Hi Scott, Thanks for a most expert and detailed report on the M15 weights; and all the equipment and it's weights that you carry. Also, your opinions and experience with towing vehicles. As you say, it's a function of terrain / distance / load / speed / and frequency of towing. My comments are towing for 300 miles each way twice a year: total 600 miles. Terrain mostly flat, not climbing the Rockies. But, I have come to another conclusion regarding brakes. Car brakes are designed for "ordinary" use. Hauling an M15 has led me to consider either installing trailer brakes on the trailer; or my latest thought: install bigger and better brakes on the new VW Jetta wagon. This gives me the best of all compromises. Better brakes all year long in the tow vehicle; and more brake capacity when hauling the M15. Now that I've gained this insight, I'm going to do a bit more research in improved car brakes: cost? effectiveness? vs. cost of trailer brakes. Using the automatic transmission in the 1.8T GTI and now in the Jetta wagon (VR6 - 172 HP), I find it is a lot easier launching or retrieving with an automatic than slipping the clutch on a manual. When I brought the wounded M15 home from the lake, I backed the boat and trailer up my slightly sloping driveway to park the boat in it's winter spot. It was very easily done with the automatic, and I had give up trying that with the manual transmission: too much slipping the clutch........ My solution was to simply drive up the driveway with the car in front: pull the car partially into the garage: then unhook the trailer and swing it around and manually man-handle it into it's parked position. It worked, but doing it with an automatic is a lot simpler and faster! Thanks again for a great technical article, and all your detailed component weights. Connie