Tow bars & towing auto trans vehicles

[transam]

I want to tow different model trucks (i.e. 1980-2006 Chevy and Ford, 1/2 ton to 1 ton)with my 1994 2500 that has a typical receiver hitch. Who makes a tow bar that will work on different trucks, the trucks being towed, without having to buy different brackets for each maodel? I have read towing vehicles that have an automatic transmission needs to be prepared differently for towing, like maybe take the driveshaft out. Taking the driveshaft out wouldn't really be a big deal but how do I keep fliud from coming out? If I happened to have just a yoke for every type of truck I tow it would likely fall out before I get back with it. I will be towing each vehicle typically for about 250-300 miles at, hopefully, 75-80 mph.

[someotherguy]

Hey Eric,

At those speeds you should absolutely disconnect the driveshaft. My favorite way of doing this to avoid losing any fluid is to take it loose at the rear end. Wrap around the U-joint caps with some wide masking tape to keep them from falling off. Then use thick gauge mechanic's wire to loop between the U-joint and shaft and pull the shaft up and forward as far as possible then tie it off on a bed cross support, so that it can't slide out, and keeps it away from the pinion yoke. Throw the U-joint straps and bolts in the glove box so they're not back there clanking around, and go for it.

This way you don't have to have a collection of yokes on hand, don't have to worry about the inevitable puddles of fluid you're going to make when you remove the shafts, and no worries about possibly damaging the surface on the driveshaft's yoke when you toss it into the bed of the truck.

You getting ready to bring me a few trucks? ;) ;)

Richard

[redvett01]

On 4x4 truck you can just put transfercase in "N" and go. Do not tow at 75-80 mph thats asking for trouble and a ticket too.

[transam]

Hey Richard,
I don't know. I might be asking more than you want to spend on them. I certainly would like to work it so both of us can benfit from it. I'll start out looking for the really cheap deals first(paying less than $1000 each)and see how that works out. I'm tired out making pocket change selling just parts. Right now I would be satisfied making $1000 on each one. Is there a limit to how many I can sell per year without having to have some kind of license? What about insurance? If I sell one in a week I would rather not waste money on insurance.
You have towed auto trans. cars that far without damaging the trans.? Some people on the internet sound like you could damage it bad. That doesn't sound right to me.

[jro909]

thats illegal...at those speeds, even with a trailer those speeds are illegal unless the truck and trailer are registered and qualified as "semi trailers"...

[transam]

Do it all the time pulling a trailer.

[freightshaker]

This will probably fit your needs. It's billed as a "universal" tow bar.

http://americantowbar.com/

[transam]

Thanks for the link. Looks like what I need.

[smokinsilverado]

I wouldn't tow a vehicle with tow bars that far. It's okay for across town but it is much safer to rent a trailer and haul it that way.

[transam]

Do you mean a full trailer or a car dolly? I entered in info on Uhaul's website and it looks like they are saying you can't haul a full size truck on their trailers.

[speedracer326]

That universal deal is slick. I towed, behind the '88 which was loaded to the gills with my snowmobile and car parts in the back, my Crown Victoria which also was loaded to the gills with car parts. Both front seats, back seats, and the trunk. There wasn't enough room left in there for a fart. The '88 dragged it with relative ease, even in some healthy hills in western South Dakota it never backed down for a hill. What's more, engine braking alone was enough to help me not only maintain speed, but was also sufficient for me to lose speed downhill. I dragged it 1,000 miles and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I'm sure I was using every bit of my 10,700# GCWR but the only time I was the least bit nervous was where my journey began, on the snow covered roads of MI's upper peninsula where I had difficult getting the rig moving. Once I got out of Munising, though, they were clear all the way to SD.

[smokinsilverado]

Do you mean a full trailer or a car dolly? I entered in info on Uhaul's website and it looks like they are saying you can't haul a full size truck on their trailers.

Yeah I meant a full trailer. I didn't know that you couldn't haul a truck the last time I checked you could.

[transam]

Were you using that American Tow Bar or another brand? Did you have to get a light bar for brake lights for the Crown Vic?

[someotherguy]

I used to know how many you could legally sell in TX per year without a license but forgot a long time ago, sorry. :(

If you're not keeping them long enough to title them, but you're going to have several sitting around that you want insured for test drives, you might ask your agent about a non-owners policy - typically what garages have (or should have) so they can have coverage when driving someone else's car. Or just explain your situation and ask them how you might be covered. It might be best to start out not volunteering a ton of info; they might think you're opening up a car lot.

Not sure if you're asking me about the transmission or someone else that replied. I would absolutely remove the driveshaft from the rear axle. No way to harm the transmission then. If it's a 4WD I'd consider pulling the front driveshaft too instead of just kicking the transfer case into neutral. Since you're buying retired equipment at auctions, you already know you can't always trust that it's in the shape they described; if the driveshafts aren't connected then nothing in the driveline can lock up other than the differentials themselves.

Richard

[speedracer326]

Were you using that American Tow Bar or another brand? Did you have to get a light bar for brake lights for the Crown Vic?

It was some other brand rated at 5,000# and yeah, I used magnetic Mickey Mouse lights. A trailer would be better hands down, but I'm just trying to emphasize that hooking a vehicle to a tow bar isn't certain disaster as so many people seem to imply.

[kcb37]

A fullsize trailer is going to be your best bet.
Uhaul does let you put a fullsize on a car trailer too. I would imagine it may only be 1/2 ton and lighter. But I have put 1 Ford and 2 Dodge 1/2 tons on their trailers.
The pic in my sig is the Ford.

[foreman00081]

ive pulled a 3/4 ton chevy on a tow dolly for a few hundred miles and while it worked ok, i wouldnt really want to do it on a regular basis. dont really trust those dollys all that much. ive never used a tow bar but if i were doing it all the time i think id invest in a good trailer.

[transam]

Hey Richard,
That's some good info. I'll check with my insurance company.

KCB37-I'll call Uhaul to see what they say about putting a full size on a trailer. Around here, it seems like if their cheeseball computer program says not to do it then they won't let you do it. I guess you can tell them at the rental place that you are going to haul a Geo. Does the trailer ever try to fish tail when you use it? I use a 6'x 12' Uhaul enclosed all the time to haul equipment and if it's not loaded just right it will fish tail at speeds over 55 mph.

foreman00081-I would love to have a trailer but where I live I wouldn't be able to keep it in the driveway. No room in the garage and I already have a one storage unit but it has that Twin Turbo Trans Am in it. It's for sale right now but it's hard to sell a car that doesn't run.

[kcb37]

I have only had a problem pulling one trailer. Yes it did fishtail. But that was a complete lack of tougne weight. That one was a 68 1/2 ton Dodge, but the engine and trans were out. If you have a complete truck it should be just fine.

I had one other thought for you. A tow bar will work fine for 80's Chevy, Dodge, and Ford pickups. Up to 2000 Chevy depending on what one your towing. But if you start to look at the newer ones, even around 96 Fords will all the plastic on the bumpers your going to have problems hooking up the tow bar if it's a bumper mount.

[transam]

I looked at the American Tow Bar link that freightshaker sent me and it looks like a good idea but it is aluminum and I would be concerned about if I get the smallest amount of fish tail, go over a big dip in the road, etc.. that it would bend and trash a $500 tow bar. I would most likely be hauling 1985-2006 Chevys and, um, well, FFFFFords. I'm only buying what sells easily, ok.

[Honey Bear]

Personal experience tells me that a good trailer with a winch is the best way to go. Mine never comes off the Beast. But since you have no room that is out.

A good tow dolly would be my second choice. You can haul anything on them. Npote I said goo not some POS that JayBob cobbled together in his kitchen. Have an anchor point welded to it and use a hand winch in addition to the straps and don't back up with it - that loosens the straps.

I would be concerned that the tow bar would blow out airbags and damage thier sensors. Looks like a neat idea though.

[someotherguy]

Eric, you probably saw my 20' car hauler trailer, that's really the way to go but I absolutely understand not having a place to stash it. Even I've got a problem over here with where to keep it because it's a wooden deck so I won't leave it outside to get rotten; it's taking up a full bay inside my shop.

http://www.someotherplace.com/bb/misc/20footerss.jpg

My lil' lowered 2500LD isn't up to the task of pulling the trailer with a truck on it, but it brought it home just fine when I bought it. :D One of these damn days I'll have my 3500HD going (been building it for 4 months now) and will have the 12,000lb Warn winch mounted to the bed so I can pull dead trucks up on the trailer. For now, I just use the yard wrecker when I need to pull the trailer with a load on it.

http://www.someotherplace.com/bb/inventory/2814_07s.jpg

I've done quite a bit of pulling with a tow dolly and I'll say that it's been pretty dicey here and there. Two moments that stand out in my mind both happened when I had my '59 Apache 10 on the bar. Made that turn off Studemont to hit I-10E (if you're familiar) and the '59 slid sideways through the turn and dragged me and my '61 Apache into the curb, though no real damage other than tire scrubbing, and I just kept going. Other time I was on the way back with it, pulling with my girlfriend's '70 C10. Some guy slammed on the brakes at a green light and I jammed on mine, the '59 went completely sideways and slapped the tow dolly's tongue against the '70 bumper, bending the crap out of the tongue and had the '59 up over the curb.

I've done very, very little tow bar pulling, and what little I did do was just local.

Whatever you choose, you've got to consider not only if your truck is up to pulling it, but also what kind of trouble you can get into in bad traffic situations. If you're going to do this on a regular basis, the tow bar and tow dolly are considerably riskier than a trailer with brakes.

Sorry for whoring-up your post with my pics but I'm doing it for no other reason than to maybe stir your thoughts about how to make a trailer work for you.

Richard

[transam]

Not a problem Richard. The more info I get, the easier it will be to make a decision. How much does your trailer weigh? You know my 2500LD only has a 305 in it, and a 3.42 rear. I have probably pulled at least 4,000 pounds with it (includes load and trailer). Even though I really don't want to, I really need to get rid of my Trans Am so I can move a to a storage unit a lot closer to me. If I get a trailer I just need to learn how to back one up. I usually say I can't back one up to save my life but I had to a couple of times in Dallas when I made some wrong turns and got caught on a dead end street, in a very "bad" neighborhood. Not a pretty sight.
There's a 7500GVW car trailer on auction right now. It doesn't have any wheels and tires, the brakes don't work, needs new wood on the bed and has a pintle hitch. I think if that were new it would be about $4,000. It's well below $1,000 right now but there's still several days left before it ends. I emailed the people selling it to get the bolt pattern, in case I need to take wheels with me and they said it appears to be a standard Chevy 5 x 4 3/4". If I absolutely had to, I could probably get mt brother to let me put it aoutside his shop, for a while, but there is always a "cost" attached to those kind of requests from him. I would attach a picture of the trailer to this but I don't know how to do that.

[transam]

Well kcb37, I called Uhaul and they said the trailer is not rated to carry that much weight, even though I see you have done it successfully.

[someotherguy]

Ya know, I have no idea what my trailer weighs. It's a 7,000 lb capacity but no idea on the trailer itself. I was kinda unhappy to find out it has Ford small pattern 5x4.5" wheels but at least the guy put new real trailer tires on them instead of just P-rated tires. I would be surprised with that pintle hitch on the one you're talking about that it would be 5x4.75, but you never know.

If you shop around you can get a winner. I paid $1300 for mine and it's an '06 model, and the guy threw in two ratchet binders, two really nice chains, and a Master ball lock. That's the price most people were asking for 18' versions and when I saw the 20' at that price I jumped.

Richard

[Ivan D.]

I would most likely be hauling 1985-2006 Chevys and, um, well, FFFFFords.
Just a heads-up, the '80-'96 Fords do not have front recovery points (or rears, for that matter) if they are 2wd, and many of the 4x4 trucks didn't have them either. So if you are about to use that universal tow-bar with one of those, you gotta get creative as to where you'd want to hook it up to on the vehicle's frame.

[transam]

I assumed I would have to take a variety of attachment devices, like a wrecker driver. Thanks for the tip. Everything helps.