Re: Towing a Rabbit Pickup by the Front Bumper mounts?

I've towed my '79 locally twice with a towbar around the bumper.  I never
thought about the bumper shocks failing.  I didn't have any issues, but now
that it has been brought to my attention will not do it that way again.


On Sun, Aug 24, 2014 at 5:57 PM, <[email protected]> wrote:

> Played Russian Roulette a few times and came out just fine too, but can't
> recomend that to anyone else.
> On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 19:52:36 -0400, Jason <[email protected]> wrote:
> Towed quite a few Rabbits by the front bumper with a tow bar...Never an
>
>> issue or damaged to the bumper shocks.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Aug 24, 2014 at 4:49 PM, Roger Brown <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> > Both my old '81 and current '82 pickups have the steel front bumper
>> > brackets instead of the shocks like my old Rabbit used to have.  But a
>> tow
>> > dolly might still be the best option, as you get the front drive wheels
>> off
>> > the ground. >
>> >
>> >
>> > On 8/24/2014 1:00 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>> >
>> >> Absolutely DO NOT tow by the front bumper with this.  The bumper is
>> >> mounted on hydraulic "shocks" that are net intended for this kind of
>> load
>> >> (transverse much worse than longitudinal).  You MIGHT get away with
>> it, but
>> >> if you don't, it is quite a mess when one lets go. >> The way to do it
>> is make a fitting that is rigid in bending going back to
>> >> the mounting holes on the frame "accordian" where the bumper absorbers
>> >> mount.  Weld those two stubs to a tranverse angle or tube to which you
>> can
>> >> bolt the tow bar adapters.  The pseudo-bumper is critical to prevent
>> the
>> >> tow bar (that has not cross beam) from putting side loads on the bumper
>> >> mounting points and adapters.   Put the safety chains SOMEWHERE ELSE -
>> such
>> >> as around a lower control arm and hope to hell you never have to rely
>> on
>> >> them (the car will whip and slam hard against them at the limit). >>
>> On Sun, 24 Aug 2014 15:32:15 -0400, Maynard <[email protected]> wrote:
>> >> I've just struck a deal on a 1981 Rabbit Pickup Diesel LX. I'm hoping
>> to
>> >>
>> >>> flat-tow it home using the universal adjustable tow bar I already
>> have. >>> It
>> >>> looks somewhat like this:
>> >>>
>> >>>  <http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Adjustable-Arms-
>> >>> Chains-5000/dp/B005ESZ058/r
>> >>> ef=pd_sbs_auto_6?ie=UTF8
>> >>> <http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Adjustable-Arms-
>> >>> Chains-5000/dp/B005ESZ058/r
>> >>> ef=pd_sbs_auto_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1R9VK9S0KE340GBZPXQV>
>> >>> &refRID=1R9VK9S0KE340GBZPXQV>
>> >>>
>> >>>  I've used this tow bar before on older vehicles and I'm confident it
>> >>> will
>> >>> get me where I want to go, but I won't have the luxury of fabricating
>> the
>> >>> mounting brackets on-site and I'm not going to have the opportunity to
>> >>> visit
>> >>> the vehicle again prior to picking it up. I know the front bumper is
>> >>> mounted
>> >>> to a pair of bumper mounts using two holes each in the mounts. I
>> think I
>> >>> could mount the tow bar's mounting plates to these bumper mounts, but
>> I
>> >>> neglected to measure the distance between these holes. >>>  Could
>> somebody measure the distance between these bumper mounting holes
>> >>> on
>> >>> their own Rabbit and report to me? (I think it's somewhere around
>> 4"-5",
>> >>> but
>> >>> I need a pretty accurate measure if I want to pre-fab.) It appears
>> that
>> >>> the
>> >>> bumper mounts on this Pickup are solid steel connected to the frame,
>> not
>> >>> the
>> >>> shock-absorbing mounts I had on my 1984 Jetta. >>>  I know I could
>> rent a tow dolly or vehicle trailer, or even call AAA,
>> >>> but
>> >>> none of those options is convenient to my situation. >>>  Any help
>> would be greatly appreciated!
>> >>>
>> >>>  ~Maynard
>> >>>
>> >>> '82 Westy Diesel
>> >>>
>> >>> '86 DoubleCab Diesel
>> >>>
>> >>> '11 Golf TDI
>> >>>
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>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>
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