ChrisK
Active Member
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 7
- Points
- 42
- Location
- NJ
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2016
- Boat Model
- AR
- Boat Length
- 24
Just got back from my first trip of any distance towing the AR240 with my 2019 Q7. Short report, it did just fine. The trip was 700 miles round trip from southern NJ to the Finger Lakes in NY. My route took me around Philadelphia, up the PA Turnpike Northeast Extension, through the Pocono mountains in northeastern PA and along the southern tier in NY to Watkins Glenn. I had no trouble keeping at highway speed, 65-70 mph, through the Poconos and could even pass when necessary without any hesitation. Coming back going 'downhill' was also no problem and I felt no pushing from the trailer. I didn't have any high winds so no report there. I even had a real towing test when I took a wrong turn down one of the dead end lake shore roads and had to do some tight maneuvering to come back up a steep hill from a dead stop. Anyone who knows the Finger Lakes knows what I mean when I say a steep road down to the shore. I did get a transmission high temp warning but was able to pull the trailer up the hill and continue with no problem.
My Q7 is a 2019 supercharged 6 cylinder with the tow package. It's rated at 7700 lbs towing with 770 lbs tongue weight and 1367 lbs combined passenger/cargo weight. The trailer/boat loaded with 1/2 tank of gas, tubes, boards and miscellaneous had a tongue weight of 400 lbs measured with a tongue weight scale. I had maybe 150 lbs of luggage plus me, 275 lbs, so I was well within the limits. I have the premium mooring cover (black one) and, following some advice from the forums here, used the support straps minus the poles to prevent any 'sucking' along with a pool noodle over the window frame to ease wear. I tightened the cover pretty firmly and had no issues. I averaged 12 mpg for the trip. Overall I would definitely have no problem saying the Q7 can handle this size boat. I'm not a towing veteran but I have towed some larger loads more than a little bit. I used to drive my rowing club's trailer loaded with 8's and 4's from Long Island to Philadelphia and Connecticut.
Prior to this trip I was only towing a couple miles locally to the boat ramp so I wasn't sure what to expect on a long trip at highway speeds. I did a test run of about 60 miles on the highway to get a feel for handling at speed before I took the trip. I also added a pair of wireless cameras to the trailer. I did this not so much for backing up but to see who was tailgating me or coming up behind me so I knew if I was safe to change lanes. I used these from Amazon, Amazon.com: DoHonest V23 HD 1080P 2 RV Wireless Backup Camera 4CH 7'' DVR Touch Key Monitor High-Speed Rear View Observation System for RVs,Trailers,Trucks,Motorhomes,5th Wheels IR Night Vision IP69K Waterproof. I have no affiliation but they looked decent when I searched and have no complaints. I mounted them on the back bar of the trailer just inside the rear turn signal lights and wired them to the tail light (brown I think) wire. I do have to turn on my lights to turn on the cameras but that's not really a bad thing. One thing I would change is that I used the easy splice type connector and covered it with electrical tape but those connectors are really bulky when trying to shove back into the trailer tubes. If I get motivated some day I'll redo the splices with an inline crimp connector and shrink tubing. The cameras came with a 7" LCD screen that I rigged up to a beanbag type car mount so I could set it on my center console under the dash. It doesn't really get in the way there and I didn't have any space on top of my dash because of the Q7 heads up display and nav screen. I had to cobble together a connector for the mount since it only comes with a frame more geared to a large RV or truck dash. Luckily I had a bunch of old bike mounts I could salvage from. Once hooked up the cameras paired with the screen immediately and I was able to switch between each camera or use a split screen mode. The field of view is really good and I found I only really needed the left side camera but it was nice to have both if I needed it. The cameras are IP69K rated and I didn't have any problem dunking them during put in/pull out. I've seen some debate if that rating is really meant for full submersion but they're pretty solidly built and they're only underwater about a foot for a few minutes at a time.
My Q7 is a 2019 supercharged 6 cylinder with the tow package. It's rated at 7700 lbs towing with 770 lbs tongue weight and 1367 lbs combined passenger/cargo weight. The trailer/boat loaded with 1/2 tank of gas, tubes, boards and miscellaneous had a tongue weight of 400 lbs measured with a tongue weight scale. I had maybe 150 lbs of luggage plus me, 275 lbs, so I was well within the limits. I have the premium mooring cover (black one) and, following some advice from the forums here, used the support straps minus the poles to prevent any 'sucking' along with a pool noodle over the window frame to ease wear. I tightened the cover pretty firmly and had no issues. I averaged 12 mpg for the trip. Overall I would definitely have no problem saying the Q7 can handle this size boat. I'm not a towing veteran but I have towed some larger loads more than a little bit. I used to drive my rowing club's trailer loaded with 8's and 4's from Long Island to Philadelphia and Connecticut.
Prior to this trip I was only towing a couple miles locally to the boat ramp so I wasn't sure what to expect on a long trip at highway speeds. I did a test run of about 60 miles on the highway to get a feel for handling at speed before I took the trip. I also added a pair of wireless cameras to the trailer. I did this not so much for backing up but to see who was tailgating me or coming up behind me so I knew if I was safe to change lanes. I used these from Amazon, Amazon.com: DoHonest V23 HD 1080P 2 RV Wireless Backup Camera 4CH 7'' DVR Touch Key Monitor High-Speed Rear View Observation System for RVs,Trailers,Trucks,Motorhomes,5th Wheels IR Night Vision IP69K Waterproof. I have no affiliation but they looked decent when I searched and have no complaints. I mounted them on the back bar of the trailer just inside the rear turn signal lights and wired them to the tail light (brown I think) wire. I do have to turn on my lights to turn on the cameras but that's not really a bad thing. One thing I would change is that I used the easy splice type connector and covered it with electrical tape but those connectors are really bulky when trying to shove back into the trailer tubes. If I get motivated some day I'll redo the splices with an inline crimp connector and shrink tubing. The cameras came with a 7" LCD screen that I rigged up to a beanbag type car mount so I could set it on my center console under the dash. It doesn't really get in the way there and I didn't have any space on top of my dash because of the Q7 heads up display and nav screen. I had to cobble together a connector for the mount since it only comes with a frame more geared to a large RV or truck dash. Luckily I had a bunch of old bike mounts I could salvage from. Once hooked up the cameras paired with the screen immediately and I was able to switch between each camera or use a split screen mode. The field of view is really good and I found I only really needed the left side camera but it was nice to have both if I needed it. The cameras are IP69K rated and I didn't have any problem dunking them during put in/pull out. I've seen some debate if that rating is really meant for full submersion but they're pretty solidly built and they're only underwater about a foot for a few minutes at a time.
