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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/24/2016 in all areas

  1. Tuaregs are solid trucks, but like any German vehicle they will absolutely kill you with extremely high repair costs once the warranty is gone. The 3.0 TDI engine uses FOUR timing chains and the chains are not known for their longevity. Early engines (around 2005) also had issues with tensioner failures. All the chains are at the BACK of the engine, so you are looking at complete engine remove just to gain access, at say $125 per hour at your stealership. Read this: http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/V6-TDI-engine-FAQ.htm If you tow your Ollie into remote regions you run the risk of having a breakdown and not being within half a state of a VW or Audi dealer. Local repair shops will have little experience with these vehicles, nor will they have the expensive specialized tooling needed to diagnose and work on them. Having owned three German cars over the years, I am at the "never again" stage and will not buy a vehicle that cannot be worked on in just about any town large enough to have a car dealer of some kind. If you never venture into the remote Western states, you may be fine with a Tuareg. Just don't try to get a blown trannee or broken timing chain fixed in say Wyoming or Nevada. For example there is ONE VW dealer (and no Audi dealers) in Wyoming, and three in Nevada, and they are located in the cesspools of Las Vegas and Reno. If you travel the boonies you are out of luck. Will AAA tow your car 300 miles for free? I don't think so. The new Titan is intriguing, and the new Cummins 5.0 V8 may in time prove to be a wonder, but being brand new, it is completely unproven and parts availability will be difficult and the parts will be expensive, until it becomes used in more vehicles. I think this would be a killer engine for towing in a light duty Ram pickup., either in a 1500 4x4, as an option in place of the 3.0 EcoDiesel) or in a 2500 Power Wagon. The PW is a superbly capable offroad truck hampered by horrible fuel economy ... the only thing preventing me from running to the dealer to buy one.... If you tow lots of miles into remote areas, buy one of the Big Three for ease of repairs and service. If you plan to be up high more than occasionally (say the Colorado Plateau, or even the very steep back roads of Idaho), get a diesel for the low end torque. Diesels are preferred for towing not just because they get good fuel economy, but because the driving experience is so darned relaxed. You don't worry about climbing or passing, and the greatly extended range between fill-ups is just a nice bonus. Being able to calmly climb a steep pass at 12,000 feet with your engine at 1800 rpm is wonderful. Gas engines have to work in the upper end of their rpm range and having the motor screaming just does not make for a relaxing drive. The only way you know a diesel is working hard is the boost and temperatures go up. Otherwise, it's smooth relaxed sailing. I have a 2006 Ram with the Cummins 5.9 (the last year before all the emissions junk) and I could never go back to gas. John Davies Spokane WA
    2 points
  2. Vector, I may be in the minority, but I don't believe it's necessary to have a heavy duty (3/4 ton) pickup to tow an Oliver Elite II. I tow with a 2015 VW Touareg TDI (turbo diesel). It has a 7700 lb. towing capacity and I tow without an equalizer hitch. The standard bulldog hitch works well. The diesel provides the grunt to pass with the Ollie on two-lane roads and gets me up to cruising speed very quickly. I checked my mileage yesterday after returning home from a campground in NE Iowa about 120 miles from home and I averaged 19.5 mpg towing the Ollie. I was on 2-lane roads most of the time driving between 55-58 mph and interstate for about 40 miles towing at 65 mph. The Touareg's only negative is that you don't have the cargo space available in a full-size pickup, but if you have or are buying an Ollie, you've already made the choice to go "small". When I'm not towing, I have a very comfortable, luxurious SUV as my primary vehicle that averages 26 mpg in my everyday driving and around 30-31 mpg when traveling long distances at sustained speeds of 75 to 80 mph. It really does double duty! Don
    1 point
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