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Post by vikx on May 17, 2021 20:07:32 GMT -8
Hi Gang,
Just wondering if any of you have heard of towing with an old VW bus. Not sure of the specs, but they aren't very beefy. I know Eriba Pucks were designed with a VW tow vehicle in mind but my trailers are way too much for this idea.
Sadly, I had to write the truth to a prospective buyer for my Shasta 1500 today, telling the buyer it was not going to work. I just couldn't in good conscience sell to someone without a proper tow vehicle. Of course he could buy a better tow rig. To me, a VW would be dangerous.
Didn't find much online about the above. Comments welcome.
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Post by danrhodes on May 17, 2021 20:41:31 GMT -8
Old busses are awesome but they can barely tow themselves. They generally have about 70 horsepower and if you've ever been behind on on a grade, you'd realize they can't tow anything.
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Post by vikx on May 17, 2021 20:57:06 GMT -8
I felt kind of bad for this man since he obviously loves his '67 VW bus. I mentioned new clutch, brakes, motor work and hitch upgrades...
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on May 18, 2021 3:30:06 GMT -8
I agree with Dan, the old air-cooled engines are one step above a riding lawnmower where towing is concerned. To tow a 1600 pound camper safely they need more power and a chassis designed to handle the stress.
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on May 18, 2021 11:41:27 GMT -8
This brings to mind a picture I saw several years ago that showed... well, you’d have to see to believe.. There is a second part to the video, but I am just copying the you tube link for the first video. m.youtube.com/watch?v=SpwH9WeVEfUI wouldn’t recommend this, though!
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Post by danrhodes on May 18, 2021 12:26:52 GMT -8
This brings to mind a picture I saw several years ago that showed... well, you’d have to see to believe.. There is a second part to the video, but I am just copying the you tube link for the first video. m.youtube.com/watch?v=SpwH9WeVEfUI wouldn’t recommend this, though! Wow. That camper has way more inside than I would have guessed. What an amazing find.
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turbodaddy
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Post by turbodaddy on May 18, 2021 17:06:33 GMT -8
My first vehicle was a 1966 VW Camper that I bought before I even had gotten my driver's license probably in about 1970. It had a 53HP motor. We used to go exploring the northern Maine or Canadian woods logging roads. Four or five 18 year old guys, all of our camping gear...and before leaving we'd go to the Army PX to load up on food (canned goods) like Dinty Moore beef stew, Spam, and baked beans. Enough for two weeks. Then we'd stock up on a few cases of beer. We'd drive to Greenville, ME to start our adventures.
Driving that thing loaded with all that weight was frightening! It would barely go 35 mph uphill on the highway and then about 75 mph downhill. Most of the trip was on Interstate 95. If we got passed by a semi- tractor trailer it was all I could do to keep the thing on the road. I can't imagine towing anything with one of those. I owned 3 of them and several "bugs" and could switch out an engine in about an hour back then. Somewhere along the line I lost my enthusiasm for laying on the cold hard ground with dirt and grease falling in my eyes and hair ( I had hair back then). Thanks for reviving the memories!
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kirkadie
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Post by kirkadie on May 19, 2021 10:40:04 GMT -8
Ah, back in '73 we drove from our home in Berkeley across country to Erie Pa in our 1959 VW transporter (no window van with reduction gears) powered by a 1200 engine out of a totaled bug. Top speed with a wind at our back was high 50s, could count on breaking down regularly so had our trusty "how to keep your vw alive idiot's manual", several new distributor caps and a minimalist's tool kit. We were younger then. We ended up renting a uhaul truck in Grandby Colorado to tow it back home after cylinder #3 showed no compression and the only way to start it was a steep hill to roll down. Those were the days.
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Post by bigbill on May 19, 2021 17:15:48 GMT -8
We had a 1966 1300 Bettle that we towed a 15 foot MFG fiberglass boat with a 50 horse V4 Evinrude motor from Ohio to Lake Cumberland on I75 at Highway speeds with no problems. It had a special hitch that went up and fastened to the rear axle, I don't remember where then to the rear bumper. It towed level with no problems. But it would of not had the wind resistance of a Shasta.
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on May 20, 2021 6:21:28 GMT -8
Im loving these stories!
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sawset
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Post by sawset on May 20, 2021 15:03:57 GMT -8
A cousin of mine put together one of those 1970 dune buggies, metalic purple, with a vw beetle engine in the back. I remember going for a ride (8yrs old at the time) and that 4th gear really struggled. It wasn't particularly zippy. 2yrs ago we met up again, so I asked him about it. He said he still had it, that it's still parked in the machine shed where I remember it, and that he hasn't had it out in over 35yrs. It all happened about the time my parents got out of farming, sold out and decided to get set up camping. New Coleman cooler, lantern, stove, water jug, and a popup. They went once, before my dad got sick. That was the only time they went, just once. Going through the estate this winter, sure enough I found in the attic all that old new in the box stuff - cooler, lantern, water jug, stove. Still has the original lantern mantles, and an extra new in the bag set. They maybe made them a little more sturdy back then, either that or they are petrefied, because usually they shake loose over time. Not these. In the cellar way I even found the can of Colman fuel. Still had 3/4 left. They had a 67 chevy impala to tow with, so don't remember any lack power.
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turbodaddy
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Post by turbodaddy on May 20, 2021 16:46:59 GMT -8
I don't mean to highjack the thread, but the dune buggy story got my attention. I too, had one of those. I was probably about 20 something and was a regular J.C. Whitney customer. They had so many crazy products. "Ever notice how your car runs better when its raining? Install this system to add water to your fuel mix.It will run smoother than ever." Something like that.
My dune buggy had a 6 volt electrical system and a 36 HP engine when I bought it. I rebuilt the engine with oversized pistons, a 4 barrel carburetor and a straight through exhaust. That thing would almost pop a wheely in first gear it had so much torque. Actually, I rarely used first gear, second worked better. There was something wrong with the starter so I had to push it and jump start it while rolling. That was fine, it always worked well, except for the time I ran myself over while pushing it. The wheelbase was really short, and with the oversized rear wheels there wasn't much room to move. As I was pushing it my right heel got under the rear wheel and I heard a crunching sound. It did start so I hopped in and started driving to work. After a few minutes I realized that my foot was swelling up inside my shoe. I ended up having to cut the sneaker off and went to the ER for an x-ray. It wasn't broken but ever since that my ankle / foot makes a cracking sound when I walk a certain way. Such fun!
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sawset
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Post by sawset on May 21, 2021 17:37:52 GMT -8
"Install this system to add water to your fuel mix.It will run smoother than ever"
Added a coolant to fuel heat exchanger home made unit to the 73 buick century back then. The guy at the hardware store knew all about it, set me up with all the fittings. Bunch of hicks, what did we know. What is an "internet". Another thing (off topic), I've noticed, the 58 scout here has/had two punch marks on the front aluminum panel, about 4ft up, and about 4ft from the hitch ball. What on earth could have produced those. I hooked it up to the pickup (nissan frontier), and the tail lights come nowhere close, at all. But - -, but, look up a 58 chevy sedan, width, height, tailights, giant fins on the back, almost an exact match.
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Post by Teachndad on May 22, 2021 19:53:25 GMT -8
Hi Friends, Okay, no cool stories from me of being young and fancy free nursing simple VW's across the country, but I agree that the Vik made the right decision. 1967 was the last model year before the big redesign that included a stronger engine. My dad used to tell me, that they took Porsche engines and swapped them out and put them in the VW vans. I can't verify that, but it would get the seller some more horsepower, but those VW vans/campers had really bad cooling with it's rear engine location.Its a wonder they made them aircooled. There is no way, that little 1967 VW could pull a small ham without burning something up. I can't see it happening without plowing serious money at it. Even if he would tow an Eriba Puck, he would have to ride by himself. This is all he can really tow. Oh wait, so I have a tenuous story to a VW. In high school, during PE, we were running to the weight room, a converted classroom and we ran through the teacher parking lot. One of the teachers drove a dune buggy. It was the art teacher, no less. Someone had the bright idea to pick it up and turn it in it's space. So, we picked it up with all that we could fit holding on to the crash bar that surrounded the engine. We hefted that VW dune buggy and turned it in the space 90 degrees. We were so proud of ourselves. We were passing attaboys and busting up as we left the turned dune buggy imagining what the teacher would say when he discovered his rotated dune buggy at the end of the school day. Well, one of the students in the class ran over to the weight room ahead of the main group and that made the coach wonder what happened to the rest of the class. That caused the coach to come out and see what happened to us and watched us as we did the deed and then when we got to the weight room he told us to move it back. What a bummer! So, we trudged back and picked it up and moved it back. It was weight training, though. I can still imagine him going to the other coaches, and I BET he was laughing with his buds at what we did, but had to put a serious face on it. If I was he coach, I would have left it, LOL. Cheers, Rod
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on May 23, 2021 10:29:15 GMT -8
What is that thing? Looks like a giant solar panel.
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