Towing Aim 15RB with 2023 Audi Q7 55

[NBT2NFT]

Making our first upgrade from a wee Jayco 154BH to the Aim 15RB. Our Audi is rated to tow 7700lbs but I'm concerned about the overall size of the TT and being able to drive and control well. Advice and experience welcome.

 

[Marmot]

Making our first upgrade from a wee Jayco 154BH to the Aim 15RB. Our Audi is rated to tow 7700lbs but I'm concerned about the overall size of the TT and being able to drive and control well. Advice and experience welcome.

We have a 2023 AIM 15RB and tow it with a Jeep Grand Cherokee, mid size SUV, using an Anderson hitch (see signature). We just got back from a 2500 mile trip around Utah including mountain driving and the towing experience was good. Our Jeep has a 7200 lbs tow capacity (the AIM won’t exceed that), but the thing to watch is your tongue weight, tow vehicle cargo capacity and distributing the tongue weight onto the two axles of your TV. Your Audi dealer may have input on towing recommendations.

For example, our weights are as follows::

Tongue weight:
418 lbs As delivered
486 lbs Packed for a trip and 1/3 tank fresh water, not including weight of hitch

Our Jeep has a cargo capacity of 1050 lbs minus the estimated weight for passengers and TV cargo gives us about 580 lbs for the trailer tongue weight. So, we’re good but the margins aren’t huge and will vary from trip to trip.

Everyone’s situation varies depending upon installed options, how full the tanks are, and what and where you load things in your trailer and TV.

 

[NBT2NFT]

Thanks for the detailed info, we've got 7700 towing capacity so I'll try to stay well under 770 tongue weight. Audi doesn't allow use of a weight distribution hitch so we're looking into a stand alone anti sway bar.

 

[Joseph_67097999e8f07]

Just purchased our AIM 15RB last week and took it out for test run with Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk with 6500 lb towing capacity. Our numbers were: Fully loaded TV 5460, fully loaded AIM with full fresh water tank 4300, tongue wt 520 (12.1%) Towed easily with no problems, however here in Wyoming I will have 2 issues: very strong winds and frequent steep uphill grades. Towing it back from the dealer empty under strong winds (and very likely under 10% tongue weight) was rather frightening. I am planning on upgrading TV to SUV that can tow >8000.

 

[hskrfan]

I pull a 2024 15RB with a 2022 Honda Ridgeline. The Ridgeline has a towing capacity of 5000 lbs and it pulls it fine. Ridgeline manual says weight distribution hitch is not needed but it pulls way better with one.

I would research Audi forums about a weight distribution hitch and see what other user experiences are.

 

[Sparky1]

We’ve towed our 2150RB fully loaded 6659lbs since 2018 with a 2018 Audi Q7 prestige. I made some changes to the car and trailer to tweak the setup and the Audi tows the trailer REALLY well. We’ve towed over 20,000 miles and over the 11,000’ high passes in Colorado several times. I tow at 60 mph and get 10-11 mpg.
I added a Curt brake controller and I added Airlift air bags to the steel springs because I don’t have air suspension and that reduced the sag. I use an Anderson alumastinger hitch with a 3/4” rise and drilled a second 5/8” hole in it to shorten the ball distance from the hitch to keep it within the Audi specifications. On the trailer I replaced the coupler with an adjustable one so the trailer rides level.
I bought a tongue weight scale and I'm careful to keep the tongue weight between 675 and 750 lbs and there is virtually no swaying or bouncing.
No sway with 25 mph crosswind at 60 mph. I do feel slight semi suck when they blast by at 75-80 mph.
The 3.0 liter supercharged v6 has plenty of power but I slow down on steep grades to keep the oil temps below 270 degrees. So on 8-10 degree grades the speed is about 40 mph.

You’ll love towing your Aim with the Audi.
Have fun and safe travels.

 

[M&Lcamping]

Making our first upgrade from a wee Jayco 154BH to the Aim 15RB. Our Audi is rated to tow 7700lbs but I'm concerned about the overall size of the TT and being able to drive and control well. Advice and experience welcome.

NB, Like Sparky1, we tow our Imagine 2250RK with a 2017 Q7 Premium Plus with factory tow. Make sure you follow the exact receiver length and rise recommendations per the owners manual. Since you should not use weight distribution assemblies with the Quattro system, I added a second sway controller on the drivers side of the hitch. I have a curt betterweigh app to keep my tongue weight at a max 800lbs (780 is the norm) and added rear trailer receiver and hitch assembly for a cargo basket that I use to distribute any tongue weight I need to the rear; Generator, camping totes etc. I keep the weight in the cargo area at a specific amount and extra items we pack with us go inside over the axles.

Your vehicle cargo weight needs to be considered as well right, ours is rated at 1367lbs, less the 800, and I only have 567 lbs left. The trailer when fully loaded for a two week vacation weighs in at 6321 pounds. Everything we put into the trailer, down to the last utensil had been weighed.

We have about 8800 miles of towing with this setup. Since your trailer is lighter, you should certainly not have any issues.

 

[440scout]

Thanks for the detailed info, we've got 7700 towing capacity so I'll try to stay well under 770 tongue weight. Audi doesn't allow use of a weight distribution hitch so we're looking into a stand alone anti sway bar.

Most tow vehicles run out of payload capacity long before they run out of towing capacity. To find out your payload capacity look on the driver's door frame for the yellow sticker. It's the Tire and Loading Information. It should say something like The combined weight of passengers and cargo should not exceed ..... pounds. I've read that the payload capacity already includes 150 pounds for the driver and a full tank of fuel.

 

[fastjen12]

2023 Audi 4M 55 owner here….just ordered a 17MKE. while we haven’t taken delivery of our GD yet, we have towed a few RVs. Most recently a rental, 2022 Apex Nano, 203rbk. TV was fine. Plenty of power and brakes. Some sag. Used a Timber Grove weigh safe hitch, adjustable to a 6in rise. Not quite to Audi specs but closer than some other off shelf options. Like Sparky’s, premium plus on steel springs, so we plan to add the airlift bags before towing much more. I expect our RV to be around 6000lb loaded, 700ish TW. Plan to test and balance the load between TV and RV. Generally we will have 2 people, some light gear, a 30in inflatable spare tire (since our Audi has none……..) and our lab mix pup in the TV. Inspired by the other testimonies here and on the Airstream, Audi World forums. IMO, The Q7 is quite capable with planning and prep.