Towing with a 2008 Cayenne S

[cuanlee]

Anyone out there towing their track car with their Porsche SUV. I bought a 2008 Cayenne S which apparently had the "towing package". Now that I am trying to get the dealership to install the pin connector and the brake controller, I'm not exactly getting the "warm and fuzzy" that they know what they're doing.

Anyone have any experience with Porsche dealerships on this matter?

[efhughes3]

No, but I'm looking at a used 04 S over at one of the local dealers here. It has the tow package, but I don't know how complete it is. I should know more tomorrow or Sunday. If I get this, I plan on towing my '84 to the track.

[SCOTITUDE]

I use my 04 CS to tow the track car in an enclosed trailex. Does a beautiful job. I dont even know the trailer is back there. I did use my steel trailer before the trailex, very heavy, and the CS still did the job but I knew I had a trailer back there. One problem I found was the CS is kinda narrow for an enclosed trailer limiting the rear vision. I cant see the rear corners of the trailer in my mirrors. I'm not adding those ugly mirror extensions so I got used to it. The 04 is a little easier to wire in than the 08's. I asked for a friend on the forums a while back for the location of the pigtail connection under the dash on the 08 and nobody seemed to know, not even my P factory tech friends. The 04 connector is definitely there, wrapped in foam under the dash. I added the whole factory tow kit plus the controller with the help of a friend. It helped he was a factory tech. Once the kit is installed you do have to go back to the stealer to flash the ecu. A 10 min fix. I sold my 04 Silverado Crew to reduce my fleet and made the CS do double duty. she is the wifes daily driver and my tow vehicle. The only complaint I had is the loss of room in the back. I would consider it a moderate install job. We did it in 3-4 hrs, IIRC. Now that I saw how it was done I definitely would have tackled this myself w/o the factory help but I would have set aside a whole day. The tow kit consists of the hitch, shank , 7 pin receiver and the control box. the box plugs into the electonics panel behind the passenger side trim panel in the rear cargo area. Thats the biggest PITA. To get off the big panel you need to remove the one before it, and so on and so on. maybe 3 trim pieces before you get to the one you need. You need to buy a brake controller. If the CS has the hitch and 7 pin receiver installed already I would think the control box is already installed and all you need is the brake controller and you're ready to go. If you want some pics of the install hit my email.
Scotitude@aol.

[cuanlee]

Thanks for the info! I'm a little reluctant to attempt it myself on the 08 but the info will help me deal with the dealership in a more informed manner.

[SCOTITUDE]

Cuan, I sent ya some pics to go along with the text. Good Luck.
Scott

[cuanlee]

Thanks Scott

I'll take a look.

[Cobalt]

Although I use my Chevy Avalanche more than not to tow my track car I enjoy using my CT to tow it better.

Anyone says these make poor tow vehicles is mistaken. Although I would limit towing to under 6000 pounds for long distances.