entire time you were driving. Big sweeper hills on an interstate would get passed by heavy truckers and some grades failed to maintain minimum 45 mph. It was OKAY for driving the trailer an hour away to a local track, but by no stretch of the imagination adequate, let alone good, for a cross country trip.

It was traded on a F350 PowerStroke diesel. This is a 1 ton chassis with a tow capacity in excess of 18,000 pounds. It has a much longer wheelbase, wider track width, and seemingly unlimited torque. That is a good tow vehicle for an enclosed trailer.

The reason for the long post is to emphasize that what works for one person is not always the best advice. Towing a trailer is not to be taken lightly. You will find yourself eating a hamburger or fiddling with the radio at some point. A deer will jump out in front of you, something will fall off a vehicle in your way, or a knucklehead will dart in front of you and compromise your braking zone at some point. A proper tow vehicle can mitigate the risk in all of these situations.

Cheers!