Bajà bug as a hunting rig?

AWS

AWS

Custom Accessory Maker & Retired PM Staff
I'm looking for a hunting rig that is light weight to pull behind my wife's little class B motorhome that I can get around out in the desert SW. There seem to be a number of these around at reasonable prices, parts are readily available and appear to be pretty straight forward to work on without having to find a shop to maintain them. I've owned five fwd's over the years from a 56 Willy's to a CJ-5 and prefer not to deal with fwd and have not really found it nessecary for my hunting as my van gets me everywhere I've needed to go but is too much to tow.

Any pitfalls to the VW?

 
Last edited:
Aside from the them being junk cars with air-cooled engines, they are great.

I've never owned one personally, but a few friends have and they were nothing but trouble.
 
Originally Posted By: Ursus21I'd buy a late 90's Toyota RAV4 before I'd waste money on a VW.
My thoughts too. Even a toyota, nissan pickup are far better. I have been beating the snot out of nissans for 30 years.
 
Old aircooled VW's tow pretty danged nice behind an RV.
Just remember to put it in neutral before towing or you'll screw up the engine and trans.

I'm an old bug fan. I've had quite a few over the years and I still have a 67 that was a show car.
They do take a little work once in awhile but if you have any mechanical skills at all, they
are fairly easy to fix. Just stay away from the automatics and fuel injected.
You might also want to stay away from any where they replaced the carb with a 2-stage weber.
They work good when they're set up right but I haven't seen to many of them set up right.

Big spots to check before buying are the floor pans, heater channels and the front axle beam.
Those are the places where you'll find rot and take a little extra $ and work to fix or replace.

If you do get one and need any info, advice or help, give me a holler.
 
Hey Erich!

I don't have much experience with the VW's other than what has been stated already. One vehicle to consider is the old army jeeps..........quite, dependable, easy to fix and down right cool. Hunted in one for a week and I'll tell you there wasn't anywhere this thing wouldn't go. It was comfortable too. The only drawback was top speed was about 45, but that's plenty on the back roads.
I also hear those Suzuki Samurai's are another good choice, but I haven't hunted out of one.


Good Luck
Kevin
 
One thing to keep in mind is that lots of roads are off limits to any vehicle which isn't registered. At least that is typical in National Forest around here.

I don't know if a Baja type buggy can be registered or not, but one of the smaller, older Jeeps can be...

I think a buggy would be pretty darn good if it can be registered.

A fellow I know has several VW powered 6" surplus Danish military pumps he uses to move water on a hunting property and he has reported that the VW engines are simple and reliable, requiring minimal maintenance. And they are quiet, which is a good thing.

Maybe other will chime in about just the engine and trans, which is all of a VW that makes it into a buggy, as I have been told.

JPK
 
Parents bought a 71 super beetle new. They drove it till the wheels fell off. lol It was pretty good in snow do to the motor being in the back. I had a Baja Bug as well back in the late 70's It got around pretty well, The bad thing IMO is the heater. Only seems to get warm while you are driving and the RPM's are up. No AC either. I would look at a Suzuki Sidekick/Geo tracker as well. My Sidekick was 4wd, and got 30MPG on the highway. It had the removable Fiberglass top. Samurai would be worth a look as mentioned above. Good luck with your shopping.
 
Plan on buying a car trailer. It will be much more usable as a tow rig that can haul a small hunting rig. Then you can actually back out of spots with the motorhome. I have a Samurai to haul on my trailer. Buy one that fits the rig you plan on using. VW work if you can find a rustless one with good running gear. One of my neighbors is a Bug & Thing restorer and I hear he get top Dollar for them. A mid 90's Jeep would be Cheaper or a Standard cab short bed Nissan,Toyota. Which I wish I had picked up instead of the Samurai Hard top I have. What ever you get make sure it will take good D-E rated tire with clearnce for real Tire Chains.
 
Had a sami i called out of for a few years, towed it as well ,Great little rigs for calling as they will go anywhere and are easy to hide behind almost anything and very quiet. They fetch a good price if not in horrible shape, And the heaters are a little lame when it gets real cold out.Would i buy another? on the fence on that one,as i now use a jeep unlimited.
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top