Seeking 2 Cents on Beetle towing / tow bars

[hrtm]

Seeking some opinions on whether or not it's a good idea for me to tow my Beetle under the following conditions:

- The Beetle in question is a 1969 w/ manual transmission.
- The tow vehicle is a 2002 Subaru Outback Sedan w/ 3.0 H6 engine and automatic transmission with manual overide capability.
- The tow hitch is an aftermarket 1 1/4" with maximum tow rating of 3,500lbs and max tongue weight of 350lbs.
- The only factory specs I can find on the Subaru seem to be a max tow rating of 2,000lbs with a brake assisted trailer or 1,000lbs without.

I'm trying to get from Albuquerque, NM to Denver, CO and have two road options.
- a more backroad route on which I can comfortably travel at a slower speed but with quite a few more grades and mountain passes (as best as I can recall).
- a straight shot up I-25 which has only one major grade in Raton Pass (again, as best as I can recall), but I would have to contend with all the folks driving 75-85mph the entire way.

Is this a suicide mission?
_________________
'84 Vanagon Westfalia
'69 Beetle

[gt1953]

I would tow it on the freeway. Air up the tires on the bug say 24 lbs in front and 30 in the rears, less resistance. The Suby will do it. Tow bar safety chains and a set of tow lights. Oh ya take everything out of the VW so you stay within the tow limit of the Suby.
I used my Outback to tow my Squareback out of the garage after the engine was out.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[busdaddy]

You could pull the engine on the bug and load it into the back of the Subaru as well (if you do that remove the driveshafts or your input shaft will be missing when you arrive).

If you want to get super safe they do make remote brake pedal pushers for towed vehicles behind RV's, but it'll likely cost you more for one of those than having the bug shipped in a velvet lined climate controlled enclosed car hauler will set you back.
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

Слава Україні!

[ZENVWDRIVER]

I flat towed my 1952 Zwitter from upstate, NY to Owasso, Oklahoma (1500 miles) with a tow bar, without incident - the V-6 S-10 pickup was perfect... no electric brakes

Also flat towed my 1957 oval from Missouri to Oklahoma, up and down some mountain roads with my V-6 E-150 no problem... no electric brakes...

_________________
5/50, pastel green 11G - SOLD
8/50, gray 11A Beetle
6/52, pastel green 11C - SOLD
11/4/52, black Zwitter - SOLD to my little bro.
1954 Porsche, pre A, with VW 36 horse- SOLD
1/54, black 11C Beetle - TRADED
2/55 Iceland green Beetle, on a 1965 pan
3/55 113 Beetle, stratos silver
1955 Messerschmitt KR175 - SOLD, sadly
1960 single cab
1962 SO33, with SO 42 interior
9/63 Pacific blue, Ghia
'87 Toyota MR2
'02 WestFORDia E-150, GAVE TO OUR SON

All super-heroes, wear a MASK

[andk5591]

Raton pass is a pretty good hill, so I doubt you will be doing 70 through there. Isnt it 4 lane the whole way? And who cares if the other cars need to pass you. I would NOT take the back roads in that part of the world towing a car. And once you get into CO, you should not have any issues at all. You will be fine. Not sure what the history of the car is, but ALWAYS make sure you have a good spare and all the lug nuts are tight.
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[Cusser]

I think you'd be fine. There will be RVs going slower than you.
_________________
1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[mukluk]

[modok]

I think the subaru has the basics necessary to do the job.

Not any more dangerous than towing it with a pickup.

Even with the VW attached, the subaru's braking ability will still be as good as the thing it's towing.

You have to remember to drive your subaru like it's a overloaded pickup, or an old thing with drum brakes, and...if you own a VW, I bet you know how to do that.

[busman78]

Your only issue is coming off the pass into Trinidad, use lower gear or you will cook the brakes in that Subi.

As for towing don't worry about your speed, 55-60 on the flats, enjoy the scenery, everybody will go around you. I towed many times with my Forester, got a Dakota now and still keep the speed down.

[Q-Dog]

A 1969 Beetle is about 1800 lbs, a convertible is about 1920 lbs. You can probably get the rig up to speed without a problem, but without additional braking your tow vehicle is inadequate.
_________________
Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[gt1953]

As mentioned its not so much about towing its about the stopping. My Outback could tow my GMC full size pickup but its all about the stopping.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[VW_Jimbo]

U-haul has a car tow dolly, that has a brake built into it. When you stop, the trailer force pushes the hitch into a special brake receiver and applies braking. Might be worth the cost to rent one, if you are worried about stopping.

Also, take a spare for the Bug. I have towed alot of Bugs through the years and it always seems like one of the tires does something stupid, in the middle of nowhere!

Be sure the tranny fluid is at the correct level. Several tows ago, I lost a differential on the way home, 60 miles into a 150 mile trip, all because the tranny had no oil. It had all leaked out while sitting in a field.

Good luck!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[busman78]

I doubt U-Haul would rent him a car hauler due to the hauler's capacity and his Subi probably has a Class 2 hitch if it is a factory one.

[Q-Dog]

The car hauler also weighs something. Adding the car hauler, plus the weight of the Beetle, would far exceed the tow capacity of the Subaru. Flat towing the Beetle gets you the lowest weight.

Rent or borrow a bigger vehicle to flat tow the Beetle.
_________________
Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[busman78]

Easy cure to all of this, when you get to Raton hang a right on Hwy 64 to Capulin then a lefty to Folsum to Hwy 551 into Colorado you will then hang a left on hwy 160 which takes you back into Trinidad. This is the Oversize overweight route. You will have a bit of a drop outside Colorado Springs but not that bad.

Stop at the volcano in Capulin and enjoy Folsum.

[oprn]

Moving the weight from one vehicle to the other does nothing. The brakes have the same load regardless as does the transmission.

Just go for it but like others have said, give yourself more time, keep your speed down and keep in mind increased stopping distance is required.

[hrtm]

Thanks to everyone for their 2 cents, pro and con - it's all much appreciated food for thought!

Worth noting that I already looked into a Uhaul rental and they DO allow the rental of a 2-wheel tow dolly for the Subaru Outback/VW Beetle combination (at least for the 3.0 liter 6cyl motor). I imagine the brake assist on the dolly moves the scales in favor of safety despite the fact that the dolly&VW results in something close to 2,250+lbs which is technically above the Outback's 2,000lb tow limit (w/ brake assist). The only thing I haven't clarified yet is whether or not this allowance occurs *only* when Uhaul installs the aftermarket hitch. Uhaul just rebrands Curt or Draw Tite hitches which can easily be purchased and self installed for quite a bit less (Uhaul's install fee alone is ~$120).

Meanwhile thanks also for the tip regarding the Raton->Trinidad bypass route. I hadn't even considered that a jog to the East might provide a more gradual climb and descend. Even though it adds a solid couple of hours to the journey I will definitely consider it strongly should I opt to go the flat tow route. I always enjoy the road less travelled anyway....
_________________
'84 Vanagon Westfalia
'69 Beetle

[Mos6502]

I think there's probably a pretty large margin of safety in those numbers. According to the owner's manual, my 65hp Saab with its skinny tires and primitive braking system can tow 1100lbs. of un-braked trailer. But they were probably factoring in the 55mph speed limit.

In any event flat towing a car is different than towing a trailer. Tongue weight shifts the weight of the tow vehicle to the rear axle which means poorer braking (front wheels have most of the stopping power). Subaru's figure probably assumes a trailer, not a car. The car shouldn't be exerting downward force on the hitch.

[ZENVWDRIVER]

[Mike Fisher]

I love my $400 tow dolly because of its light weight and have used it extensively. You can rent GOOD tow dolly's from Uhaul cheap. The '57 ragtop in the bed was cut off for a Baja, so we didn't worry about jamming the nose into the bed for the ride home from Oakland, OR.

_________________
https://imgur.com/user/FisherSquareback/posts
69 FI/AT square Daily Driver
66 sunroof,67,70,71,71,71AT,72,72AT,73 Parts
two 57 oval ragtops sold
'68 Karmann Ghia sold

Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up you end up with a lot of scum on the top! - Russ_Wolfe/Edward Abbey