Club 80-90 Forums

So, we are restoring an 82, T25 (non-Syncro) and its got this ROCK SOLID tow bar at the back, UNDER the bumper NOT beneath it.
I have never seen this on any T3/T25 before...not even as an accessory!! This completely belongs to a Syncro

takes a nato hitch me thinks, if you don't want it I'll have it

i think its a keeper so, ...i'll keep it!!

I had a similar set up on my Caddy Pickups, which was through the bodywork.

Also on my type 2 which was a commercial vehicle. All put on by previous ownerships

Aidan wrote:takes a nato hitch me thinks, if you don't want it I'll have it

^ WHS. Made by westfalia. Only seen one before and that was on an ex-budeswehr 2WD doka. Would be a nice option for a Syncro.

I have one on my doka with the NATO hitch but mine has 2 extra recovery eyes left and right side of the hitch.
Russel

russel,
what exactly is a nato hook please. my swedish doka has a rotating tow hitch with two ball sizes and a drop pin. you pull a ring pull on the side and then rotate the head to whichever one you want to use. the guy i bought it off told me it was a nato hitch, but i just googled it and they are nothing like mine??
whathavigot?

That would be nice bracket on which to mount a winch

I thought they all were inside the bumper like that?? My old doka syncro, my coach and my parts syncro all have mounted like that, but with square tubing in staid of round.
Like this, looks the same inside the bumper just square:

(Best pic I could find right now.)

hotpod wrote:russel,
what exactly is a nato hook please.

A "bar-steward" big tow jaw usally found on the back, and sometimes front, of Militry vehicles like Land-Rovers. Not to be confused with the much smaller (though still stronger than 50mm ball) towing jaws on plant trailers. They are very handy for putting ropes on but are of course primerally designed for pulling heavy trailers off road - they'll cope with much more weight and articulation than a 50mm ball (which is legally limited to 3500kg max draw). There are 2 basic versions, one type can revolve (for use on fixed ring trailers, or revolving ring trailers if you lock the hitch) and the other type is fixed jaw (for revolving ring trailers only) - can't remember which is more common (its an early/late thing I think) but you can't tow with both fixed and shouldn't with both swiviling. The trailers (like the commonly avalable ex army Sankey 3/4t) are designed so the drawbar is designed to mount to the hitch direct to the rear crossmemeber of a Militry landy (which have higher suspension than some civvy models), or any other truck. Makes them pritty dificult to tow with non miliry vehicles as the trailer would be too nose down and you can't fit a NATO to car easily. What you've got should sit nicely on a syncro though as Westifalia obveously made them for that, though probubly didn't bother offering them as options to others unless they knew who to ask.
Something worth noteing is some new crappy law designed to stop terrorists buying millatry kit now means you can't take ex army equipment overseas without lots of paperwork. This in theory includes stuff like NATO hitches, even if they are on a civvy spec vehicle - you'll get in trouble if it gets spotted. Some of my friends with ex army landys are worried as they've done a few euro roadtrips in the past (the rule came in some time last year).

If you do want a NATO hitch, Land-Rover forums aren't bad places to look, especally the ex-army one. They seem to fetch silly money on ebay.

my swedish doka has a rotating tow hitch with two ball sizes and a drop pin. you pull a ring pull on the side and then rotate the head to whichever one you want to use. the guy i bought it off told me it was a nato hitch, but i just googled it and they are nothing like mine??
whathavigot?

I know the thing you mean, its a Swedish cureosity I think, CJ had a few like that from Sweeden aparently. They are no way near as sturdy as a NATO though (few things are).

Russel, did you add the extra recovery eyes to yours yourself or are there more versions of the NATO westy out there?

ThorAlex wrote:I thought they all were inside the bumper like that?? My old doka syncro, my coach and my parts syncro all have mounted like that, but with square tubing in staid of round.
Like this, looks the same inside the bumper just square:

(Best pic I could find right now.)

Yes they all usally mount to the van with a bar behind the bumper, and an extended version of the bumper mounts (with more bolts!) that attach to the main structural rails of the van, but its the hitch mount and height thats ususual about this one.

The specally shaped and very nicely crafted round bar identifies it as a Genuine Westafalia type as factory fitted by VW. There were at least 3 versions of tow hook mount attached to these bars, the 2WD swan neck, the Syncro type with the strange bolt pattern and to removable forged ball that sits lower than the 2WD version (thus means your trailer sits at the right height despite the syncro's rased ride height (asuming its not massively lifted), and of course the NATO version. Who knows, there could be a version out there that takes a standard bolt on towbar, that'd be handy but I havn't seen one that hasn't been modified for the perpouse. Some Westy hitches claim to take more noseweight than others too so maybe they are slightly different? Or might be to do with rear axle weight spec of the vehicle they were fitted to.

If the cross tube is made of square bar its non genuine and could have been made by anyone, most are still well made, but some aren't. Towbars have recently been added to the MOT check list in the UK so hopefully the bad ones will disapear (probubly via ebay), though I doubt they'll be checked very hard.

Syncro G wrote:Yes they all usually mount to the van with a bar behind the bumper, and an extended version of the bumper mounts (with more bolts!) that attach to the main structural rails of the van, but its the hitch mount and height thats unusual about this one.

Thanx for clarifying Syncro G. Thats exactly what I had meant as well. Your normal tow hooks, sometimes, destroy the depart angle of your Syncro or your truck for that matter. My Land Rover,TombRaider is all high n mighty and even the hook on that drags against the ground en extreme situations.

Syncro G, could you please share pics of the ones you are talking about?

Syncro G wrote:

my swedish doka has a rotating tow hitch with two ball sizes and a drop pin. you pull a ring pull on the side and then rotate the head to whichever one you want to use. the guy i bought it off told me it was a nato hitch, but i just googled it and they are nothing like mine??
whathavigot?

I know the thing you mean, its a Swedish cureosity I think, CJ had a few like that from Sweeden aparently. They are no way near as sturdy as a NATO though (few things are).

Those were made by SIARR (changed name to Monoflex in Sweden), and the model is called Triplex.
Still available here: http://www.monoflex.nu/sv/shop/?link_id=48d9e62b959c4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Something worth noteing is some new crappy law designed to stop terrorists buying millatry kit now means you can't take ex army equipment overseas without lots of paperwork. This in theory includes stuff like NATO hitches, even if they are on a civvy spec vehicle

You will only have trouble if the item is a pure military item, if the item is dual use (Civil/Military) then it does not need paperwork.

I don't think there is a way to say that the hook is military or civil as there should be no marking numbers on it.

However if you find a number in a 4 2 7 format i.e. 1234-99-1234567 watch out, that is the NATO Stock Number and is only to be found on Military equipment.

Also known as a Pintle hitch i believe.