Volkswagen Type 181 "Thing" - InRangeTV Classic 

It was still around in the German Bundeswehr in 1984/85 when I did my service. We liked it for the extra gasoline powered heater and the comfy suspension. Cozy in the winter 😀

Another important note is that these are based off the original Beetle (Type 1,) along with many other VWs. It was pretty revolutionary at the time how VW modified one chassis for so many different roles and body types. Now it’s something all car manufacturers do. Also, fun fact when you do your on board training for VW here in the States, they for some reason skip 1939-1945 on their history lesson…

My Grandpa had one, it was his bush-buggy running through the northern boreal forests. Never got stuck and would put 4x4s to shame. Would go over logs like they were sand dunes. Saddest day when he sold it for an on-road dune-buggy; all the old trails just grew over and were absorbed into the bush. Awesome video, Karl.

Like Karl said at the end of the video, air cooled VWs are surprisingly good in off road. Here in Brazil there was a huge number of fiber glass models build on the Beetle chassis. One of the most prominent was the Gurgel X-12 and its many revisions, who fancy itself as a 2WD jeep. Besides the flat botton, the other trick it had to get itself off trouble was split handbrakes, that allowed you to lock either one of the rear wheels, like a poor man's locking differential.

Another thing that helps ground clearance on a Type 181 (and another difference from the Beetle) is the use of a transfer case on each rear wheel so that the driveshafts from the transaxle can be tucked up above the belly pan. It's a really well thought out design. Some of the military versions (possibly also some civilian versions) also had a limited differential.

I really like this kind of video. Not that I would despise historical collector grade cars restored to absolutely original conditions, but this one is a driver, it's alive. With some modifications, but purely practical, not some stupid 24" chrome shining rims and paper thin tires. The car that is built to be driven and is indeed driven off road half a century after it has being built. Quite an achievement. Thank you for showing it to us.

I can just see Karl bouncing across the open desert wastelands at high speed with trusty STG by his side!

Brings back fond memories of my 1968 Beetle. Love the clothesline clips!

Had one of these I picked up from a junk yard and used as my daily driver for 16 years, before it finally rusted away enough that it would need a bigger teardown than I could do. I still miss it terribly.

This is such a Karl kind of car: Historical, quirky, and utilitarian

InRange and Regular Car Reviews crossover episode? Spectacular.

I have a ‘73 and a ‘74 Thing. The ‘74 was my fathers, I learned to drive in it as a kid and we used it as a daily driver, off-roader, trips to hunting camp, and to go skiing where we lived in northern Michigan. It was surprisingly good offroad . My father had an FJ40 and a couple of flat fender Willy’s and the staging was so much more comfortable to ride in, especially offroad. Glad to see someone else who actually used them as intended versus just a street queen. 👍

as a former veewee who built baja bugs for years and even a dune buggy, the Thing was one of my major dream cars.

I do appreciate you mention the name in Mexico, I spent my summer and winter vacations in Mexico and my cousins and I grew up using my uncle's safari as the main "prop" as we played ww2. Absolutely the most fun vehicle I remember riding in, you really felt like you were in the Afrika Korps or Indiana Jones in the middle of Mexico.

there is a 181 driving around in my town here in Germany, always love it when i see it driving around and it's in beautiful condition.

A friend of my parents had one brand new back in the 80s. I always wanted one or one of the Baja bugs but instead received my sister's old Dodge when I started driving a few years later.

For many years my brother (who at one time made his living as a VW mechanic) had a 181. We would drive it on the sand at Pismo Beach during summer vacations. Great fun!

F'n SWEET... Remember: If it ain't cool unless it's AIR cooled! This sweet Thing and it's umdercarrige has obviously been well cared for, maintained, and treated with due respect, while still being used as intended. Very cool: Cheers!

What a neat, practical, little car! Clearly showing its war-time predecessor's genes. I like the extra supply of wooden clothes pegs on the fuel line. Thanks for showing!

I can remember my mom had one of these at my childhood home. It was yellow and never drove, it was given to family ar some point. Now I have my own '71 Super Beetle, and it's remarkably similar to this.

A friend of mine had one we went hunting in it, I freaked out when at the gas station he opened the hood and lit the pilot, for the heater on it. It was a cool little car

I loved seeing this...thing...haha in the dust/dirt tests. You're a pretty unique guy Karl.

Reminds me of an old 1980 Toyota Corolla I had that was basic in the extreme but ran and ran and ran with almost no maintenance. Like with old refrigerators, the trick to making a machine work for decades is to keep it as simple and robust as possible.

I owned several Beetles and never got stuck in the snow or anywhere else. My favorite was Sahara Beige with a vinyl sunroof. I remember these but never owned one. Thanks for this great video down Memory Lane.

Its perfectly timed/moderated by clothes pins. Always loved the simple look & engineering of the Thing.

This made my morning! Love old cars and gearhead stuff!

I owned VW Bugs (Type-1) for over 20 years. Starting with. ‘57 model and then a ‘62, ‘65, ‘69, and lastly a ‘70. On the last two I put over 100k miles on each with the original engines and transmissions, but to do that required a much higher level of maintenance mainly because of it being an air cooled engine. Every 2.5k; Oil and filter screen change and clean, and check/adjust the valves. At each 5k; Add to that a fresh set of spark plugs. At each 10k; Add points, condenser, cap, and rotor. And at EVERY fill up you checked the oil as they would consume a little on each cold start up and it only held 2.5 quarts. (Again, air cooled engines have to have room to expand as they warm up so tolerances are a bit “loose” when cold.) Just a shame that emission and crash standards killed them off.

Very cool. I had a friend in high school with a Thing. I didn’t appreciate it then as much as I would have now.

Super cool, my mom had one of these in the early 80s and drove us to school in it

Neat old thing! There's much to be said for simplicity. Just don't crash it! HNY to you, Karl, and congrats on 700k! 🥃

"This morning, I woke up and there were monkeys on my knees. I said _Thing!_ and they all went away." Yes, folks, saying _Thing!_ really works, so say _Thing!_ today. Sponsored by the society for saying _Thing!_ - The Goon Show

Thanks for the history lesson. Brought back memories. In high school a buddy had a bug. We would cram 3-4 boys in there all of our book bags, gear, football pads etc and drive to school. It was a tight fit, but we had fun

I just love the simplicity of that thing. Still saw a few of those drive around during my service, although mostly it had been replaced by the Audi Iltis (gave birth to the Quattro I suppose). My theroy why beetles (and 181s) became super popular in CA (and maybe AZ) is the absence of winters. The heating system is a nightmare. Be happy you don't need it and many thanks for sharing.

These pieces are what make this channel so much more! Have a great New Year, Karl, and an even better '24.👍

Very cool! Don't see these vehicles much to begin with, never mind anymore. Nice to see such 'heritage' vehicles still puttering around and in such fantastic shape. Thanks for the tour!

It probably doesn't get really cold in winter where you live, but in Montana where I live, the V.W. heater didn't work very well in our winters. I'm 81, and have owned two V.W.s many years ago. They had very good traction and were easy ti work on. You brought back some old memories of days gone long ago. Thanks.

My dad had one of these in the late 70's when we where stationed in Germany. I loved that car and would love to own one now!

Someone get this guy on regular car reviews

Great walkthrough! I'm happy that there are people out there, still valuing this kind of old timer tech.

I just got a '73 and am loving it. Thanks for the great info.

I grew up with one of these! It had an aftermarket roll cage and we'd lower the top, lay the seats down and drive slowly through the nature preserves in Florida with me and my brother standing in the back leaning on the roll cage with binoculars looking at birds and gators.

Very cool! I've always loved these old cars. Love seeing these non-gun "misc equipment" videos, good bit of variety livens things up

I bought one of these in early 1976 and it was my daily driver for 13 years. Cold in the winter and hot in the summer but so much fun to drive. Finally had to get rid of it when the belly pan rusted out under the passenger seat.

I have a VW Baja Bug. Converted myself. Love it.

I trained with the Germans in the 80s and they still had them

These were called the VW Country Buggy in Australia.

Nice touch with the Norwegian flag on the rear bumper 😁

A friend of mine had a 181; and my first vehicle was a Bus, which I still own alongside a Squareback and a Westfalia Camper. They're truly genius in their simplicity, and remarkably capable in rough terrain. I've gotten a lot of funny looks from people driving modified Jeeps, when I overcome the same terrain in a basically stock 2WD VW.

Just an FYI that these "things" are incredibly dangerous if you get in a crash. They are basically very thin sheet metal and were built during a time when passenger safety was not even an afterthought. One of my neighbors was doing off road in one and they hit a tree which practically cut it in half.

Nice! Always wanted one of these. I had a ‘68 Campmobile that we had many many adventures in!

My aunt still has one. Bought it new. I rebuilt the carburetor last year.

Had a friend in middle school back in the 90s whose father had one. Pretty cool.

Senator Richard Burr kept one of these in DC. It was always a trip seeing it parked outside the Hart office building.

I like how Carl says says cooler "month" as in singular... course I'm saying this from lake effect winter weather, which began in OCTOBER.

A thing the Thing can do no freaking Tesla can do Is being serviced in the field by you...

I've loved these all my Life. Great car.

Happy to see it looks just as crisp and clean, if not cleaner, in your recent mud test

I like the wooden clothes peg on the fuel line.

It's a pity we didn't get them in Australia but we did have the Volkswagen Country Buggy which was Australian built in 1967-68, the germans were working on the 181 at the same time. the Country buggies ended up being sent to the Philippines which started off the VW Sakbayan being built there.

Surprisingly simple for something being German 🤔 Love it! Always been one of my dream cars to mess around with.

At 8:12, when i was a kid, I had a 1987 Ford Escort that I would off road with. I would be in third gear, and right before I hit the mud hole, I would drop it into second, the front end would lift up, and I would fly through. It was so much better than it had the right to be. I think I offended the people in their trucks because my cheap ass escort wouldn't get stuck like their trucks did.

Karl's Top Gear.

I thought I recognized the thing in your last mud test video. These are such interesting vehicles they always make me smile

Loved these, were much too early for my younger self to have a licence in time of getting one. Used to be a west coast (Canada) shop that did Kubelwagon remakes/rebuilds, another dream car gone.

This was one of my dream cars. Always wanted to get one of these.

A guy I went to high school back in the late 80s had one , I use to see a red one floating around the same area in Cincinnati

Nice - the Thing is one of my favorite cars. Yours is in the best shape I've ever seen.

Parents had one of these when I was a kid. Stepdad traded in the Volvo station wagon for one with the removable hardtop... in Nashua NH... in the winter. Pretty sure it was one of the many things he did to get mom to divorce him. Of course I was like 12 at the time and thought the removable vinyl windows and doors and roof were neat at first.

The air-cooled vw.... Air will never leak out... Air will never run out...air will never freeze.. air will never boil.... How many other manufacturers run stock sedans in the desert races...tear the whole thing down with a handful of tools & a jack... The perfect car to teach anyone how to maintain a vehicle...

Such a badass vehicle I’ve always wanted a thing painted gray on off-road tires. Those air cooled motors look stupid simple to work on. Great vehicle to learn on id imagine. I got a slightly modified Geo metro that is basically a modern more fuel efficient version of this car. I put 25x8 DOT approved atv tires on it and lifted it about 5 inches, gutted it and took the plastic covers off the bumpers. It’s like driving a Mario cart around so fun especially ripping the e brake on wet pavement around corners. Right now it’s my daily and I still get 45-50 mpg in it.

I believe these are still in service in Austria they were used during pandemic to patrol small border crossings.

I remember this thing from the dust test videos.

I had a '74 many years ago when they were cheap and plentiful (relative to today). Wish I'd kept it. I had the front and rear axle assemblies from a '65 Microbus that I thought about installing to give it the (rear) portal axels and height more like the Kubelwagen but never got around to trying. You'd be amazed at what an original gas cap will bring today!

i had to see this recommended in my feed like 15 times before i noticed this was a karl video not a car video from one of the car channels i follow lmaoo

As a car guy, I've been waiting for a video on your car for years lol. Thanks haha, that car is pretty awesome.

The story behind the revival of VW after the war is one of genius and determination

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

haha I was one of those comments noticing your thing! cool car karl!

Love it! I grew up with VWs. Our “brush car” was a 1960 beetle that had been rolled, roof pushed back out, but no windshield. Would love a 181 Thing. I guess even more scarce than the Kubelwagen would be the 4x4 Schwimwagen.

Very cool Karl

I've gotta luv the respect shown for "'Da Fouw Vae" . I remember the Thing showing up in the Bay Area in @1974 or so. I had a 64 and a 72. Impressive but dangerous in modern U.S. driving.

Small as it is, it's bigger than the iconic WWII Jeep.

Excellent utility vehicle 👍👍👍

Great idea to reupload and edit these older shorts, nice to know you still have your Thing! I remember this video from back when

You've got to hand it to them, they knew how to design stuff!

Hey Karl! Happy belated Christmas and I hope you have a great New Year! Thanks for all the excellent content. Best wishes, Richard.

It's an inspiration for a french Citroën Méhari , a 2CV engine in similar ABS plactic body on a steel chassis - it weights only 570 kg (1,256.6 lb) - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn_M%C3%A9hari and a 4x4 version exist produced from 1979 to 1983... The French Army purchased 7,064 Méharis - some of which were modified to have 24 V electric power to operate the two way radio.

Definitely enjoyed it. Screw RU-vid and their algorithm.

Merry Christmas Inrange!

As a VW nerd, I appreciated this.

I always thought the paint scheme that resembled a shipping crate was pretty cool. Unfortunately, they had a major rust issue on the salty roads of Indiana

I still miss my 74 VW bus. Should have kept it.

My dad had one, I learned to drive stick in it.

Not a car guy here so maybe a dumb question: What are all those clothespins for?

Blast from the past. VWs running around in AZ desert FTW!

Clothes Pins, very high tech.

Get this bad boy over to regular car reviews

I loved those things when they first came out and I still regret not buying one. I wish they'd start making them again -- AND SELLING THEM AT A REALISTIC PRICE for an automobile.

Like it good job you know a lot about it .also liked the one about the lemon sguiser 38 short

You mentioned spare fuel cans. Back in the 70's, there was a company that made a half round jerry can that fit into the well that the spare tire fit into, on a Volkswagon. I think it held something like 3 or 4 gallons of gas. Not sure if its still being made, but I always thought that was a genius mod. Also, the cowling you show over the air intakes on the rear of the body, were originally aftermarket fiberglass items, also made back in the 1970's. Are you sure the ones you show on your car were factory options? I've never heard that before.