Trailer Towing - Volkswagen 1993 Golf Instruction Manual

DRIVING TIPS
Trailer towing
The vehicle is intended main ly for the trans­
portation of persons and luggage but it can,
with the appropriate technical equipment,
also be used to tow a trailer.
Technical requirements
• If the vehicle is suppl ied with a factory­
fi tted towing bracket, all that is technically
and legally necessary for trailer towing wil l
have been taken into account.
• If the trailer to be towed has a 7 pin plug,
an adapter cable can be used whi ch
IS
ob­
tained from a Volks wagen dealer.
• Volkswagen dealers have all the necess­
ary information on the Installation of towing
brackets and the fitti ng of a heavy-duty cool­
ing system. Th e instal lation should there­
fore be done by th em .
Operations instructions
• On the Golf saloon with a factory
fitted towing bracket* the removable ball
coupling will be fitted . Fitting/removin g in­
structions and instructions on correct stow­
age of the ball coupling in the spare wheel
well can be found in a linen bag in the ve­
hicle luggage compartment.
• On the Golf estate with a factory fitted
towing bracket* the remova ble ball coupl­
ing is stored inside the vehicle next to the
spare wheel, together w ith instructions on
fitting.
• Pitching movements between towing
vehicle and trailer can be reduced by hea vy­
duty springs and shock absorbers on the
rear axle. If these springs and shock ab­
sorbers have not already been fitted at the
factory, they can, in many cases, be service­
installed by a Volkswagen dealer.
• The permissible trailer weight - see
page 144 - m ust not be exceeded on any ac­
count.
• If the the trailer weight is below the
permissible maximum, a correspondingly
steeper gradient can be climbed .
• The given trailer weights are only appli­
cable for altitudes up to 1000 m above sea
level. As the engine output and thus the
climbing ability drops due to the decreasing
air density, the weight of vehic le and trailer
must also be reduced by 10
%
for each
further 1000 m or part thereof.
• Where possible make full use of the
maximum permissible drawbar weight on
ball of the towing bracket - see page 144 ­
but do not exceed it.
• While observing the permissible trailer
and drawbar weight, distribute the load in
the trailer so that heavy objects are as nea r
as possible to the axle. The objects must
also be secured so that they cannot slip
about.
• Check the tyre pressures on the towing
vehicle, and adjust for full load conditions,
and also check the pressures on the trailer
• The headlight settings, should be
checked w ith trailer attached before mov­
ing off and adjusted as necessa ry.
On vehicles with headlight beam control it
is on ly necessary to turn the knurled disc in
dash in the appropriate directIOn .
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