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The Fronty with 4.0L has 261HP and torque @ 281 lb-ft. The Tundra 5.7L has 381HP and 401 lb-ft of torque. The Touareg has 406 lbs-ft of torque, very impressive! My guess is the Touareg diesel is running closer to max torque RPM (probably lower RPM) at tow cruise compared to the Tundra gas 5.7L at tow cruise. Just a guess.

Bill, The Toyota Tundra 5.7L V-8 should be able to tow the Oliver filled with gold bullion! My tow vehicle is a 2015 VW Touareg TDI (diesel). 7700 GVWR and a maximum of 660 lb. tongue weight. I weighed my Olliver Elite II on a Iowa Department of Transportation scale and it tipped the scales at 5,100 lbs. It's loaded with options and I had the galley fully supplied and gear and clothing for 1 person. The three tanks were all below 20%. My tow vehicle tipped the scales at 6,000 lbs--it was carrying 1,000 lbs. in gear and me. The Touareg diesel has 225 hp and 406 lbs-ft of torque. I towed the Olliver from the factory into Mississippi and then north to Iowa--about 1,000 miles. The Oliver tows really well--no sway or issues with the standard bulldog hitch. The high torque allowed me to get to 55-60 mph pretty quickly. I haven't been to the mountains yet, but I'm pretty confident that I won't have problems with mountain passes. Don

My monitor for the backup camera quit working. I've taken one long trip without the monitor and I'm leaving on another on Saturday. I miss it when backing into a tight camping spot. But, I just jump out of the Touareg and look to see where the trees and obstacles are. (I'm a solo traveler) Today I backed up into our narrow, ice-covered driveway with snow drifts on both sides of the entrance to the driveway in Iowa to get the Ollie packed and ready to leave on Saturday morning for Big Bend National Park. While I've backed trailers for over 50 years, I've learned to be more proficient owning and towing the Ollie. It's really simple if you follow a few basic rules: 1) Place your hands on the bottom of your steering wheel. If you want the rear of the camper to go to the left, move your hands to the left. If you want the camper to go right, move your hands to the right; 2) Drive very, very slowly; 3) Use small and gradual steering inputs to avoid having to overcorrect.

I tow with a VW Touareg TDI and would not be comfortable towing without towing mirrors. Without them, you really can't see behind the camper. The ones I've used successfully for a number of years are Dometic DM-2912 Milenco Grand Aero3 Towing Mirrors. You can purchase on Amazon and other places. They are easy to attach and give you a good field of vision.

LOL, one could argue that, but it was a 5.0 V10 tdi with 8 TONS of ballast and they towed in Low Range.... the V10 was an absolute brute but a nightmare to own. To do just about anything to the engine you had to drop the entire drivetrain. “Seriously, parts were scarce but the main thing that made me sell it is no one could work on it and even the knowledge base online was scarce. It was terrifying to own as a DD because you literally could have a part fail with no warning and struggle to source parts and a reliable mechanic to do the work within weeks.” https://jalopnik.com/the-volkswagen-touareg-v10-tdi-was-more-of-a-nightmare-1822934503 Really, that is not a vehicle you should be using as a poster child. John Davies Spokane WA

Here’s the brake controller. http://www.tekonsha.com/mobile/products/brake-controllers/proportional-controllers/trailer-brake-control-proportional/TzaIxkVx1cI5XOy!osRB508pViEKmVBf I think a Q5 is too small. Good luck searching for a Q7 or Touareg! Don

I would like to get an update on an old thread.........SUV's pulling Elite II's? I don't think anyone is looking at it now but after reading through it I got interested in looking at SUV's. One reason is the height of my garage door when open is right on the line....these trucks are high! There were four SUV's that got my attention in the old thread 1) the VW Touareg TDI......sounded like a great tow vehicle but unfortunately for us in the USA the wonderful little turbo diesel is no longer available from VW 2) the Audi Q7........rated up to 7700 pounds towing capacity. The original poster had the same problem as I.....trucks would not fit in his garage. OP really liked it but I did not get any idea of the gas mileage towing......updated experience would be nice to know.) 3) Dodge Durango with 5.7L hemi......OP liked it but for me the limited range makes it less interesting....although other wise I could like it a lot 4) Jeep Grand Cherokee Outlander with the turbo diesel.......All the specs now say that vehicle is rated at 6200 pounds towing although the Trailer Life Towing Guide says they can haul either 7200 or 7400 depending on 2w or 4w drive....link here below....... http://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-towing-guides/ The most interesting for me is the Jeep if it was rated at least 7000 pounds.....OP did not say what the official rating was on their vehicle. Some posters mentioned considering a Mercedes Benz GLE 350 4matic SUV but no one had one Any updated information on SUV's for towing would be interesting Thanks, Jim

Hello, My tow vehicle is a 2016 VW Touareg TDI (diesel). 7700 GVWR and a maximum of 660 lb. tongue weight. The owner's manual says not to use a weight equalization hitch. I had originally planned to buy a new Airstream that would have been under the 7700 lb. limit, but I would have exceeded the maximum tongue weight by over 200 lbs. I spent a lot of time talking to Can Am, an Airstream dealer in Canada, and the head of the service department at my local VW dealer, and decided I would go ahead and tow the Airstream and use a weight equalization hitch. Then I found the Oliver. No Airstream for me! So, a couple of questions. First, who's towing the Elite II with the standard Bulldog hitch? I'm nervous about the lack of sway control. What have your experiences been? Second, I've read about some issues with Oliver's adjustment/setup of the optional Anderson No Sway hitch. Are you using this hitch? Any problems getting it set up properly? How has it performed? Would you recommend an alternative hitch for sway control and weight equalization? Thanks in advance--it's really great to have access to this knowledge base.

We owned one of the original Elites (2008 model). We started out towing with a 2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (4 door) that we bought for that purpose. It only had a 3500 pound towing capacity and was vastly under powered. We traded that for a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe 4x4 with the 5.3L engine. We got much better results with that vehicle. The older Elites weighed about 3900 pounds ready to camp with full water and everything you would need for an extended trip. I don't know the camping weight on the new models but I would not expect them to be significantly different one way or the other. I would want a vehicle rated NO LESS than a 5000 pound towing capacity. We bought a 2015 GMC Sierra with a 6.2L engine to pull our Elite II. We get about 2 mpg better than with the Tahoe. Since all 2015 models are tow rated with the SAE J2807 Standard you are now comparing Apples to Apples... 4 Runner: The Towing capacity is rated at 4700 pounds (not a good contender) Touareg: The Towing capacity is rated at 7,700 pounds with the available towing package - you will want to spring for this package, as the Touareg is rated for just 1,650 lbs. without it. Nissan Pathfinder: The towing capacity is rated at 5000 pounds.

We tow our Oliver Elite with a Touareg TDI. With have a regular hitch. Have never had a problem with sway. The Ollie follows effortlessly.

I've used this RF (wireless) brake controller since picking up my Elite II in March 2016. My experience was a little different from David's. Oliver actually purchased the controller and installed it before I arrived to pick up my Ollie. I tow with VW Touareg TDI and the pairing process wasn't difficult. I've towed many miles using this brake controller and I'm completely satisfied. While I've had some issues with the hand-control unit that you plug into the 12 volt receptacle (I think that's what we used to call the cigarette lighter receptacle), Tekonsha's customer service has been outstanding. They've replaced that hand-held unit quickly and without fuss at no charge twice. Note that the brake control works even if the hand-held unit isn't plugged in or isn't working. The hand-held unit is necessary, however, to adjust the braking level and you can also use it to apply the trailer brakes independently of the TV brakes to tame sway. I've never had to use mine for that purpose. Don

I wanted to make sure I had the ability to adjust the ball height to get the Oliver as level as possible. I think this is a key factor in towing safely. I started with a ball mount that I purchased in Tennessee when I picked up my Elite II but I switched to an adjustable ball mount pretty quickly. It was expensive, but it gives me great piece of mind to know that the ball height is just right to make the Ollie level when I'm towing. Here's what I use: https://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mounts/Weigh-Safe/TB6-2.html I'm towing with a 2015 VW Touareg TDI. Don

Here's an added benefit to towing with my VW Touareg TDI. I drove from Iowa City to Cleveland yesterday to attend the Tri-C Jazz Festival. I averaged just under 70 mph (lots of construction in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio) and averaged over 32 mpg. Filled with diesel fuel and drove 45 miles the day before on the full tank before leaving yesterday. I've now driven about 600 miles on that tank and still have almost a 1/4 tank of fuel. Of course, towing reduces the mileage but it's nice to have such a fuel efficient tow vehicle for every-day use. Now, if VW hadn't cheated on the emissions testing. . .

Are you using a WD hitch? I've got a 2014 Touareg and the Oliver seems to be a good match. Just don't like that mention in the manual about WD hitches. Would be interested to hear what tongue weight you are seeing and if you have the front basket with anything in it. The basket seems ideal for a generator, but that just gets added to the tongue weight. So I agree with you on cargo space.

Hitch weight or the weight on the tongue of the hitch will vary depending on many factors including what's in your Oliver and how the load is distributed. Like many Oliver owners, I've spent time at the CAT scales. I determined that my hitch or tongue weight was 500 lbs. when my camper weighed in at 4,920 lbs. Fully loaded for a camping trip with the black, grey and fresh water tanks partially full, I weigh in at about 5,100 lbs. I have to keep the tongue or hitch weight at 660 lbs. or less to tow it with my Touareg. One thing to pay close attention to is how level your Oliver is when it's hitched to your tow vehicle and ready for travel. You want it as level as possible!

Thanks, Don! Looked up the 2015 VW Touareg TDI online, and it looks like strong TV!!!!!! All I need now is some Gold Bullion?

I have a 2015 VW Touareg TDI and I don’t want to drill holes and attach a controller like the Prodigy P2 or P3. My research led me to this unusual brake controller. I've worked with Oliver and Jason Essary (who replaced Robert Partee) is ordering one and a technician at Oliver will install it on my Oliver Elite II which is nearing completion. The RF has a trailer-mount power module unit. There’s a hand-held remote that plugs into the 12v receptacle in the vehicle. For those of us who tow with vehicles that don't have factory installed brake controllers, this is a nice option. It also has the advantage of allowing you to tow with more than one vehicle utilizing the trailer-mounted brake controller. As with everything else, the people at Oliver have been very accommodating and quoted a very fair price for ordering and installing this unit. My Oliver should be ready soon, but I'm delaying my trip from Iowa to pick it up until late March when I hope the weather will be better!