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

[James Hansen]

I don't think the US version had shock absorber mounts, at least not all of them.  Mine doesn't either.
I pulled one with a jeep tow bar (bumper hitch) from Colorado Springs to here (Ebenezer, SK).  Removed the bumper, it was the same as the Samba picture; 3" angle iron across the front, drilled holes in it to accomodate the tow bar at home, and used up all the cordless batteries drilling the angle iron to suit the bumper mounts on the caddy. Towed like it wasn't there.
I would not use a clamp on one at all, have to have something stiff, and safety chain the heck out of it.

Also made up a set of tail lights to hang over the tailgate, with a long wire loom that plugged into my truck.  Went through a heck of a storm in Wyoming.  A great adventure.
-james

-----Original Message-----
From: Vwdiesel [mailto:vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com] On Behalf Of Maynard
Sent: August-24-14 1:32 PM
To: vwdiesel at vwfans.com
Subject: [Vwdiesel] Towing a Rabbit Pickup by the Front Bumper mounts?

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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