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Vanagon towing capacity
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mammonista
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 6:45 am    Post subject: Vanagon towing capacity Reply with quote

Getting ready to put 'Vanomo' back on the road after more than a year.
Wondering about using it as a travel trailer tow vehicle around town?
I'm gonna guess the TD engine will be putting out about 120hp with 200 pounds of torque. Stock brakes, stock suspension.
Mods:
-Obviously it's a DIY DOKA, but besides that it has a heavy gauge steel rear bumper welded to custom mounts that bolt up at the stock location. Custom fabbed ball hitch receiver. Very heavy duty.
- 1.9AAZ turbo diesel, water-to-air intercooler, adjustable injection pump, remote oil cooler.
- Stage 1 VR6 pressure plate.
- Rebuilt DK trans out of an early air-cooled Van.
Specifically I was thinking about towing the Meow Mobile (see meowmobile.org) a converted 23-foot travel trailer that we turned into a mobile cat adoption facility for our local animal control agency.
I'm guessing the tongue weight on the trailer is in the neighborhood of 500 lbs. and the trailer itself weights about 3,000 lbs. Towing would be limited to city streets and maybe 5-10 miles on the interstate.
Would the chassis of Vanomo be up to the task. Your thoughts?

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danfromsyr
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 7:05 am    Post subject: Re: Vanagon towing capacity Reply with quote

while you likely can move a 23ft travel trailer I WOULD NOT take it on an expressway. there's a very good chance of the "Tail wagging the dog" that's going to happen.
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mammonista
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 7:14 am    Post subject: Re: Vanagon towing capacity Reply with quote

Well yeah, I thought of that. And interstate travel isn't necessary for our needs. What more concerns me is the structural rigidity of the van unibody with a 500 lb. tongue weight hanging on the bumper.
Van brakes are crap and I had thought of spending the loot on rear disks and rear springs. But can the body take that kind of weight?
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dobryan
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 7:18 am    Post subject: Re: Vanagon towing capacity Reply with quote

Can you redistribute some weight in that trailer to get the tongue weight to be less?
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mammonista
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 7:22 am    Post subject: Re: Vanagon towing capacity Reply with quote

No not really. And I'm just guessing at that weight and the total weight of the trailer itself.
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Jens Brownstar
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 8:02 am    Post subject: Re: Vanagon towing capacity Reply with quote

I would say yes. As far as I remember the official max allowed tongue weight here in Germany is about 300 lbs and the rest could easily be load in the trunk. If not, install reinforced springs at the back. For me, the bigger question is, how your conversion is done and if your engine will survive. Those blown up AAZ's like to overheat and crack their cylinder heads.
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61Scout
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 9:27 am    Post subject: Re: Vanagon towing capacity Reply with quote

What is that... About a 22ft trailer?

I'm thinking wrong tool for the job, period. Why risk it? No access to a pickup truck? What have you been towing with before? Looks like a nice little red truck there in front of the van in the second picture.

I'd be more concerned about braking than the load. Borrow a truck if you don't have one. Keep yourself and others on the road safe, and eliminate the risk of damage to your van altogether.

BTW, cool non-profit. Animal rescue is some serious hard work!

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Jens Brownstar
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 12:02 pm    Post subject: Re: Vanagon towing capacity Reply with quote

I did some weight units conversion from kg to lbs and can state now:

Volkswagen sold stock towbars officially registered up to 4400 lbs for trailers with overrun brakes here in Germany. Tongue weight is then max. 220 lbs.

I've been towing vanagons on a trailer with a higher weight than your meow-thing and it worked fine. With its double axle, your trailer should run smooth and not cause any trouble.

Just test it. If you feel unsafe, forget it and don't bring yourself and others into danger.
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newfisher
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 12:13 pm    Post subject: Re: Vanagon towing capacity Reply with quote

Towing trailers all of my life I have larned a few things:

Trailer must be lighter than the tow rig.

If YOU THINK you need to wire up trailer brakes the answer is yes.

Just because YOU CAN GO 60 doesnt mean you should.

More tongue weight is not always better.

I would assume that a multivan gl equipped to haul 7 people and thier gear would be a good baseline weight in wich to haul a trailer.
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mammonista
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 4:03 pm    Post subject: Re: Vanagon towing capacity Reply with quote

Been towing trailer (Meow Mobile) with a nasty '94 chevy 1/2 ton p.u. No need to venture out onto the interstate (freeway for all you west coasters) and no need to go over 45mph for no more than 10-15 miles. Braking has always been a concern in the van, even when everything was fresh. but am more concerned with the load on the tongue and the chassis. Suppose I should go have the trailer weighed.
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IdahoDoug
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 10:14 pm    Post subject: Re: Vanagon towing capacity Reply with quote

There have been a lot of Syncro owners and also Vanagon owners reporting a body distortion due to heavy weights at the rear - especially with heavy racks hanging off the rear bumper. Your trailer towing would be a far more extreme example of the problematic load. With your modification, you have removed a serious part of the rear structure. I agree with others comments of caution, but it is worth you knowing that there does appear to be a weakness in the chassis in that area.

With a trailer, the tongue weight is only a part of the forces exerted on the rear. The dynamic loads can be huge as the road undulates and the rear springs compress and need to rotate the trailer's mass in order to unload - a process repeated constantly as you drive. The equivalent force on the rear structure is many times the added tongue weight.

So, I'd advise against it unless you have done some serious reinforcements. Stronger springs will only make the forces on the rear chassis even stronger.

DougM
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