Aircooled VW South Africa

Hey guys... How does one tow a beetle without a trailer? I couldn't see an eye or something similiar to attach a tow rope.

I would think that a A-frame would be the next best option if no trailer is available.

There is a opening covered by a hole in the front valence and another one in the spare wheel well then tie the rope onto the front suspension, or under the car onto the front suspension if you cant get a a frame and the brakes are ok

Perfect! Thanks. I saw the hole you refering to. I thought there'd be an eye there.

Shella wrote:Perfect! Thanks. I saw the hole you refering to. I thought there'd be an eye there.

Luckily you didnt find an aR$ehole in there

The hole in the front valence and behind the spare is to allow acccess to the inspection panel in the front of the tunnel, so you can replace control cable tubes or fuel line. I wouldn't run a tow cable through there; you have a good chance of damaging paint and bodywork.

The owner's manual shows that you attach a tow cable under the car to the front beam, and at the rear to the lower shock supports. You really should'nt tow with a rope/cable/chain except in an emergency. Get a decent A-frame or, even better, a double axle car trailer.

Any diagrams etc to make a decent A-frame? Please........

Thanks

I`ve had a piece of steel laser cut to resemble a bumper braket and welded on an "eye" at the tip. Remove the bumper, bolt this in and use a proper tow-bar....didnt have any issues YET

You can always remove the bumper and leafe the brackets on and attached the rope there. The main idea is the attached it where you can mount it to the 2 longeron beams which is the main chassis without touching/damageing the body work. the front axle lower beam can also be used

louisvr45 wrote:You can always remove the bumper and leafe the brackets on and attached the rope there. The main idea is the attached it where you can mount it to the 2 longeron beams which is the main chassis without touching/damageing the body work. the front axle lower beam can also be used

We tried that once and halfway through a turn, the bumper bracket bent onto the apron and fooked it up hence the steel plate. Once bolted its pretty solid.

fig wrote:The hole in the front valence and behind the spare is to allow acccess to the inspection panel in the front of the tunnel, so you can replace control cable tubes or fuel line. I wouldn't run a tow cable through there; you have a good chance of damaging paint and bodywork.

The owner's manual shows that you attach a tow cable under the car to the front beam, and at the rear to the lower shock supports. You really should'nt tow with a rope/cable/chain except in an emergency. Get a decent A-frame or, even better, a double axle car trailer.

That access plate is there to replace the gear shift bush and/rod. You need that open to push the gear selector rod out forward. Then you flip the old bush out and put the new little plastic bush into the metal plate under the shifter and pull the well greased selector rod back though the bush and reconnect it to the hockey stick.

Control cables can be replaced without opening that plate (by removing the pedal cluster if need be) and the fuel line can't be replaced. At best you could run a parallel fuel line through the tunnel, but you would not be able to fix it properly (nor get the old one out), and therefore it could rub against the exposed moving clutch hook and cable loop.

But nevertheless, as The Fig points out, you should not tow through that hole. You can simply attach the rope to the front beam off centre, and make sure the driver up front drives like a civilized human being without jerking. My experience has shown the bumper to be strong enough as well if you are careful.

Ron&Gill wrote:That access plate is there to replace the gear shift bush and/rod. You need that open to push the gear selector rod out forward. Then you flip the old bush out and put the new little plastic bush into the metal plate under the shifter and pull the well greased selector rod back though the bush and reconnect it to the hockey stick.

Control cables can be replaced without opening that plate (by removing the pedal cluster if need be) and the fuel line can't be replaced. At best you could run a parallel fuel line through the tunnel, but you would not be able to fix it properly (nor get the old one out), and therefore it could rub against the exposed moving clutch hook and cable loop.

Ron's dead right re the shift rod and bushes. I didn't say it was for replacing control cables, I said control cable guide tubes. And you can replace the clutch cable guide tube and fuel line inside the tunnel, but it probably isn't recommended. I did it once when my clutch cable guide tube broke. Pulled the old one out and found it was attached to the fuel line, which trashed the fuel line . I then replaced both without too much difficulty, but it was a very long time ago, so I don't remember the details.

Well the bottom of the line is you must attach it to where the car can be pulled or get that wheels transporter where the car's front or rear wheels is on the trailer, if you get your hands ons such a thing

Sorry Fig, didn't read it properly. I have seen your problem while cuttin open a tunnel, it's all very clever inside there. Everything is attached to the tunnel walls and eachother, haha!

But on the subject of towing, clearly VW never imagined the Beetle not making it to it's destination under it's own power.