1946 VW Beetle Factory Pickup With Fifth Wheel Car Hauling Trailer Discovered

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer

Do I love the internet. I thought I’d seen every old VW oddity, but doing a google image search for “VW pickup” brings up this gem. I knew that in the early days the VW factory built a number of specialized vehicles to transport bodies and things around the grounds. But this goose neck fifth wheel trailer rig hauling another Beetle takes the cake. Another VW view of the same Volksamino follows:

Keep in mind that the VW engine made 25 hp at the time. But if the gearing is low enough, anything can be moved. And who was in a hurry in 1946?

Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer

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  • Tosh Tosh on Apr 13, 2010

    With diesel versions of the New Beetle going relatively cheaply used, I've imagined turning one into a squareback or trucklet.

  • Bluskymaster Bluskymaster on Aug 29, 2011

    I built an Electric VW Pickup. It was a 1972 vw beetle and It took 2 years. I recently found this site and I am dumbfounded to see my creatation is so close to the 1946 VW Truck. I call mine an e-Trug Voltswagon. 15kw of power 30-40 mile range.

  • SCE to AUX All that lift makes for an easy rollover of your $70k truck.
  • SCE to AUX My son cross-shopped the RAV4 and Model Y, then bought the Y. To their surprise, they hated the RAV4.
  • SCE to AUX I'm already driving the cheap EV (19 Ioniq EV).$30k MSRP in late 2018, $23k after subsidy at lease (no tax hassle)$549/year insurance$40 in electricity to drive 1000 miles/month66k miles, no range lossAffordable 16" tiresVirtually no maintenance expensesHyundai (for example) has dramatically cut prices on their EVs, so you can get a 361-mile Ioniq 6 in the high 30s right now.But ask me if I'd go to the Subaru brand if one was affordable, and the answer is no.
  • David Murilee Martin, These Toyota Vans were absolute garbage. As the labor even basic service cost 400% as much as servicing a VW Vanagon or American minivan. A skilled Toyota tech would take about 2.5 hours just to change the air cleaner. Also they also broke often, as they overheated and warped the engine and boiled the automatic transmission...
  • Marcr My wife and I mostly work from home (or use public transit), the kid is grown, and we no longer do road trips of more than 150 miles or so. Our one car mostly gets used for local errands and the occasional airport pickup. The first non-Tesla, non-Mini, non-Fiat, non-Kia/Hyundai, non-GM (I do have my biases) small fun-to-drive hatchback EV with 200+ mile range, instrument display behind the wheel where it belongs and actual knobs for oft-used functions for under $35K will get our money. What we really want is a proper 21st century equivalent of the original Honda Civic. The Volvo EX30 is close and may end up being the compromise choice.
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