Define highway speeds. A motor home has quite a bit more mass than the Geo hooked on back.
I had an electrician friend that had his manual transmission mini-pickup pop into gear behind his motor home. The tow back from Reno to the Mid-Willamette valley completely borked the engine and transmission. It was a Mazda Rotary. It was a throw away at that point.
Speed when using a tow bar needs to modulate with terrain, road surface, weather and etc.
While I'm sure some folks have had good luck towing vehicles of similar or greater weight than the tow vehicle, I wouldn't under most conditions other than moving something disabled a short distance at low speed.
The longest flat tow on my record was from Florida home to Oregon, and then back across to Chicago, visiting the Grand Canyon, and various mountainous regions. I used a 3/4 ton van to pull a Celica for a fellow squid. Dropping into Oregon on 140 in second gear, (Manual) brake on with both feet by the bottom, I couldn't get under ten miles an hour. (We were running heavy.) There was a cow standing in the middle of the road, and smoke was rolling out of the rear drums. Fortunately I managed to get around it. There was swearing involved.
The truck ruts in low speed lanes made the combination unstable and hard to keep going straight. By the time we got to Chicago, I'd beat the main bearings out of my small block. Uneven concrete slabs on I-10 in the gulf states and some of the secondary access roads elsewhere caused a tremendous tendency to porpoise. It beat the snot out of the bottom end of the engine. I had to drop a new engine in that fall.
With an automatic transmission the engine would have been buffered somewhat from the sudden changes in load. Three on the tree wasn't an ideal situation in my case.
For long distances, I recommend against it. It's uncomfortable, and tense. If you have to go that route, keep your speed reasonable, and avoid roads that are known to be poor, or under construction if possible.
Ask Doc about Diesel spills on off-ramps. 
CJ
|
