I pulled a 18 ft fiberglass sailboat form Columbus Ohio to Beckley WV with a
Pontiac Sunbird one thanksgiving (young, dumb and full of ***). I was
heading for Florida. I broke down on a hill outside of Beckley on the
Turnpike in a construction zone (one lane of traffic. Transmission failed.
Semis were passing me very closely and almost blowing me into oblivion. I
feared for my life that there would be a massive accident because of my
stupidity of trying this stunt. This was such a frightening experience that
I vowed NEVER to tow anything heavy again without a full size vehicle (i.e.
pickup truck).

Bulley, sincerely, I would not recommend it with your stock 82.

Sean Garrett
1981 Westy (his)
1995 Eurovan Camper (hers)
sean.garrett@asu.edu

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stan Wilder [mailto:wilden1@JUNO.COM]
> Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2002 8:20 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Towing weight, handling, sailboat.
>
>
> If you've already got the hitch I think I'd give it a try and
> depending
> on the distance you have to travel add an oil cooler if it is
> required to
> keep engine temps down.
> You're going to be a traffic obstacle going up hills but I
> think they'll
> be able to see you OK.
> If you've got a diesel ........... forget it.
>
> Stan Wilder
>
> On Thu, 24 Oct 2002 10:56:09 -0400 "G.M.Bulley"
> <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM> writes:
> > I am considering replacing the trailer-sailboat I sold some years
> > ago,
> > and *may* pull same with our 1982 Vanagon.  We are looking at
> > MacGregors/Ventures as this is what I had, and I love the design. We
> > are
> > looking at the 21, 22, 24, and 25 foot versions, mostly the 21 and
> > 25,
> > which are 1,800, and 2,900 lbs with trailer.
> >
> > What is the towing/braking capacity of the 1982 Vanagon
> > (Westfalia)?
> > Have any of you towed this type of boat before with your Vanagon?
> > How
> > did it fair?
> > (For what it is worth, I typically pay someone with a truck/4wd to
> > pull
> > same up the ramp, so traction/clutching isn't an issue).
> > Bringing your ideas to life,
> > G. Matthew Bulley
> > Bulley-Hewlett
> > Business: www.bulley-hewlett.com <http://bulley-hewlett.com/>
> > AIM = IExplain4u
> > Phone: +1.919.658.1278
> > It's Greek to me.
> >
> >
>
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