Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2008 21:40:25 -0500
Reply-To: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Towing a Vanagon
In-Reply-To: <B1D43334-B3C3-443D-8040-772EEB69DCE5@kippert.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
I recently went to tow a 1980 automatic camper that had been sitting for 15
years, and found the only good way to do it was with a 4 wheeled car hauler.
People suggested that if i were to use a tow dolly with an automatic i'd
have to remove the driveshafts completely and have the rear end on the
ground, as putting it in neutral won't cut it with these automatics, and
towing with the front wheels dragging isn't safe due to the inadequacy of
the steering lock system which could and has left people with the vehicle in
tow suddenly gaining it's own sense of control. These were the observations
i came up with when i posed this question to the list some months ago
however, my own observations make it even more clear that a tow dolly for a
2 hour journey probably wouldn't be wise. First off, it's been sitting for 2
years, the brakes might be shot, which will make the whole thing far less
fun to tow (and even get to the trailer). Furthermore, with a full car
hauler you have better weight distribution and in my case, built in trailer
brakes which i couldn't imagine towing without! Even if it was only a
hydrolic tounge brake on a uhaul trailer, with the hills we have here in
pittsburgh PA and towing behind a 1500 suburban, it just wouldn't seem wise
with anything less. While i know you CAN tow with less, heck i recently saw
a picture of a westy being towed behind a syncro, a couple hours on the
highway with a tow bar attached to the front bumper, i really don't feel
it's the way to do it. It seemed questionable enough in my situation.
My advice is spend the $60 and get the flatbead trailer from Uhaul for a
day. It made it easy (Built in winch for getting the car on the trailer!)
-Craig
'85GL turned WESTY
On Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 9:20 PM, Mark A Kippert <vanagon@kippert.com> wrote:
> I'm taking my next step into the Vanagon addiction. I just recently
> bought a 1987 GL for parts. It's a complete van, and to be honest,
> it's in pretty good shape. Now I just need to get it home. It's about
> 2 hours South of Indy. It has been setting for about 1.5 to 2 years.
>
> I own tow dolly. I'm just wondering which end should go on the dolly,
> front or rear. It's an automatic with a good transmission. I'm also
> wondering which end is lighter, front or back. I'd rather put the
> lighter end on the dolly, but is this the best way to two.
>
> Mainly I've towed lighter front wheel drive cars around town, so the
> drive wheels never touched the ground. This time it will be a 4000lb
> van and I don't want to mess up a good transmission.
>
> Any suggestion on the best way to tow would be appreciated.
>
> -Mark K
>
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