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SO we are just discovering reading these forums that our 7,700lb towing capacity 2017 Q7 actually can't tow anything near that weight because to safely tow that weight we need a weight distribution hitch, which, apparently, per the manual absolutely may NOT be installed on the 2017 3.0T Q7... is this really true?? However, in the quote above, it almost sounds like the factory installed hitch on our 3.0T is class III and therefore is automatically weight distributing? I'm just trying to figure out if I have to go sell my Q7 tomorrow or not, because my husband is gonna have a car that can haul his 6500lb travel trailer one way or another! I have found one forum posting where the owner went out and had the factory hitch reinforced, then used a weight distribution sway bar device, and feels safe hauling his trailer. https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q5-...amper-2915372/ Is this really the ONLY option I have? Very disappointed in this if it is true. I feel VERY misled in an advertised 7,700lb towing capacity. Audi: "Sure - you can tow 7,700lbs... just like you can jump off that building (legally, we do not indicate that either is safe)" IS there any hope for me to safely tow a 6,500lb travel trailer with my 2017 Q7 - and if so, what additions would I need to my car to tow that number safely?
So this is where things get sort of fuzzy. So Class III hitch is rated up to 6,000lbs weight carrying capacity, 10,000lbs weight distribution. Class iV hitch is rated at 10,000lbs weight carrying, 14,000lbs weight distribution. However, it has been pointed out that some car makers manufacture hitches that exceed the standard rating allowing them to exceed the standard Class III rating. Also, since this "custom" OEM hitch may not conform to Class IV rating, the car manufacturer can not slap Class IV rating on it. Soooo, the closest they can say is that the hitch complies with Class III rating, BUT in the manual they can state the maximum weight carrying capacity as 7,700lbs for the 3.0 V6 engine (max weight is a combination of hitch capacity and engine performance). If you take all of that in, and you trust what Audi posted in the manual (most likely vetted by lawyers), then it's safe to go up to 7,700lbs with weight carrying load. Also, I haven't been able to find a definitive answer as to the actual class classification of OEM hitch on the new Q7.
Q7 Manual specifically states NOT to use weight distribution setup as it can cause physical damage.
I dont think I seen anything saying Q7 has a Class3 hitch, is that just the assumption because of the receiver size?
Manual says its good to 7700lbs w/and no WD hitch, Europeans care about our receiver classes about as much as they care about our imperial measurement system, ie they dont.
Last edited by dreadlocks; 03-07-2018 at 06:31 PM.
I dont think I seen anything saying Q7 has a Class3 hitch, is that just the assumption because of the receiver size?
Manual says its good to 7700lbs w/and no WD hitch, Europeans care about our receiver classes about as much as they care about our imperial measurement system, ie they dont.
SO we are just discovering reading these forums that our 7,700lb towing capacity 2017 Q7 actually can't tow anything near that weight because to safely tow that weight we need a weight distribution hitch, which, apparently, per the manual absolutely may NOT be installed on the 2017 3.0T Q7... is this really true?? However, in the quote above, it almost sounds like the factory installed hitch on our 3.0T is class III and therefore is automatically weight distributing? I'm just trying to figure out if I have to go sell my Q7 tomorrow or not, because my husband is gonna have a car that can haul his 6500lb travel trailer one way or another! I have found one forum posting where the owner went out and had the factory hitch reinforced, then used a weight distribution sway bar device, and feels safe hauling his trailer. https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q5-...amper-2915372/ Is this really the ONLY option I have? Very disappointed in this if it is true. I feel VERY misled in an advertised 7,700lb towing capacity. Audi: "Sure - you can tow 7,700lbs... just like you can jump off that building (legally, we do not indicate that either is safe)" IS there any hope for me to safely tow a 6,500lb travel trailer with my 2017 Q7 - and if so, what additions would I need to my car to tow that number safely?
Not sure where the misinformation is coming from, but the rating per Audi is 7700 lbs towing, 770 lbs tongue weight, without a weight distributing hitch. The manual even states you should try to get close to the max tongue weight. The only stipulation is that you need the Audi ball mount which is shorter than what I could find from regular ball mount manufacturers. Check out my thread here: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-...hoped-2935206/
Near the last post, I link to a thread that had the info for the ball mount.
Enjoy - the Q7 tows remarkably well!
its the only one short enough for the load ratings indicated in the manual.. the further away the ball is from the rear axle the less tongue weight you can load as leverage increases.. however IMHO a few inches is not going to make that much of a difference, even if your pushing the limits there should be a considerable safety margin built into this stuff that its not worth sweating over.. a hitch with the appropriate drop/rise and perhaps anti-sway and proper load balancing and rigging is far more important than sweating over a couple hundred pounds on the tongue, you never want to be light on the tongue thats for sure and almost nobody takes actual measurements of weight and distribution.
its the only one short enough for the load ratings indicated in the manual.. the further away the ball is from the rear axle the less tongue weight you can load as leverage increases.. however IMHO a few inches is not going to make that much of a difference, even if your pushing the limits there should be a considerable safety margin built into this stuff that its not worth sweating over.. a hitch with the appropriate drop/rise and perhaps anti-sway and proper load balancing and rigging is far more important than sweating over a couple hundred pounds on the tongue, you never want to be light on the tongue thats for sure and almost nobody takes actual measurements of weight and distribution.
It is the ball MOUNT, not the ball itself, that is from Audi. As dreadlocks said, the Audi one is shorter and is what is specified in the manual for the 770 lb tongue weight. I agree with him to some degree - if I was towing a boat or a small trailer with a lighter tongue weight, I would have used a regular mount. Since I do know that my travel trailer is right at the Audi's limit in terms of tongue weight, I figured I would go ahead and get the short ball mount as recommended and think of it as a small investment for some piece of mind. I did have a sway bar tab welded to it so I could use a sway bar as well.
Here it is: https://parts.audivirginiabeach.com/...hoCi_4QAvD_BwE
I replaced the ball with the appropriate size for my trailer, and used one with a longer neck as I posted above. Note that the bar mount in the pic says 7700 lbs/ 616 lbs max, but people have posted that newer mounts have the updated ratings of 770 lbs. We think that the mounts themselves are the same, but that Audi had printed the old 616 lb max on the mount when the Q7 couldn't handle as much weight so that people wouldn't think the car was capable of more just because it was on the sticker.
I am wondering what is so special about length of 6.193 inches (157.3022 mm) and height of 3.432 Inch (87.1728 mm).. seems like a rather exact odd values.
Hoping that measuring to nearest 1/16" is good enough
03-07-2018, 02:36 PM
