Date:         Mon, 4 Jun 2001 23:28:21 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: What is the best trailer hitch?
In-Reply-To:  <72.b3777c7.284d9167@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

The genuine VW hitch that I had two years ago will finally be available
again. This is surprising news, since after a year-long factory backorder
(!!)  I'd begun to think they'd simply been discontinued.  Bad news is,
they're still a good 4-6 weeks away, as my container hasn't even left port
yet.  Good news is, this beast blows away the rinky-dink ones that bolt to
the tow hooks.

This is a genuine Volkswagen South Africa hitch specifically designed for
the Vanagon.  It integrates right into the frame itself and is incredibly
heavy duty.  Includes a 2" ball; not easily adapted to other sizes, although
some people have welded a receiver onto it.  $162. Copy of my original post
about it (2 years ago!) below; more to be found in the List Archives.  I'll
post a quick note when they arrive.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215) 234-VWVW


-------------------------------


TRAILER HITCHES:  These were a real find!  They are genuine
Volkswagen/South Africa, and are heavier duty than anything I've ever seen
here in the U.S.  The whole setup simply replaces your stock bumper mounts,
then tucks inside your bumper (which bolts to it using the stock bumper
mount holes).  If you look at your stock bumper mounts you'll see that they
insert directly into two steel "tubes" that are part of the Vanagon frame.
This hitch goes right into the frame the same way, except that it extends
much deeper into the frame tubes than the bumper bracket did. It bolts to
the frame using the same bolt holes that your stock bumper brackets used.
The frame of the tow hitch hides inside the cavity of your rear bumper.  Two
sets of bumper brackets are included that attach your bumper to it, one for
the metal bumper and one for the plastic "wolfsburg" bumper.  In both cases
you will have to notch the bottom of the bumper (where you can't see it) in
order to make it clear the hitch mount (something you have to do on the
light-duty U.S. Vanagon hitches I've seen as well).  It initially looked to
me like you'd have to drill a hole in the included bracket for use with the
metal vanagon bumper, but my associates at Just Kampers in the UK, who have
been selling these for a while, tell me I must have looked at it wrong and
that you don't need to drill a hole.  Once installed, the hitch is nearly
invisible except for the roughly 6" rectangular mount that the hitch ball
attaches to, which sits below the bumper (almost flush with it).  It is
painted black but could also be painted to match your Vanagon.  These
bumpers use the European style mount for the tow ball, which is different
from the tow balls used here.  A 2" ball is included.  Only the way the ball
mounts to the hitch is different; the way the trailer attaches to it is the
same as on a US tow ball.  These hitches don't have a load rating like the
U.S. ones do, so all warnings about using common sense apply.  But looking
at this one compared to the standard aftermarket U.S. made hitch on my '89
Westy (which is rated at 1500 lbs and 150 lb tongue weight), this hitch is
TREMENDOUSLY more substantial.  I suspect that the limiting factor here will
be how much you can safely tow with your Vanagon, not the hitch. Remember,
these are actually Volkswagen tested and approved for use on the Vanagon,
unlike any hitch sold in the U.S. before.