Tow Bar Done.

Good looking tow bar ! I think it will work perfect ! What will you do about towing lights ?.....Bruce

I have a set of lights from Harbour Freight mounted to a piece of aluminum flat stock, which attaches to the rear grill with wing nuts from under the engine lid.

Sorry, new to the forum. I'm sure I'll find this info as I continue digging and reading old posts. How much did you have to lengthen this? I've got 2 old VW bars, and I'd love to modify one like this to work for my new rep. Thanks!

I didn't have to lengthen mine at all to tow a CMC 1k miles.  I did have to narrow it a few inches to clear the front bumper brackets.  I could have removed the bumpers and bumper brackets.  I cut the welds loose, pushed 2 beam brackets closer, added threaded rod thru the brace rod then had it all rewelded.

This mod works for cars that have the beam braces? I've got the beam braces now & so looking for advice.

Has anyone done this type of tow bar mod for a Beck Speedster? If so can you show pic's,etc.?

Thanks

Post photos of both.  If beam braces are within last 2" of beam vertical mounting pieces then tow bar would have to be narrowed.  Does Beck have a welded on standard beam? You can see where I ground the welds to narrow it.  I ran bolts thru receiver and the cross brace then had it welded.  There should be a chain to the towed vehicle and the towing vehicle - now required by many states for safety.

Thank you Wolfgang. I'll need to look at mine, good advice on the chain too.

A Beck is hard to fit a tow bar to because of the way the beam is welded into the frame.  I don't think the one above will work.

Thanks Lane. I may still look into it with the help of my buddy and fellow SOC Syl M.

I'd look at one for a Super Beetle - it has plate that bolts to car and then hitch clips to it.  Might take a little fabrication or welding but suspect doable.

This is probably a really dumb question, but I have never used a tow bar.  What do you do with the front wheels/steering??  Will they just follow naturally?

The front wheels track naturally and follow along.

If you happen to have a locking steering column, you need to make sure it is unlocked.

And never back up! Those "free turning" front wheels will not cooperate if you try to back up.

Hooked the bar up to Diannes truck with a 2" drop hitch and it looks pretty good and with some weight in the truck it should run parallel to the ground.

The only issue I have, not sure but the bar is 22" wide at the axle end which leaves about 1" or so on either side and without bumper brackets the bar would normally rest against the beam uprights. I'm thinking that a couple of muffler clamps, one on each side would keep the bar centered on the axle.

The experiment continues.

Looking good, Mike  Should be a comfortable tow to Carlisle.  12 more days! 

Muffler clamps should work. Give it about a half-inch or so of play, don't make them tight to the towbar. A little bit of play is a good thing, it will allow the car to move a bit without pushing the truck around.

Looks really nice Mike, looking forward to seeing this setup. I only drag my Spyder when it rains like heck. Otherwise, I drive it, 230 miles or so each way.

Greg, I have heard about this 3rd chain rule from Lenny, but I was unable to find it online. Do you have a link?

Looks like Iowa, South Dakota, Utah require safety chains

http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/trailer-towing/

So much for AAA

This site shows many more states with safety chain requirements:

http://webspace.webring.com/pe...eSafetyChainLaws.pdf

I'm guess 3 chains would be for states where they require 2 crossed chains to tow vehicle to prevent the tow bar tongue from hitting ground if hitch jumps off the ball and then third chain to the towed vehicle.  

Just wondering why you made it so long?  Mine is at least 1 foot shorter.  I'm towing with a car and you are towing with an SUV, does that have something to do with it?

I followed Jim's lead on the length Troy and I did narrow it quite bit to fit in between the bumper brackets and far enough away not to knock my grease fittings off of my axle beam.

With regard to the discussion on chains, I added a set to connect to the axle as well.I purchased the chains from Lowes, they come with the shackles.

Twelve more days.

Troy- Maybe making the bar longer would change the way it handles (make it more stable at highway speeds?). At first I was thinking it would make it easier to back up (as it would be easier to back up a trailer with a longer tongue with a longer wheelbase truck) but then I remembered you don't back up (at all) with a tow bar, so you've got me...

Greg- Great pic of the boat!

Ah, a trifecta, considering the Derby ran today.  Front bumpers look crumpled, from impact with utility pole? Truck rear quarter panels creased. Boat all sorts of possibilities.....and trailer tongue looks like its toast...and the winner is,   American Pharoah

Helpful hint, Always insert the spring pins downward that being with the loop on top

An advantage to NOT lengthening the tow bar (any more than necessary) is that it will allow it to be carried in trunk of SUV/car for emergencies.  

You can always make the bar a two piece assembly i.e.one section slides into the other and just have pins that secure the two halves.

Longer allows some extra storage if needed...