Toads - maybe a Beetle?

[gypsychris]

I found these Class III Hitch But cannot find anything specific to the 345. Your setup looks as if it was weldedm, and the local Uhaul says they do not do welds etc....Please help :-)

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by gypsychris

I found these Class III Hitch But cannot find anything specific to the 345. Your setup looks as if it was weldedm, and the local Uhaul says they do not do welds etc....Please help :-)

You won't be able to find an off the shelf hitch anywhere for your motorhome. You're going to need to find a welding/fabrication shop in your area to handle the job.

There are three issues with your existing hitch that need to be corrected. The first one is twisting or sagging of the receiver due to too much tongue weight. The second issue is flexing of the hitch forward and back during towing. The third issue is side to side flex of the receiver while turning corners with a heavy tongue load.

If you look closely at the pictures in the links I provided earlier you'll see how that was done. I would suggest printing out a bunch of these pictures and taking them and your motorhome to a good welding/fabrication shop and explain to them what you want done.

To deal with the side to side flex I put diagonal braces from the back of the receiver tube to the outside corners of the frame about 2' towards the front of the motorhome. The theory was side to side motion of the trailer tongue would be offset by the diagonal braces.

If you would like I can email you larger pictures of how I did the hitch on our motorhome. Just send me your email address.

Hope this helps!

Brad

[Robfike]

Gypsychris,
The tow bar I have is the 'Ready Brute" from NightShift Auto. It has their surge brake built into the MH end of the bar. I had to make the base plate assembly as no one tows a Porsche. If you give them a call, you will find them very helpfull. Just tell them what you want to do.
I have had our reciever beefed-up on the 345. I also tow a 7000# race trailer from time to time. With the reciever mod, our new tow limit is 10,000# with a weight distributing hitch. I would recomend having the reciever done even if you do not need that much weight. As the other guys have said, the factory limit is 2000#, and the reciver is real lame.
Do a search and you will find my post on having the reciver/hitch modified
If you want to PM me, I can give you more specific info.
Rob

[2airishuman]

klattu has also posted good pics of his enhanced receiver...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/471397-post12.html

cheers
2air'

[str8strm]

We are the west coasters who pull the '74 VW Thing. We have not upgraded the stock hitch because the weight of the car is near the 2000 lb. limit. We have been using a Brake Buddy placed on the floor of the Thing. Yesterday we purchased a new Mini Convertible (well, almost new) which will replace the Thing. We are going to do the same upgrade on our hitch that Robfike did to his, because of the increased weight of the new toad. It may take you some time to get the right set up, but it will be worth it. Hang in there. Ron

[gypsychris]

We just wrapped up a 2000 or so mile trip pulling a 2002 manual tranny beetle. Without a problem. We did have our hitch strenghen, and had a custom plate built to fit our beetle through its front grille. all looks and works well. As a tow bar we used a valley tow bar rated at 5000lbs, only $149....much cheaper of a setup then blue ox....