The accident doesn't look that bad, from the pics. Obviously, when YOU are in the truck, your perspective differs! What matters is that you and the other parties involved were not injured. The only things that really concern me if I have to flat-tow something is: Are the tires any good on the towed vehicle? Are the wheel/axle bearings (front AND rear) any good? Will it track OK? Is the tow bar secure and ready to go? If I'm satisfied in those four respects, I'll flat-tow with relative confidence. My Dad used to flat-tow a lot back in the '70s through the mid-'90s - everything from a '54 Willys CJ-3B, to a '69 Datsun pickup, to several VW Beetles, and never had an issue anytime. All tows were behind an RV or a pickup. I only had one incident when flat-towing, but that was because the right-side rear axle shaft, wheel, drum, and backing plate came shooting out from the towed pickup truck at 65 mph after the right axle bearing melted into a molten goo! That'll wake ya up! I love my trailer!
I´m glad you are OK but even with the car on a trailer, accidents can happen.. My cousin bought a nice Ford 46, and when he was on his way home he blew a tire on the rental trailer.. http://st.nu/start/1.1246856-tv-bil-med-slapvagn-korde-in-i-vajerracke-i-njurunda
Yea I will never flat tow anything again, I towed my import project from Atlanta to south Georgia once, used a U haul front wheel dolly, I didn't have any problems at all, and it weighs 2500 pounds. Of course I knew the condition of the tires and rear wheel bearings. I didn't have any sway or traction problems. most of the weight was on the tongue. It was one of those ones where the front wheels were off of the ground. I think what happened in this case was the towed vehicle weighed more then the tow vehicle. if one goes out of control the heavier one is going to take over control of the lighter one.
That opens up a whole different set of potential problems - overloading by tongue weight and/or GVW, along with the tire blowouts and bearing failures that can occur, regardless of towing method. Let's not forget the vehicle that is marginally "secured" with just a single chain, cable or strap and the park brake! If I have to tow, I'll use a trailer in any situation. I'll use a dolly or a towbar if the situation dictates, but will never be a first choice.
how much does it cost to rent a trailer from uhaul? I really need to invest in buying one, I've been borrowing them from various friends for about 3 years now and I always feel bad when I have to borrow anything from anyone, I'm weird like that
I'd never flat tow for that kind of distance. I've never owned a full size truck, so I've rented trucks and trailers on several occasions to tow cars around. I think it is money well spent. one time a buddy and I rented a tow dolly for a 20 miles down the freeway tow. the car had "brand new" tires that were 10 or more years old... still had the tits on them. they were all flat when I picked it up.. aired them up and we were on our way. next day or so I'm doing other things in the shop with the car out side. that afternoon two of the tires expolded just sitting there. glad it didn't happen on the road.
trailers are cheap to rent, but around here you need a 3/4 ton truck. I think I was spending about $150.00 for truck and trailer rental for local tows.
Curious, How fast were YOU going at the time? A Hwy patrol investigator told me that the majority of accidents that he had seen when flat towing or using tow dollies were a combination of speed and mismatched weight. The towed vehicle just being too heavy for the tow vehicle when a flat tire or imbalance (in the case of tow dollies) over comes the ability of the tow vehicle to keep it under control. The higher the speed, the worse it gets. As he said, there is a damn fine reason California had a 55mph speed limit for towed vehicles (that everyone ignores)
also i noticed..you had no weight on the bed of your tow vehicle.. bet that ass was really light..and easy for that 57 to push around
I agree that having a trailer is the best situation and I've owned 3 over the years. However, before I got my first one, I flat towed a race car from one end of this country to the other on a couple dozen occasions. It's like anything else, there is a right way and a wrong way. Do it the wrong way and it will bite you in the ass. I love it when situations like this come up and the HAMB drama queens join in with all of the wisdom, tales, and advice. It sure is intertaining while I'm stuck here taking care of my wife who just got out of the hospital having surgery. I wonder what some of you do because your always on here seems like 24/7. Frank
You're lucky you got as far as you did, without killing yourself or somebody else. Yikes, the entire rig looks like an accident which was just waiting to happen. Drama queens responses notwithstanding, you're a lucky pup.
what was the cause of the accident? yes, bad tires! yet you blame the flat tow. your tow bar was great! its now tested! I was wondering when some one would respond with a trailer story. I flat tow, some times. the tow'd vehicle has to be up to the task! does the tow bar ride level, so when you brake hard the towd vehicle doesnt clime your ass? safety chains, hitch,did you have lites? my neighbor delivered winnebago RV's all over. Flat towed his return vehicle over 100,000 miles NEVER a problem. there is a kinship among many of the drivers, the storys about tow vehicles usually have a some one else runnig in to them! I'm glad to see you and the '57 are OK!
I'll flat-tow short distances, like 30 miles or less. And the car has got to be able to steer and stop. Either I or someone else will be behind the wheel of the car being towed. Most tow bars have a maximum speed plastered all over it, for a good reason. If that tire of yours held up, you might have gotten it home with no incident. Bob
U-HAUL is selling off alot of there car haulers at different sites,down here they are going for around $1400,hidden ramps,hydralic brakes ,self contained system,front wheel wrap around tire ratchet straps,strong tie down hooks front and rear,and fold down drivers side fender.these trailers were built in Canada and pull damn good .go to WWW. USED U-HAUL CAR HAULERS FOR SALE.COM.
Better than having a good trailer is having a friend that does. Having a truck big enough to safely tow is pretty good also. My buddy (in the picture) has been all around the country with that trailer without a single accident.
i had a truck hydroplain while towing ..that sucked !! but other than that ive never had a problem trailering.i pull a trailer around 9000 miles a year..good truck 3/4 ton or bigger ,trailer brakes ,good hitch(no bumper pulls)..the bad thing about flat towing is the towie has to be road worthy,IE tires ,wheel bearings,steering parts,always good to remove drive shaft just to make sure theres nothing in the trans that can lock up .just cause it rolling doesnt mean the trans is getting lube.
scuse the ignorance of a poor country boy from down under but don't you guys have speed limits for towing. We have a max speed limit of 80km/hour (40mph) for towing and the towing vehicle has to be matched to the towed load. Glad yur ok tho, can't afford to loose any HAMBers
Man, someone upstairs was smilng down on you and dodged a massive bullet. I am so glad that no one got hurt and that we are not reading about another bad accident, there have been too many distressing posts of late.
That's funny. I work for an RV delaer and we have installed an even dozen tow bar assemblies and 3 dollies since the first of the year. We have several customers that have worn out (read 100,000 miles), 2 and in one case 3 cars pulling them behind their motorhome. My boss has 2 cars that are setup to be towed which he has driven to Florida purchased an RV then towed his car back at least twice a year every year I have worked there. His Honda van has 46,000 miles on it about half of which is behind an RV.
I've flat towed hundreds of miles without any trouble. Have had a couple flats, but I didn't wreck with them. In fact when I had to put my Suburban in storage last month and had no one to help drive, I towed it out with my old U-haul towbar - and I blew a tire on my van pulling it going 60 down the interstate. I just put the signal on and pulled over very gently, I didn't lose control at any moment with my right rear tire flapping and beating the crap out of my fender because it blew apart. No warning, just blew up, and it was basically a new tire when I put it on. But it's also a G30 van, and my last tower was another Suburban, although a half ton. The last time I moved my '50 Chevy I had a tire blow out on it, too - I was going slower, but never once did it pull me anywhere, I was able to stop and even jump out and save the hubcap it threw off when it blew from getting run over. If the tires are old and have been sitting flat and don't have tubes, change them - and run them with the air pressure a tad on the low side. Not too much, you don't want the tire constantly flexing, but you don't want it right at the max either.
Actually, we have been allowed to tow at 90kmh for a few years now. The OP had a lucky escape I'd say - it could have been a lot worse. I've flat towed a couple of times, and would do it again for short distances and at slow speeds.
Looks like the ol' Ford held up just fine. Fix the dent with a good hunting story and carry on. Glad you're alright. -Chris
A good rule of thumb in flat-towing a vehicle is use a lead vehicle thats HEAVIER then what your towing so the towed vehicle doesnt push the lead vehicle thru an intersection when trying to stop or jacknife it in a corner. What ever vehicle you use to tow/pull with needs to have enough brakes to stop IT AND what your towing. I recommend using a trailer with brakes so there's enough brakes to stop everything safely. Being cheap and saving $150 on trailer rental may cost you your freedom is anyones ever killed in an accident that your at fault in, your immedialtly liable for their death and you'll be sued for everything you own or will ever make on a paycheck. Take the time to do things the right way and spend the appropriate $$ to keep everyone safe. The pickup in the pics does not weight enough to keep control of it and the '57, and your lucky you didnt roll your pickup over and get killed. My guess is the car weighs more then the pickup in this case, a recipe for a disaster. I'm a truck driver, haul heavy equipment/oversize loads so I have a little experience (15+ years) in towing/hauling, be safe folks.
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