VW Tow Vehicle

[Phil]

I have a VW "Thing" with a 1500cc air-cooled motor. Does anyone have experience towing a TD with a similarly powered vehicle?

[DANL]

Hi Phil,

This link has some comments about towing with an air-cooled bug.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1575773

Are you thinking of a teardrop for one person or two? Weekends or long trips? I've got a design percolating in the back of my head that might work for a small vehicle.

[ALAN GEDDES]

Phil; I have seen photos of and talked to others who have used a Beetle to pull a TD. I hope to have my hitch installed on my 69 1500 SP bug this weekend. I don't anticipate any problems. Keep the tongue weight down. I plan to install 1641cc jugs and front disc brakes on this bug in the near future. Electric brakes would be nice to. I have towed another complete beetle many times before with no problems. My biggest worry would be those 100 degree summer days. One time I towed a U Haul enclosed trailer with a 450cc motorcycle and all my personal effects from FT Bragg NC to Michigan and that included that ungodly grade up I-40 out of NC. It just takes a while to get up some of thoses grades but thats okay because "Things move slower on Tear Drop Time" Alan

[Phil]

Hi Phil,

This link has some comments about towing with an air-cooled bug.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1575773

Are you thinking of a teardrop for one person or two? Weekends or long trips? I've got a design percolating in the back of my head that might work for a small vehicle.

Thanx Dan / Alan for your responses. The TD would be for me and my significant sweetheart and our mini dauchshunt. While surfing the web I found a company called "Retro Tear Drops". They make a TD that weighs only 350 lbs. That sounds like the way to go.

[angib]

While surfing the web I found a company called "Retro Tear Drops". They make a TD that weighs only 350 lbs. That sounds like the way to go.

Sounds like we could all learn from them - a 350lb dry weight using a 240lb utility trailer as a base seems very clever. They say they use a 1" marine ply floor, which is about 80lb alone, so maybe there's a lot of helium used elsewhere in the construction.

Or maybe the 350lb dry weight is, ahem, 'advertising'.....

Probably tow fine behind your Thing though.

Andrew

[beverlyt]

Phil,
I think I remember looking over that site too. The trouble is, it's just a bunch of metal, isn't it? It doesn't look like the interior is even skinned out in wood. It would be like sleeping in a metal can and in hot weather, the condensation inside would probably be close to a rain storm.

Check out my site. I pull my teardrop with my VW New Beetle. My car is just a plain 2.0, and though I haven't taken it except for a short jog down the road, I'm comfortable it will tow just fine. You could probably get a 4x8 cubby to weigh even less then mine if you made a few changes here and there.

Not sure what the older bugs will pull?

Oh, and check out the "lil guy" trailers. Now those are nice and light-weight too if you don't want to build something.

Bev

[1FATGMC]

I had a '68 VW Bug in the late 60's that I used to pull a motorcycle trailer to races all over the country with and had no problems. You could put up to 3 bikes on the trailer and I and my friends road dirt bikes. I would guess the weight of it with 3 bikes on it was 700-800 lbs.

Don't forget there is a big difference in rolling weight behind a vehicle vs. loading the vehicle with the same weight. The main thing pulling is keeping the engine running at higher rpms when there is a load, like while accelerating or climbing hills. With my truck and no trailer I put it in drive and it runs most of the time in over-drive. With the trailer I'll manually shift the auto down to 3rd on any hill or while passing.

With some transmissions that have over-drive they recommend towing in 3rd and not over-drive. That is to protect the manufacture since a lot of people don't pay attention to what is going on with the vehicle. Just be aware and down shift more often even if you have an auto and have to manually downshift. My ex always thought it was worse if the engine was reving high, but there is less strain on it in a lower gear turning more rpms.

I also highly recommend a transmission cooler for anyone towing with an auto.

c ya, Sum

[Frank]

Phill,
I had nothing but VW's in the 70's. Bugs, Buses, and my favorite the Karman Ghia. The only problem you will have is (as Allan said) cooling. I would reckondmend an aux. oil cooler and also side scoops if your Thing doesn't already have them, can not remember. In stock form if memory serves well is 60 to 65 hp. You can easly move that up with 88 or 87mm jugs, and a good header exhaust to give you a good boost.

Frank

My father pulled a 47 ft. American all over the US with a 90hp 6cylinder in Chevy Suburban. You will go up hills slower, but what the heck, remember Teardrop Time.

[ALAN GEDDES]

Phil: I installed hitch on 69 1500 and got my tear back from daughter today ( 4 days in the VA mountains). Take off and handling are fine. Level road at speed is fine. Stopping needs improvement. Tongue weight is 90 pounds and sticking the ball way out on that bumper really pulls the front end of car up making for fairly easy front wheel lock up. If it ever stops raining I will install some coil helper spring on rear shocks and see if that helps. I really think I wiil be going to electric brakes in the near future. Keep you posted. May even slide axle forward 6 inches to help lighten tongue weight. Alan