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Mon Aug 20, 2007 12:07 pm

:?: I am purchasing a 1972 super beetle with the main purpose of towing behind our rv. Has anyone done this and if so what equipment do you have? (tow bar, base plate, brake lights) I have searched rv .net but was not able to find specific info for towing this classic car. Any info would be appreciated. :bug_yellow:

Mon Aug 20, 2007 12:23 pm

I've towed VWs thousands of miles via tow bar. For a Super you need the full tow bar kit. Baseplate, trawbar & pins. The baseplate boults to the car and stays with it, the drawbar easily removes with two pins & clips. Further you'll want two safety chains that attach to the car & the trailer hitch. These can fastened to the baseplate or car's chassis with quick connect links.
I have found the easiest thing to do on a car that is being towed constantly is install a trailer wire harness and tap it into the cars harness up front with a long section of trailer wire and just leave it in the trunk when not used. While not nesessary a battery disconnect in the bug is useful so you don't back feed anything @ the headlight switch while under tow. The battery disconnect is somple to mount to the right rear footboard at the battery and can be reached from the driver seat.

Mon Aug 20, 2007 12:46 pm

If you wire it right, it will even charge your battery while in tow so it stays at full charge.

Mon Aug 20, 2007 1:58 pm

Thanks for the info. Any ideas on what brand towbar and base plate to get. I assume that a lighter duty will suffice for this car.

Mon Aug 20, 2007 3:16 pm

if you are going to tow it cross county, you might consider unbolting the outside cv's and bagging them along with making a cap for the axle. Just get some plywood and cut it to fit, use the same screws to hold it in place. Wire the bagged cv's up out of the way and your set. You can not burn up a tranny if it is not connected.

Not worth the hassle if you are just going on a day trip or something....

Mark R.

Mon Aug 20, 2007 4:02 pm

Mark33563 wrote: if you are going to tow it cross county, you might consider unbolting the outside cv's and bagging them along with making a cap for the axle. Just get some plywood and cut it to fit, use the same screws to hold it in place. Wire the bagged cv's up out of the way and your set. You can not burn up a tranny if it is not connected.

DO NOT DO THIS! It is a complete waste of time. A transmission spinning around with no load will not wear out or "burn up".

Mon Aug 20, 2007 5:13 pm

No, it won't 'burn up' but it will put additional wear and tear on the bearings, diff, etc (i.e.: wear out the guts).

Spend 15 minutes and extend the life of the beast. I have never EVER had to replace a tranny on any of the VWs I have ever owned*. I have driven them and/or dragged them all over the place. My trusty VW's have never left me stranded, even after gargling a rod....

If there was no concern/problems with wear and tear, there would be no need for replacements except for the racers. Seems to me that there are quite a few rebuilders around....something must be wearing out or someone is wasting their advertisement dollars.

You do it your way, I'll do it mine. I'll get a few more miles out of my tranny though.

* Key part is "had to replace". I can not make the same statement with regards to the engine(s) though. I have gone through my share of engines.

Mark R.

Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:58 pm

Mark33563 wrote: if you are going to tow it cross county, you might consider unbolting the outside cv's and bagging them along with making a cap for the axle. Just get some plywood and cut it to fit, use the same screws to hold it in place. Wire the bagged cv's up out of the way and your set. You can not burn up a tranny if it is not connected.

Not worth the hassle if you are just going on a day trip or something....

Mark R.

This is absolutely un-nessesary no matter what kind of trip. The same could be said about front wheel bearings, you get to a point the car should be trailered. VW's were the #1 car to be towed behind a motorhome in their heyday and it was because they were durable & simple. Towing it with the wheels down buts less stress on the transaxle than driving it does and no torsional load at all. The whole point of towing a car is so you can un-hitch it and drive. Can you imagine getting somewhere, balloxing up a 12pt socket and being screwed ?
Here is the unit:
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ACC%2DC10%2D1402

Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:55 pm

'balloxing'? you mean stripping the threads? Never had that problem myself. Not to say that it will not happen in the future.

Like I said originaly "might consider". I would not do it for a day trip. I only do it for dragging the car over 300 miles (that is approximately 321.869 km for you folks that use the easy unit system) and would not really want to drag one over 300 miles without doing it. My choice to do it. I guess if you have a swing-tranny you do not have a choice.

Front wheel bearings along with rear wheel bearings are cheaper to replace than a tranny. Granted, the tranny is probably easier to replace than the rear bearings. Don't know, never replaced the rear bearings. Front is fairly simple.

Anyway, to each his/her/its own. You drag your car the way you want to and i'll drag mine my way.

Just for the heck of it, the axles for my project car are in the spare tire well. As soon as I am done pulling it to/from the place I can work on it I will reinstall them (we have something called 'deed restrictions' in my neighborhood, not sure if the rest of the bollaxing world has them or know what they are but my wife wanted to live in this god forsaken you-can't-work-on-a-car neighborhood. her way of trying to force me to get rid of all of my projects). The round trip is only 10 miles, but I am doing it pretty much every weekend and since the car is not running right now, there is no need to reinstall them and start wearing out the CVs and boots.

Have a great evening.

Mon Aug 20, 2007 8:09 pm

You are just fooling yourself. You aren't saving anything by taking the axles off.

My uncle flat towed his Beetle from Canada to central Mexico and back 9 times, plus all the towing a retired person does in the summers. He never spend one dime extra on wear and tear due to leaving the drivetrain intact.

Go ahead and continue wasting your time trying to prevent a problem that won't happen, but don't extend your groundless paranoia on others.

Mon Aug 20, 2007 9:05 pm

Ther are a lot of misconceptions and confusion when it comes to towing.
Until I retired in '05 I spent the previous 20 years traveling in my RV's and always towing a vehicle from job to job ( the wife and I lived on the road in campgrounds). I always towed flat 4 wheels on the ground except one trip from LA,CA to Atlanta, GA and that time I trailered. Never again---4 on the ground is the only way to go. Trailers and dolly's are a total waste of time and money if your towed vehicle is road worthy. There are considerations for automatic transmissions but for a VW Beetle that is road worthy there is nothing wrong with flat towing.
There is less wear on the drivetrain components when towed rather than driven.
Some will also tell you not to back up with 4 on the ground. That is total BS if done right. Just lock the steering wheel straight or bungee and back it like a trailer. There will be minimal wear on the front tires. Unlock steering or remove bungee when you start forward.
It is simple to wire a Beetle. Just run wires to parking, and turn lights and connect to a 4-way and then a jumper electric cable to the prime mover. The odd ball terminal on a 4-way is ground. An easy way to remember what wire goes where is "Ground, Lights, Left, Right, in that order.
There is absolutely no need to disconnect anything to tow a bug. I always keep a record of "Miles towed" so I can adjust the oil change due mileage.
This post was not written to argue with anyone but to give my experiences and opinions.
Marvin

Mon Aug 20, 2007 11:06 pm

Since this thread really has taken a turn from the original post I will leave you with the following:

I realize that a tranny failure is a very rare situation. However, if you have ever seen the aftermath, you might think twice. It is one thing for a wheel bearing to cease and cause a skid mark, some smoke, etc. It is another for a driveline to lock up. Granted, with a VW behind it, an RV is pretty safe even if the tranny does lock up. No biggie. I do not own an RV and am relgated to using my PiTiful Cruiser to drag my project around.

I have driven thousands of miles without being involved in a traffic collision, never mind a severe one. Am I paranoid for wearing a seatbelt?
Why not? Isn't it an unfounded fear? Afterall, I have not been involved in a traffic collision for thousands of miles. ((The last traffic collison I was involved in that resulted in injury was in 1991)). Then why am I considered paranoid for spending a few minutes to disconnect the CV joints for a long haul?

I chose to drag my car my way. You are free to drag you car your way. I hope you never have a problem and chances are you will not. Take some pictures and post them if you do, they will be very interesting.

Tue Aug 21, 2007 5:33 pm

I tow a 74 Super Beetle behind my motor home all over the US. 4 wheels down, trans in neutral with no problems. No disconnects, no removing anything. Just hook up, plug in the harness for lights and go!!

Tue Aug 21, 2007 9:49 pm

I talked to a guy who tows his his super beetle all over, he recomended to poot weight in the front trunk as for it tows better. Were are the guys from myth busters when we need them?

Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:13 pm

I have a customer that we just went over his 1973 S.B. for towing behind his RV and he will tow it in neutral,,,steering column unlocked,,,,,,,,,but we optioned for the seperate towing lights,,from Wal-Mart,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that are magneitc and have their own wiring system and attach to the roof of the back of the car... We thought that tapping into the existing wiring would be more prob............ems and with that system,,,it is fast to put on top of the car,,,no wiring involved at all...It just plugs into the outlet on the RV,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and the lights fit on the roof,,,as fast as you can move. Also,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,you can use the trailing lights on other vehicles you might own,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,if you decide to pull different vehicles behind your RV...

I have pulled my Bugs,,,many times a year for the past 20 years over 500 miles in one day with everything connected,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,just a tow bar,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,used the car's battery to run the tail lights as it holds up for over five hours with only the tail lights on................. I pull the other light fuses from the fuse box, so only the tail lights are on,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and disconnect the number 15 wire from the coil,,,so I don't burn up the coil.... That only gives you tail lights,,,but with any vehicle you are pulling a bug with,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,one can see the stop lights and the turn signals from around the bug,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,as the bug is not as wide of the tow vehicle.................I know this is not fully legal,,,,but if you get in a bind and have to tow your vehicle behind your buddy's truck,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and have only a tow bar,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,pull the fuses,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,disconnet the number 15 wire and you are set................. also,,,,,,,,,,,,,,pull the light switch for the tail lights....That will keep 99% of the police off your back. ----George4888

Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:05 pm

An automatic tranny has a trans oil pump that needs engine power to lube the tranny, this is why you do not flat tow automatics. A manual tranny is self lubricated whenever the wheels are turning. There is Absoloutely no need to disconnect anything from a manual tranny for towing purposes. It is just a waste of your time and you are adding unnecessary wear and tear to the CV bolt heads. You also have more chance of getting dirt inside the CV's even if bagged.

One guy says disconnect he CV's, everyone else says don't bother, you be the judge.

Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:11 pm

But,,,if you have the good old Semi-Auto,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that you find in the old Bugs,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,you still can tow it without disconnecting anything,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,as it also has a dry clutch system and the torque converter will not be turning as you tow the car,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,so nothing is damaged,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that has to do with the automatic part of the transmission...............We are discussing VW's here.............

----George4888

Wed Aug 22, 2007 5:50 am

On my 73 I just wired into the original lights. As you know the SB has separate stop and directional lights. I use the directionals for stop lights. Now we get a problem because stop lights are amber. I just bought a pair of custom lenses which have red directional lenses in them. No reason to pull any fuses, bug gets it's power from Motorhome. Also don't want to put magnetic lights on my bug and then duct tape to hold wires. Much nicer installation this way.

Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:03 am

My suggestion on pulling the fuses was only if you were in a BIND and your Bug broke down and you had to pull it behind your friends' truck to get it home.

I have the magnetic lights and I have never used duct tape to hold the wires in place.. I use magnetic strips,,, like you can buy for signs you place on the doors of a car of truck to advertise a business....then there is no damage to the paint.

If you are towing with a vehicle that has only the American style old light system,,,where they used the stop light bulb for Both stop and turn signals,,,you need something called a foreign converter,,whcih they sell at auto parts stores and places like Wal-Mart....The converter allows the American old system to convert the wires for use on the Beelte,,which uses a seperate filament ( please read filament,,,no bulb) for each light function...So,,,,with the converter mounted between the hookup on your RV and the wiring harness that goes to the car ( a standard trailer wiring,,,I guess you have) then you don't have to play with the wires or bulbs and come up with some clever arrangement.. The converter makes it easy to tie the two different systems together. Most newer cars and trucks now use the seperate bulb or seperate filament for each light function,,,so the American cars and trucks are going the same direction as the European vehicles have had for many years.....We Americans are finally learning....George4888

Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:26 pm

If you tow one vehicle a lot I would suggest tail light isolators.
http://inpcars.com/power-converters/12.html
I buy diodes from Radio Shack and make my own a lot cheaper than the above.
These diodes allow current to pass only one way in a circuit.
It's kind of a WYE connector. One branch to the vehicle circuit and the other to the prime mover circuit and the common (single) end goes to the light. You would need three for a VW BUG----L turn, R turn and tail lights.
Marvin