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Flat towing
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Author:  Rob Simmons [ Tue Jan 27, 2004 11:15 am ]
Post subject:  Flat towing
Would it be a bad idea to flat tow a car with a mini-spool and 4.62 gears? Obviously the drive shaft will be removed, but will long tows hurt the spool or gears, etc? Thanks,

Rob
Author:  Slanted73 [ Tue Jan 27, 2004 11:54 pm ]
Post subject:  towing vs. trailer
When I moved, I found out it was $40 to rent a tow bar and $50 for a trailer, so I went with the trailer and avoided unhooking anything.
Author:  Rob Simmons [ Wed Jan 28, 2004 4:07 am ]
Post subject: 
We're hopefully going to be towing quite a bit though and the car may be towed by something that can handle towing a car, but not necessarily a car and trailer. I've got a dolly, but that's basically flat towing and you can't back up.
Author:  Charrlie_S [ Wed Jan 28, 2004 8:01 am ]
Post subject: 
Rob, my personal opinion, Bite the bullet and get a trailer, or at least a set of tow hubs. When flat towing, the differential, will be spinning at the same speed as if you were driving it.
Author:  Rob Simmons [ Wed Jan 28, 2004 9:55 am ]
Post subject: 
Hey Charlie,
What are tow hubs?
Author:  Doc [ Wed Jan 28, 2004 9:58 am ]
Post subject: 
I have done a lot of flat towing over the years, there are advantages and dis-advantages.

The main advantages, a tow bar is cheap and easy to store when not in use. The tow "rig" is lighter so that makes it easyer to pull.

Dis-advantages, you always have to take the driveshaft in and out of the car and you are putting miles on the "rolling stock" - suspension - rearend.
You can not back-up with a tow bar, you just un-hook and push the car around.

I learned a hard lesson about tow bars last year, I had a tire come apart on the car being towed and that put the whole rig in a spin that left me with 2 totaled cars.

I think a locked rear end would not be a good thing for a flat two but a limited slip type diff. tows fine.
DD
Author:  Charrlie_S [ Wed Jan 28, 2004 10:35 am ]
Post subject: 
Tow hubs are like a spinde that bolts to the rear lugs. You remove the rear wheels, bolt on the tow hubs, then bolt the wheel/tire to the hub, and apply the park brake. The hubs have a bearing that allows the rear wheels to turn, without the brake drum turning, so it is not neccessary to remove the driveshaft. The biggest problem with tow hubs, they move the tire more outboard, and might cause a tire/ fender clearance problem. This can usually be solved, by using a smaller dia tire and/or more backspace on the tow rims. I still favor a trailer.
Author:  Rick Covalt [ Wed Jan 28, 2004 7:26 pm ]
Post subject:  tow dolly
If you have a tow dolly, is it possible to pull the car backwards? With the front wheels on the ground? Or is this not good??

Rick
Author:  steponmebbbboom [ Wed Jan 28, 2004 7:38 pm ]
Post subject: 
Ive thought about that, but Ive always worried about the rear end of the two cars striking each other.
Author:  Charrlie_S [ Thu Jan 29, 2004 5:16 am ]
Post subject: 
I have never used a tow dolly. Always flat tow or trailer, but have talked to many people, who have used a dolly. They say, a lot of cars will not tow well backwards on a dolly. Too much sway. I guess it is like a trailer, it is necessary to have a certain amount of tongue weight. Plus it would be necesarry to lock the steering, tightly, so there is no play there.
Author:  Rob Simmons [ Thu Jan 29, 2004 6:04 am ]
Post subject: 
I tried towing my Dart backwards once....
Charlie is right on the money. I couldn't get over about 35 MPH without serious sway. I was only going about 25 miles, so I thought I would save the hassle of pulling the driveshaft. I won't ever do that again.
Way too much weight too far back. Also, on many older cars you can't lock the steering or if you can it locks just a little off of straight and it pulls really bad.

My dolly is convenient in some ways, but it isn't that much better than flat towing. The dolly is wide like a trailer, you have to take wide turns or the dolly might hit the side of the car (ask my Dart), and you still have to pull the driveshaft. And there is no way you can back that thing up, even a little!

I thought you could back up when flat towing :?:

Rob
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