Date:         Wed, 23 Jun 2004 21:49:33 -0700
Reply-To:     Shawn Wright <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Shawn Wright <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA>
Subject:      Re: Towing a Vanagon with a Vanagon?
In-Reply-To:  <40D927D3.26718.23F461F5@localhost>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

On 23 Jun 2004 at 6:48, Shawn Wright <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA> wrote:

> I may need to tow another Vanagon about 100 miles with my '88 Westy 2.1L.
> Are there any options for doing this without a hitch, ie: some kind of tow bar
> that mounts to the tow hooks on each van? My concern is most hitches I've seen
> are not rated much beyond 1000 lbs. I'm only looking for a one-time use, so is
> there something I can rent from UHaul for this?

Wow! I didn't mean to set off such a thread with this! Can we get back to
something more mundane, like tires? ;-)

I has been interesting reading all the various stories and advice, and those
questioning my sanity... (I do this myself at times). Anyway, the point is moot,
as I have decided to pass on the subject vehicle anyway. Towing would have
been a last resort, as I would have tried to drive it back if I could. I even
considering using my '85 Jetta D as the tow vehicle, but the clutch is almost
gone, and that would kill it for sure, plus I can carry more tools etc in the van,
and sleep better... I once towed 7 loads of gravel in a trailer behind my Jetta
Diesel to redo my driveway, total weight leaving the pit was 5600lbs, about
the same as a loaded Westy Diesel I guess, but not the gears to match, so it
was hard on the clutch. The car went another 300k kms after that just fine
though. I've also carried a load of 16' 2x6s and some 2x10s stacked to the
ceiling in my Westy, with bags of concrete on the front pass floor to keep the
front end on the ground. This was all the material for a 6x26' porch and 12x15
deck in one load... The van did amazingly well over a 10 mile trip.

Anyway, thanks to all for the input!--
Shawn Wright
http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright
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