That's different!

[WV Sawmiller]

   Sorry - no picture because I was driving through downtown Charlotte about noon today when I saw this. As we were trying to find our way back out to I-77 and points north we pulled up to a red light (They are not traffic lights - They are red lights because they are always red when you get to them!) and a rusty silver VW bug with Texas plates pulled up beside us towing a trailer. I guess the trailer bed was about 4'X6' and the "tongue" looked like an aluminum ramp rising to the top of the bug. On top of the bug the owner had mounted a single luggage rack like you see used in pairs to carry skis and such. In the middle of the "luggage rack" was a trailer ball. On the end of the trailer (which was probably all aluminum) was a matching hitch that worked like a gooseneck trailer hook up. As the bug ran around the streets of Charlotte when it turned the body of the bug turned underneath the tongue of the trailer attached above the roof.

   I don't know if this is a common sight in Texas but it was sure a new one to me.

    While I am at it I will comment on the rest area on I-77 around mile marker 58 in NC. That one should be the model for all rest areas on all interstate highways in the USA. It is a large, fairly new rest area located in the center median on I-77 so it can serve both the northbound and the southbound travelers. You enter and return to the Interstate from the left. Usually you see a rest area on the right side of the road and a totally separate rest area is on the other side which requires much more maintenance and personnel to service. This makes so much more sense!

[Ljohnsaw]

VW 5th wheel

[Magicman]

VW Beetle tows fifth wheel travel trailer - YouTube

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, I've seen that before. It's actually a pretty birlliant idea with the 360° ability.

Volkswagen car trailer hybrid unearthed in 1974 video - YouTube

[Ianab]

Fortunately they never caught on.

Can you imagine the moving roadblock of a ~60hp VW towing one of those?

[kelLOGg]

I don't think logging trailers have anything to worry about. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   Yeh, I am sure the tongue weight was pretty low but I just can't see how that could be safe. I assume the rack was bolted to the top of the bug but even if welded I can't see how the roof could be heavy enough to hold very much weight and I shudder to think what it would have looked like after any kind of accident. Then again, VW beetles never rated very high in the survivability tests anyway IIRC :

[Texas Ranger]

hitch appears to have a "bridge" transferring load to frame.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I didn't see anything but the single roof rack bar on the one I saw.