Towbar fitting

TimV wrote:

olive wrote:

I think that would look good being dragged along on the road

It certainly would. But not as sharp as the white/red/black jetski I'll be pulling along with Max.

My jetski will be in the pod

olive wrote:

My jetski will be in the pod

What ..... an inflatable one?!

Oooh now there's an idea .....

Go careful cutting any chrome bumpers as this will stop the 'chrome wrap' from doing its job in stopping the bumper rust.....

jj123vw wrote:

'chrome wrap'

Not sure the term wrap is appropriate as the bumper is only chromed on the outside.

Shame there is nit a detachable tow bar. Would have fitted them for the odd occasion I need one!!

Dilly

My new towbar, fitted today by Ian and the boys at VWKampers, oh and by the way Mish passed his first MOT
Look forward to 'showing' off the towbar at the Kombi sleepover this weekend........ just have to buy the trailer now!!

Looking forward to seeing you at the week end

hi irishman,

can you tell me if this is also the JustKampers towbar? On their website it is mentioned that "we do not supply a tow bar that will fit a Brazilian van"

Is it necessary to cut the rear bumper?

Thanks

Sorry to drag up an old thread, but have just bought a trailer and need to sort out a towbar, and have been trying to decide what to order...

Quote :

It fitted with no bother at all, just two holes to be drilled in middle section

With old bay towbars there seem to be three different ones available, early bay 69-71 which were the vans that had the small rear lights and low front lights, crossover 71-72 where the vans still had the early front lights lights but later big lights, and then late bay 72-79.

I think it was only the early bays had removable rear panels like our brazi bays, so the towbars dont attach to it and from what I can make out seem to be the ones to go for.

I will bite the bullet and order one... as am supposed to collect trailer next week!

I think you're right Andy. I reckon an Early Bay towbar ought to fit for the same reason. However I can't prove this until I physically see one. Maybe you can solve this for us?

Andy,

Most buses end up fitted with a Watling Towbar - PVW15 - this is for the 72-79 late bay. You can get it from Just Kampers or any Watling supplier, and it is (I think) the one that Danbury fit. I haven't seen an early bay towbar next to a late bay model to see the difference, but if you do decide to buy an early bay bar, make sure you can send it back...

Irishman any chance of a pic from underneath to see where it attaches and we can see the differences.

Irishman's towbar sits in the chassis legs where the original bumper irons did. The bumper cover then attaches to the towbar crossmember and all but obscures it except for the tow hitch.

this is a super information. Thanks a lot. In germany i dont can buy this and it was very difficult to find enything about this for a T2C.
Here in germany no firms would be build this on my car. the most! difficult for the fit from the car is the paper for the TÜV. They always said to me: you need the paper from the fit. because it must be written for the car paper. After these answers i dont think enymore about the fit.
know i think about holiday for 2 or 3 days to came to GB ;-)
i must look for this in the summer:-)

Come for the Kombi Sleepover!

Ok, so in laymens terms:

Remove bumper.
Attach towbar to the chassis where the bumper was.
Re-attach the bumper over the top of the towbar.

Any changes needed on the bumper? Mount points? Longer bolts?

@ tim:
sleepover? - in german: plötzlich verliebt

ich verstehe nicht immer alles was ihr schreibt, deswegen kann ich nicht immer antworten. auch mit dem Übersetzungsprogramm kommt dann bei mir oft nur "Blödsinn" heraus, .......... :-(

i dont understand a lot from you often, so i dont answers often, because the translation in german is crazy. please dont worry about this from me :-)

Hi Michel
The "Kombi Sleepover" is a camping event held in Oxfordshire, England
It is Brazilian VW Bay.com's own camping event on 23rd June 2012
We're expecting a lot of Kombis to attend, have a look at the campsite's website and park overview:

www.anitascaravanandcottages.co.uk

You can expect a relaxed atmosphere, good company and some 'games' if you want to join in.
Also, it is an opportunity to put names and faces together from the Forum
Hope this helps
All the best
Scooby

Here is a link to the info on the forum: Kombi Sleepover

At last count there were just over 20 Kombis booked to attend, all forum members.

Another event you might consider is CamperJam which will also be very well attended by members of the forum, in our own club pitch. There will also be a "Brazilian Display" which many of us are involved in.

oh yes, thank you, know its clear :-))
i am looking now in my timeshift plan at the moment. on this weekend i must work for early shift 12 hours a day. my working plan is fixed for the year, so i always knows about working.
we must be on shift 3 people fixed from four people. only one can go on holiday. but my kollege Ingo is there for 3 weeks in france :-(
so it dont goes for me. please sorry.
but on the vanfest in sebtember i have 2 days free. i am asking for my boss about 3 days free. when this goes than i would go there.

I have done a bit of research and looked at a few towbars...

Like discussed before the late bay (Watling PVW15) uses two holes you have to drill in the middle of the back panel, but on a late bay this is double skinned and welded in so is a structural part of the van.

There is very little point in bolting through here on a Brazilian van, as its just a flimsy bolted in panel.

From what I can make out the Danbury supplied one, is a bit of a special one made for them by Watling, and they have just basically taken the late bay one, left off the bracket where it bolts through the back panel, and added two small brackets which you attach using the standard read panel bolts at either end.

It also seems to be made with a bit less offset, so the hitch sits higher up tight underneath the brazilian bumper, as obviously late bays had those deeper Europa bumpers.

I think I might buy a late bay one and modify it myself.

So on that basis wouldn't it follow that an Early Bay towbar would fit?

I dont know about all early bar towbars, but the Watling one for them doesnt bolt on using the bumper iron bolts, it uses three holes in the side of the chassis rail, which have three captive nuts in there ready.

Next door had an old Westy early bay towbar kicking about, which also used the same three holes, I offered it upto my van and there was one hole in the right place, but no captive nut.

So looks like early bay towbar is a no-go.

I have ordered a Watling late bay one now, and will either give it a bit of a tweak with the grinder when it arrives, or might just fit it and not worry about bolting through the middle bit.

Watling PVW15 towbar arrived this morning and its on the van already... I did chop of the bracket in the middle and ground it flat, but didnt see any need to add the extra brackets.

You use the two existing bumper iron holes, and then a third hole which is forward from them... The hole is in the chassis rail ready but it has no captive nut welded in, so had to stick an M10 rivnut in there.

Had to tweak the bottom edge of the bumper, as fouled the bit that drops down to put the towball on, but 30 seconds with the grinder, a clean up and some paint and all was good.

Just got to wire it up now... and am wondering if as its a legal requirement to have a warning buzzer for trailer lights, and as they are now testing towbar electrics on the MOT if I have the buzzer in behind the rear lights is it a fail if they cant hear it?

I'd imagine it is a legal requirement to have and hear the buzzer - why else would they be fitted otherwise .....?