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notchboy
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2002
Posts: 22449
Location: Escondido CA
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 Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 5:33 pm Post subject: Westfalia Trailer Hitch |
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If you had the chance - now this is a North American question - to buy a Westfalia Vanagon Trailer Hitch for your Van - would you?
Maybe you saw it at a swap, maybe another dude took it off some imported van at one time.
Bottom line - does a Euro Westfalia hitch appeal to the Vanagon crowd like it does with the Bay and Split guys?
Like so:
To tow one of these?
_________________
| t3kg wrote: |
OK, this thread is over. You win. |
Jason "notchboy" Weigel
1964 1500 S
1964 T34 S Convertible
1977 Westfalia Camper pop-top |
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raoul mitgong
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Joined: July 05, 2009
Posts: 1338
Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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I was given a free one. I cut the dong off and welded on a 2" receiver section from Harbor Freight. As it sits, they are pretty limiting for my needs. Or anyone wanting to put a bike rack on there.
-d
_________________
84 Westy with a 2.1 (Groover)
86 Tintop Syncro (Crow)
86 Tintop Syncro to Westy project (Tom Servo)
91 Westy (Only the top 12 inches of this van (a burn victim)) |
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notchboy
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2002
Posts: 22449
Location: Escondido CA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 5:46 pm Post subject: |
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| raoul mitgong wrote: |
I was given a free one. I cut the dong off and welded on a 2" receiver section from Harbor Freight. As it sits, they are pretty limiting for my needs. Or anyone wanting to put a bike rack on there.
-d |
Yes very limiting. So unless you have 1 7/8th trailer they are just a show piece or extra weight.
Bay, Split guys buy them with a trailer in mind to tow - complete the ensemble.
_________________
| t3kg wrote: |
OK, this thread is over. You win. |
Jason "notchboy" Weigel
1964 1500 S
1964 T34 S Convertible
1977 Westfalia Camper pop-top |
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syncrodoka
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Joined: December 27, 2005
Posts: 12005
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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I have watch people drag them offroad so that would be a NO for me. The only people that I know that had them took them off. I have heard people complain about the ball size and the fact that the hitch can't be used for a bike rack as well.
Westy trailers are rarely used with vanagons unlike bays and busses that like to accessorize with period pieces like luggage, coke coolers, swamp coolers, westy racks, hurst bumpers etc. |
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djkeev
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Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32594
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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Sir Sam
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Joined: July 19, 2009
Posts: 1686
Location: Fort Collins Colorado!
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| Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 8:12 pm Post subject: |
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I've got a similar hitch without the "goose neck" or "turkey neck" for the ball.
I have not installed it yet. Anyone else with the similar hitch have comments about the clearance with it?
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'91 Carat Westy
87' Syncro + '87 Westy conversion coming soon |
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GMByers
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Joined: December 07, 2008
Posts: 642
Location: Retired in NW PA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 4:50 am Post subject: |
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Hmmm, maybe I'm the exception here. I have 3 of this hitch, (although only one is installed) that I use regularly to tow a couple of different trailers. Since I'm not out four wheeling, the only time the hitch drags into the ground is when I back too close to a bank. Since it looks like you have two trailers with the with the 50mm hitch, it would make for a great addition. You should also use the third set of holes to add a third set of bolts.
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And then there were two...downsized to 83 Doka &
74 Thing. |
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SCM
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Joined: January 26, 2011
Posts: 3115
Location: Bozeman MT
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| Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 7:35 am Post subject: |
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| Sir Sam wrote: |
I've got a similar hitch without the "goose neck" or "turkey neck" for the ball.
I have not installed it yet. Anyone else with the similar hitch have comments about the clearance with it? |
I have GoWesty's 2" receiver that mounts to the tow loops, as I assume this one also does. As for clearance, go look at the lowest point on your engine (if it's a WBX), now extend an imaginary level line from there to your rear bumper. That's where the bottom of the receiver will be.
I haven't hit the ground with it yet but it's been very close. I plan to replace it with bumper integrated receiver this spring.
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'91 Westfalia GL Automatic (GTA "Turbo" Rebuild w/Peloquin) and 2.3L GoWesty Engine |
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j_dirge
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Joined: August 08, 2007
Posts: 4641
Location: Twain Harte, CA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 12:35 pm Post subject: |
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| SCM wrote: |
| Sir Sam wrote: |
I've got a similar hitch without the "goose neck" or "turkey neck" for the ball.
I have not installed it yet. Anyone else with the similar hitch have comments about the clearance with it? |
I have GoWesty's 2" receiver that mounts to the tow loops, as I assume this one also does. As for clearance, go look at the lowest point on your engine (if it's a WBX), now extend an imaginary level line from there to your rear bumper. That's where the bottom of the receiver will be.
I haven't hit the ground with it yet but it's been very close. I plan to replace it with bumper integrated receiver this spring. |
If you look closely, you'll see that this is a frame mount hitch assembly... with two tabs that extend into the frame and match the the three bolt hoes in the frame, OEM. There appears to be factory bumper mounts welded in place to.
The one I saw installed looked very factory and felt as robust as my Burley version.
I'd cut off the dong (as noted above) and have a shop weld on a 2" receiver.. You'd not lose much clearance.. Maybe not as good as a Burley or RMW "hidden hitch"
But much more robust than the GW tow loop jobber.
Certainly the price is right.. A trailer shop could probably weld on a stock receiver for $60-75.
You might have to play with the design a bit to make sure your bumper clears the new receiver once welded.. or be willing to cut the bumper a bit so it installs cleanly over the new receiver.
_________________
-89 GL Westy, SVX.. finally.
-57 pan f/g buggy with a 67 pancake Type 3 "S"
"Jimi Hendrix owned one. Richard Nixon did not"
-Grand Tour, Season 1, episodes 4 and 5
| danfromsyr wrote: |
those are straight line runs with light weight race cars for only 1/4mile at a time..
not pushing a loaded brick up a mountain pass with a family of 4+ inside expecting to have an event free vacation..
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raoul mitgong
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Joined: July 05, 2009
Posts: 1338
Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 8:49 am Post subject: |
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J_dirge is right, the bumper is like the Burley or RMW hitches that are much stronger than the loop-bolt version.
I've got both the Westfalia dong hitch (modified) and a RMW 2" receiver low clearance hitch. I used the RMW as a model and you can't tell the difference with the stock bumper "shell" over them.
I cut a 2" wide recessed section out of the bottom of the Westfalia tube to allow the 2" receiver section to sit higher and give me more contact area for the fillet welds.
Both of these bumper/hitches were very well built. I'd say that the Westfalia was overbuilt though. If you've got an angle grinder, welder, and can find a cheap dong hitch, you could save yourself a few hundred.
Those trailers look cool but I would prefer a roof basket or box. The pain of having to plate/register a trailer has kept me from going that route.
-d
-d
_________________
84 Westy with a 2.1 (Groover)
86 Tintop Syncro (Crow)
86 Tintop Syncro to Westy project (Tom Servo)
91 Westy (Only the top 12 inches of this van (a burn victim)) |
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