On 6/2/05 1:06 PM, "Chris Paquette" <cxp36@YAHOO.COM> wrote: > When I bought my '88 Westy, the PO had put a trailer hitch on it. This > always struck me as highly optimistic, as the little 4 cylinder, 100 > horsepower engine seems to have its hands full just propelling itself > around, much less pulling a load. > > However, a need has arisen and if possible, I'd like to attach a small > U-haul type trailer to it and move 25-30 boxes or various sizes (books, > dishes, clothes, etc.) from California to Washington state. Anyone done any > towing with their Westy? Is it asking too much of the engine, or is this > actually feasible? > > > Cheers, > Chris Paquette > > The max is listed as 75/100 tongue weight and 1000/1200 tow depending on model with the lighter being for earlier vanagons. Class I 2,000 lbs. (GTW) 200 lbs. (TW) Class II 3,500 lbs. (GTW) 300 lbs. (TW) The limitations used by mfr to set up what class tow a vehicle is are 1. brakes 2. engine/clutch 3. suspension 4. mounting points 5. center of balance Here in the mountains I often see the results of violations of 1, 2, and 5. Overloaded for the brakes and into the ditch or median or down some awful long drops Heavier than rated tow and you come up on a stalled car and smell the destroyed clutch from a mile back or the huge puddle of a totally overworked cooling system trying to keep up. Going down a slope with a heavier than rated tongue weight and then into a turn and you find out that the front doesnąt steer right any more |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.