I am reminded that it is important to distance myself from news media. The media coverage about Burning Man was dumb. First, I’ll just say that it was an amazing, fantastic, terrific, wonderful event. My entire family (me, wife, and 8 year-old daughter) had a simply fantastic time. The “problems” that the weather created were a joy to behold. Remember that it is an extreme camping event in the best of times with typical daily temperatures sometimes above 110, daily temperature swings of 50 degrees, humidity hovering around 15%, daily dust storms and even dirt storms with winds up to 70 mph! Those are typical conditions! Every person there was EXPECTING extreme weather, that’s why we’re there! Every news outlet that created headlines with words like “troubled” “disaster” “descent into chaos” etc… are simply… dumb.
Here’s a realistic article about this year’s burn:
Most participants of the week-long extreme survival camping vacation event called Burning Man stayed an extra 1-2 days in paradise because of of unusually rainy conditions. The tone of the event became more “local” for 2 days as participants walked the temporary city instead of biking. On Saturday night, instead of the traditional burning of the man, members of Kidsville had a potluck party in their camp, making friends, burning their mini-man, and bouncing on trampolines. Participants relied on free-local coffee shops, bars, dance clubs, and wood-fired pizza ovens instead of biking across the city for other neighborhood’s freely offered events and services!
I got a solar panel kit for our Burning Man adventure THAT STARTS TUESDAY!
I got it firstly to power my CPAP, Megan’s medical equipment, all our crazy bike lights, and phones. After testing it out for the last 2 nights, I now have the very satisfying feeling that we can power all of our personal medical equipment and personal electronics without the power grid for a very long time!
Yay solar!
I got the very succinctly named “Renogy 100 Watt 12 Volt Portable Solar Panel with Waterproof 20A Charger Controller Foldable 100W Solar Suitcase with Adjustable Kickstand for Power Station, 100W Panel-20A Controller, Black” for $160
It’s 2 50 watt panels, a charge controller, kickstand, a good protective case (good for packing away the panels!), with 10′ of wire and a alligator clips to go on my battery.
My math says that on a deeply overcast day, this system will just barely provide enough energy to power my CPAP. On a sunny day, I’ll have oodles of energy to spare. Here’s the math:
You usually get about 75% of the power out of a solar panel. 75% of my 100 watt system = 75 watts. Wildly guess another 10% in losses = 67.5 watts captured on a sunny day.
There’s about 8 hours of great sunshine per day = 540 watt-hours per day captured
——————————–
You’ll see in the photo that I’m charging at 1.0 amps at 10am on this overcast morning in the bay area. 1.0 amps * 12 volts = 12 watts. With 8 hours of sun that’s = 96 watt-hours
I measured with a Kill-a-watt that my CPAP uses about 120 watt-hours per night. My AGM On a sunny day.
I have a 12 volt adapter for my CPAP so I don’t need to run it though an inefficient inverter. I also got a bunch of 12 volt accessory/cigarette-lighter to USB adapters to charge my electronics and my USB AA/AAA battery charger.
In 2021, I got a 35 amp-hour AGM deep cycle sealed lead-acid (SLA) battery f0r $120 to take camping. It has powered my CPAP for a max of 3 nights. The exact model is the very succinctly named “Interstate Batteries 12V 35Ah AGM Deep Cycle Battery (DCM0035) Group 24 Rechargeable Replacement Mobility SLA AGM Battery (Insert Terminal) Wheelchair, Trolling Motor, Scooter, RV”. It’s been great.
Our family is going to Burning Man! We’re staying in Kidsville. Our camp, “The Rocking” is at about 5:10 and E and 3/4 (or you could just say “between E and F”). We’ll be there something like Tuesday thru Sunday!
We’re bringing our dudded up bikes, unique and unusual treats for friends and neighbors (several kilos of Jelly Belly Flops!), and if I get my act together, a mobile light installation called Human Zoetrope!
I spent the last year at Autistry Studios in San Rafael, helping students build all manner of things, many of which are now for sale at the in-person Autistry Makers Market store. It was really quite fun! (that’s my daughter showing off the Coasters!) The makerspace, coffee shop and store are at 850 4th Street, San Rafael, CA, in the former Copperfields Bookstore. Stop by for a great cup of coffee and wonderful gifts made by great people!
That position ended and I just started as an OT at Albany Unified School District!
We saw the Flynn Creek Circus this weekend and it was awesome! Daring and thrilling only start to describe it! The space was so intimate and the acts fun! They are bringing their tent to various spots in California and Oregon now thru the end of the year. See them in person! (and tickets were quite affordable) https://www.flynncreekcircus.com/2023-tickets/
I really enjoyed Maxim Voronin’s contortionist and card trick act with his chair! He was so “firing on all cylinders!” Every limb, every finger, even his toes were working to various ends, proving his mastery of multiple arts. I’m sorry I didn’t get any video of it to show you!
Today we introduced Abigail (and Megan, and I!) to the East Bay Bike Party! It was partly an introduction to biking, partially to biking and Burner culture. She loved it! She gave away a hundred glow sticks to a hundred smiling, gratitude-filled people! She told us how good it felt to give gifts :-).
Tomorrow we are going to a bicycling class and I believe she is now properly motivated! (Darn, in our neighborhood there isn’t a tremendous opportunity for an 8-year-old to go bicycling, so it’s taken a while to get her comfortable on a bike)
For the past 10 years, I have been using PDANet as a free wifi hotspot on my phone instead of paying $10/month or so from my cell phone carrier. It’s been great. But I’ve been using Mint Mobile for the past several months and free wifi hotspots are included. Yay!
Mint mobile has worked perfectly well for me and it’s the least expensive provider I’ve used. And Ryan Reynolds (their front-man and a co-owner) is funny enough for me to give him some money.
Mint uses TMobile towers. When I was in Tilden Park, I didn’t have service where a friend with AT&T did, that has been the only time I had an issue.
I had a great discussion with friends about towing capacities.
Summarized:
An Audi Q7 is likely ALMOST but not quite capable enough to tow a 6,500lb travel trailer with family. The Q7 comes in just a hair below the towing capacity of a 1/2 ton pickup. Towing 6,5000 lbs of trailer is a job for a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton pickup. I could easily imaging towing a 5,000 lb trailer with the Q7 which says amazing things about the Q7.
Key points:
– here’s a great video demonstrating the importance of trailer weight distribution
– renting a 3/4 ton pickup is totally an option. It’s about $120/day from Enterprise rent a truck with all fees, cheaper for weekly and monthly.
——————————————————————-
Is using an Audi Q7 to tow a 5,100lb dry (6500lb GVWR) travel trailer a bad idea? We are getting such a travel trailer, a Keystone Bullet 243BHS, and want a car that’ll do the job. Having a truck (ie F150 crew cab) for a daily driver seems silly for us city folk. The Q7 3.0T (with the “55” engine and air suspension is rated to tow 7,700 lbs.
38 comments
AE
Yes it’s a bad idea. Tow capacity should be about 2x dry weight. Plus you have to add the tongue weight to the total load capacity of your Audi which will probably be fully loaded on a trip with people and luggage. also have to take your break system into consideration.
AE
I assume the “6500lb GVWR” is supposed to refer to the trailer weight when loaded? I’m not clear on what you mean by that number based on how you phrased that sentence but I’m thinking you are confusing the meaning of GVWR. What is the GVWR of the Audi? Generally you shouldn’t try and pull anything more than 80 percent of your towing capacity and a 5100 dry trailer is probably 6k+ when loaded which is too much for a 7700 towing capacity.
CP
As AE said, terrible Idea. What makes a proper tow vehicle is rear suspension capacity, braking system, and transmission strength. After, and only after all these comes horsepower. These features are status quo on trucks (or anything built on a truck chassis) but not on passenger cars. They could do it….but they don’t.
SG
Unless Audi is willing to do full transmission fluid changes, I would avoid towing with Q7. A lot of Audis tote “sealed transmission/lifetime fluid”. May be fine for normal use, but towing heats up trans fluid significantly and trashes it. I was considering a Q7 but since I will be towing an rv or horse trailer, I am shopping for a pickup (F150 or Dodge Ram).
ES
Lots of Australians tow “caravans” with underpowered crossovers/SUVs and such, but also their trailers are smaller than that.
We live in the land of (relatively) cheap F-250s. An overpowered diesel is far more fuel efficient than an underpowered Tacoma or Tundra, etc. An F-250 would be much safer and more efficient all around.
JR
It would not be safe, reasonable or good for the car. Get a smaller trailer if you wish to tow with a car.
JC
JR, oh physics…
BS
the F150 isn’t that silly. We had one for years, specifically to tow our Coleman pop-up trailer. And Abigail will love it!
CM
I was looking up info about towing 2000 lbs trailer cross country with an aftermarket installed hitch on an older 3 series BMW sedan (~130k miles) with a manual transmission. Most American forums said it’s terrible idea (few people asked in the first place, of course). But a few said it’s quite normal in Europe, where German cars are treated as regular cars, that are regularly used for vacations or relocations towing stuff. In the end I found a couple of folks who did that with similar setups, and ended up doing it without any issue whatsoever, adding a xc scenic trip to the deal (top speed climbing the steepest parts of i70 in Colorado was barely touching 40mph). Nothing suffered; all mechanics is as good as it was, and the hitch is very useful for bikes. Look up what they say about your question on European Audi forums.
PC
Noooo! No ! No !
PC
I saw a couple towing a big trailer with a powerful mid size car. They got in trouble as the trailer lifted the back wheels of the car going over a steep incline to a flat. It’s not a big deal if you’re going slow. They towed that way all through hilly… See more
Megan Flom
????I read everyone’s comments. I’m sad about having to buy a pick up truck to drive around most days. Oh well. Safety first!
MS
Megan Flom buy a smaller trailer. You drive the car every day, the trailer (I’m assuming) only occasionally.
JR
Megan Flom you can rent a pick up too. From enterprise. Do the math it’s cheaper to rent. You aren’t going to use it as much as you think you are. Pick up trucks are bizzarlly expensive right now.
ES
Megan Flom I have a VW touareg and i believe it’s similar to a Q7 in terms of weight and footprint & stuff. tons of people tow with it in Australia – just smaller caravans than the one in the picture. If you are set on it, there is a solution there and… See more
ES
i think this is a great video and I really like the part at ~4:10 where it demonstrates that a heavier town vehicle relative to the trailer is safer
CX
In addition to capacity and power is center of mass. Trucks have a center of mass forward the center of the wheel base to allow for proper balance when loaded in the bed or with trailer.
When you do the same to a car .the front end gets light and you lose steering authority.
Trucks are a.good thing. Get an old Toyota, Ranger, or S10. Some light duty truck.
ES
CS a tacoma weighs roughly the same as a Touareg – a touareg, especially a diesel, will be arguably better at towing (q7 similar?)
F150/Ram 1500 or F250/Ram 2500 yes. mid/small pickup, no
CX
ES balance still matters. You are shifting the center of gravity of the entire train forward.
And anything with a 5th wheel is going to be better balanced regardless.
SUV can’t do that, period, the end.
As far as 150 series vs 250 series, for a 6000lbs trailer, any are fine.
A 1500 from the 90’s is fine for a 6000lbs trailer. A modern truck will have NO problem.
ES
My point is a used Touareg like this one here:
(2014 VW Volkswagen Touareg X hatchback ) Can out-tow a small/medium sized pickup. At 7700 lbs, it beats everything ’til you hit the F150-sized trucks.
Which now that i’m re-reading Lee’s original post, is the tow rating of the beefed up Q7 they were looking at. Both of these vehicles would be very comfy for the family on roadtrips. These SUVs are a lot heavier and more planted than other SUVs of a similar size (CRV, Rav4, Outback). Plus the general safety factor is pretty high (AWD, crash ratings, etc).
Noted on the 5th wheel.
Just saying, avoid Tacoma, Ranger, S10, etc.
CS
ES I don’t think you understand the problem.
Towing capacity isn’t everything.
Balance of the vehicle dictates the safety of the vehicle. Trucks are balanced more forward to compensate for bed and tail loads.
Also, straight axles are more safe and secure than independent suspensions under load.
ES
you’re right, the Tacoma beats the Touareg even though their weights and towing capacities are similar, because of body-on-frame and the solid rear axle.
CX
With a truck, you can also use a 5th wheel
SS
My Q8 can tow anything if only I knew how to back up.
FK
Even SUVs that can carry a reasonable tongue weight are problematic if they do not have manual transmission. My uncle burned out two automatic transmissions towing a 2000lb boat in the flat lands of Florida because his Ford Explorer(I believe) had an automatic transmission. Automatic transmissions are not designed to tow even if the body and engine is rated for it. Some have factory installed towing packages that include a modified transmission the claim to ease the problem. But I would not trust them for any real load.
If you have manual transmission maybe I’d do it as a one off. But with something you are going to own you need a truck with lots of torque and manual transmission.
FB
Did you try the 26 ft popup with slideout? Recommended trying once…
Any small truck or medium sized car can take it and still get decent gas mileage
https://www.outdoorsy.com/rv-rental/la-marque_tx/2010_coleman_grand-tour-niagara_32249-listing/photos?image=193401
May be an image of floor plan, map, blueprint and text
FB
I’m stuck on these because I drove to Burning Man and back at 50mph with a 35ft trailer, and I’d rather pull something light and aerodynamic now. The other alternative is a fiberglass trailer, they’re very lightweight too!
AE
I’m selling mine. I love it. Tows like a dream and can run your AC off of solar! https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/rvs/d/emeryville-16-ft-casita-spirit-deluxe/7638184806.html
16 ft Casita Spirit Deluxe Fiberglass Travel Trailer (like Scamp) -…
SFBAY.CRAIGSLIST.ORG
AH
Omg I’m just dying for a good excuse to get a truck! ????
CA
That is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard of. Get a truck. You’re gonna kill yourself and everyone else around you.
NC
I once helped demonstrate ground robots with a team from Caterpillar and they had a remote controlled skid steer rubber tracked front loader, which they had rented an ordinary pickup to haul. By the end of the demo that new-looking pickup was emitting white smoke in the exhaust. I have no idea how this compares to your situation, but it can be bad if you massively overload the engine, I guess, is my take home. ????
Lee Sonko
Thank you all tremendously! You have saved our family from a grand folly, and possibly a spectacular finish! The current new thinking is getting the same RV and renting an F250 crew cab for trips. (Thank you, Chicken for the pointer!). I could tell you all about our thinking process but it’s spread over 30 pages of jumbled notes. It’s all so simple and all so complicated.
CS
Lee Sonko Rental is the way I woulda gone.
SB
Another good reason to follow that path: visibility. We’ve pulled a few types and weights of trailers with our Tacoma, which has easily handled a 16+ foot airstream, but like your Audi it is not wide like an F250 or even a Tundra. Even with extended mirrors, visibility was adequate but not comfortable.
LS
DO NOT RELY ON THE ADVICE OF THE TT DEALER!!!! Their only onterest is, usually,, making sure you buy their trailer!!! Look around at what people, on the highway, are using to pull similar size/weight TTs. Dont make any commitment to pull a TT with a car, or SUV, without seeing what will, and what won’t be satisfactory….. You can’t pull a TT with ANYTHING and expect to get good MPG. Another warning!!!!! TT tires, on new TTs, are notoriously troublesome.
Lee Sonko
Followup: Audiworld online forum members offer many first-hand reports of the Q7 towing travel trailers up to 5,000 pounds and some car carriers up to 5,500(!!!). In my inexperience and lack of putting enough hours searching, I had the thought that the vehicle might handle a 6,500 lb trailer. But no, 5,000-5,500 lbs appears to be the (still remarkably high!!) limit. I tried shopping for a 5,000 lb GVWR trailer but we want larger so we’ll be renting a truck from Enterprise to haul it. And if you’re thinking “but you will die if you try to haul a 5,000 lb trailer with a Q7!” I won’t be attempting that until I’ve had a year or more of RVing to consider it first. Thanks again.
