Date:         Fri, 24 Jun 2005 16:55:53 -0400
Reply-To:     Don in North Carolina <vanagondon@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don in North Carolina <vanagondon@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: I need a trailer hitch
Comments: To: Wesley Alden Pegden <wes@cs.uchicago.edu>
In-Reply-To:  <20050624203724.GC14860@senator.cs.uchicago.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

On 6/24/05, Wesley Alden Pegden <wes@cs.uchicago.edu> wrote:
> Hi all,
> I need a trailer hitch.  I'd really like to be able to pull a "class 2" trailer from u-haul from Pittsburgh to New Jersey (I'd stay on pretty flat roads).  Is this feasible?  More specifically, I'm eyeing the 5'x8'.
> 
> Do people think I can do this safely?    And what are my best hitch options?  Cost is definitely a factor, but I don't want to cut corners if it's a safety issue.
> 
> 
> Thanks very much for any suggestions,
> Wes

FYI,

From the owners manual - 1986 and up (not sure if the early Vanagons
are different):

Maximum braked trailer weight -    900kg (2,000 lb)
Maximum unbraked trailer weight - 600kg (1,320 lb)
Maximum tongue weight -                 75kg (165 lb)

NOTE 1: There is no difference listed between the Syncro and the
passenger van.  Not sure if the camper supplement shows a lower number
or not.
 
NOTE 2: The above are the limits for a stock van, with all systems
(brakes, transaxle and engine) in good repair.

The only high capacity trailer hitch I know of is the South African
one, like the one sold by Bus Depot.  The towing loop ones are
normally rated at 1000 lbs, and I wouldn't use them for more than a
motorcycle trailer.

-- 
Don in Reidsville, NC
1986 Kawasaki Concours
1988 Vanagon GL (Sylvia)
"Why do they call it a fixed income, if mine is always broke?"