bigdog

Trouble is. We were never a true democracy anyway. But. What little freedom we have left is very quickly being eroded away. And it's really our fault as voters. The faulty aspect I refer to has taken place over the course of decades. It started when we allowed the gov. to set up the Federal reserve. It continued with Social Security, Although partially successful. It set the precedent of ceding rights and responsibilities over to the government that was & is the responsibility of the individual. Of course being run by people, The more power one gives a faceless government politician the more power they will want. It's human nature. We the voters did this because we really wanted to believe that they had our best interest at heart. Which they didn't. But of course it has been going on for so long that the horse has left the barn and may be lost. As to fix this whole thing will be very, very painful indeed. But as most will not want to endure any hardships to get the cart righted. We will in fact just keep on doing what we are doing. Which is voting for the one whom promises the most free stuff. The fact that our free stuff is taken from others to be given to us doesn't seem to bother us very much. Yet we have an apoplectic fit should we be required by the government to give something up. We always say take from the rich and give to the poor. Problem then becomes, Define rich. No matter who you ask, They will always quote a figure above what they have as being rich.

That's the one I was referring to. Eurospeed. Best of luck. For the engine one can look at [/url]http://www.vulcanengines.com/ or http://www.burtonpower.com/ or http://www.throbnozzle-racing.co.uk/

Agreed coffee. I think that attitude even extends into a lot of folks personal relationships. Win an argument at all costs. Dig up bones from the past to throw in ones face. Both Bush & Obama have had issues. To me, the most agregious one that Bush did was the patriot act & Tarp. As far as the WMD, Bush acted on faulty information from outside sources. Which happens to be a very simular situation to the ACA issue. I.E. Obama claims he didn't know people were going to lose their insurance. Yet his policy makers did. Obama acted on a deliberate act of omission.

Why all the fear and loathing over a hot button issue in the controversy section of the forum. Isn't that how we learn new views and maybe even moderate one's own opinion? But to answer your question. Not sure yet. I've only owned my seven a few days and it's been cold and rainy here in Germany. Also having problems sorting the UK to EU headlights. May need the whole assy rather than the glass, as the EU glass doesn't fit in my UK buckets. So there goes 216 quid.

How much is it? I'm assuming it's a bit spendy for what one gets. As they refuse to give a price until they have your email or you on the phone. A practice I despise. I would only have two concerns. 1, Tie down points 2, The tilt point while loading a seven. As a snow machine is a fair amount shorter than a seven. Would it tilt before the rear wheels were aboard? To be fair, another member a few posts back has a single axle tilt bed aluma that only shows a Kawasaki mule being loaded. Yet it seems to work.

How can one tell if a politician is lying? If their lips are moving.

I do believe the wife and I will end up with a TDI, Either a Jetta or Passat. The Jetta touring car (wagon) 6spd manual is looking the favorite. Try this site. [/url]http://www.practicalcaravan.com/ It may help. Here is a repost of the Golf TDI video. Listen towards the end, It has a LEGAL towing limit of 1600Kg (3500Lbs)

What I'm suggesting is simply that maybe we Americans take a look at the old adage that one either go big or go home might need to be analyzed. I guarantee that if a person were paying nearly $9 per gallon of fuel. ($10 in the UK) they might be looking for a different solution other than hooking up a titanic truck and 20Ft. trailer to haul one of the lightest, smallest road cars ever made. Are those irony bells I hear? I submit that the marketing department of manufactures in the NA market have been rather successful in convincing the easily convinced, And Flush NA consumer that if you don't have a huge truck/trailer combo you are endangering your life. Yet those very same car makers in the European market have far different tow ratings on the very same car. I find it a bit odd that manufacturers somehow manage to lose %75 of a cars tow capacity simply because it enters the "size matters USA" As per your example of those who died (may they rest in peace) I bet that they were ignoring the dangers of a crosswind and were pressing on at the speed limit. Here in Europe one is limited to 100KPH. Even if one is only pulling a small utility trailer all the way to a tractor/trailer combo. I posted a video of a British road test of a Golf TDI pulling an 1100 Kg camper through a slalom course at a good rate of speed. It had a 50Kg-75Kg tongue weight and the Golf was very composed. That same Golf after having crossed the US border is listed as having 0 tow capacity by the same company that lists it as 1300Kg before it crosses that border. Again I find that odd. Yes there should be a safe median. I think that at this point in time the tow ratings in the USA have more to do with pushing one into an SUV than it has to do with safety. Look at the chevy traverse. A car based SUV with unibody construction, front wheel drive, weighs 4600Lbs empty. It's rated to pull 5200Lbs. Chevy impala 3.6 V6, unibody construction, More HP, Same torque, same transmission, FWD, 3500 Lbs empty. Tow rating? 1000Lbs Why? Maybe preconceptions on our part based on chevy's marketing?

You might define expensive. Seen a used T9 5spd from a UK trans shop for $880 USD. At 35 Kgs it shouldn't be too much to ship. Or you might just have a rebuild kit for your trans shipped over.

I've looked at that trailer online. I couldn't help but see the tail of your flying machine. The V-stab leading edge looks too swoopy for a van's. May I ask what it is? Is it even home built? Both my cousins in the Vancouver Wa. area have built Van's RV's ones a 6 the other is a 7a. My cousin Mike Seager with the 6 is lucky enough to be the guy the flies around the country to major fly-in's and provides training for Van's to new RV owners http://www.vansaircraft.com/public/training.htm I was lucky as well to have gotten a ride in the RV7 right after finishing up a flight in a B-17. (the aluminum overcast) I must say it was interesting being inverted over Mt. St. Helens

Is one of the trailer axles a bit wonky perhaps. But I suppose every set up is a bit different. But it would be nice to have an option other than huge tongue weight. As an aside. I was at our local VW dealer here in Germany. The salesman called the tech dept at HQ to ask about the tow rating between EU & NA and are the two VW cars made differently and about the double clutch gear box. He laughed and said it was fine to tow. Seems to confirm it's NA MARKETING.

A few pages back someone posted up a video of a trailer made by Brunton. 650 Lbs empty weight. Much better than the neutron star like mass of a uhaul tank transport. This is a British made all aluminum trailer. 160Kgs(352Lbs) empty. [/url]http://www.allytrailer.co.uk/home/storage-applications The one thing that bothers me about all the American & Canadian stuff. Is the preoccupation with trying to put so much mass forward of the axle. It's as if they have forgotten that a modern trailer coupler has a locking device that prevents the trailer from "jumping" off the ball and modern tie downs prevent the load from shifting. The Europeans operate with a tongue weight of 50Kgs. So their trailers are made to have a much more balanced load. But I imagine the DOT would make bring a euro trailer here a PITA. This link to a Canadian trailer company looks very nice. But again. The axles look to be next to the loading ramps. As they are a custom builder I'm sure they could move the axles forward and shorten the whole thing to fit a 7. http://expresscustom.com/nav_group_5.php?gazpart=view&gazimage=4926

When I was working at a motorcycle dealer in South Dakota a few years ago. We saw a lot of people suffer from a sickness called brochure racing. Wherein a person buys a Yamaha R1, Said person will always come in the very next season and want the new R1 because a motorcycle magazine tester was able to get a 1/4 mile time that was .001 second faster than last years model. Boy did we make a lot of money off those guys. moot point for most of them as they were mostly crap riders or stunters/ showoffs that only did wheelies from a stop light. Truth is. Most folks (that includes me) Don't have the ability to drive what we have to the level that the vehicle can attain. Especially on the street. We must resist the temptation to chase numbers just for the sake of numbers. As the numbers game is always an expensive sport. That 65k Cat when running the inflation numbers back to 1957 would have had the 1957 cat at $7800. It actually cost 1036 quid or $2900 which is 24k in 2012 dollars. That 65k cat is way over priced and should already be Ti at that price. Of course this is just my opinion.

Well done sir. Thank you.

A couple of quick photos. I think the Cat came all the way to Germany on an open transport though. It only had the cockpit tonneau cover on instead of the full hood. The car was very dirty and it's right around freezing now so my outdoor hose pipes are shut off for the winter. It may prove difficult to get it cleaned up for sometime as I can't pop down to the automatic wash with a 7. I dare say that it would be a bit of a disaster to go through an automatic wash. Don't worry I wouldn't dare do that. I have an appointment tomorrow to remove the Yoko A048's and replace them with some all seasons for the winter. bought a set of four Hankook H730 four seasons, Mounted and balanced for 300 Euro=$400. The car is in really great shape for being 30 yrs old. The only bits that are off kilter are. 1, The Webers needed a bit of adjusting (imagine that) of course that is normal for anything Italian. But they are easy to fiddle with and access to them on the Cat is superb. 2, It has a wonky (intermittent) headlamp power switch. New one is 7 quid from Caterham UK. 3, I need to change over the headlamps to left dip pattern. All in all not bad. Now if the weather would just warm up a bit. I also need to practice getting in that thing with the hood up. Looks to be nearly impossible as I'm old and not so flexible anymore http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/images/smilies/oldman.gif Or just dress really warm and sod the hood.

I'm somewhere in the middle. Just as children need a guide post or a set of boundaries to operate within as set forth by their parental units. I think the Bible can do this (on a basic level) for adults that have lost their direction in life. It gives a person the hope that they are not just here for a bit and then disappear. Of course there are those that would use (twist) any book whether it is the Bible, Qur'an, Wiccan, The US constitution and use it for their own devices that are often contrary to the basic tenants of "their" book.

Just got a call from the auto transport company. I will have my Caterham at noon tomorrow Dec 3rd. I'll post up some pictures of the unloading.

Fair point Tabor One would think that a check of the track width would either verify or deny that an issue exists. It's the lack of initiative and the blind following of suspect guidelines that galls me. It's the same (to a point) in Germany. If a German rule book says that one must fart then jump off a cliff a German would do it without question.

America is so rife with stupid any more it would be easier to avoid sand on a beach than stupidity in our once great nation. And one wonders why America is fast becoming a third or fourth rate country.

Ok. If you do happen across the info or even the city in BC be sure and post it up. Thanks

Terry Do we have to beg or are you withholding the trailer manufactures info for a reason? Just asking. I want to be able to file this info for when we return to Walla Walla from Europe in 18 months. Thanks in advance

Ihckb2. If you look at the UK golf TDI caravan test I posted. They were using the 6spd double clutch that you say is baned from towing the test car had a factory tow rating of 3300lbs. I maintain that it's down to marketing strategy to move the folks away from the cars to the pricey suv's for towing. That's it.

all very good tips save for number one which is ambiguous at best 1. Understanding Towing Capacity Never exceed your vehicle’s towing capacity. Therein lies the rub s2k7. There are conflicting numbers for the same car from the same maker depending on the market that the car is sold in. There isn't a difference in the basic chassis of a UK, EU, NA Passat. There are minor tweaks to lighting, Pollution controls and such. But the unibody construction is the same. By the by. The $50,000 toureg that can haul 7700Lbs has unibody construction as well. Terry. Please post up a link to that trailer. It looks to be the dogs bollocks.

I think it's first and foremost an issue of the auto companies using our American penchant for "bigger is always better" as leverage to push us to buy something with a higher profit margin. And one must remember that most folks whom buy a big tow vehicle already have a family car. So why on earth would a manufacture risk losing a sale by telling the customer that the car they already have will do fine towing. In Europe that's not the case. A lot of folks don't own a car at all much less two. The average German garage (most homes have a car port or only a small single garage) is not able to accommodate something like a Toyota Titan or Suburban type truck. I have about 4-6" to spare at the garage door opening to clear the mirrors on our 328. With fuel costing $10 per gallon, Along with the small roads and parking spots in Europe it just doesn't make sense nor is it easy to have a large truck in the first place. So one must look in another direction to show how epic one's ego is. Of course I do believe the manufacture's lawyers have a hand in it as well. But, I do believe strongly that it's more about marketing to the unaware/ size matters American than it being about law suits. When one looks at the wording in the US edition of a VW owners manual versus the UK's. UK says that the car can tow XYZ. The US manual says that "for technical reasons" VW recommends that this vehicle not be used to tow. That's BS speak for "we don't really have a technical reason you can't tow". If the car in question really wasn't designed nor structurally capable of towing don't you think that they would have said so in the manual. "Not recommended" does not mean you can't nor is it forbidden. It's merely a suggestion and not mandated due to vehicle design constraints.

One is nuts to be on the autobahn at night in the rain even without a trailer. It's the one area where Germans act like total nut jobs. I have had the displeasure of being on the bahn at night in the rain. The Germans absolutely do not slow down at all for rain at night. I have been passed like I was standing still, And I was at 75MPH myself. Bloody hell. Glad to hear of everyone's non-conventional tow car stories. I was beginning to think I was the lone man in the wilderness. It has been difficult to look past all the American conventional wisdom about tow vehicles and start with a fresh view. We are thinking about a 2014 VW Passat TDI. We currently have a 2008 BMW 328i w/60,000 miles. I worry about the BMW. It has been a great trouble free car. Yet, older beamers tend to be electronic nightmares. And I don't trust the BMW 6speed autobox for towing. (it's built by GM) So it always wants to be in 6th gear by 15MPH.