Date:         Thu, 6 Jul 1995 09:39:34 -0400
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         feets1st@ocala.com (Kevin Murray)
Subject:      towing VW/VW

I have been following the thread concerning the towing of a vehicle (VW)
behind another vehicle (VW) and have a few questions.


The scenario as it stands........

Another listmember and I are trading projects (I have a 65 SingleCab &
Richard has a 65 Deluxe) The problem is the distance between the two..
Approx 650 miles one way....To add to this, I will also be picking up
another car (a 59 ragtop sedan) which is located on the way back home
here in Florida..

Originally I had intended on renting a largish Ryder or U-Haul and loading
my pick-up in the bay area, driving up to Richard, doing the swap and with
a towbar/dolly hooking the Deluxe to the back of the U-Haul and then driving
down to the site where the 59 is and rolling it up into the bay of the truck.

I measured my beetle and the width falls well within the width of the bay
of the rental truck, and as the 59 is basically a body/chassis/wheels the
weight shouldn't come anywhere near limit...

I checked with U-Haul who originally gave me the suggestion and they now
tell me it is against policy to load an auto into the bay of any of their
rentals and therefore cannot honor my reservation....Should I check with
Ryder?

Now I intend to drive the SinglCab up to Richard (new motor, will do tranny
flush and brake bleed before I take off) do the trade, spend a day going
over the Deluxe doing similiar prep stuff and installing a frame mounted
trailer hitch, then driving the deluxe down to Winston-Salem and hooking up
to the 59 beetle (hanging at the IVWA show on Sunday) and driving back down
to Florida the following on/Tues...

Luckily I have plenty of storage space on both the SingleCab and the deluxe
as I intend to carry every spare thingie imaginable...tools, tires, engine,
floor jack and stands,etc.,etc..

Questions......

The tire as towbar theory sounds great as the tongue (tire) length suits
me better than the longish towbars, or the even longer dollys, however I
wonder what the legal ramafications are here.

What are the pros and cons of a towbar -vs- a car dolly? I have a towbar
and for short tows I've had no problem, but wondered how they worked over
a longer trek... I have access to a dolly (two wheels/axle w/ramp to lift
one end of the vehicle off the ground) and wondered if this were the prefered
mode.. I've used this when towing a car behind our RV numerous times, but
then the RV puts out like 400hp and doesn't even sniff after a 600 ile jaunt!

Any other options I haven't considered, or any pitfalls I haven't thought of?

help....

Kevin Murray (cinematographer) -FeetsFirst Films

*59 beetle ragtop* 66 Beetle, 65 SingleCab(sold), 66 Deluxe Samba(soon)
67 Panel Bus, 67 Beetle, 69 Beetle Baha, 72 Bus, 74 412 Station waggin

-------------****** Sparks through the Rubble ******------------------