Dane: I had an '85 Westy which I used for about 3 years to haul two jet skiis on a trailer regularly from L.A. to the Colorado River and Lake Mojave(near Las Vegas). Total weight with gear, skiis and trailer was about 1000 lbs. The trip required climbing mountain passes beginning from 500' above sea level to about 4000' and sometimes travelling in 100+ degree F temps in the desert. The Westy never overheated, and towed really well. (I did not run the a/c when climbing!). You will find yourself in second gear when climbing any major hills. The trailer ran nice and level behind the van due to the height of the hitch from the ground and launching the boats was easy. I wouldn't worry about 550 lbs if I were you. While it is not recommended 'by the book', I encountered no difficulties and enjoyed many crazy weekends on the river. BTW, I no longer have that Westy and no longer ride jet-skiis, but I am now wedded to an '81 air-cooled and we enjoy a little less exertion on our road trips these days! Melissa Mourkas 81 Westy 'Hildie' Massachusetts |
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Vanagon mail messages have been archived.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.