TheSamba.com :: View topic - 1968 Heilite tent trailer

Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:51 pm

I just brought home this 1968 trailer with camping goodies. Thanks Greg. I plan to set-up my '71 bus to tow it. Would I be better off building a custom hitch or are the old VW hitch assemblies a good option? The trailer literature says the unladen wt. is 590 Lbs, but it feels like less. The tongue wt. is probably about 30 lbs. The trailer has a 4 pin connector and no brakes with a 2" receiver.

Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:23 pm

i picked up a hitch for my 71 from jeremy who advertises on here. he is in virginia i think :? only thing is you need to use a stock muffler with his set up. it works good towing my 55 heilite that i converted to a 2 wheel from a single wheel :shock:

Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:29 pm

IWANTIWANTIWANTIWANT

:lol:

NICE

Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:32 pm

tubdub wrote: i picked up a hitch for my 71 from jeremy who advertises on here. he is in virginia i think :? only thing is you need to use a stock muffler with his set up. it works good towing my 55 heilite that i converted to a 2 wheel from a single wheel :shock:

Hey tubdub, thanks for the legs....got them today. The bad leg on the trailer is the right rear. The pad on the foot is missing and the whole assembly is bent. I hope to change it out this weekend. You rock and thanks again.

Here is a shot of the trailer in lunar lander mode, the bent leg closest.

Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:35 pm

tubdub wrote: i picked up a hitch for my 71 from jeremy who advertises on here. he is in virginia i think

Do you have his user name?

Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:56 pm

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?...ton=Search

Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:55 am

EZ Gruv wrote: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?...ton=Search

Thanks, I ordered one up from Jeremy.

Thu May 08, 2008 12:27 pm

Update - I received my hitch from Jeremy. It looks great and came with all the hardware. It is solild and should provide a lot more protection than the OG bumper and brackets. I hope to get it mounted this weekend. Thanks Jeremy.

I have been working on the trailer and have it ready for camping. With a little luck I should have my bus and the trailer on the road for the Classic.

I have been doing a lot of research on the Heilite trailers and with Aaron's (www.singlewheel.com) help I have started to put together a site as a resource for Heilite trailers and other camping gear. If any of you guys have literature or photos you would like to contribute, send them over to me and I will include them in the site. Thanks,

www.heilitetrailers.com

email: [email protected]

Thu May 08, 2008 2:10 pm

That's a sweet trailer, man. Have fun with it!

Thu May 08, 2008 9:39 pm

Glad you're diggin' it! It still looks good! I will be watching your website - that looks good too!

Fri May 09, 2008 8:24 am

Anchovy wrote: tubdub wrote: i picked up a hitch for my 71 from jeremy who advertises on here. he is in virginia i think :? only thing is you need to use a stock muffler with his set up. it works good towing my 55 heilite that i converted to a 2 wheel from a single wheel :shock:

Hey tubdub, thanks for the legs....got them today. The bad leg on the trailer is the right rear. The pad on the foot is missing and the whole assembly is bent. I hope to change it out this weekend. You rock and thanks again.

Here is a shot of the trailer in lunar lander mode, the bent leg closest.

Yet another American trailer, lacking proper orange direction-indicator lamps and triangular red reflectors! :shock:

Fri May 09, 2008 8:48 am

NASkeet wrote:

Yet another American trailer, lacking proper orange direction-indicator lamps and triangular red reflectors! :shock:

Calm down Nigel.

:roll:

Fri May 09, 2008 9:05 am

NASkeet wrote: Yet another American trailer, lacking proper orange direction-indicator lamps and triangular red reflectors! :shock:

Yep, out here in the colonies we like to live on the edge, all that safety stuff just takes the edge of your seat thrills out of driving :wink: .

Fri May 09, 2008 9:34 am

EZ Gruv wrote: NASkeet wrote:

Yet another American trailer, lacking proper orange direction-indicator lamps and triangular red reflectors! :shock:

Calm down Nigel.

:roll:

busdaddy wrote: NASkeet wrote: Yet another American trailer, lacking proper orange direction-indicator lamps and triangular red reflectors! :shock:

Yep, out here in the colonies we like to live on the edge, all that safety stuff just takes the edge of your seat thrills out of driving :wink: .

Yes, but just think of the extra carnage that creates! :roll: I suppose it's one way of controlling the increase in population, which I heard has now passed 300 million in the USA, with an increasing proportion of non-American-English as their first language.

Anyway, on a lighter note, here is a self-build, four-berth trailer tent, which was featured in the 1979/80 edition, of the Indespension Trailers & Equipment, Trailer Manual cum DIY Plans & Parts Catalogue.

Note the 50 mph, maximum speed-limit roundal; a limit which has since been increased to 60 mph, for dual carriageways and motorways.

Nowadays, rear fog lamps are are also obligatory, on trailers manufactured since October 1979.

Fri May 09, 2008 12:26 pm

hint *winks someone here grab this
http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/zip/670682416.html

Sat May 10, 2008 5:43 am

danfromsyr wrote: hint *winks someone here grab this
http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/zip/670682416.html

To be classified as an "antique", the Sears trailer referred to in the above link, would need to be at least 100 years old, so 1960s manufacture, doesn't qualify! :shock: It would just about qualify for status as a "late-classic", preceded by vintage and veteran. :roll:

Sat May 10, 2008 10:32 am

NASkeet wrote:
To be classified as an "antique", the Sears trailer referred to in the above link, would need to be at least 100 years old

Not in most of the United States. Each state has a different classification of an 'antique'.