I need some opinions on towing with a 93 Eurovan...

zero

I was thinking of using my 93 Eurovan to tow a 87 Synchro Vanagon to El Paso Tx. A couple of questions first. What I was thinking of doing is taking the driveshaft off of the Synchro and towing it on a two wheel dolly. Does the Eurovan have enough power to handle this? There's not much for actual mountains that we need to go thru. Would the Vanagon weigh too much. If I do take the Eurovan then I'm going to tow back a 64 Notchback which should be a lot easier. Am I crazy to think that this could work?

TeamSpatula · Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 12:38 pm Post subject:

The Eurovans only had a 5 cylinder that early, right? My parents have a '99 with the VR6, which would probably be fine for towing, but I don't know about a 5 cyl.
THose vanagons are HEAVY - even the non-campers. You'd definitely need a class 2 or even better 3 hitch. Also, UHaul is really particular about their dollies, if you're renting. I just rented one to tow my '87 Westy, and they practically had a book for me to fill out, and then inspected the tow vehicle all over.
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weinerwagen · Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 2:23 pm Post subject:

Big Z, I towed a 92 Passat behind my 88 Carat on a tow dolly 2/3rds the way across the USA. Those 5 bangers do a good job. You need to get a wide tow dolly. One that will allow the van to flex when you turn. Nothing more pissy then to try and make a turn and have the rear of your Euro slidding along sideways.

Stopping is a matter of guts. Some fool pulls out in front of you---you might go over the top of them. Crunches the front bumper kind of nasty like.

You might try, going and getting a dolly. Hook your unit up, make sure the syncro is tightened down to the dolly, and take things for a shake down cruise.

Personally, I'd do it. If you can rent from Ryder a dolly with surge brakes, you are miles ahead of the game. Uhauls don't have brakes.

And yes, pull the drive axle. Lights are easy. Buy one of those magnetic setups that sit on the back of your syncro. Hook it up to your Euro.

Take your time, enjoy the ride. Don't take the transmission out on the Euro by pushing the rig to hard on a hill, take your time.....take your time.

And GET PICTURES!!!!!!!! Razz

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TeamSpatula · Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2004 5:22 am Post subject:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

picture of me about to pull the vanagon westy from Alabama back to NC. I cheated and rented the F250, but Uhaul was really picky about tow vehicles. The Westy weighs about 4900 lbs, but that's with all the camper stuff. Not sure how much a plain vanagon weighs...
_________________
<---Air Cooled Search & Rescue Team - STICKERS & T-shirts for sale!
I NEED A CAMPER!!!! (1971 is ideal but will consider other years)
http://www.TeamSpatula.com

zero · Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2004 9:13 pm Post subject:

As an update. We had no problem towing either car. The temps stayed down and the tranny held out no problem. On long hills it would get down to 50 mph but normally we stayed around 70-75. Towing the Notchback home was a breeze. We used a friends 2 wheel dolly with a 2 inch reciever. All in all it was perfect.

volkybus

Towing.w any vw van always.is fun..my Westy got left in RI last summer & to get it back I drove my.thing there from Vt (200mi)& I stiffhitched it back to Vt w my 76 westy..all vw vans rock...they all really are trucks at heart...Fun was had by all. Boy did I get lots of looks & photos taken.volkybus my.euro is #15


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