Search the Community

Lol thanks, didn’t know there’s a 2500 and 2500HD, I have the 2500HD with 3600lb payload. I upgraded from a 2016 VW Touareg TDI, the VW towed like a champ but payload is only 1200lb.

Hi all, I haven't bought an Oliver yet - but close! My wife and I really would like to see one before making a final decision. An E II Open items: We are going back and forth on whether we want the Twin or the full. I think we would prefer the full, but not sure about how much of a nuisance we would feel with the set-up and take down, and the twins sure look good and open. Also trying to figure out the composting or standard toilet, and if it's to be a standard, can we get an elongated bowl (we hear that it is much better for traveling re splashing etc.). The only safety issue I have is that we have a 2014 Porsche Cayenne Turbo RS with air suspension. No issue at all with power or torque, but we are edging up to the 616 pound tongue weight. I've read quite a bit about the actual physics involved, and with the designed low center of gravity for the Porsche it would seem like it would be a great towing vehicle. If anyone has experience with this - or any Cayenne or VW Touareg of the same year range I would really appreciate it!!!

Like Rich.Dev we tow with a VW Touareg TDI. We have logged 10,000+ miles including mountains in North Carolina, Tennessee, and rally in Alabama. March and April were spent in southwest with drive out from Michigan to New Mexico and Arizona (Flagstaff area). Trip included Flagstaff to Sedona stretch which is 18 miles of 6% grade. Same experience as Rich, Touareg tows competently and brakes well. We also are limited with cargo capacity, so we stay mindful of that limit. I will say the road conditions in Flagstaff were horrendous with huge chunks of road missing on I-40 and I-17. Upon return home rear camber was off and I had to replace tires and have alignment done. I am planning a future upgrade to a 3/4 ton+ pickup truck for more flexibility. Happy travels!

The offroad raised setting is for, well, offroad, low speed use ONLY. It shouldn’t be used for normal driving, especially for towing a max load. It raises the body all the way up, so that the suspension basically has very little downward travel left. The handling will suffer and the suspension will top out whenever a wheel drops down into a deep hole. It is not safe at any kind of highway speed because the steering geometry is altered. Plus it wears the axle joints excessively… “Lift / Offroad - On select models such as the fully equipped Q7, an Offroad mode lifts the adaptive air suspension to its maximum height for additional ground clearance. This mode is intended for the most uneven terrain at low speeds.” https://www.audiwestmont.com/research/audi-drive-select.htm If this is incorrect, please explain how you are able to do this while towing. It would be better to have a raised ball mount to get the 24” that you need for an LE2. If that won’t clear you need an aftermarket suspension lift, here is one: “For vehicles with air suspension only The Eurowise 3+ inch lift kit for the 7L VW Touareg, 955/957 Porsche Cayenne, and 4L Audi Q7 is a combination of their spacer lift and 1" subframe drop. Machined from 6061 aluminum solid block, these lift kits will never wear out or fail. In addition, a 1" subframe drop kit with hardware is included to correct your axle geometry. When set on auto mode your vehicle will be roughly 3" taller over stock. In extra/off-road mode would be over 4 inches of additional lift!” https://www.ecstuning.com/b-eurowise-parts/eurowise-lift-kit-3-inch-air-suspension-with-sway-bar-end-links/ewor9014-sbl~euw/ John Davies Spokane WA

The Touareg diesel is actually a very capable tow VH, and very underrated by folks who have never owned one or towed with one. I do agree with you 100% about cargo weight, that is definitely the limiting factor for us. For full timing we can probably also say the Ollie is too small, it’s all about making compromises, definitely downsizing and keeping an eye on the cargo capacity.

We also have a 2016 VW Touareg diesel, one of the best VHs we’ve ever owned and it’s a wonderful very capable tow vehicle. We towed a 2016 AS 26U with twin beds for almost 3 years, it towed like a champ (and stopping), only issue is cargo capacity, at 1180lb you have to watch what you pack. We now own a 2023 LEII and fully packed weighs approx. 6000lb with a tongue weight of 610lb. No issues so towing it or stopping. Fuel consumption towing our Ollie from Hohenwald to Guelph ON (Canada) was just shy of 16mpg. The Touareg is a great towing vehicle AND daily driver. Again, the limiting factor is payload/cargo capacity.

Slight topic hijack here, apologies... In another thread you asked "My expected vehicle (2016 Volks Touareg diesel) is rated to tow 7700 lbs. Will it be happy towing the Elite 2 at 6500 lbs?" If you plan to go somewhere and stay for six months at a time that tow vehicle should be "OK". Nothing great, but it would do. On the other hand, if you plan on full timing, you would be carrying all your worldly possessions with you everywhere you go. Further, if you really plan to explore the U.S, and Canada like you indicate in your opening post here, you would be traveling more than staying in one place too long. You are going to need a much more capable tow vehicle. You need something that can carry all the cargo weight and tow the trailer anywhere you decide to go. A 3/4 ton diesel pickup would be minimum and for the minimal price difference between the two, I'd go with a 1 ton diesel. Carry on.

@Sully are still on a long road trip in Canada with their Audi q7 and Elite2 A search on Touareg brought up 4 pages of posts. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/search/?&q=Touareg&search_and_or=or

My expected vehicle (2016 Volks Touareg diesel) is rated to tow 7700 lbs. Will it be happy towing the Elite 2 at 6500 lbs? Thanks, Gabriel

Congrats! Very reassuring with the comparison to the AS as we are also ex ASmers. Loved our 26U, still think it’s the best AS layout and lots of storage! Anyway, as I said on other posts my Touareg TDI towed the AS like a champ but it was at the upper limit for payload. My wife wouldn’t budge on a larger TV so here we are, our LE2 is scheduled for a May 23rd delivery! 😊

Hi all, we currently have a 2016 Airstream 26U rear twin and our TV is a 2016 VW Touareg TDI, it’s a great tow VH. However, we have only been camping around Ontario (Canada) and want to go semi-full-time when I retire in 2 1/2 years. The Touareg tows like a champ but we are at the upper limits for payload and hitch/tongue weight (1000lbs) with the Airstream. I see the tongue weight of the Legacy Elite II is listed at "approx." 490lbs. I have always loved the clean looks and quality of the Oliver and it was our number 1 pick when we bought the Airstream, however what pushed us towards the Airstream was the dry bath and large fridge. So now that we are revisiting options to downsize from the Airstream the Oliver is again on our radar, our only concern still is the small fridge (when we full time) and wet bath! Any suggestions from full time couples on how you make it work with the small fridge, is it possible to install a larger fridge? Also very important, If anyone has actually weighed their Legacy Elite II twin beds, please share, I’d love to know what are real world numbers are? Thanks! Richard

John my TV will be VW Touareg TDI that does not have Apple Airplay. I currently use the GAIA app for hiking trails and like it. Looking to plan a trip in south least US after Ollie pickup and March and a future trip around Lake Superior. I am considering one of the Garmin GPS units mentioned in other posts.

Thank you all for your valuable input on my Touareg tow vehicle. We have decided to purchase a 2021 Ram 2500 Cummings for payload and safety reasons, I know it is a little over kill and we are ok with that. Hopefully mpg will not be that bad. We will keep our Touareg as it has been a great car and Volkswagen has been very good to us with all the emissions issues they had, This Forum Group is the best! Hope to see you on the road and meet up in mid Sept. Travel on.

Stainless hardware and aluminum can cause issues, especially if you tow with corrosive deicers on the road 😳. I use aluminum antiseize liberally wherever stainless and aluminum touch, and it does help. While not ideal, SS fasteners are used everywhere on Ollies and mine seem to hold up OK. But I never tow in winter. Permatex Anti-Seize Lubricant I would not worry about different alloys, unless you plan to join them by welding. In that case they should match. I just had a major repair done on my rear cargo rack, which suffered cracks when I ran it into the decorative stonework of my house….. I added 1/4” reinforcements, and I just now reinstalled it to the cross beam with antiseize. There was no sign of corrosion at all when I removed the stainless hardware, after about three years. Note to self, do not back into buildings again. $50 for structural aluminum materials, six hours of my labor, $150 welding labor, plus a $30 tip. …. I still haven’t addressed the stonework that got knocked off the house😤. SeaDawg is correct, drain holes are needed everywhere, they don’t have to be large. even your entry steps need them, they trap water when stowed, it is unsightly and dumps on your sneakers when you open them. Trapped water for months and months OTH is really really bad news, road spray especially causes much worse problems, you must ensure it can’t happen. Have you contacted Oliver about your water? They might want to issue a service bulletin for drain holes. You might find this amusing. …”Hmmmmmm, that is quite a lotta wattah!” How to drain water from Touareg rockers John Davies Spokane WA

John, All tow vehicles have their compromises. As long as you are okay with keeping your weight down, your Touareg will do great towing an Elite II. We tow with a 2018 BMW X5 35d. It has 255 hp at 4,000 rpm and 413 ft lbs of torque at 1,500 rpm. Very similar to yours. Our limiting factor is the carrying capacity at 1,109 lbs. If I recall correctly, yours should be in the low 1,200 lbs. The 1,109 lbs. has been more than enough for us but, we purposely travel light and equipped our trailer to keep the tongue weight low. If you would like to discuss our experience further, please message me your contact information. Andrew P.S. @DavidS from Salt Lake tows with an 2017 gas Audi Q7

I would suggest that you consult the Touareg Club Forum for additional info on this subject, they have some interesting comments. However, as is generally the case there are lots of questionable statements. For example, Can you use a WDH? What is the Tongue Weight Capacity, etc? We Tow with a GL 450 (gas), which does a good job. IMO, one of the "For Most Authority on RV Towing," is Andy Thompson at Can Am Airstream in Ontario Can. I suggest you ask him for his opinion, he done the research and testing and "Thinks Outside the Box." Please report back to us on what you find out!

Did you try Search? It is pretty lame but it works fine for an unusual word like your Touareg. Try reading: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/search/?&q=Touareg &type=forums_topic&nodes=12&search_and_or=or I don’t recall all the concerns, power and fuel economy are good. The issues I can think of are marginal tongue weight and cargo volume, no weight distribution and a lack of dealers (or capable euro service shops) in the boonies if you have a breakdown, and parts availability when it does happen. I guess it depends on where you plan to camp, how you spec your trailer, and how many people and their “stuff” you plan to carry. If you plan to explore remote areas like Alaska or even Wyoming, you should get a vehicle that can be fixed in any average small town. I have no Touareg experience, though I lusted very heavily for one when they first appeared. I have owned two VAG vehicles and would not touch another with a thousand foot pole😬. John Davies Spokane WA

Forgot to list the engine in my 2014 Touareg 3.0 TDI V6 diesel 240 hp at 4000rpm, 407ft/lb Torque at 2000 rpm. Rated to tow 7716# with 616 TW. Thanks for reminding me John.

Hi and welcome. You need to tell us what year and which engine, there have been a huge number of different diesels, including the unfortunate VW Touareg V10 Diesel vs Boeing 747. John Davies Spokane WA

Hello All, Anybody towing a Elite 2 with a Volkswagen Touareg TDI? How does it do? Thanks

Raspy, Is hull #92 the one with the stainless steel counter top? if so,it is in San Diego being loved and towed with a diesel VW Touareg. Andrew

We have finally given up our resistance to a pickup truck and are buying a 2018 Ford F-150 with the 3.5L EB and max trailer package. I’m sure we could’ve managed with the Touareg but we have big aspirations for long, mountain-heavy trips and the greater capability and storage margins give us comfort. Funny, I never used to notice these things and now they are every third vehicle I see.

Thanks Bill. I guess the capacity number is less important than the other max tow features like rear diff, brake controller, and engine/trans. coolers. I can feel myself getting carried away with seeking the max tow rating. Last week I was fine with a Touareg...

And the Touareg is AWD

What I found when towing a car trailer with my Touareg, it towed better than an F150. My guess for the reason is while there is a weight disadvantage, the "arm" from rear wheels to hitch ball was much less. Also IRS with coils is generally tighter than live axle on leafs.