so far in this life i have towed vanagons 7 times with a tow dolly.  total
mileage is in the thousands of miles.  all were non operational, with the
longest tow being from montana to michigan.  i can never speak to before
and after consequences but i can say that the van i towed from montana has
worn main bearings in the trans.  part of me wonders if this is from
thousand plus miles on the angle of the tow dolly with the drive shafts
connected.

i haven't had time to sit down and look at the diagram of a trans but on
the last tow i did from PA to michigan in the fall i took the drive shafts
out as a precaution.  better safe than sorry i guess.

tips for getting non-operational van on a tow dolly is to line the front
wheels up with the dolly while the dolly is diconnected from the tow
vehicle.  block the wheels of the tow dolly with some big blocks.  then
with a long tow strap, attached at to secure points on the van and wrapped
around the ball on the tow vehicle very slowly pull the van up on the
dolly.  after its on you can just lift the tongue of the dolly onto the
truck.  this proceedure requires some skill and patients but i have done
it on every tow and only had it fail once when i let some one else drive
the tow vehicle pulling the van on the dolly :).  he pulled the van over
the dolly and that was fun :(.

jonathan

On Fri, 23 Dec 2005, Ray Hill wrote:

> Seasons Greetings & Merry Christmas to all!
> I believe I may have asked this before, but age does funny things to ones
> memory!
> What is the best was to transport a water-boxer style Vanagon that is
> non-operational & has a standard (NON-automatic) transmission?  Is it to tow
> wheels up from the rear; tow wheels up from the front; or to trailer with
> both wheels off the ground?  I am looking at a potential trip of about 700
> miles.  Lets hear it.
> Thanks again
> Ray
>
>
>