W
Wallaces Travels
VIP Member
I’ve had a couple of trips towing, clocking up around 400miles and I would like to share my experiences for those who are interested.
I took delivery of my Ocean 204DSG 4Motion with factory fit tow bar and trailer assist in the winter and put on a 1000miles to “run the engine in” (The handbook recommends a minimum of 600 miles).
The caravan I tow is a twin axle Swift Elegance with a plated maximum load of 2000kg. With the air conditioning unit and a 4 wheel motor mover, I am probably approaching this value when loaded up for holidays. The caravan has all LED road lighting which has caused issues in the past with a Touareg and a new Land Rover Discovery. I did have some initial problems when trying the electrics, but this can now be explained by the fact that the caravan had a module installed for the Land Rover (to simulate filament bulbs for the indicators) which needed the permanent live to activate. This module has been removed from the Caravan now. (A “chicken and egg” situation – the Cali doesn’t energise the lives until it detects a trailer, and the module needed a live to function).
The Cali handbook makes numerous references to the fact that a trailer with LED lights may cause such things as tow assist not to operate, etc. I assume that this is in case the T6 doesn’t detect the trailer (insufficient load on lighting circuit ?). (I was told that a micro switch in the towing plug was used to detect a trailer – but this isn’t the case).
When I connect the 13-pin plug, there is no permanent live, nor ignition live (if engine is running) until the Cali detects the caravan. This takes several seconds and can be evidenced by the Alko ATC unit (which is the first load on the permanent 12v supply) not starting a self-test immediately. Rather disconcerting since with all my other tow cars the ATC test starts immediately the plug is inserted.
All road lights operate OK. The trailer indicator light on the dashboard flashes also when the caravan is connected ,so all seems good.
I have read of issues about cars with regenerative braking and smart alternators and the caravan battery discharging when towing due to low car battery voltage and voltage drop, but fortunately I haven’t witnessed this. The caravan has a control panel accessible via an app. I have the app on my phone in the Cali and can see such elements as Car Battery and Leisure Battery voltage when driving. When driving this ranged from 14.5 volts down to 12.7 volts which I assume reflects when the alternator is running. On some trips, the voltage is high for most of the time, others not. ( No pattern so far with regards to obvious load – e.g.- heated seats on, fan speed etc). I also notice the battery status on the camping panel fluctuating similarly and some bizarre current flows – into and out of the leisure battery. ( +4 amps, -15amps, etc. I have seen other posts in the forums about this). Enough about electrics !
Clearance between tow ball and bumper is disturbingly the smallest that I have ever encountered with any of my towing vehicles during 40 years of towing experience. Checking with Al-ko, it does meet the minimum specified for the Al-ko coupling. There is just enough clearance to reverse into near jack-knife position without the hitch touching the bumper. However, I detached the van from the Cali when at angle of about 30degrees and it cleared the lower part of the bumper, but did catch the top where there is an overhang. I now use a piece of strong UPVC between the hitch and bumper when coupling/uncoupling to prevent any damage to the paintwork.
Although well experienced in reversing, I did try the trailer assist function. It felt very strange having my hands off the steering wheel but it worked very well in placing the caravan where indicated in the settings (and much simpler to use than the Land Rover system).
Towing stability on motorways at 60mph and at other speeds on other roads is probably the best I have experienced – even better than the Discovery. Performance-wise , with 450nm of Torque it pulled very well. I haven’t tried any steep hill starts yet. A good test for me is on the A417, Birdlip hill up to the (now closed ?) Air Balloon Pub. The DSG dropped down to third, but if I hadn’t had to slow down to overtake HGVs in front of me, I think that it may have made it in 4th.
The final challenge, and the reason why I purchased a 4Motion (and difflock), is the last 100meters on the approach to my home (and where I keep the caravan). The track is officially a Bridleway and is composed of mostly compacted gravel with potholes and is on a slope (maybe 10% incline). Because of the potholes I have drive very slowly in first gear and this is where towing with my former 2WD T5 would just wheel spin to a halt. The Cali towed up the lane in 1st without any wheel slip and with a total Cali + caravan weight of over 4.5Tonne was mission accomplished !
I took delivery of my Ocean 204DSG 4Motion with factory fit tow bar and trailer assist in the winter and put on a 1000miles to “run the engine in” (The handbook recommends a minimum of 600 miles).
The caravan I tow is a twin axle Swift Elegance with a plated maximum load of 2000kg. With the air conditioning unit and a 4 wheel motor mover, I am probably approaching this value when loaded up for holidays. The caravan has all LED road lighting which has caused issues in the past with a Touareg and a new Land Rover Discovery. I did have some initial problems when trying the electrics, but this can now be explained by the fact that the caravan had a module installed for the Land Rover (to simulate filament bulbs for the indicators) which needed the permanent live to activate. This module has been removed from the Caravan now. (A “chicken and egg” situation – the Cali doesn’t energise the lives until it detects a trailer, and the module needed a live to function).
The Cali handbook makes numerous references to the fact that a trailer with LED lights may cause such things as tow assist not to operate, etc. I assume that this is in case the T6 doesn’t detect the trailer (insufficient load on lighting circuit ?). (I was told that a micro switch in the towing plug was used to detect a trailer – but this isn’t the case).
When I connect the 13-pin plug, there is no permanent live, nor ignition live (if engine is running) until the Cali detects the caravan. This takes several seconds and can be evidenced by the Alko ATC unit (which is the first load on the permanent 12v supply) not starting a self-test immediately. Rather disconcerting since with all my other tow cars the ATC test starts immediately the plug is inserted.
All road lights operate OK. The trailer indicator light on the dashboard flashes also when the caravan is connected ,so all seems good.
I have read of issues about cars with regenerative braking and smart alternators and the caravan battery discharging when towing due to low car battery voltage and voltage drop, but fortunately I haven’t witnessed this. The caravan has a control panel accessible via an app. I have the app on my phone in the Cali and can see such elements as Car Battery and Leisure Battery voltage when driving. When driving this ranged from 14.5 volts down to 12.7 volts which I assume reflects when the alternator is running. On some trips, the voltage is high for most of the time, others not. ( No pattern so far with regards to obvious load – e.g.- heated seats on, fan speed etc). I also notice the battery status on the camping panel fluctuating similarly and some bizarre current flows – into and out of the leisure battery. ( +4 amps, -15amps, etc. I have seen other posts in the forums about this). Enough about electrics !
Clearance between tow ball and bumper is disturbingly the smallest that I have ever encountered with any of my towing vehicles during 40 years of towing experience. Checking with Al-ko, it does meet the minimum specified for the Al-ko coupling. There is just enough clearance to reverse into near jack-knife position without the hitch touching the bumper. However, I detached the van from the Cali when at angle of about 30degrees and it cleared the lower part of the bumper, but did catch the top where there is an overhang. I now use a piece of strong UPVC between the hitch and bumper when coupling/uncoupling to prevent any damage to the paintwork.
Although well experienced in reversing, I did try the trailer assist function. It felt very strange having my hands off the steering wheel but it worked very well in placing the caravan where indicated in the settings (and much simpler to use than the Land Rover system).
Towing stability on motorways at 60mph and at other speeds on other roads is probably the best I have experienced – even better than the Discovery. Performance-wise , with 450nm of Torque it pulled very well. I haven’t tried any steep hill starts yet. A good test for me is on the A417, Birdlip hill up to the (now closed ?) Air Balloon Pub. The DSG dropped down to third, but if I hadn’t had to slow down to overtake HGVs in front of me, I think that it may have made it in 4th.
The final challenge, and the reason why I purchased a 4Motion (and difflock), is the last 100meters on the approach to my home (and where I keep the caravan). The track is officially a Bridleway and is composed of mostly compacted gravel with potholes and is on a slope (maybe 10% incline). Because of the potholes I have drive very slowly in first gear and this is where towing with my former 2WD T5 would just wheel spin to a halt. The Cali towed up the lane in 1st without any wheel slip and with a total Cali + caravan weight of over 4.5Tonne was mission accomplished !
![Comfort Insurance](https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/shop/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/square20ad20image.jpg"")
