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Fri Oct 11, 2013 8:03 am

it has come time to pull the bus out the barn and transport to my house...is a flatbed recomended or will a tow dolly work (tow dolly supports front wheels while full towbed supports both front and back wheels)
thoughts?

Fri Oct 11, 2013 8:12 am

If its a short distance and the tires and rearend is in good working order, I say a dolly will be just fine.

Long distance, go with a trailer.

Fri Oct 11, 2013 8:13 am

A lot of our advise will depend on more info.

How far to be travelled (around the corner or across the State)?

Are all wheels, axles in good condition and spinning freely and lubricated?

Current condition and age of tires and straight-ness of wheels/rims?

Do you have operating warning lights for the back of the towed Bus?

I automatically lean towards having it safely all the way off the ground and securely tied down on a AAA flatbead tow truck or on a buddies car trailer... Please tell us more about your situation...

Bill

Fri Oct 11, 2013 8:36 am

just to be safe i will use flatbed

Fri Oct 11, 2013 4:04 pm

It's been a few years ago but I successfully towed my 65 bus on a dolly from Chicago to Los Angeles. other than backing up with four axles there were no issues.

Fri Oct 11, 2013 8:38 pm

Dolly may be a bit hard on the rear tire tread if its a long way, check the rgb's and make sure they have gear lube. I like dolly's easy load and go.

Sat Oct 12, 2013 12:14 pm

For safety you can never go wrong towing anything with a flatbed. It's easier on the vehicle and less can go wrong.

Sat Oct 12, 2013 9:27 pm

a rear engine car does not do well on a dolly. I got the whips when towing my 67 bus home at about 65MPH when a semi truck passed me.

Sat Oct 12, 2013 11:01 pm

67_SO42 wrote: a rear engine car does not do well on a dolly. I got the whips when towing my 67 bus home at about 65MPH when a semi truck passed me.

tow dolly are not meant to go over 55mph it says that in their manuals

Thu Oct 31, 2013 6:52 pm

When I towed I had the rear wheels on the dolly and bungied the steering wheel so that it had enough play to wobble but still had some tension.

Thu Oct 31, 2013 10:22 pm

I would never use a dolly on a rear engine car. Weight is one factor. The other (I've seen pictures of the aftermath), is the transmission could vibrate into gear and destroy the trans, engine, and quite possibly your investment; whether it be beetle or bus. Put it on a car trailer.

On another note. My bus broke down one day and I had to call a wrecker. I specifically requested a flat bed. Driver showed up with a repo wrecker. They are designed to swoop in, lift the back end up and drive away. Since my bus does not have a steering lock, we had to tie the steering wheel up with a hold down strap. It worked pretty good. So if you must use a dolly, haul your bus backwards and make sure the front wheel bearings are in good shape.

Fri Nov 01, 2013 5:54 am

I have move a lot of VWs over the years and have used everything from tow bars to full trailers for bugs and buses.

Never had any catastrophic problems but always a hassle hear and there from bad tires to U-Haul not having the equipment I requested / reserved available.

I just moved my 65 bus from a storage unit to my new house that has a garage (yay!) I checked the price difference of a trailer versus a dolly and it was very little. So since I have a steep uphill driveway and my bus is inop right now I decided on a trailer. Dolly was $46.00 plus tax insurance etc. and trailer was $52.00 etc...

Then I had an epiphany (OK maybe not that significant) but it dawned on me after almost 30 years of dragging VWs around to call a tow company. I requested a roll back and the driver picked up the bus and deposited it neatly in my garage without anyone having to push pull or worry about anything in less time than it would have taken to load it onto a trailer myself.

Best part was it only cost $55.00 total no taxes or additional costs.

Mon Nov 11, 2013 1:45 am

Your prices reflect local one day use. In my case I was going across country one way and the price difference was significant so I chose the dolly. I was pretty much a towing amatuer at the time and made the 2000+ mile journey unscathed.