Date:         Sat, 1 Apr 1995 09:02:19 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         drew@interport.net (Derek Drew)
Subject:      Trailer Hitches For Vanagon Class III Found

OK. Listen up!  I have inspected alimited production run of Class III
trailer hitches for Vanagons and they are a beautiful job indeed.

As you know the most beefy trailer hitches made for Vanagon do not meet even
Class I standards. This means you are limited to towing something that has a
gross weight of 1,000 lbs and a tounge weight of 100 lbs. 

This is enough capacity to tow a doll house but not much more. 

This state of affairs is odd since in Europe Vanagon trailer hitches can be
found capable of towing 4,000 lbs or more. 

Some of you may be aware of the legendary capabilities of Long Island, New
York's Dennis Haynes (who owns a little fleet of Vanagons, including two
syncros and a camper syncro). Well, Dennis is the most knowledgeable Vanagon
mechanic I know and has a complete workshop and has done ground up
restorations on late model Vanagons. I play a game when I visit him which is
to show him odd random rubber boots and little nuts and bolts and other
pieces from my 87 syncro camper (which hit a deer) and he is always able to
immediately identify the part, its function, and tell me a story about that
part. Not only that, he always knows the price and a non-dealer source if
there is one. 

I have him do custom modification work on my own 90 syncro camper. 

Anyway, Dennis has been working with a welder and has fabricated a limited
production run of 9 Class III trailer hitches for Vanagon. He has already
sold or used up three of these and I think he has about five or six left.
The last one he is selling is going to the owner of a Tri Star 1990 Double
Cap Pickup in the midwest.

I traveled out to Dennis' workshop last weekend and inspected these things
and was impressed by how strong they are and how well thought out they are.
You could tow a yacht or a motorhome around with them. They mount
immediately below the rear bumper and are painted black. With a Class III
hitch you get a receiver hitch hole. When you want to tow something, you
plug the ball mounting into that hole.

The hitches replace the two pieces of metal that hold your bumper up now.
They are longer and extend further in to the vehicle body.

I think they are worth it for another reason, however. They are so strong
they would protect the rear of your vanagon if it was hit by anything
smaller than a Mac truck semi. As you van stands now, the bumpers are
useless in a real accident, and major $$ is required to repair a Vanagon hit
from the rear. 

Anyway, I am just passing this on out of enthusiasm. I have no financial
interest in whether Dennis sells any of these hitches except that I am
buying one for myself. Dennis has no internet access and he is on the East
Coast (Vanagon desert) so I offered to spread the word by making this post
on the internet for him. 

I believe Dennis said he was charging $175 or $200 per hitch but shipping
was included. He checked and said he can ship UPS. But you can ask him
yourself. His phone number (evenings and weekends) is 516-563-8248. Tell him
you heard about his hitches on the internet Vanagon mailing list or you
could even mention my name.

This is a one time opportunity to get a real strong hitch and significant
rear end protection to boot.
Derek Drew
drew@interport.net (preferred)
DerekDrew@aol.com (if interport is down)