New TV - 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo

[LivinLite AZ]

Hello All.

It has been quite a while since my last post. This is partially due to the fact that most of our priority trailer mods for our 13 QBB had been performed and documented in detail here on this forum back in 2017.

Unfortunately, our 2018 travel plans unraveled due to transmission issues with our previous tow vehicle, the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Upon saving enough extra cash to put a new transmission in the Jeep, I thought perhaps that money would be better spent as a down payment on something different with more power for towing.

Well, long story short, we did find a vehicle with more towing capacity. And a whole lot more, all around.

We purchased our pristine 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo in March. After putting a few thousand miles on it already, I am smitten. It is ridiculously capable of any and all tasks so far. Although it has a nasty habit guzzling premium fuel an alarming rate. But happily better than the Jeep, now getting two miles per gallon better, at 11 MPG towing at 70MPH at 5000 feet in altitude.

At any rate, we have camped only once so far this season for a semi local shake down trip a couple weeks ago. The Cayenne is rated at 7700 lbs. It tows our CL like it's a toy. Looking forward to longer trips in the coming months to CO, UT, and NM.

With no further adieu, here are some pics...

[Merlin]

Way cool! A good friend of mine has that same year Cayenne and it's really nice. I'm not into towing anything at 70mph, but I'm sure that Porsche can do it. Are those camper tires rated for that? I look forward to the CO, UT, and NM trip reports!

Edit: I see you have the LL off-road package with the good camper tires. No worries on speed 

[LivinLite AZ]

Allegedly the Cayenne can do near 170. It came with 'W' rated 22" wheels and tires when we bought it from the dealer. However, I was able to trade straight across for a set of 18" OEM wheels and tires with decent tread left on them. But the spare is useless, so we are going to an extra full sized wheel and then get 5 new 32" AT tires.

At any rate, our CLs factory equipped 195/75 14" BFG ATs tread blocks are starting to chunk (like BFGs ATs do), so it is also time to upgrade to the next pair of AT tires for the QBB. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that with my 13QBB, its current weight limit is a function of my tires load capacity.

Those dying BFG 14s are rated about 1500lbs per tire. They don't make them any more and there is only one other AT 14" tire that I can find -the  GRABBER A/TX - SIZE: LT27X8.5R14. I would happily 'Grab' these except, they too are only rated at 1500lbs? I have been pondering moving up to a 15" tire, the GRABBER AT 2 - SIZE: 205/75R15 that are rated at 1600lbs. Am I right to assume that I would gain 200lbs of capacity if I go up to the 15s?

Now I have hijacked my own TV thread, and bent it towards asking for advice on CL tire choice. Any opinions?

: ) S

Here it is with the 22s vs 18s , air suspension at full height - the 22s are 32" in diameter, but the the swapped 18s are only 29" tall, so our next pair of ATs will restore it to at least 32" again : )

[Merlin]

Nice pics and good move on the 18" Cayenne wheel size. Those huge 22" wheels and rubber bands for tires looked weird.

AT tires for the camper will be tough. You can look at the label on the axle to see if either it or the tires are the limiting factor for load rating. I'm a big fan of having too much tire. I upsized on my camper tires when I replaced them, though I kept to trailer service rating. I don't understand the size numbering on the General tires you found. What is a LT27 X 8.5? 

[LivinLite AZ]

The LT27 X 8.5 works out to be something like 215/75 14 in metric terms.

I am sold on the GRABBER AT 2 - SIZE: 205/75R15, unless someone would advise otherwise. I realize that this would require buying new 15" wheels for the CL, but it would open possibilities with load rating and tire choice going forward.

Any specs / suggestions, or where to find wheels with the right bolt pattern and offset that don't look like generic trailer wheels?

When you say,  "trailer service rating", would the specs for the Grabbers (see attached below) meet or exceed this rating you mention?

Thanks

[ADR]

I much prefer 15" tires- for one thing if you need one ASAP while on the road they are a whole lot easier to find.   Much larger selection too.

[Merlin]

The LT27 X 8.5 works out to be something like 215/75 14 in metric terms.

I am sold on the GRABBER AT 2 - SIZE: 205/75R15, unless someone would advise otherwise. I realize that this would require buying new 15" wheels for the CL, but it would open possibilities with load rating and tire choice going forward.

Any specs / suggestions, or where to find wheels with the right bolt pattern and offset that don't look like generic trailer wheels?

When you say,  "trailer service rating", would the specs for the Grabbers (see attached below) meet or exceed this rating you mention?

Thanks

Yes, LT tires meet or exceed ST tire ratings and can be a good choice for trailers. Here's a Tire Rack article on that.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=219

Here's the etrailer site on wheels. I use etrailer.com for all my questions and trailer parts needs.

https://www.etrailer.com/s.aspx?qry=15"+wheels&furl=-pg-Tires_and_Wheels

[LivinLite AZ]

Turns out that the lowest denominator is the Dexter axle itself. As pictured on the label image attached. So the factory off road 195/75 14" BFGs are appropriately matched to the axle capacity.

That means that I will need to look into a more stout axle option to safely make use of the higher weight capacity of a larger tire.  I suppose I will wait to figure this out until my existing axle eventually needs replacing.

I  took a glance over at the Dexter online catalog - more research will ensue at some point.

[LivinLite AZ]

New 32.5" ATs for the Cayenne...

I finally replaced our interim (see above re 22" vs 18" wheels) standard 28" tall street tires and doughnut spare with a set of 5 off-road worthy tires and gained back a couple inches of ground clearance too !

Now, how to best stow that huge full size spare?

Pics below...

1. How we bought the vehicle it with aftermarket 22s and performance tires, in full lift mode

2. With our swapped 18s with stock street tires, in full lift mode

3. With our new 32.5" AT tires, in full lift mode

4. With our new 32.5" AT tires with air suspension in full slammed down mode

5. New full size spare

6. Compared with Jeep on 33s

I love the AT51s - They are quiet, comfortable, handle great, and have amazing wet and snow traction (been running them on our Lexus SUV for two years)

[mojospeople]

The Cayenne should be a great TV for you! we've been towing our 16TBS with a '16 VW Touareg v6 gas, same platform as the Cayenne, for three seasons now and it performs great even up through mountain passes and at 70 mph. It's a beast for its size. Congrats!

[LivinLite AZ]

Hello Mojo.

Good to know your Touareg is serving you well!

These awesome vehicles are overqualified for most driving tasks.

What kind of mileage are you seeing?

: ) S

[mojospeople]

Haha, 10 or 11 mpg. But then we don't slow down much unless conditions or traffic is bad.

[LivinLite AZ]

We just towed 1100 mi in the four corners area and returned 10.5 MPG for mixed 70+ highway and forest rd / off road trails.

Same towing MPG as our 94 Grand Cherokee V8, but the Cayenne is a more comfortable and much safer vehicle.

Have fun out there : )