Hot Rods Tow bars & flat towing

YES, disconnect the drive shaft!! Too long a distance to chance..Disconnect at rear joint, wrap with duct tap to hold joint together and tie up to frame..A bit of a pain but peace of mind..Oh, some states do not allow flat tow..MA and CT but may pertain to interstate being used..

 

Ive used my tow pilot tow bar for over 4 decades. Never any problem. I simply makeshure the tow vehicle out weighs the one being towed. and drive like you dont have any brakes. Reciently my sons 72 truck the trans quit pulling so I Towed it with my 66 GMC 1/2 ton about 7 miles. Of course the little GMC had a half load of green oak firewood in the bed. And this past year I bought a non running International 2 ton Dump truck. 30 miles from home. Very hot weather. So I get up and leave when its still dark. Drive there and at first light change carb. fiddle with the points add a gas line from a 5 gallon can. Get the beast running (sort of?) and hook the Jimmy to the dump truck and drag it behind the dump truck 30 miles over muddy gravel roads. They had just graded some of the roads and a summer thunderstorm had popped up. The GMC got a face full of mud. I suppose a lot depends on how much experience & skill you have and common sense. You dont drive fast when towing. And plenty of folks have wrecked hauling vehicles on trailers also. A vehicle like a Pk weighs around 4000 pounds. We commonly haul 6500 pounds in the bed of a 3/4 ton Pk. You cannot stop or manuver quickly when loaded heavy. Ive hauled the over weight and oversize loads on semi trucks. Ive pulled loads grossing 180,000. On a truck and trailer designed for 80,000. You have to use caution and slow down.

 

I flat towed my model A the 31 Vic in the avatar from W St. Paul to O'side CA in 72 with my 70 1/2 Z28. I had taken the very heavy Olds/hydro combo out and the front was too light to follow so I bolted in a piece of plywood in the engine bay and added 3 sand bags for weight, still wouldn't track quite right, not enough caster with the front up too high. Made some 3 or 4 inch 3/8" bars to drop the split radius rods down and it worked great. Over 2K miles without any problems. That was 72, I wouldn't do it today however. Go with a trailer if you
can borrow or rent if you have to, but I'd skip the tow bar.

 

www.mtfca.com816 × 612 this little tractor wouldnt weigh nearly as much as a vehicle.

 

wrong link I thought I was posting a picture of a trailer wreck.

 

Flat towed my 56 Chevrolet Pro Bracket car all the time with my 74 Nova. I even towed it to the paint shop with a 63 Chevy II Station Wagon. Still have two tow bars, and two sets of towing hubs (cheap) if anyone is interested. One is home made, the other NMW brand, and unused. Always towed and tracked fine for me, and wired directly to to the 56's tail lights. When I sold the car, less engine/trans, I delivered it on the freeway some 30 miles away. That was the only time it did't track very well when turning (no engine/trans weight on front end), but even that was't a big issue (did't use the towing hubs for that either) to the Ballard area of Seattle (small streets). I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Ever noticed how many motorhomes are flat towing another vehicle. Go over to Moab Utah this week and you'll see hundreds of 4x4's being flat towed from all over the country. We flat towed a Jeep Scrambler back and forth from San Diego to Telluride twice a year with a camper. Since this is a traditional site, I'm going to trash my adjustable tow bar and make a new one from a '39 Ford front wishbone just like the guys used to go over the Grapevine to the lakes!

 

I did a internet search for trailer wrecks. And I found plenty. Im of the opinion flat towing hasnt caused any more wrecks than trailer towing. Its the person doing the towing that caused the problems. Everything I do there is some danger. Cutting wood with a chainsaw. Hunting with a gun. Raising large cattle I have a mean bull. bailing hay . Driving on the same roads with druggies , drunks, cell phone users,feeble old folks who drive a large motor home towing a car and a boat behind it. I fail to see any real inherent danger with me flat towing a vehicle. I have never had any big problem in over 40 years. I used to use a 64 chevy 3/4 ton for a wrecker. With the steel flatbed and home built boom & winch it weighed 6000 ponds. And if I had a long way to go I would pull one vehicle on the tow sling and a second vehicle behind on the tow bar.

 

I have flat towed several times long distances. The last time was about 5 years ago, I flat toed a 82 AMC Concord 2000 miles with a Fire truck. No problems, but it did eat a pair of brand new front tires on the Concord. The stupidest thing I towed was a loaded 18 wheeler 50 miles with a chain, a pipe, and a half ton pickup truck, and no brakes on the 18 wheeler. A half mile to get up to speed, and then a half mile to stop. White knuckle all the way, at $6 an hour.

 

that had to be CRAZY especially with the brake situation. but you are living to tell that story.
i've towed flat, dolly and trailer. easyest with a trailer. some of the towing was with a 4 cylinder 3000 pound toyota pickup towing a steel car trailer with a heavy cadillac on board. all have risks. having trailer brakes is nice.

 

Yes, all the time, however, most Jeeps I see being flat towed behind a motorhome weigh A LOT less than the motorhome that's towing it.

 

Yes thats is importiant. Even if you are pulling a trailer your tow vehicle needs to be bigger than the vehicle being towed. other wise the tail could start wagging the dog.

 

Funny Story. Well it is now, not so much then. Years ago we were just dumb kids, my good friend found a model A sedan in a pasture field, and I went with him to get it. Keep in mine this is rural country. We took a pipe and chain. This is the time you say, not a good idea! long story short, we were on our way to his place with the A in tow, when a car was passing us. He put his hand out to wave it pass. I looked over to see that the car passing us was the model A! We were going down a hill at the time, the A passed us and went out into a field hit a tree and stopped. We went and got it again. Hook her up the same way.[ Slow Learners ] And took it to his place no harm done. ha. ha. Ron...

 

Took a couple test runs today. Only problem was when I would turn the Hudson's wheel would turn to quick and then bounce back and forth. Went straight with no problems. Hooked a bungee from steering wheel to brake pedal and completely remedied the turning problem. Limits the steering wheel just enough helps it return to center. Took it on the interstate at 55 mph with success.

 

As long as the trans is full of gear oil I would say you are good. Guys flat tow "dingys" behind their motor homes all the time including a few Humer H-2s around here.
I'd say just as a couple others did that one really needs a tow rig that is heavier than the towed rig by a substantial margin and if it's an adjustable tow bar stop at regular intervals and tighten the chains up. I usually tie the steering wheel off with a bungie cord so it has a little movement but not a hole lot.
Remember that a lot of these "experts" have never flat towed in their lives and are wet their pants afraid of it.

 

This brings back memories of when I got my first vehicle. I was 15 years old 18 years ago and I was set on a 52 GMC truck. The only issue was that it was in Wisconsin and I live in Kansas City. This didn't stop us. My father built a tow bar and we went on an adventure in his early 80's Ford truck. We loaded down the cab and bed of the GMC with other treasures, hooked it up and started back to KC. It was towing great even with the 10 inch wide wagon wheels with street slicks on the back. That is until somewhere in Iowa when the motor on the Ford decided to blow up. We were stuck on the side of the road and needed to get to the closest parking lot. Called a tow truck and was amazed at what happened. The tow truck was operated by this old cat and it was a 70's Chevy truck converted to tow vehicle. He hooked that bad boy up to the front of the extended cab 3/4 ton Ford truck which was still hooked to my precious 52 GMC and let her rip. The motor was screaming but he towed us a good 10 miles down the road to the closest parking lot. There we gave the Ford to the driver and hitched a ride back to KC, leaving the GMC in the parking lot. Next day my dad bought a slightly newer Chevy truck and we went back to retrieve the GMC.

Still makes me smile thinking about that old Chevy tow pulling 2 trucks. And furthered my loyalty to General Motors.

 

Totally agree with Old Wolf - towing is dangerous however it's done. I have flat towed my O/T car from Liverpool to Rome and back. Much of the journey was at 84MPH and through Germany it was around 100MPH. The key to safety is many checks throughout the journey and a stout A frame. I also use webbing straps from the tow vehicle to the towed vehicle in case the A frame fails. It helps also if the towed vehicle is lighter than the tug. In my case the O/T car weighs only 310 kilos.

I don't strap the steering wheel up. The steering tracks perfectly straight and follows through corners. Tyres would scrub badly if the steering was tied down. Using bungees as mentioned above would be good as it would allow the steering to track and give some damping. What you cannot do is reverse, the wheels go straight to full lock and even with someone in the towed vehicle it cannot be held straight. I usually have to unhitch or do a 360 turn.

I lent my A frame to another guy in my O/T car club and he managed to destroy his engine in a 100 mile tow by leaving it in gear. He blamed my A frame of course.

 

Well we made to 450 trip with no problems towing the '51 on the tow bar. Ended up having to tow the '51 behind the 26' foot moving truck. They have a 2" ball welded on so I couldn't tow my trailer (2 5/16 ball) behind it as I had planned. So last minute change had to be made. I was a little nervous about towing the '51 with the moving truck because I couldn't see the car except when making turns. My wife was behind me in our OT "burb" towing car trailer with walkie talkie in hand assuring me "everything looks good". I did have to bungee the steering wheel to the brake pedal to keep it from going lock-to-lock while turning. So the front tires would scrub a bit in turns but didn't wear the tires as far as I could see. All that being said, the tow bar I built 10 years ago but didn't get to use for our move from Rapid City, SD to Great Falls, MT finally got it's turn. It performed flawlessly, even at 70 mph, as we moved back to Rapid City, SD from Colorado Springs, CO. It sure is good to be back in the Black Hills.

 

I *specifically* set up my 52 GMC to be able to flat tow behind my MH. Having a trailer is not always convenient. Since I run a 700R4 trans, needed some way to disconnect the drivehaft that was less hassle than climbing under the truck and unbolting it every time. I picked up a used driveshaft disconnect setup (Remco) for cheap and put it in the driveshaft so I could disconnect it easily. Basically the Remco setup has two splined sections, one on the pinion and one on the driveshaft. Then a sliding collar which locks the two together when you want to drive, or disconnects them and allows the pinion to rotate free when towing.. Use a simple cheap 5K non-adjustable tow bar and some brackets on the front bumper of the truck. I just use the magnetic lights rather than trying to hook up the truck's lights at this time. Here is a pic, tows great and I run 70-75 mph no problems. Funny to watch people in side rearview mirror pull up and then cruise alongside checking out the truck, many taking pics with the phone. The GMC beats the crap out of most vehicles flat-towed behind a MH. The only real PITA is you can't really back up with a tow bar. Few feet straight back, but not more than about 5 feet or the front tires flop over.



I also have a trailer and take other vehicles on trips, but the flat-towing is so much less hassle. None of my other old vehicles can flat-tow.

 

I had a wheel come off a '72 Skylark I was in being chain towed (no pipe) by my buddy in his lifted Blazer. He had loud pipes and wasn't into checking his mirrors. I don't want to repeat that ride.

 

Why would they go over the Grapevine and then have to go up Cajon Pass, wouldn't they have just gone around through Palmdale?

 

Word to the wise, always check with your insurance company. It makes for a cool photo on the salt or elmo but Haggerty for one is very specific, they will not cover one of their insured classics being towed by another of their insured classics. A loss in that situation voids your policy on both vehicles for that incident and would really ruin your day.

 

How about using a towing dolly?
How good do they workout? Anyone use one for a long haul?

 

I used to flat my 66 nova with a 62 impala to the strip all the time with no problems. Also used towing hubs with skinny tires on the rear with the slicks in the trunk.

I'm rebuilding this VW right now to flat tow behind my MH for a cross country trip. Ron



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never tied the steering wheel, did on SOME occasions used a bungee cord, as i recall on the ones WITHOUT engines.
i have left over NMW tow hubs ... and tow bar

 

I built one once that I used for a 3500 mile round trip. It worked good but I built it a little too wide. Personally I would rather flat tow. I do have a trailer and that is always my first option but we had to transport 2 cars on this move.

 

I would rent or buy one of those 2-wheel dollys and disconnect the drive shaft. Soooo much safer.

 

I have flat towed literally thousands of miles over the years....never had any major problems, but was always very conscious of what I was doing, as well as road conditions...This included cars with no engines...and always used a heavier tow vehicle than was towed.
Back in the day when bumpers were bumpers, we used to flat tow by using a heavy rope and literally winding it around both bumpers tightly.. just was careful on turning corners...RV'ers flat tow all the time now...