Eriba Pucks

[Daddybus]

[holg]

[Daddybus]

[Daddybus]

I installed a fuse lock in my Eriba Puck.
Purple wire is tow vehicle 12v power and it goes to the left lug on the 3 way switch. The center lug on the 3 way switch is the load ( blue for front interior light & yellow for rear interior light). Right 3 way switch lug is for the trailer battery. I also hooked up two 12v power outlets under the Puck for exterior 12 power needs and to hook up my 120w solar panel. Future plans are for an efficient 12v trucker fridge & 12v exhaust fan on the open circuit of the fuse block.

Red from the trailer is GROUND, which is connected to two black return wires from the interior lights. I plan to splice in 12v cell phone charging stations--one to each interior light.

The metal thing wrapped in plastic is another future project, a 110v to 12v battery charger.

[Daddybus]

LP tank clamp

[Daddybus]

Rear interior light with LED 12v and LED 110v bulbs.
12v charging outlet with 2 USB ports added behind the light.

[Mike Fisher]

[boots1234]

putting my puck back together is there a gasket or moulding that is affixed to the bottom interior side of the door (mine pictured below). Looks like I need to put one there to keep the bugs out and seal up the door. anybody have a photo of theirs they care to share? Mine is a '69

[68Bug-lite]

I've never before considered pulling our Eriba with my 68 beetle; just didn't seem practical to risk my daily driver over it.

In past Trailer rallies or camping excursions, we've used my wife's GMC Terrain, it was like the trailer wasn't even there. Here we are on a shooting trip in the Mojave...

Well after seeing many photos, (mainly from Europe) of Beetles, fiats, Citroens, early Mini Coopers pulling Eriba trailers, the "I just gots to know" factor was bugging me.

So I thought that this years vintage trailer rally I'd give the classic combo of Beetle/Eriba Puck a shot. You only live once I guess.

So I installed a Curt beetle hitch; which bolts to the underside of the bumper and runs under the motor to clamp onto the tranny frame horns, ( it had to be altered to go around my aftermarket extra capacity oil sump).

Worked out the wiring for the lights from under the back seat tying into the battery and tapping into the rear wiring loom that passes by there with a converter box from E-Trailer.com.. Ran the four way trailer plug out to the back bumper and hitched up the Puck.

Ready for the first test drive...

I admit that my motor is not stock, but nothing crazy either. 1776 with dual Kads, 110 cam, 8.5 to 1 compression. stock tranny with a stage 1 kennedy pressure plate.

First impression...
When pulling out you definitely know it's there, but certainly doable. braking certainly took longer to stop so give yourself some room. I've installed front disks up front years ago and cant imagine stopping safely with only stock drums all the way around.

Acceleration was a tad slow but the Beetle seemed totally up to the challenge so I went on a freeway test speed run. Found a downward on-ramp and was up to 55 mph no problem. The Eriba tracked beautifully. I pulled off about a mile down the road and headed on back, didn't want to push it.

Surprisingly the back of my bug only dropped about an inch from the weight of the trailer tongue. Maybe my Camber Compensator, (axle strap style) helped with the negative camber?

I felt really good that I might actually pull this thing off; 'Damn, I'm actually moving and pulling a trailer'!

The real test will be the rally about an hour and a half away, at speed with wife, Puck, and about a hundred pounds of "Glamping" crap that apparently,(according to my wife) are must haves.

Considering I have no instrumentation outside of the stock idiot lights, (oil temps - who knows, Head temps - whats that, oil pressure - well the light is off, gotta be good - right?) ; the whole thing smacks of being a fool hardy endeavor doomed to failure and ridicule.

Bottom line is that the Gods must be smiling down on us, we made it with zero issues. The VW felt strong and the Puck pulled great. Quite the site to see, many thumbs up and cars slowing down with cell phones in hand snapping shots, (of course at the time I'm thinking they may be taking our last pics before the impending fireball ).

We made it, Golden Village Palm's Vintage trailer rally in Hemet, Ca

The combo was a huge hit with the crowd, strange how almost without fail the wives would make a bee line to check out the trailer while the husbands went straight to the bug to see if it had a hitch.

Would I travel across country like this? No, but if you had the proper instrumentation to keep tabs your engine and not in a hurry, I now know first hand it can be done.

Just thought I'd share.

Peace, Greg

[boots1234]

Awnings and add a rooms for Pucks. Has anybody used the Bus Deport add a room successfully with their Puck looking for feedback or recommendations for alternatives. Plan on using mine for a trip to the Badlands but want to have more space other than just the Puck.

[Daddybus]

Pucks had an optional tent that looks like a bay window tent. I just use my bay window tent. I also have an awning (looks like a Sundail awning). The awning isn't Puck-specific, but it works better than the tent and it is easier to transport and set up.

[boots1234]

Thanks for the info looks like I will be using a gowesty space maker modified to fit the ole Puck. Found one unused and ready for the summer camp season.

[Daddybus]

What is the purpose of the elastic cord on the bottom of the table?

[68Bug-lite]

[Daddybus]

Finished redoing the matresses and back rests on my 1974 Puck. 3rd try was just right...memory foam over 1 1/2" of standard foam on a 3/8 plywood base. 1st attempt was a stop gap measure as I got the puck without the spring bases or back rests. Memory foam alone over 1/8" doorskins base was too low and too flimsy. My 2nd attempt was memory foam over 3" of standard foam on a 3/8" plywood base...too tall.

[68Bug-lite]

[Daddybus]

Repaired outlet fitting on original Eriba puck tank...date stamped "Dec 23, 1969"

New tank installed

[Tom Mohr]

Just became an Eriba Puck owner, looking forward to some adventures .

[56samba]

Hi,
I couldn't read the whole topic, only the first and last page

I just want to inform you, that Puck #3 was for sale a few months ago. This means the 3rd Puck ever built! It was really "customized" and hacked...
You guys know who has the oldest one here on samba?

[68Bug-lite]

Spied this cool set up while attending a Vintage Trailer Rally in Malibu.

The owner's; Linda and (Dave?) were super nice and obviously take great pride in both their bus and Eriba camper.