Skip to main content
Gerry | Vanagon
Checking account...
← vanagon.com home · Continue the discussion in the forum
Subject:Re: Towing my Syncro with an Element??
From:Jeffrey Schwaia
Date:Sat, 24 Sep 2005 23:05:37 -0700

My .02c...  it would be foolish to do either.  Niether of those cars have
the brakes for the job.

Cheers,

Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
Of Chris Dixon
Sent: Saturday, September 24, 2005 9:15 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Towing my Syncro with an Element??

To Vanagonauts who know more than me:
I'm considering a move to the east coast from California. If I keep my
Syncro Westy, then I need to get both it and my Element to South
Carolina in as economic a manner as possible. The Element surely has
the power to tow the Syncro -- especially since there's no way I'd be
exceeding 55 MPH anywhere, but it has a 4700 pound GVWR and is towing
rated to 1500 lbs - and thus, I assume it's not rated to tow a 5K pound
van. That is, unless the 1500 lbs means tongue weight -- and even in my
ignorance, I'm reasonably sure it does not. The Syncro has a high
output waterboxer and bull bumpers with receiver hitch. I think it
would be up to the task, but only marginally, and it doesn't seem like
such a good idea to tax any waterboxer Vanagon with a Honda element
bolted to the back. Especially on the long passes along I10 in Calif.
Anyone have any ideas about this? Would it even be legal to put the
Syncro behind the element? Foolish?
Ideas?
Thanks,
Dixon