I installed my trailer hitch & mounted my bicycle rack

[Timber]

Since it is the 1st day of daylight savings and the official start of my bicycle season. I installed the trailer hitch on my Bug and mounted the bicycle rack. Its just about that time of year.

[scarabY2k]

Looks good buddy Nice work!

Ahh, I love Daylight Savings Time. More daylight= more time to BBQ

[FluxX]

Looks Great - Would Love to get a hitch on my bug...I've been reviewing the Org. and have seen quite a few postings regarding trailer hitch options...However....

I have a bit of a predicament on my end. I would prefer to find a hitch that can be bolted onto the body of the vehicle without having to drill any holes. I would prefer not to have holes drilled into the vehicle because I have a 2010 Final Edition Convertible - and I would like to keep it as close to stock as possible! (Since there are so few!)

Does anyone have any suggestions? - If it would help with suggestions - I'm located in the Pittsburgh, PA area.

(U-Haul is out - they must drill three holes in each rear wheel well to attach a trailer hitch!)

Thanks guys and gals.

[macdave]

I think Hidden Hitch uses only existing holes.

[Timber]

I bought my hitch & bicycle carrier at 2010 Volkswagen New Beetle Trailer Hitch | etrailer.com Their are 3 hitches to choose from & all of them require drilling into the trunk pan. I wouldn't be alarmed by that as it would seem this is the normal procedure on all late model compact cars with unibody construction. If you follow the link on the individual hitch they each post the installation instructions. I installed the Curt hitch because it looked like the most robust hitch and was less intrusive to the exhaust system & heat shield. It did however require drilling 6 holes into the pan. I personally have a right angle drill that made this much easier but a small body drill or cordless will do.

I wouldn't be concerned about altering you Final edition Beetle with a trailer hitch. It will become a permanent part of the car for ever. You didn't say what you wanted to use the hitch for but no mater what your reason it does add versatility to a convertible in particular. I did order the trailer wiring package that I have yet to install. I am an avid Bicycle rider and even though I still have a pickup truck my Beetle is my ride of choice & I need it to carry my bicycles as well as a potential Teardrop trailer I am considering to build.

[Evanrude]

Originally Posted by Timber

I bought my hitch & bicycle carrier at 2010 Volkswagen New Beetle Trailer Hitch | etrailer.com Their are 3 hitches to choose from & all of them require drilling into the trunk pan. I wouldn't be alarmed by that as it would seem this is the normal procedure on all late model compact cars with unibody construction. If you follow the link on the individual hitch they each post the installation instructions. I installed the Curt hitch because it looked like the most robust hitch and was less intrusive to the exhaust system & heat shield. It did however require drilling 6 holes into the pan. I personally have a right angle drill that made this much easier but a small body drill or cordless will do.

I wouldn't be concerned about altering you Final edition Beetle with a trailer hitch. It will become a permanent part of the car for ever. You didn't say what you wanted to use the hitch for but no mater what your reason it does add versatility to a convertible in particular. I did order the trailer wiring package that I have yet to install. I am an avid Bicycle rider and even though I still have a pickup truck my Beetle is my ride of choice & I need it to carry my bicycles as well as a potential Teardrop trailer I am considering to build.

You should find a wrecked 'vert like the one you have, and buy it, then conver the back end into a trailer so they match

Or get a hard top, and paint it the same color, do the same thing.

[Timber]

Originally Posted by Evanrude

You should find a wrecked 'vert like the one you have, and buy it, then conver the back end into a trailer so they match

Or get a hard top, and paint it the same color, do the same thing.

I think that would be kind of heavy. I would prefer to keep my tow vehicles under 1500 lbs & that's been done to many times.

[duquette5]

Nice job on the hitch. I'm thinking about adding one to my '03 to carry my bike and to pull a small trailer with my kayaks. I'm just leary about adding towing with it. I usually use my Jeep but with gas prices jumping the way they are I think Fluffy would be a smart choice.

[Timber]

Originally Posted by duquette5

Nice job on the hitch. I'm thinking about adding one to my '03 to carry my bike and to pull a small trailer with my kayaks. I'm just leary about adding towing with it. I usually use my Jeep but with gas prices jumping the way they are I think Fluffy would be a smart choice.

I did quite a bit of research on towing with a New beetle. It appears the 2000 lbs with a 500 lbs tong wt. are the towing capacities. I am building a Teardrop trailer or some kind of Expedition trailer for my bug this year that I want to come in around a 1000 lbs. The car itself has no problem has no problem with the wt.structurally. However in my research it is the braking ability of the car with an added 2000 lbs pushing. This can be eliminated by adding brakes to the trailer.

I also have a 2003 extended cab with a V8 that is parked most of the time. I traded my 06 pickup for the bug last summer. I also use to tow with my 68 Baja & my 75 beetle and a 71 speed buggy. all with a 1600 air cooled motor with no problems.

For any heavy towing or work I use my pickup but I drive my bug everywhere and a trailer for me is just very useful. I am building a Teardrop because it is a multie functional as a camper and cargo trailer.

http://rv-roadtrips.thefuntimesguide...tream-Life.jpg

http://teardropindependent.files.wor...earjerkers.jpg
The trailer pictured here is bigger than what I am planning. I will be building on a 4x8 platform

[kaefergirl]

Hi Timber,

Thanks for posting these pics and the info. I am late in the season but still looking at installing a hitch and bike rack, and I really like what you have done. I went to the link you provided but would you mind sharing which hitch and rack exactly you chose? I will probably have to ask my dealer to put it on for me, I have no means or skills to do it myself

One more question: now that you've had this set up over the summer are you happy with it? Is it stable enough? Not too much rattling or shaking? My bike is quite heavy (it's a Dutch bike that I brought over from Europe) and I want to make sure that whatever I chose keeps it in place.

Many thanks!
Kerstin