Good evening Gentlemen,

I have a 2001 F350 psd 4x4 and have a question regarding towing.

I need to get my '67 Bronco up to San Francisco and was planning on flat towing it up there. I have flat towed the Bronco with the F350 many times before with absolutely no problems. I have a custom made tow bar and it tracks great. The F350 barely breaks a sweat so the main issue is watching my speed. But this.tow will be much further than I've flat towed it before.

There is a lot of information online regarding flat towing and some of it seems to contradict itself. So, this being my 'go-to' group for getting good, straight up information, I thought I'd ask for advice here.

The Bronco has been sitting for almost two years (blown engine but that's a sad story). It has a manual transmission and two shifters inside.

The concern with flat towing, from what I've read, is damage caused from lack of lubrication because of the driveshaft being disconnected? Is this correct?

Here are my questions:
- Because it hasn't moved in almost two years, will that present additional issues I need to address? I've had it on a battery tender so I know the battery works. But in terms of oil, grease, etc.?
- How do I set the shifters for towing? Both in neutral? Or one in neutral one in gear? If so, which gear and which shifter?
- I've never dropped the driveshaft but read about it online and it always says 'oh it's so easy blah blah blah' I am a widow and will be doing this all myself. Is it really that easy?
- Anything I'm not taking into consideration with such a long tow?

Thank you all for your advice. You all are my heroes and I know from past experience that you won't steer me wrong.

Melanie

p.s. I'm going to be spending the summer up in the Moss Beach area. Any off-road clubs up there I can check out for local runs?

 

Transmission in neutral.
Transfer Case in neutral. (Assuming Dana 20 part time transfer case)

Make index reference marks at each end of the driveshaft and yoke/flange of the driving and driven components before disconnecting... so that when it is time to reinstall the driveshaft, it will be in the same phase as when it was removed.

 

Pull the driveshafts.

 

Very good idea. Thanks for that tip!!

 

Assuming fronts are manual hubs, just pull the rear shaft.

Seal Beach is sweet, worth a day trip. Also advise take a horseback ride on the coast, beautiful vistas conquistador style. 4X4 trails up around Santa Cruz but nobody will spill the goods online, advise find a local club and network. State areas are Hollister Hills, Prairie City and Carnegie.

 

Alternatively, go rent a U-haul car trailer and move it that way. In fact for a long in-op vehicle that needs transported that distance I would probably not tow it on the ground anyway. If it was across town that would be a different story. Or just a get quote to put it on a transport truck.

 

Make sure the tires on the bronco are in good shape, 2 years setting basically in 1 place could have some dry rot. A blowout at highway speeds is not even a little fun. Check that the brakes aren't dragging and the diffs are good on lube. U-joints usually aren't bad, I've had some fighters on occasion though, don't forget to tape the caps up so you don't loose one or send needle bearings everywhere. Not a lot of fun getting those rounded up and back in. Remember the game pick-up stix, a little like that only tiny.

 

This is what I would recommend. A U-Haul flat/car haul trailer is very cheap to rent and will almost guarantee no surprises or "oh no" moments.

 

I agree with Brandon. Rent a car trailer for long distance tow. Mostly you get BRAKES for added safety (also CA law if I’m not mistaken) but you also have the opportunity to BACK UP. It’s hard (impossible) to back up a flat tow or dolly towed vehicle.

Ive flat towed my Toyota 4Runner rock crawler many, many times - but prefer the trailer 10:1 if I have the option.

on edit: I wish I had taken a picture of the Ford Ranger we saw in Florida at Christmas. I saw it across the parking lot from one of our stops and noticed the bed/tailgate were MANGLED and no rubber on a back wheel. On the way out of lot, we saw it had a tow bar on the front. The truck was destroyed from cab back. We surmised it was flat towed behind a big RV or something and tire on ranger failed without driver knowing. The tire carcass beat the truck to DEATH and they continued down the road unknowing grinding the aluminum wheel to a nub....

This (tire failure on toad car) is an option - especially if bronco has been parked and has aged tires.

Also, good luck and keep us posted!!!!

 

All very good points to ponder and consider. The tires are relatively new (less than 15000 miles).and whereas I don't see any rot, it would suck to find out with a blowout. I've been through a blowout before without a trailer and it was a loud and violent experience.

Ok, I'm going to call u-haul to see about renting a car trailer as suggested.

Thank you all!!! I will let you know how it goes.

 

How far are you needing to tow it? Any issues could make for a very bad time and a long day. I say go rent/borrow a trailer and make the move easy peasy.

Even by pulling the driveshaft you still have the axle and tires to worry about. If its been sitting for two years all the rear end fluid could have dripped out.