The tow ratings in the US may be limited for legal or some other
reasons. It seems the European ratings are based on what it can actually
pull without overheating or breaking something. Keep in mind that each
US state has various laws regarding towing and since there in gross
combined weight rating listed on the sticker, it legally can't tow
anything. Some states like New York require trailers to have brakes at
1,000 pounds.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Stephen Overmyer
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 2:24 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Vanagon tongue wait capacity?

Date:    Tue, 2 Aug 2005 23:18:40 -0400
From:    Don in North Carolina <vanagondon@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Vanagon tongue wait capacity?

Jim,

From the owners manual - 1986 and up:

Maximum braked trailer weight -    900kg (2,000 lb)
Maximum unbraked trailer weight - 600kg (1,320 lb)
Maximum tongue weight -                 75kg (165 lb)

Note that there is no difference shown between the Syncro and the
passenger= =20 van.  Not sure if the camper supplement shows a lower
number or not.
=20
--=20
Don in Reidsville, NC

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Interesting....my owner's manual has a few more variations than the
above and does show differences for the syncro...

Max. tongue weight is consistent 75kg across all models & engines.
Max. unbraked trailer weight is also consistent at 600kgs.

However, for braked trailers, my manual for 2.1L Transporter & Caravelle
differs markedly....

Trailer with brakes (up to 12% gradient)

44kW:
4 speed  : 1500kgs
5 speed  : 1500kgs

57kW,68kW,70kW,82kW : 1500kgs

Turbo Diesel : 1500kgs

Diesel Engine : 1200kgs

Syncro 57kW,82kW : 2000kgs

Syncro 64kW : 1500kgs

Syncro Turbo Diesel : 1500kgs

Syncro 70kW : 2000kgs

Cheers,
Steve O (who also may need hernia surgery before too much longer ;-)
NSW Australia
'92 Transporter WBX Kombi
'00 Transporter Double Cab
'03 Transporter Double Cab (work truck)
'78 Landrover 109 Series 3 Soft top ute (ex-Aust Army)