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Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:40 pm

Thanks for the link, I am having the same problem in my 71.. Slow down, you will break your arms.. LOL..

Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:13 am

I use one of these from Jeremyrockjock . They are well built and have towed many busses so far.... 8) I just installed safety chains for added protection.. :)

Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:14 am

brexcavator wrote: Quote: but it has a surge brake as well,

I have a 2010 expedition. It has no electric trailer brake. I am buying a few bugs and such this next week, there is a small mountain pass to negotiate. Would you recommend getting a trailer brake, or does this surge brake work as I imagine it does, braking as the inertia decreases? i am not sure and actually had this on my mind earlier, glad this post was here for me to hijack..

If the trailer or dolly has surge brakes an electric brake controller will do nothing.

Quote: How Do Surge Brakes Work?

By Don Bowman, eHow Contributing Writer

Introduction
Surge brakes are used primarily for trailers. They are used in place of electric brakes. The basic operating principal is quite simple---surge brakes rely on natural forces for operation. Surge brakes are actuated with centrifugal force. When a trailer is being towed behind a vehicle and the towing vehicle applies the brakes, the trailing vehicle continues to travel forward through centrifugal force relying on the tow vehicle to slow the forward motion. Surge brakes take advantage of this force to operate the trailer brakes.

How Surge Brakes Work
The neck of the trailer is two pieces. The front section with the hitch attachment is a separate piece. It is made to slide on a ledge into the back half of the neck. A master cylinder for the brakes is mounted to the back half of the neck and has a rod extending from the master cylinder to the front half of the neck. As the vehicle moves forward, the weight of the load will extend the two pieces, due to the load.

Applying the Brakes
When the towing vehicle's brakes are applied, the tow vehicle starts to slow and the centrifugal force causes the trailer and its load to push forward on the neck of the trailer, which in turn forces the front half of the trailer neck in. When the front neck is pushed into the back half, the rod is pushed into the master cylinder, which then applies the brakes. When the towing vehicle releases the brakes and moves forward, the neck once more extends and releases the brakes. The rod for the master cylinder can be adjusted to cause the brakes to come on sooner or later, whichever is desired.

Trailers with Surge Brakes
A trailer with surge brakes cannot be backed up without inserting a pin in the neck of the trailer. When the tow vehicle is in reverse, pushes in on the trailer neck, which would activate the surge brakes. Inserting a pin in the neck of the trailer prevents this from happening while the driver is backing up. If the pin is left in the neck of the trailer, the surge brake will be disabled. The pin must be removed when the vehicle is ready to travel.

It's also nice to have access to this from work

Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:43 pm

I believe the U-Haul trailer alone is 2200lbs. which is why a lot of vehicle combinations would be denied. It is ludicrously overbuilt, and is somewhat of a reason not to prefer it over a tow dolly in certain situations.

Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:20 pm

i heard that you have to take the cvs off because the vehicle spinning in nuetral like destroys the tranny because it heats up or something... or is that only on radiator cooled trannys?

Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:57 pm

Majumbo wrote: i heard that you have to take the cvs off because the vehicle spinning in nuetral like destroys the tranny because it heats up or something... or is that only on radiator cooled trannys?

A manual tranny bus is fine being towed .... I would remove the CV's on a Automatic though... :)

Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:19 pm

alright! i towed the bus using a uhaul tow dolly and although i was nervous at first the ride was fine, the bus did great and no issues on the road. only thing that had me worried was that the back of bus was considerably lower (closer to ground) than other pics i had seen...pics below... thanks to all for input/feedback.
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Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:45 pm

I towed mine from Norfolk, VA to Savannah, GA with my tow bar jeremyrockjock made. I used a rented trailblazer. I had to go slow because both rigs were loaded down, but no problems.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:52 pm

Stupid question I've always had about using one of these towbars like mentioned above: Do you lock the steering wheel on the towed vehicle? If so, how do you make a turn, say, into a gas station? Wouldn't the front wheels be kinda scrubbing sideways on the road when you turn and the towbar pivots at the rear of the tow vehicle?

I'm sure it works cause everybody does it, I've just never figured out how . . . :roll:

-Klauss

Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:57 pm

Klaussinator wrote: Stupid question I've always had about using one of these towbars like mentioned above: Do you lock the steering wheel on the towed vehicle? If so, how do you make a turn, say, into a gas station? Wouldn't the front wheels be kinda scrubbing sideways on the road when you turn and the towbar pivots at the rear of the tow vehicle?

I'm sure it works cause everybody does it, I've just never figured out how . . . :roll:

-Klauss

unlocked

Sat Mar 20, 2010 3:08 pm

I started building a tow bar in auto body and my teacher offered to help me out. A lot easier than a tow bar would have been, less risk of damage.

Sat Mar 20, 2010 3:33 pm

silverside61 wrote: Klaussinator wrote: Stupid question I've always had about using one of these towbars like mentioned above: Do you lock the steering wheel on the towed vehicle? If so, how do you make a turn, say, into a gas station? Wouldn't the front wheels be kinda scrubbing sideways on the road when you turn and the towbar pivots at the rear of the tow vehicle?

I'm sure it works cause everybody does it, I've just never figured out how . . . :roll:

-Klauss

unlocked

You're telling me that the bus with the steering free to turn will naturally follow the tow vehicle?!? How does it do this? What if a pothole grabs one wheel - wouldn't the bus swerve to that side?

Guess I still don't get it . . .

-Klauss

Sat Mar 20, 2010 4:25 pm

Klauss, sometimes you just have to have faith in your fellow VW'er. I've seen cars towed with all four on the ground for 60 years and have yet to see one with the steering wheel locked. Also, I once towed my 72 Bay on a toe dolly for 900 miles with the front wheels on the dolly, rears on the ground, no probs. Peace!

Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:00 pm

If the bus has a good frontend it will follow your tow vehicle...as long as the ignition lock is turned to unlock... allowing the front wheels to turn..... What makes this possible is the amount of caster the front suspension has dialed into it from factory specs... The towbar is a solid mount and will "lever" the bus as needed to keep it following...... I works very well....... I have had 1 rogue Vw bug back in the day that the frontend was so out of wack it wouldn't tow properly..... :)

Mind you if you plan to do this on a new purchased fixer upper thats been sitting in a yard and such .....the 20 yr old dry rot tires that had to be aired up to move it may not be a good choice for this method of towing as they (most Likely) will come apart down the road..... especially at highway speeds... :(

Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:38 pm

fastmc25 wrote: .... What makes this possible is the amount of caster the front suspension has dialed into it from factory specs... The towbar is a solid mount and will "lever" the bus as needed to keep it following...... It works very well.......

Thank you, this is what I needed to know!

-Klauss

Sat Mar 20, 2010 7:07 pm

I was confused about this too when I was trying to figure out how to tow it. I locked it for a while but then I heard some nasty clicking getting off the highway at one point. So I untied it and it was a bit squirrely going over 50 but it made it. No damage done I guess....it's been five years.