Tow Hitch Options?

[captainpartytime]

I want to put a tow hitch on my '89 Auto. What are my options? I saw one from Go Westy but I don't particularly like the way it mounts to the van. I found another one made by Curt. http://www.amazon.com/Curt-Receiver-Volkswagen-Van...mp;sr=8-34
Ant suggestions?
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-Kerry

1982 turbo diesel Westfalia

[bucko]

I had replied to your want add awhile back (I think that was you?), and you stated you lost the replies, and that you wanted a 2 inch ball. I have a hitch that was made in Europe (I imported my Westy to the states from Germany), and I removed the hitch. This thing is one "industrial strength" hitch! Two rear bumper brackets with an additional 4 inches and one extra hole (3 holes to bolt these brackets to the inner frame) are welded to a tube that ties the two brackets making one assembly, then the European style ball hitch is welded to this. The bumper is then mounted to this using the same setup (bolts to the brackets). It also has the trailer light wiring (wiring connects to the left, drivers side rear tailight using stock female plugs). I removed it from my Vanagon, as I don't plan to tow anything.

I don't know what size ball the European hitches are; it is not replaceable like our hitches are ( 1 7/8 and 2 inch).

I can snap a pic of it and post it here after Monday if your interested. This setup is about 60 or 70 pounds as well.

One last thing: the rear bumper has to have about a 2 inch cut made in it's center bottom, so that the ball/hitch can clear out and back. My rear bumper has this (cannot see this cut unless you look under the bumper). I would include the rear bumper only if I had a suitable replacement (good stock rear bumper).
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Current VW drives: 1984 Westfalia

Past VW drives: 1967 Beetle, 1973 Beetle, 1977 Bus, 1971 Military Type 181

[captainpartytime]

That was not me but I'm interested. I have a wolfsburg so I'm wondering how much I would have to cut with the spoiler. Not my first choice but I will consider it. Send me some pics! Shipping from Florida to California might be a bear cat!
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-Kerry

1982 turbo diesel Westfalia

[bucko]

Will do, but it will be Tuesday (going out of town for the long weekend).
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Current VW drives: 1984 Westfalia

Past VW drives: 1967 Beetle, 1973 Beetle, 1977 Bus, 1971 Military Type 181

[dobryan]

Dennis Haynes also makes an awesome hitch that mounts up into the frame with three bolts per side. You can find him on the gerry.vanagon.com listserve if he is not on Samba.

Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25

[Witless Joe]

It sounds like Bucko is describing the stock bumper/hitch produced by Westfalia. An option on the Euro market vans, I think.

I've got one of these. It has sort of a circular plate under the bumper to hold the wiring, right? The bumper itself is painted or powder coated flat black (as is the hitch itself).

The hitch ball may be metric sized, but on a standard US trailer hitch for 2" ball, the adjusting nut can be used to make a nice, snug fit.

It's a great hitch, and has that factory cachet (if you're inclined that way) but it does have a couple of down sides.

First, it's not receiver style, so you can't plug in a receiver-style bike rack or whatever. I didn't care, because I needed a trailer, not a bike rack.

Second, it has no tow eyes for safety chains from the trailer. This is kind of an odd omission, considering the TUV certification that I'm sure this thing has gone through. It doesn't look like the eyes have been removed from my hitch, so I have to assume that they were never there in the first place.

here are a couple of photos:

[MarkWard]

Is either one of these still available? I'd be interested. Thank you
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[j_dirge]

I use the GoWesty setup and have no complaints except cosmetically its pretty "obvious".. and it can be hard on the shins.

I tow up to 3200 lbs locally with a tongue weight of 350 lbs (max). I've readjusted to about 275 lbs tongue weight. Trailer has surge disk brakes.

My other trailer is 1000lbs max.. no brakes.

The GoWesty setup is rated higher than what the Wesite can "safely" tow.
No problems there..

And if you check out those towing loops.. they are pretty beefy. After all, they are designed to pull the Westie's weight.

What's nice about the GoWesty hitch is it can be easily removed if you aren't towing for awhile.

Whats NOT so nice about it, is the receiver sticks way the hell out.
I have a hundred dings on my shin from slamming into the damned thing when walking around the vehicle... you'd think I'd have trained myself by now.

Also;
I would suggest you look into your state vehicle code before using the euro setups.

Safety chains are required in any state I know of. Chains are supposed to be crossed over each other, and hang under the hitch. They should be taught enough to catch the trailer tongue if comes loose off the hitch, such that that trailer tongue does not hit the ground. (A friend was pulled over in Cali and the "friendly" CHP explained this)..

They should be loose enough such that they do not impeded turning.

I should add that the chain requirement is near impossible to meet on several tow arrangements I've seen. But I think its prudent to at least TRY and meet this requirement.
And it is more important on trailers without brakes. (Typically braked trailers have a cable shutdown that engages the brakes if the trailer breaks free from the vehicle.)

I would also recommend you keep your wiring harness WELL clear of the hitch/ball assembly. Mine is mounted such that it runs away at an angle and remains clear even if the trailer is backed at 30 degs. or more.

[MarkWard]

Thanks for the reply. I looked at the Go Westy one. I would like to pull my small race car on an aluminum 2 axel trailer behind it. I was not sure how much the tow eyes could take. The TDI has plenty of torque and I'd have trailer brakes to help stopping. I liked the design of the euro hitch because of the extensions into the chassis beyond the bumper brackets. I was thinking of manufacturing my own trying to incorporate the euro bumper design, but the receiver style of the Go Westy. Unfortunately, I don't see a way to have it tucked up without trimming the bumper. I would not mind modifying the bumper, but would like to have a spare bumper around.

I have traveled all over Switz, France and Italy and have been amazed at what gets pulled around the highways and mountains. Thanks again.
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[j_dirge]

hmm..
I'm gonna say spend less and GoWesty.

If you haven't towed big wieght with your VW, you might want to try it a bit before you spend a pile of dough trying to re-invent the wheel.

Some thoughts.

Your van is underpowered.
Your van is under braked.
Your van has a short wheel base.
Your van has soft suspension in the rear.

For a tow vehicle, our van's rate a 0.5 out of 10.

My van has minimal sag when parked. Add 275 lbs tongue weight and I like like Jed Clampett moving to Bev Hills.
Air Lift bags did not help.

My van has a strong 2.1L WBxr.. it will get up to 55 when towing big weight but any *slight* grade slows it back to 45.. ALWAYS sitting in that dreaded "between 3rd and 4th gear" zone. (still.. getting the rig up to speed isn't the hard part.. getting it to stop is the hard part)

No matter what I did to level the trailer out (adjusting hitch height with various height extenders).. the soft rear end on the van makes it near impossible to keep the trailer level.
On a double axle its fairly important to keep the trailer riding level (fore and aft). This makes a differnce in braking AND it keeps trailer tire wear even.

I mentioned wheel base above. The van has a short wheel base. This means that any sway in the trailer (from cross winds or bumpy roads) is felt *bigtime* in the front seat of the van. This is hard on everything. Suspension, drivetrain, your sanity, etc.

The surge brakes are great, but because the trailer is constantly "floating" on the hitch, you'll feel a lot of tugging and pushing from back there. This is hard on the van's drivetrain. Its hard on the engine.

In short. Even though I tow 3x the maximum wieght that most sane people recommend for the vanagon. I REALLY don't recommmend you try to make your's a permanent tow vehicle. Its one thing to tow for a few blocks.. its entirely different to put down 50 miles back and forth every 4th weekend at freeway speeds.

I, myself, will likely buy a cheap truck. $2000 or so for a V8. Its not for towing fast.. its simply so that I don't beat the crap out of my vanagon westie.

Either way.. post your final solution.. I always like to see how far someone is willing to push it.

Cheers.

[Lanval]

Captain, did you check out my homebrew setup? I didn't put it on, but it's relatively neat as these thigns go...

I'll take some pix tomorrow and post them on my picasa page with a link here.

Best,

Lanval

[MarkWard]

I agree the Vanagon may not make tow vehicle of the year. We race with the SCCA. This envolves traveling to race tracks in the Southeast. Nice flat area. We are at the track for two or 3 nights practicing, qualifying, and then racing. Currently we have been using a motor home that gets 3 miles to the gallon towing. If the vanagon is able to get us safely to the track 6 times a year that would be a bonus. We fabricate all sorts of things in our shop for the race cars. Since I have a TDI conversion, the original muffler area is open. I believe I can fabricate a receiver style hitch that fits this area and can tie into the bumper bracket bolts and the rear panel where the engine carrier bolts attach.

Rather than using a surge brake, we use electric drum brakes that eliminate that surge you mention. I think I can keep the load around 2500 pounds. The saggy butt may be the reason it does not work out. We use a leveler bars on the trailer that help shift the weight to the front axel of the tow vehicle. These work best when the hitch is tied to a frame which the van does not have. If I get far along in the project, I'll take some pictures. Safety first.
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[akstier]

I recently purchased this GW hitch from a private party for my GW bumper that accepts said hitch. It came with 3 short galvanized chains as seen below. I do not see these in the instructions and the seller doesn’t know either. Does anyone know what and where these go?

[syncrodoka]

They look old and used, probably just fell into the box.

[4Gears4Tires]

Engine hoist hardware.
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'87 Syncro
Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition