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Wed Jul 23, 2014 5:50 am

I am attempting to tow my 65 beetle to a paint and body shop to receive a fresh coat of paint. I tried to tow it with me this morning but at each turn no matter how slow and gradual the turn the beetles front wheels would shake violently side to side and the tow bar seemed to bind up and make banging noises. I have heard of people talking about using bungee cords to get the steering wheel to stay centered or return to center after a turn. Is this a good option and how or what did you secure the bungee cord to? If not what options do I have? I would be towing approx. 25 miles. I am trying to avoid a wrecker bill to transport it to the shop. Anyone have any insight or ideas?

Wed Jul 23, 2014 6:17 am

Tie your steering wheel. That is what is happening and when finished change out the steering damper.

Wed Jul 23, 2014 6:48 am

How do you tie it off and to what do you tie it? I can use a bungee cord but it seems like it would not allow the steering wheel to move all the way that it needs...

Wed Jul 23, 2014 7:19 am

You tie off the steering if you are towing a car BACKWARDS on a tow dolly (tow dollys turn themselves around corners)

If you tie off the front tires you end up dragging the whole suspension sideways around every corner .

You need some weight on the front tires for them to "follow you " through a corner

" Look what followed me home"...{from my sedan delivery post. The rachet strap is holding the doors closed}

"

Towed this home 20 miles with the free lowered/narrowed tow bar that came in the deal{any chance you are using a regular tow bar on a lowered or narrowed vehicle}

One trick is to lower the air in the front tires so they contact the pavement better

Wed Jul 23, 2014 7:29 am

As long as we are on the subject of towing a '65 Beetle....... I'm considering towing mine from New Jersey to Saratoga Springs, NY using a tow bar that clamps to the front beam. This is quite some distance and I've never tried the tow bar. What is the procedure? Obviously the tranny goeis in neutral. Any other tips? Will I incur any damage to the tranny or steering box?

Dave

Wed Jul 23, 2014 7:50 am

Dcheek ; I have towed cars from Boston Mass. through to St Pete Florida ;

Check the trans fluid level / leave the trans in neutral

Connect a sturdy safety chain from the towing vehicle through to the towed vehicle...( 12 car pileup in Clearwater Florida yesterday ( 7/22/14 ) cuz a trailer came off a hitch )

Leave the steering loose so the car can follow around a corner

Harbor freight sells magnetic towing lights

Check tire dates on towed vehicle

Take the hubcaps off ; check lug nuts at every stop

drive the speed limit....those yellow ramp speed signs are for trucks AND YOU

Wed Jul 23, 2014 8:09 am

Most of the problems associated with the wheels banging back and forth while towing with a tow bar are related to the TOW VEHICLE, not the car being towed!

The longer the distance between the rear axle of the tow vehicle and the trailer ball, the worse it usually is.

Here’s the problem. When you have a long distance between axle and ball, when you make a right turn, the ball actually goes to the left as the front of the vehicle turns. The longer that distance is between axle and ball, the more it moves left when you turn right.

So the issue becomes you start to make a right turn and the rear of the car pulls the poor VW to the left and then suddenly pulls it back to the right. The wheels on the VW are simply trying to track where the car is being pulled and when it pulled in such a way that it changes direction quickly like that, things get confused and the wheels sort of go into a tank slapper like losing control on a motorcycle.

So what can you do? First you need to realize it usually shows up more when you are pulling away from a stop and making a turn. So if you are the first car in line at a red light and turning, you should expect this as a result.

Then understand the more sharp the corner is the more it is going to want to do this.

So you want to simply make your arc as wide as possible and pull around the corners slowly.

The strange thing is that if you are rolling along and don’t slow down to make the turn, this usually doesn’t happen as much.

One thing you don’t want to do is tie off the steering wheel so it can’t move! It has to be free to steer! But using a bungie cord will sometimes help. Just remember the wheel still needs to turn, so you just want the bungie to sort of act as a steering damper.

Sometimes if you have a long bungie you can hook it on the front of the seat rail frame, go up through the bottom of the steering wheel and back to the seat rail frame. That way it just keeps a little tension on the bottom of the wheel but still allows the wheel to turn.

Wed Jul 23, 2014 8:22 am

grandpa pete wrote: Dcheek ; I have towed cars from Boston Mass. through to St Pete Florida ;

Check the trans fluid level / leave the trans in neutral

Connect a sturdy safety chain from the towing vehicle through to the towed vehicle...( 12 car pileup in Clearwater Florida yesterday ( 7/22/14 ) cuz a trailer came off a hitch )

Leave the steering loose so the car can follow around a corner

Harbor freight sells magnetic towing lights

Check tire dates on towed vehicle

Take the hubcaps off ; check lug nuts at every stop

drive the speed limit....those yellow ramp speed signs are for trucks AND YOU

Thanks for the tips

Dave

Wed Jul 23, 2014 8:48 am

dcheek wrote: As long as we are on the subject of towing a '65 Beetle....... I'm considering towing mine from New Jersey to Saratoga Springs, NY using a tow bar that clamps to the front beam. This is quite some distance and I've never tried the tow bar. What is the procedure? Obviously the tranny goeis in neutral. Any other tips? Will I incur any damage to the tranny or steering box?

Dave

DON’T BACK UP!

Just make sure you are in neutral and the parking brake is off. Other then that the car will follow you where ever you go.

Some states do require safety chains, and it is best to have them even though many tow bars don’t come with them. Many, many years ago, I did have to leave my autocross car at the toll booth one time entering Virginia because I didn’t have safety chains. VA state police made us leave the car and go get chains before they would allow it to be moved.

DO NOT buy the Harbor Freight tow lights! They are JUNK! And many times will not be on the car when you get to your destination. If you have a good U-Haul place nearby, they carry a very good set of tow lights. They cost more then the HF junk, but they WORK! And they will still be on the car when you get to where you are going.

Wed Jul 23, 2014 8:53 am

Thanks for all the replies...I am towing the beetle with my subaru out back so the distance from rear axle to hitch may play a part...I will try again in the am after attaching a bungee cord as a form of steering damper..thanks for all the advice..Mike

Wed Jul 23, 2014 9:02 am

When I tow my worn out bare bones "body shop" frame to drop bodies off for paint ...
I had...have.... the same issue..
It shakes through a certain speed range like 35-40 mph... but...pull it hard and fast enough and it would blow right through the frequecy range... :lol:

Now.. my bare bones frame suspension is .. not exactly in good order.. but it does the task.. for its intended purpose..
Half ass old tires, no balancing, no shocks.. probably a bad ball joint or 4...one tie rod iffy..... and the steering box... is well... worn... soooooo

I clamp a set of vise grips on the steering damper .. no more shakes while towing.. It just fights left turns...as the vise grips bump the damper shaft to a stop..

.

Wed Jul 23, 2014 9:05 am

VOLKSWAGNUT wrote: It just fights left turns...as the vise grips bump the damper shaft to a stop..

.

Why would you want to turn left anyway? It's best to go the right way!

Wed Jul 23, 2014 9:07 am

drscope wrote: VOLKSWAGNUT wrote: It just fights left turns...as the vise grips bump the damper shaft to a stop..

.

Why would you want to turn left anyway? It's best to go the right way!

Hell... I'd never get to where Im going then.... just back where I started.... :lol:

Wed Jul 23, 2014 3:29 pm

One more tip when flat towing with a tow bar------------try to not exceed 85 mph (except for short bursts whilst overtaking a slower vehicle). :wink:

Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:32 am

Towed my 67 with a towbar 300+ miles from Massachusetts to Long Island with a tow bar and my full size diesel blazer. Worked great, no turning or tracking issues. I bought a used tow bar off Craigslist, welded some tabs to it and attached Saftey chains to the tow bar itself. Just like any trailer would have. I also picked up a length of (I think) 3/8" towing chain. One end got looped around the front beam of the 67. The other end around the hitch on my truck. I even took an old bicycle inner tube and threaded the chain through it where it touched the VW and my truck. Each end secured with a removable chain link of appropriate weight rating. That way even if the hitch popped off and the Saftey chains failed. The car was still attached. I only use the big chain on long trips. For short pickups or moving the safety chains suffice. And although not of the best quality, I have Harbor freight towing lights and they have yet to let me down. In all fairness though I usually secure tem to the car with zip ties. Not relying on the magnets alone.

Thu Jul 24, 2014 5:59 pm

Simple solution. Get and exhaust clamp from a parts store and bolt it on you beam. Keeps the tow bar from slapping side to side.

Thu Jul 24, 2014 6:13 pm

Egorspyle65 wrote: Simple solution. Get and exhaust clamp from a parts store and bolt it on you beam. Keeps the tow bar from slapping side to side.

The tow bar shouldn't slap side to side unless it is bent. They are supposed to have tabs that stick out the side and center it between the shock towers.

If those tabs are bent or missing, then it can slide on the beam. If that's the case, fix the tow bar!

Thu Jul 24, 2014 7:58 pm

They don't fit the width of the beam perfectly.

Thu Jul 24, 2014 8:49 pm

Been using tow bars for over 40 years. One trick learned is to make sure there is weight on front end. That wobble or slap can really be reduced by tossing a couple bags of sand over the gas tank in a VW bug. Try and tow a front engine car with out the engine with a tow bar and it will do exactly as you described above. The other is to "tow with confidence". Kind of like pulling a trailer, don't dilly dally too much. Drive like a normal person. Good luck!

Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:08 am

Egorspyle65 wrote: They don't fit the width of the beam perfectly.

Then fix it so that it does and you won't need to worry about fooling with muffler clamps when you use it. It's an easy fix to weld the tabs so they fit properly to the beam. It just makes life easier.