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Old 07-11-2006, 05:12 PM   #1
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Bus Tow Rigs

Hi there!
I just purchased an '87 Blue Bird 33' bus, so I immediately joined the group. Hope to share some info as I go about converting the bus.

So we made this rash decision because we're moving from steamy Florida up to Vermont, and didn't want to throw away a couple grand in moving truck rental. Might as well put it towards our bus!

We need to be able to tow our car behind the bus, a VW Golf (also a diesel). I've found a local place that sounds confident over the phone about installing a "universal" RV hitch. The place also has the tow arm and the bracket to attach to the VW.

Anything I should look out for? Those tow arms seem to vary wildly in price.

Thanks!

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Old 07-11-2006, 07:09 PM   #2
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I have a "Aventa II" tow bar and it is an easy to use one. It is rated to tow up to 10,000. So if you havn't bought one yet that would be my pick. You can easily find them on ebay for a good price if you can wait a week or two. If you VW Golf is a manual transmission you shouldn'd have no worries. An auto trans you may have to have the Golf running while in tow. And make sure when towing it to leave the steering unlocked so it will track behind you.
I pulled my truck 600 miles behind my bus with no issues. Since I have a manual transfer case I just had to put it in neutral.
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Old 07-11-2006, 10:34 PM   #3
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Make sure the universal hitch is rated for atleast 500o lbs. A lot of them are only rated for 3500. Also, the rating you can use is for with a weight districuting hitch (the higher one) since a tow bar doesn't apply any tongue weight.
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Old 07-12-2006, 04:50 AM   #4
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2 things to watch out for there were not already mentioned....

first, if the bus hitch is way higher than the car, it may apply some undesirable forces to the car when decelerating rapidly. I had this problem....

2nd thing is backing up. I would estimate that at least 9 out of 10 times the car backs up ok when attached to the bus. IT's that 10% that'll kill ya though. Occasionally the steer tires on the car turn the opposite direction you want them to go. Since the car is really small, it's difficult to see behind the bus. If the tires turn the wrong direction, and you keep backing up, very bad things will happen!

I personally had a very bad expierence pulling my vw fox from michigan to cali and back. I would much rather pull a trailer than i would tow a car with a towbar. But a towbar is much much cheaper, and a lot easier to store.
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Old 07-12-2006, 08:26 AM   #5
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I would also look in your local yellow pages for welding shops. My local hitch installers wouldnt touch my bus. This guy gave me a custom hitch that looked like it came from the factory and installed it with enough drop that I only needed a 6" drop on the ball. When I told him I needed a hitch he asked me how much weight I wanted it to carry. I said 20,000lbs minimum and the price was about what you would pay for a class IV hitch from a regular installer.
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Old 07-12-2006, 08:29 AM   #6
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Wow!

Thans for all of the rapid replies. Some good points brought up- I'd already planned on the 5K# hitch, and the place that I plan to take it sells the full kit, so hopefully the entire deal will work together. I'll make sure to get a drop tongue hitch to minimize the angle.

The soot problem should be addressed, as the exhaust sticks straight out of a hole in the rear bumper. The shields that I've seen on various websites look pretty simple, yet cost a bunch. Maybe a cloth dropcloth from Home Depot? Eventually, maybe I'd construct a bracket to hold a hunk of plywood, but with trying to finish off this house, and then move, tie is short.

What about lights? Do you folks rig up a pair of lights on the rear of the towed car?
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Old 07-12-2006, 11:12 AM   #7
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Tow bars

Pulling a VW is very easy. The hitch on the back of the bus should be made for that application by a competent welding/fabrication shop. Tow bar assemblies seem to work very well if the bus hitch ball is level or slightly belos the towed car connection. The exhaust can easily be directed to the traffic sid of the bus with a simple 90 degree ell of the same pipe size. This is the cheapest and quickest solution. If both vehicles are of the same voltage, a little bit of wiring will allow the bus to power the towed car lites. I find the best disconnect between vehicles is the small 6 conductor moulded rubber plug. They are good connections, cheap, and found every where. Be sure to use the plug with the # 12 wire and buy several. Don't back up with a towed car unless there isa person to steer the towed car for thattime. One problem in backing can lead to lots of wasted time and money. Try to plan each fuel up and stop along the trip. Frank
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Old 07-12-2006, 12:25 PM   #8
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I did get that soot all over the one side of my truck when pulling it. I was thinking about redoing the bus exhaust to point down and maybe to the side. One of them sheild might be a good idea for me too. I cleaned the truck off using a degreaser and dish soap.
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Old 07-12-2006, 02:16 PM   #9
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About the welded hitch... the RV guy said that in some states it was illegal. Sounds like hooey to me, but what do I know? I did think about welding on a hitch, as I have a nice wire-feed welder. But time isn't on my side right now.

I think that going with a 6-connector trailer plug for the wiring is the way for me, as I also have a utility/storage trailer that I might want to tow.

I'll talk to the installer guy about going straight into the VW lighting system, but that car (2000 Golf TDI Diesel) has so many relays and switches and cut-outs that it might be a bear to get it to work. I couldn't start the car because the door lock actuator was intermittent!

Sacrificing an old 50' extension cord (cut in half) with a couple of universal stop lights has its appeal!
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Old 07-12-2006, 02:28 PM   #10
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The welder that did mine gave me the option of having it welded or bolted onto the frame.

My personal preference would be to go with the 7 pin plug and use a converter to bring it down to a 6. I didnt think I would use a 7 but bought it anyway only to find that most of the trailers I towed used a 7 pin. But thats just my experience.
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Old 07-12-2006, 05:32 PM   #11
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I think he's going to need a converter no matter what if he plans to just do the stick on towing lights. The 6 and 7 prong trailer adapters won't address the problem of having seperate brake and turn lights on the bus versus the combined system on most trailers. The 5th, 6th, and 7th wires are generally reverse lights and/or alarm, electric brakes, and auxilary power respectively. Fortunately the converters are cheap and available at any good fleet supply store, RV place, etc.
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Old 07-12-2006, 05:34 PM   #12
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The shop that I worked at used diode kits on toads. They would install a second set of bulbs in the existing fixture on the car, then wire that up to the plug that plugs into the bus. That way it is using the buses dc system and power, and does not change the look of the vehicle. Just somthing to look into.

When we moved we just rented a car hauling trailer for our jeep and it worked quite well. It had it's own brakes, no wear and tear on my vehicle and was a decent price.

good luck. -Richard
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Old 07-12-2006, 10:54 PM   #13
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When I towed my truck all I did was just turn the lights on the truck and went away. Since I was just on the highway I said the **** with it.
A few weeks ago I started running wiring to use the lights on the truck. I ran it to the harness running to the rear tail lights. It is very simple to do and doesn't take no more time then running external lights. And unless someone turned something on in the truck there is no back feed.

A few years back when we still had one of them older tow bars that hooked up with chains and 4 big bolts to the front bumper. I use to lock the steering on the towed vehicle and back it in to the spot I wanted it at. Still wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do. The best thing to do is to not get yourself in to a spot that you can't turn around without backing.
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Old 07-14-2006, 01:18 PM   #14
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Just got back from getting the hitch put on. Wound up costing about $700, including the converter wiring and a drop hitch The hook-up for the VW was going to cost at least another grand, so we decided to rent a car dolly and go with that for now.

Next time I'll weld it myself! Turned out to be a custom job, with the low-hanging bumper. But I do have a removable hitch...

I'm thinking about getting some car dolly plans, and building myself one. That is, if I can't find a used one cheap. The dolly seems like the way to go, as it'll fit most cars and I don't have to drop the big $$$ whenever I want to bring along a toad.

Hopefully mechanic-types will be less expensive up in Vermont.
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