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Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:02 am

i am going to pick up a 78 westy in the next few weeks and would normally use a buddies flat bead trailer but the location of this one will not permit that.
I was going to buy a tow bar i have read about on here, they look perfect!, but i am in canada and all ads list USA, which means big shipping expenses!

next i thought of making one but not sure that i have time before it needs to be removed.

in the end i was wondering if a rental dolley works, i heard the front end of a westy is too long....??? is that true??

any ideas would be appreciated!

i have a 4runner with hitch for towing. :D edit( i need to tow approximately 1.5 hours)

Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:29 am

Seriously, let me do it for you.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=308594&highlight=towing

There are a bunch of pictures of ways I have brought Buses home. I've brought home two Late Wtey's in the past 3 weeks. Both times I spent the $50, got a UHaul trailer and towed them home with my Uncle's Trailblazer. 4 and a half hours one way for the beige one, 4 hours one way for the green one.

Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:23 am

i scanned your pics and the posted thread but did not see a bus on one of these

i heard the nose of the bus does not clear the neck or the the back of the tow vehicle...??? anyone know if this is true?

thanks for the link!!! :D

Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:38 am

I used to tow with a trailblazer and uhaul just like Vdub tech. I worked at a rental car company and got to take a car home everyday. When I knew I was towing a bus, I would take a trailblazer. It was the only vehicle with a hitch that came stock on the cars we had. Actually, the suburban is even better, but I was not allowed to take those. Since I do not work there anymore, I usually rent a suburban for a day, but I havent been digging for buses lately like I used to.

I never saw the point of the tow dolly. If I remember correctly, it was only $10/day less than the full trailer.

Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:39 am

MOX wrote: i scanned your pics and the posted thread but did not see a bus on one of these

i heard the nose of the bus does not clear the neck or the the back of the tow vehicle...??? anyone know if this is true?

thanks for the link!!! :D

i don't under stand how that would work as most cars the front axle is quite a bit back from the nose unlike the bus, if anything it seems as if you;d have more room clearing the tow vehicle with a bus...

Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:44 am

MOX, I towed a 78 westy on the 2-wheeled dolly you show in your pic. I pulled 8 hours - one way with no problems.

Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:53 am

MOX wrote: i scanned your pics and the posted thread but did not see a bus on one of these

Really? Didn't look too awful hard did you? I have two pics in my post alone with a Bus on a tow dolly. It fits fine. With that being said, the full trailer from UHaul costs $10 more, seems like a no brainer to me.

Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:30 pm

Calm down. His question is will the nose interfere while towing. Heavy handedness is not always the answer.

To answer your question, yes, you can do it. I've done it a million times.

Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:34 pm

Really? Didn't look too awful hard did you? I have two pics in my post alone with a Bus on a tow dolly. It fits fine. With that being said, the full trailer from UHaul costs $10 more, seems like a no brainer to me.

ouch, why so evil ?? :twisted:

to be honest the first pic i was checking out the bus about to be destroyed and didn't even notice it was being towed!! lol

the second pic i thaught was more like a small trailer and not the dolleys that wrap around the front wheels.

Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:11 pm

so it turns out in canada it is:
$49.95 PLUS $9 insurance for a flat bed trailer
$39.95 PLUS $9 insurance for a 2 wheel car dolly

i didn't know they offered the flat beds and as stated earlier, ONLY $10 difference!

prices are for one day and returned to original location.
they also stated those prices are for "within city limits"......

8)

Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:04 pm

MOX wrote: ouch, why so evil ?? :twisted:

to be honest the first pic i was checking out the bus about to be destroyed and didn't even notice it was being towed!! lol

the second pic i thaught was more like a small trailer and not the dolleys that wrap around the front wheels.

It's actually the same dolly in both pics. It was a UHaul dolly in a former life, you can see some of the orange paint underneath. I used to borrow it from a friend until he moved, now I just spend the cash and get the trailer, makes it nice and easy, and nothing to worry about with half the Bus rolling down the road. I bring a come along with me to winch the Bus up on the trailer. It has it's own tie downs. The only thing I hate about UHaul is the 400 questions they ask you when you rent a trailer. I always tell them I'm towing a Beetle, and it's in town. They'll tell you the tie downs on the trailer won't work with a Beetle so you need your own and agree that you have them. I pick the trailer up the night before right before close so I can set out first thing in the morning. Still get charged just the one day rental as long as it's back by close.

Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:59 pm

hire a car trailer / flatbed if you can. Tandem axle, and depending on your tastes no suspension.

I have to hire these things more than I'd like. That's the best combination I've found so far.

A few years ago I dragged my camper from Melbourne to Shepparton which is a couple of hundred km, had it fully loaded too as I was moving house too.
Did it with the old Ford Falcon. No monstrous 4x4 or anything. Don't need it.

As long as you get the weight distribution about right, and tie it down HARD, everything should be perfect.
My only issues were some fool tailgating me in a bay the whole way ;)
...and about 5km from home the clutch pedal snapped off the towing car. Limped back the rest of the way, unloaded and took the trailer back with my camper :lol:

Fri Apr 17, 2009 5:36 am

[quote="RatCamper"]hire a car trailer / flatbed if you can. Tandem axle, and depending on your tastes no suspension.

no suspension?

Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:49 am

The first post states that a flat bed trailer won't fit where the bus is...

So, yes, as has been stated, you can tow a bus with a dolly. I've pulled splits and bays with a dolly.

Hell, you can tow it with a Corrado if you are crazy enough... :shock:

Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:41 pm

I just picked my bus up in VA and towed it to PA 4hrs with a uhaul tow dolly. Uhaul will ask what you are towing and what you are towing with and will tell you if it will work (according to them). I told them I was towing a bug as they said my 05 Saturn Vue V6 AWD with 250hp was insufficient. I prefer the tow dolly as it is less weight for your brakes to handle when stopping.

Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:56 pm

vwwestyman wrote: The first post states that a flat bed trailer won't fit where the bus is...

So, yes, as has been stated, you can tow a bus with a dolly. I've pulled splits and bays with a dolly.

Hell, you can tow it with a Corrado if you are crazy enough... :shock:

Hell that's nothing.Look at what they tow buses with in England. Now that is crazy. :shock:

Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:45 pm

EvilWerks wrote: I just picked my bus up in VA and towed it to PA 4hrs with a uhaul tow dolly. Uhaul will ask what you are towing and what you are towing with and will tell you if it will work (according to them). I told them I was towing a bug as they said my 05 Saturn Vue V6 AWD with 250hp was insufficient. I prefer the tow dolly as it is less weight for your brakes to handle when stopping.

Yeah, I hate Uhaul. If possible, rent from someone else. They won't let me tow anything ever with my Explorer because of what happened a few years back. Really a pain.

Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:56 pm

[quote="MOX"] RatCamper wrote: hire a car trailer / flatbed if you can. Tandem axle, and depending on your tastes no suspension.

no suspension?

On a car trailer. Sorry. I really mangled that reply. Anyhow it has been my experience and the experience of others that using a car trailer that is tandem axle and has no suspension is far superior for towing.

And I have to say, what's wrong with using a car trailer? It'd be about the same width as a dolly anyway right?

If space is tight, just drag the westy out with a towrope or whatever so you can get it on a trailer.

More than once I have decoupled a trailer, maneuvered it into place and reconnected the towing vehicle.
I even have to do that with my driveway! It is impossible to reverse a trailer in/out because there would be less than 1" clearance to the gateposts, and virtually no wiggle room to correct a skewing trailer.

Where there is a will there is a way.

Tue Apr 21, 2009 10:10 am

i just went to princess auto to buy the parts required to build a nice tow bar and found a discontinued tow bar on for $29.99 regular 99.99!!!
They told me they will no longer carry these, it is the last one in the store, they found it in the back. i didn't have have a price!! it was jammed in the back of the jack section!

anyway, go to your local princess auto for a great deal!!

I will post pics on the mods to the ends to be my westy hauler once i get started!! 8)

Tue Apr 21, 2009 11:25 am

Here's my .02. It isn't always a matter of money. Sometimes the vehicle or hitch you're using doesn't meet the rental company's requirements. I wanted to rent the full car trailer a while back to haul a vehicle of to the boneyard. I have a Caravan with a U-Haul hitch installed. My hitch has a 3500lb. rating and they wouldn't rent me the trailer. They said the trailer was almost 3500lbs. by itself. So a car dolley was my only option and it worked fine. Peace!