Will it tow my T@B

GlampingGranny

Hey everyone. 
Its brand new GlampingGranny here. 
Have just got myself a 2006 T&B to begin my retirement tour with my 2 BIG fur friends. 
Looking at a 1974 well maintained VW pop up van. Only has original well maintained 1.8L engine. 
Looking to live on the road and don't need my vehicle to fail at the job. 
Love the VW, love the T@B. 
Will they work together ???
All opinions appreciated. GG. 

wizard1880

I'm unsure of the tow rating for a VW Type 2 (bus), or if it's rated to tow at all.

The engines in those vans are less than 100 HP and work really hard to move the van itself.  Tongue weight is also a concern since you already have the weight of the engine on the rear.  Could raise the front end enough to cause loose or wobbly steering.

In my opinion, I would not try this.  Maybe for a few miles in-town only, but not on the freeways.  Depending where you live, the  authorities may not appreciate it either.

Nomad

Betting not - My brother has a fully restored 1972 with the bigger engine and I doubt it'd pull my T@B. Love the VW busses.
The biggest problem he has is he's never gone on a longish trip without some kind of mechanical. We always joke that he needs to pull a little parts trailer. They're not hard to work on. Are you good with mechanics?

pthomas745

They do make hitches for them,  and I've seen Busses using towbars to tow other VW's.    I had a dual carb 72 Camper that had a little bit of power, but....

Then, there is this guy, who proves it can happen.  His other vids show the hitch and electrical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhCHCgQF228

Tabaz

Having owned a VW bus in the past, towing a T@B will not be a problem as long as you only travel down hill. Wizard states the issues clearly. Fugetaboutit.

KBaggins1

Get one of the newer water cooled vans. The van you are looking at probably only has around 80 hp so not only would it be hard to get up hills, some hills you won't even get to the top. The newer camper vans are called Westfalias and I think I saw a pic of one on here towing a T@B.   

jgram2

Googled towing capacity for 1974 1.6 L VW Van: I think this is about a VW Van, type 2, and this Aussie refers to it as a Kombi:

The 1974 one I have for my Kombi lists the VW Type 2's towing capacity as just 600 kg un-braked, and 800 kg braked, and a nose weight of 25-50 kg. This is consistent across all models, and seems to be for both the 1.6 and 1.8-litre engines."

If accurate, those numbers don't look good for towing a T@B. 600 kg=1320#, 800 kg=1760#.

jkjenn

You should be able to find the manufactuer's tow guidance via an Internet search using the year, make, and model. If you want to be confident that you are legal and safe, always follow that guidance. I also suggest searching an owner's forum for the specific make of vehicle you are interested in or a larger RV forum with a broader use base for some tow performance, too. I found both very informative.

Ratkity

Having grown up rebuilding VW Bugs from my grandma's original 6V 1959 Bug to my own 1972 Bug with my Dad, I can tell you there's always going to be an issue. Most old VWs are air-cooled. Water-cooled aren't much better. They all run hot, get vapor lock, have accelerator throttle lines break... most importantly, the clutches go out, a lot. Once at a safe speed, you probably would be ok. It's the take-off and stopping that would be most concerning to me. I don't know if the vans are unibody, but we've seen picts here of an aftermarket hitch attached to unibodies not reinforced come off. Just be careful.

Dalehelman

We owned a1974 years ago great little vehicle wish I still had it. As a T@B TV in a word No. I doubt if you could even get a property rated hitch for it.

TTTab

I owned a 1971 VW camper van.  I would love to have one again.  What i remember was how labored it was driving through the mountains of CO. So I am not certain it could pull a trailer in high altitudes.  I love the idea but doubt it would work.

 

rfuss928

NO

Ratkity

@rfuss928, I'm not sure I understood. It might be the N or the O

irvingj

Though old ads used to push the fact that it's an air-cooled engine, old flat-four VWs were actually oil-cooled to a large extent. In the engine compartment, the oil cooler was a little stand-up radiator that unfortunately worked quite at blocking airflow over the #3 cylinder. I've seen too many of these engines lose their #3 cylinder exhaust valve in hot weather/heavy load conditions due to the decreased airflow over that cylinder. I would not recommend towing a T@B with a VW equipped with one of those engines.

Me_and_My_Dog

I've had 2 1978 VW vans and they had a hard enough time carrying their own weight. I'd say no, both in terms of towing capacity and breaking down. There is a big subculture of vintage VW van owners in the world, and their activities are centered around repairing their vans. This could be a fun hobby, but not one that I would enjoy. I want my towing vehicle to be top notch. I don't want the drama of breaking down, if possible.