Thread: Towing capacity
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Old August 8th 08, 02:21 AM posted to rec.autos.makers.vw.aircooled
Bob Hoover
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Posts: 75
Default Towing capacity


> On Aug 7, 3:44 pm, "george taylor" >
> wrote:
>
> > Does any one know what the towing capacity was/is for a split bus? I might
> > be putting in a 1600 into it if that makes a difference.

>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dear George,

The towing capacity of any vehicle is determined by its ability to
STOP and is usually defined by the vehicle's gross laden weight. For
an early Transporter your max would be about 800 lbs, for later models
-- especailly those having disk brakes -- the max is about 1200.

Using a trailer having its own braking system changes all that.

Tongue-weight reflects the ability of the prime mover to steer the
tailer and is usually kept fairly low.

As a point of interest, the early bus with its outboard gear boxes
makes an excellent prime mover.

In my opinion, here in California the best tow-bar package for the
early bus was the dealer-installed option that tied the hitch to the
rear axle housing and supported the tow-bar/hitch with a pair of
diagonal struts that connected the bumper brackets to the ceiling of
the engine compartment, which was re-enforced by a large plate.

-Bob Hoover
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