how do you put the spare wheel on the front of a bus? I could use the extra space in the back where it is at the moment and I reckon kombi's look kinda cool with the wheel on the front. any ideas? cheers, ian

I asume you have bull bar, mine had a big bracket with three bolts sticking through to bolt and or pad lock the spare to. I imagine these are available from bull bar / accesory shops. Maybe even wreckers.

Search the wreckers or trading post until you find a kombi one already made. They're very common and not really worth the effort to make one. I've got a spare one here, but the freight to Adelaide would be a killer.

Hi,
I dont know how much help this is going to be but you dont need a bullbar to attach the wheel.... (hopefully the pic worked so you can see)... i am sorry but i dont know how it is done, just thought you might like to knoe you dont need a bull bar if you dont like them.

If the pic doesnt work you can see it at http://www.bcn.net/~limbo/cool-bus.JPG 

Also check with the Raods & Traffic Authority for your state before you do anything. I heard that they are clamping down on what can be put in front of bullbars so any modification because it doesn't already exist may be a waste of money if you get defected or don't pass rego. I know of one guy in NSW who had to angle grind off a fitting on the front of his bullbar to pass rego.

Ive just got a small 'nudge' bar with my spare attached to it
not cheap to get it made though but it looks great

Here's that pic above linked:


I'd say the front has been plated behind and supported from within to support the weight. It does look good like this but if your planning on doing some long K's I'd still go the bullbar setup.

If you have an existing bullbar - get it checked out with your slip supplier if it Ok to be and then get a few quotes from some fabricators for a finished job - I doub't it would be much if they knew what they were doing and already had some scrap materials to work with.

If you get a bullbar, make sure you get a real one. No offence intended but the one's made from tube such as on KOM123's profile pic is only good for attaching lights to, or leaning on at VW events.

Other than a car park bump they will fold back and damage the front of your kombi far worse than what would have been if you had no bar at all.

me and my missus to be, have just attached a ditry big aluminion bullbar onto the front of our van (we gonna do some seroius k's round aus on our honeymoon) that looks like it belongs more on a land cruser. it didn't have a spare wheel holder on it but we had an old rusty kombi bar which did so we cut a H shape out of it and bolted it on. with a coat of aluminion paint it don't lok half bad and is solid as. best part is it was all free. so good luck mate. and keep an eye out at the dumps

Hmmm I wouldn't say the tube bullbars are useless. About 7 years ago Fleur hit the back of a 1990 Corolla sedan and nearly wrote it off.
The bullbar on the bus came close to the vent at the top, but did not touch.

Then about 5 years ago I went through three of fences and through some trees and a retaining wall. Flattened the bullbar, but spread the impact over the whole front of the bus. I was not hurt, but the bus was totalled. The bus stopped dead against a tree.

It was with the new bus we got that Helbus was born

went to a wrecker and they had a pile of Jap vans with bullbars for around $60 each. Do any of these fit a kombi or do I have to get a specific sized one?
Ian

No offence taken Chris!! Seems pretty solid to me and was there when I got the Kombi so leaving it on as couldn't imagin it any other way. As you said it's good for lights, I have one set of foggies and one set of spotties on it. Great for leaning on and when you're camping, hanging off washing to dry!!

No, Jap van bull bars will not fit. You need a VW Kombi bull bar.

Factory campers were fitted with tube bull bars that were monted in four positions. If you look under the front of your Kombi, you will see a flat plate that covers the foor pedal and shift linkage mechanism. The factory bullbars fitted rearward and either side of that, on the frame members, with large 17mm bolts.

Check your VW club magazine's 4-sales to find one, or go to a VW show and browse the swap meet. There's always Kombi stuff for sale.

As for the crashes... it depends where your Kombi is hit. Series 2 Kombis have a deformation element behind the front bumper, so if you get hit RIGHT ON the level of the bumper you won't have a problem. Your ultra-strong Kombi will absorb and distribute the crash energy through the well-designed factory elements. Your bull bar is not mounted to the bumper and crash element but to the frame, so it should not affect anything in this case.

However, if you get hit ABOVE the line of the bumper... big problems. The bull bar cannot transmit the forces to the deformation element, so it just folds back and hits the body. Sometimes the damage can be worse than if there was no bull bar at all. But it depends on the exact nature of your particular prang.

I just like the look of my Kombi with its bullbar and tyre...the arseholes tend to get out of my way.

I don't think that fitting a bullbar is about preventing damage to the vehicle. Well it is, but the primary concern is about preventing personal injury to the occupants. As Peter mentioned, the bullbar will spread the impact across the front of the bus, hopefully causing widespread damage rather than allowing the point of impact to intrude into the passenger compartment.

That said, standard kombi bullbars are reasonably effective in preventing minor damage also. I have hit a large wallaby with mine and had no damage other than a broken number-plate holder, which was mounted to the bumper.

An interesting piece of trivia: When Toyota began making the 'new' Tarago in the 80's, their marketing sprouted about the strength of it's "Y framed chassis". Volkswagen was using this same concept from the early 70's!! :thumb

As far as mounting the spare to the front sheetmetal is concerned, 40/45 series Landcruisers had a stock rear spare mount that bolted to the sheetmetal on the rear pillar. A mate of mine found that the weight of the wheel and mount, combined with the vibration of 'normal' use caused the mounting screws to tear through his sheetmetal. Make sure that there is some kind of mounting frame or plate behind the sheetmetal to prevent this.

ive got one u can have for next to nothing!!!! much the same as KOM123's!!!
cheers
rhys

thanks kombikid, but the postage would be astronomical!
Ian

are you going to the meeting at wagga wagga in the june long weekend break??? the nationals bug in???
i could take it to any of them!
cheers
rhys