[Vwdiesel] Towing a Rabbit Pickup by the Front Bumper mounts?

Sun Aug 24 18:14:54 PDT 2014

Any one ever tried to disassemble or cause those shocks to fail?  Trust me aint easy to do!  Hayden

On Aug 24, 2014, at 8:02 PM, Andrew .Libby <libbybapa at gmail.com> wrote:

> I've towed my '79 locally twice with a towbar around the bumper.  I never
> thought about the bumper shocks failing.  I didn't have any issues, but now
> that it has been brought to my attention will not do it that way again.
> 
> 
> On Sun, Aug 24, 2014 at 5:57 PM, <pmdolan1 at sasktel.net> wrote:
> 
>> Played Russian Roulette a few times and came out just fine too, but can't
>> recomend that to anyone else.
>> On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 19:52:36 -0400, Jason <uberhare at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Towed quite a few Rabbits by the front bumper with a tow bar...Never an
>> 
>>> issue or damaged to the bumper shocks.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Sun, Aug 24, 2014 at 4:49 PM, Roger Brown <r.c.brown at ieee.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Both my old '81 and current '82 pickups have the steel front bumper
>>>> brackets instead of the shocks like my old Rabbit used to have.  But a
>>> tow
>>>> dolly might still be the best option, as you get the front drive wheels
>>> off
>>>> the ground. >
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On 8/24/2014 1:00 PM, pmdolan1 at sasktel.net wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> Absolutely DO NOT tow by the front bumper with this.  The bumper is
>>>>> mounted on hydraulic "shocks" that are net intended for this kind of
>>> load
>>>>> (transverse much worse than longitudinal).  You MIGHT get away with
>>> it, but
>>>>> if you don't, it is quite a mess when one lets go. >> The way to do it
>>> is make a fitting that is rigid in bending going back to
>>>>> the mounting holes on the frame "accordian" where the bumper absorbers
>>>>> mount.  Weld those two stubs to a tranverse angle or tube to which you
>>> can
>>>>> bolt the tow bar adapters.  The pseudo-bumper is critical to prevent
>>> the
>>>>> tow bar (that has not cross beam) from putting side loads on the bumper
>>>>> mounting points and adapters.   Put the safety chains SOMEWHERE ELSE -
>>> such
>>>>> as around a lower control arm and hope to hell you never have to rely
>>> on
>>>>> them (the car will whip and slam hard against them at the limit). >>
>>> On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 15:32:15 -0400, Maynard <echomhs at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> I've just struck a deal on a 1981 Rabbit Pickup Diesel LX. I'm hoping
>>> to
>>>>> 
>>>>>> flat-tow it home using the universal adjustable tow bar I already
>>> have. >>> It
>>>>>> looks somewhat like this:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> <http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Adjustable-Arms-
>>>>>> Chains-5000/dp/B005ESZ058/r
>>>>>> ef=pd_sbs_auto_6?ie=UTF8
>>>>>> <http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Adjustable-Arms-
>>>>>> Chains-5000/dp/B005ESZ058/r
>>>>>> ef=pd_sbs_auto_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1R9VK9S0KE340GBZPXQV>
>>>>>> &refRID=1R9VK9S0KE340GBZPXQV>
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> I've used this tow bar before on older vehicles and I'm confident it
>>>>>> will
>>>>>> get me where I want to go, but I won't have the luxury of fabricating
>>> the
>>>>>> mounting brackets on-site and I'm not going to have the opportunity to
>>>>>> visit
>>>>>> the vehicle again prior to picking it up. I know the front bumper is
>>>>>> mounted
>>>>>> to a pair of bumper mounts using two holes each in the mounts. I
>>> think I
>>>>>> could mount the tow bar's mounting plates to these bumper mounts, but
>>> I
>>>>>> neglected to measure the distance between these holes. >>>  Could
>>> somebody measure the distance between these bumper mounting holes
>>>>>> on
>>>>>> their own Rabbit and report to me? (I think it's somewhere around
>>> 4"-5",
>>>>>> but
>>>>>> I need a pretty accurate measure if I want to pre-fab.) It appears
>>> that
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> bumper mounts on this Pickup are solid steel connected to the frame,
>>> not
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> shock-absorbing mounts I had on my 1984 Jetta. >>>  I know I could
>>> rent a tow dolly or vehicle trailer, or even call AAA,
>>>>>> but
>>>>>> none of those options is convenient to my situation. >>>  Any help
>>> would be greatly appreciated!
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> ~Maynard
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> '82 Westy Diesel
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> '86 DoubleCab Diesel
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> '11 Golf TDI
>>>>>> 
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>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
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>>>> 
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>> 
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