Thinking about a toad January 24, 2016, 01:14:34 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158314A little old lady in my church has decided it's time to stop driving & is looking to sell her car (she & her late husband bought it new). She is a retired farmer/teacher & the reputation is as a very successful large operation (over a thousand acres, now into the third generation) who always take very good care of their equipment. Although she says there's some rust, I don't really care how "moth-eaten" it looks. She said her son recommended asking $1K.Details: 1986 VW Diesel Jetta 4 speed manual transmission w/ overdrive 186K+ miles (the odometer has stopped working, but she's only driven locally since she moved into our small town--church/grocery/etc.--for the past 3-4 years)Though I have automatic trans on the minivan & F250 farm truck, I learned to drive a manual on a friend's Austin-Healy Sprite in the '70s (great fun!) and the Ford 4500 farm tractor has a high/low manual trans, so I think I could manage this little car. I asked Velma's farmer son if it could be towed four-down, & he didn't know, so I am looking to the wizards on this site who know the secrets of mechanical lifeforms & have experience towing: Is this something that might be viable to tow behind LDy Lulubelle? What thoughts or caveats might come to mind?Thanks in advance.Lynne LDy Lulubelle, '05 31' TB Lilly, 4-Legged Alarm
Re: Thinking about a toad Reply #1 – January 24, 2016, 01:41:37 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158315I don't see VW listed in the 2015 Dinghy Towing Guide. http://webcontent.goodsam.com/motorhomemagazine.com/2015DinghyGuide.pdfIf it's not towable 4 down, then you'd have to adapt it with a Remco device. Store : RemcoYou could call Remco and see if the Jetta is towable 4 down. I suspect the cost to adapt such an old car would not be worth it.Chris
Re: Thinking about a toad Reply #2 – January 24, 2016, 01:48:27 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158316http://www.remcoindustries.com/Towing/Store.php>Unless someone has direct experience, it might be difficult to pin down a definite answer to this question because of the age of the vehicle, but I might start at the above site. Their drop-down menu does not go back that far in time, but a call to their store on Monday may yield some results.Even if it is not towable four down as is, Remco may be able to tell you how to use their product(s) to make it towable.Virtual hugs,Judie http://dorrieanne.wordpress.comToday: Twice-baked Potatoes - in Quicktime
Re: Thinking about a toad Reply #3 – January 24, 2016, 01:52:35 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158317Just my 3 cents worth here. Gonna have to have a tow set up built an that is a lot of miles so tnings are gonna start , well you know an diesils are not cheap to have worked on. Unless you are pretty mechanically inclined id pass on that deal. good luck grumpy
Re: Thinking about a toad Reply #4 – January 24, 2016, 02:26:42 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158318For several reasons, this vehicle would not be my choice for a toad at any price, but it appears that Blue Ox does make a base plate for it. I don't know about the rest of the necessary toad "parts", though. Hope you get expert guidance from the towing gurus here.Joan
Re: Thinking about a toad Reply #5 – January 24, 2016, 05:05:29 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158324Hello Lynn.We had a VW Rabbit with a diesel of that era, which we bought new. Unfortunately, it had more problems that I can remember to include several cracked exhaust manifolds, trouble with the engine wiring, and other stuff that I can't remember. The diesel was not a cold weather engine, it was loud, and the engine vibration was something to behold. I was happier when we sold it than when we bought it.Ed & Margee Fort Worth
Re: Thinking about a toad Reply #6 – January 24, 2016, 05:43:55 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158329Ed & Margee, Joan, Grumpy, Judie. & Chris--Thx so much to all! The wealth of knowledge, experience, & references is invaluable. I've never had a diesel, but your response, Ed, reminded me of the countless headaches my children's father had with the big diesel tractor (spraying canned ether on the innards to get it started, etc.). I'll pass on this one & continue to cogitate upon the conundrum of "to tow or not to tow." The solution will appear in the Magic 8Ball when I least expect it.Sunshine & we cracked the 40s here in the boonies of north Missouri ("...having a heat wave...a tropical heat wave," especially compared to those poor souls back East), though it's set to return to the low 30s 'til mid week, but then is headed for the 50s & may crack 60 by next weekend. Meanwhile, LDy Lulubelle is snugly nestled in her barn out at the farm. EEE-HAW! Gotta love the Missouri rollercoaster!Gas here in Chillicothe is $1.59...$1.42 near my cousin in Independence, MO, & oddly, one Kansas City inner city station is $1.35.Thx, again, for the responses.Lynne LDy Lulubelle, '05 30' TB Lilly, the 4-Legged Alarm
Re: Thinking about a toad Reply #7 – January 24, 2016, 06:37:15 pm Yahoo Message Number: 158332We had several VW rabbit's, and a Jetta of that vintage years ago, all manual transmissions. No problem towing with the transmission in neutral of course. The Jetta, and one of my Rabbit's were diesels. Very slow accelerating, but terrific mileage! No way to get around it, an engine that old with almost 200,000 miles still has a lot of life left, but is bound to have some issues. Sitting around and short trips are the worst thing for a diesel engine. Also, unless your familiar with those cars, not many mechanics are, they've been out of production a long time, and are not the same as the newer VW diesels. The price may seem attractive, but adding the towing brackets might prove to be a problem. The manufacture might not fabricate mounts for that old of a vehicle. Great cars, just might ultimately be to expensive to turn into a toad.Don
Re: Thinking about a toad Reply #8 – January 25, 2016, 12:02:49 am Yahoo Message Number: 158336Thx, Don. From what you & others have shared, this is not a learning curve I want to attempt--exactly why I love LWALD. Dy Lulubelle shall continue solo for now.Lynne LDy Lulubelle, /05 30' TB Lilly, 3-Legged Alarm
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