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Yeti advise on towing


Bluejj33

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Yes, As indeed  I too understood, but twas on the M6, so I were merely "going with the flow",

this being 25 year ago or thereabouts

Hmmm, when you were just a kid, right?. )))
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The OP's initial query seems to be mainly to do with his parent's concerns about how well the Yeti performs when towing close to the 85% guideline. I do not believe any Yetis are heavy enough to meet the 85% guideline when towing a 1,500 Kg caravan (my Elegance 4X4 170 has a kerbweight of 1,565Kg with driver if I remember correctly;) this gives a 96% match. Recommendations also state that for experienced 'towers' it should be acceptable to tow a caravan weighing up to the kerbweight of the towing vehicle.

 

From the above it seems my Yeti would meet the guideline for a 1,500Kg caravan, provided the driver is experienced in towing, but would be questionable for beginners. I have no doubts it has sufficient power to do so.

 

As for the towing ability generally, I tow a 1,150Kg (relatively lightweight) 'van,' with no problems whatsoever. The short rear overhang contributing to a very stable outfit, with fuel consumption between 30 and 35mpg when towing at around a leisurely 55mph where possible. Any faster than this has a seriously detrimental effect on consumption.

 

Hope this is useful to the OP and his parents.

 

Trevor M

 

PS: Many of the responses seem to relate to towing 'normal' trailers, which is not really relevant to how well, or otherwise, the vehicle can handle a caravan.

 

 

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No it doesn't.

Firstly it depends on when you took your driving test, and then it depends on what limit the vehicle manufacturer says is the maximum weight the vehicle can tow.

I can, and have towed trailers that have weighed more than the towing vehicle, perfectly legally.Sunday010707002.jpg

I could legally tow 3.5 tonnes with a LR Defender 90, for example.

 

It isn't something that I would advise, but it can be done.

Yes you are right in your case, my mistake.

 

This restriction doesn't seem to apply to those who passed before 1997.

Edited by SuperbTWM
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Hi all,

We've just weighed our Yeti 170 and found it a lot heavier than Skoda claim. Our 2015 car came out at 1660kg full of fuel, but otherwise empty apart from me (80kg) and its fixed tow bar. Our public weigh bridge claims +/- 10kg so it gives us more confidence towing our boat at Yeti max once people (2 adults and 2 children @ 220kg) kit (60kg) and nose weight (80kg) take us closer to the front and rear axle limits (2120kg according to our b pillar plate).

Hope this helps, Matt

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I have towed our Hobby 560 caravan (weight=1500kg) with both my Yeti's, the only hassle was the extra width of the caravan needing WIDE mirrors.

140 4x4 and the 170 4x4.

No problems except on a flooded field when a tractor had to tow us off.

 

Sits at max speed 60 fine, with mpg=29.

 

Just look ahead and brake steady (basic towing theory)

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As i said it tows my caravan beautifully, I collected it from the dealer,

hitched up and went to the CC Sandringham estate. It drove beautifully

hitch weight 80kg. but I kept it to around 60kg. noseweight with this caravan.post-102023-0-61439200-1454694419_thumb.jpg

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You know you should not recommend doing that, even with our lightweight vans. 1000km before hitching up is what the book says.

 

Colin

Edited by eribaMotters
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You know you should not recommend doing that, even with our lightweight vans. 1000km before hitching up is what the book says.

 

Colin

2 year old Yeti "new to me" Colin :D

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You know you should not recommend doing that, even with our lightweight vans. 1000km before hitching up is what the book says.

 

Colin

I would have no problem towing with a brand new car, there is a school of thought that putting the engine under heavy load straight out of the showroom will help with the power delivery and oil consumption. When I was a tractor driver I was once given a brand new machine, 1 hour on the clock and put it on the most power hungry implement we had and pushed it flat out from the start. The smoke was pouring out from the bonnet at one point from the paint burning off the exhaust manifold but that machine never gave a spot of trouble in 6500 hours of work. 

 

Anyway back to the OP's query, my 170 has no problems pulling my 1300 kg caravan and I can easily get it into 6th gear and cruise at 60mph with only the occasional drop down to 5th.

 

Ian

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[quote name="countryboy" post="4522162" timestamp="1454788106"

 

Anyway back to the OP's query, my 170 has no problems pulling my 1300 kg caravan and I can easily get it into 6th gear and cruise at 60mph with only the occasional drop down to 5th.

 

Ian

Does anyone have a picture of the 170s torque curve. Maybe it's because sixth gear is so tall but it doesn't feel right towing my van. From memory 60 in fifth is nearer 2000 revs whereas sixth is only about 1500. What gear do the rest of you use?

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http://www.superchips.co.uk/curves/vag20tdi170.pdf

 

Try that John, even at 1500rpm the Yeti produces enough torque from the 170tdi, to keep an outfit moving along at decent speed on the level and I did say I changed down to 5th when faced with an incline, 4th would be even better to get the engine right into the middle of the power band and saved the stress on the flywheel.

Ian

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http://www.superchips.co.uk/curves/vag20tdi170.pdf

 

Try that John, even at 1500rpm the Yeti produces enough torque from the 170tdi, to keep an outfit moving along at decent speed on the level and I did say I changed down to 5th when faced with an incline, 4th would be even better to get the engine right into the middle of the power band and saved the stress on the flywheel.

Ian

Thanks for that. I had no problem keeping pace with the French autoroute traffic on our big trip last year! Apart from the obvious drop off in economy, the car actually seemed to feel better the faster I was going. My seat of the pants dyno was telling me 60 mph was the lower threshold for 6th, any slower and I was definitely down to fifth or lower. I'm never sure whether or not to take the advice of the on board gèar indicator. It must take some account of the actual engine load but even without the van hitched up I often take a gèar lower than it suggests.

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I would have no problem towing with a brand new car, there is a school of thought that putting the engine under heavy load straight out of the showroom will help with the power delivery and oil consumption. When I was a tractor driver I was once given a brand new machine, 1 hour on the clock and put it on the most power hungry implement we had and pushed it flat out from the start. The smoke was pouring out from the bonnet at one point from the paint burning off the exhaust manifold but that machine never gave a spot of trouble in 6500 hours of work

 

Ian

I've always thought it was more to do with bedding in the diff crownwheel and pinion.
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You're welcome John, I agree that 6th at 60 with a caravan behind is just on the limit for what the engine can do hence the frequent change down to 5th or 4th. I ignore the gear change indicator most of the time as that is optimised for economy rather than pulling power. Yes Ryeman, all the components need a certain amount of bedding in but the gears in the transmission should be a matched set and not take much harmonising. In the old days running in was essential for the engine components, especially the piston rings and bores as they would be fairly roughly honed and there would be tight spots etc that would create hot spots and lead to premature seizure if you weren't careful. Keeping the the revs and load low and varied would finish off the honing process and make sure the parts were matched together. With today's advances in manufacturing accuracy that isn't such an essential requirement any more.

Ian

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^^^^ 'in the old days' you could end up with a 'whining dif' if the crown wheel and pinion hadn't bedded in was the belief and what I would practice.

That was true in the old days Ryeman but less so today with the advances in manufacturing tolerances. I often get a whining from my car when driving but I think that is more down to the occupant of the passenger seat!

Ian

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