Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 23:26:30 -0800
Reply-To: Holly and Chris Mills <scmills@TNTECH.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Holly and Chris Mills <scmills@TNTECH.EDU>
Subject: Re: Looking fer trailer hitches
In-Reply-To: <200102210444.VAA03372@mail.aros.net>
Content-type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=us-ascii
Do the vanagons use an engine cross bar at the rear of the van?
(I've got a '78 but read the Vanagon list too).
I built a very stout hitch using the steel block that clamps the front of
the tranny to the torsion bar housing, two drop down (vertical plates) from
the bumper bolts (which I increased to a better strength) and then out and
up to the bottom of the rear bumper and through it as well - reinforced by
a plate on the inside of the bumper (bolted the hitch through the bumper to
the plate).
A little more detail:
Added a vertical plate to the front of the clamping plate on the front of
tranny. Welded the vertical plate (1/2" thick) to the clamping plate.
Ran two square tubing runners back under the drivetrain (thick walled
tubing) to a cross bar (same square tubing) that ran right to left and
'hung' on two vertical plates that shared the rear bumper bolts. You could
modify this to two vertical plates that ran up on the outside of the
unibody 'frame rail' and run a couple large diameter bolts through that
instead. Your choice. It is really is mostly a locator bracket for the rest
of the hitch - and shares some of the tongue load (pulling 1200 pounds with
a 100 hitch - that might be about 50 or 60 lbs?).
The two runners attached at the front to the front tranny mount and at the
back to the cross bar handled most of the stress created by pulling something.
I built a receiver style hitch so I could swap out the receiver - giving
myself the ability to pull things with both 1 7/8" or 2" hitches. I usually
pulled my utility trailer to the dump or moved my Beetle (both 1 7/8") with
it but from time to time I might move my Dad's trailers which used 2"
hitches. I could move large trailers but couldn't haul much on them
(relocate them to the right city and then borrow a truck for a local tow).
It worked very well and for a test I hitched a very heavy trailer to the
hitch which actually bottomed out the rear suspension and raised the first
almost to the stops. I could move it around but never would consider
pulling it beyond the parking lot where I did this test. Never would be to
stop it and my tires were very, very overloaded at that point.
I removed the hitch a year or two back to go through a paint job and a few
fixes and am almost back on the road (next 2 weeks I hope). Along the way I
acquired a lighter hitch that allows me to move my trailer or Beetle
around. It's an old hitch but relies only on the bumper bolts for support.
I think it will be okay for my needs but miss the security of the old hitch
we built. This one is much more compact. Don't think they still supply this
hitch as it probably is as old as my bus.
If you can use my old hitch we built I'll be glad to sell it to you for the
materials cost I had in it back then ($50). If it didn't bolt on your bus,
I doubt it would take much to adapt it.
I also recommend adding full instruments to any low powered air cooled
engine because they aren't really made for this type of hauling. They can
do it safely, but you are asking alot of them. I've pulled my Beetle a
hundred miles over the TN mtns. many times.
Hope this has been useful to you!
Take care!
At 06:38 PM 2/20/01, you wrote:
>...
>
> >my suggestion would be to install a tachometer and oil temp gauge as
> >well. and a cylinder head temp gauge wouldn't hurt. the tachometer is to
> >keep track of your engine speed, so you can shift down on hills to keep
> >the rpm up (to keep the fan speed up and keep the engine cool!). pulling
> >a trailer tends to make folks forget about the rpm, and on an aircooled
> >bus, it's critical to the cooling.
>
>
>This is good advice. I think I should do just that.
>
>OTOH, it looks like I may not be able to do the trailer anyway, as I am
>unable to find a hitch beyond the one that uses the eyelets and I tend to
>agree with others who say this is not a very reliable method
>
>What I don't grasp is that the hitches I see on the eyelets are sold class
>one, but only good up to 1000lbs, which ain't class one.
>
>I should probably get a tach and an oil temp guage anyway. Thanks for the
>help.
>
>Regards,
>
>John
CHRIS in Tennessee
scmills@tntech.edu
ICQ: 5944649
'78 VW Westfalia (maybe some CIS injection,Corvair, turbos --- maybe I'm
just dreaming.....)
'65 Beetle (Type IV powered)
'99 CR-V 5 speed
'49 Chevy 3100 Pickup
'81 Honda CB900C
