Flat Towing
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Tuned
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 380
Likes: 12
From: somewhere in Colorado
Flat Towing
I am going back to colorado in a couple weeks (I'm in Boston now.) I have now another truck 94 F150 that I would also like to take with me. I know I would have to disconnect the rear driveshaft but what else? And is this even possible? I was going to pull the Bronco but I may use the Bronco to pull the F150. What about the steering of the towed vehicle. I imagine I would have to have the steering wheel locked (straight) but how will that effect the turning. I basically want to hear about peoples experience and knowledge with such a feet. Let's hear it. Am I crazy for trying such a thing? It's going to be $1000 to ship the truck if I don't do this.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2004
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I would either rent or buy a car dolly. May have issues with tire clearence though. My personal prefrence is a full trailer. But I have access to one and this not as easy for some people. Other option is to borrow a freind to drive it and fly him or her back. Air fare is dirt cheap now.
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Tuned
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 380
Likes: 12
From: somewhere in Colorado
Originally Posted by doccamel
I would either rent or buy a car dolly. May have issues with tire clearence though. My personal prefrence is a full trailer. But I have access to one and this not as easy for some people. Other option is to borrow a freind to drive it and fly him or her back. Air fare is dirt cheap now.
Postmaster
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,959
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From: USA
I would go with the full trailer. I've towed my Bronco many times on trailers. Compared to a tow bar or dolly, a trailer is so much easier to tow. Check UHaul, Hertz, or Ryder for one-way car hauler rental.
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Tuned
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 380
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From: somewhere in Colorado
The only company that rents just the dolley or trailer is Uhaul. And their trailers are not capable of handling the weight and size of a full size truck. I'm screwed. Time to come up with something else.
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Wichita, KS
I have a towbar, the kind that has rubber pads against the bumper of the towed vehicle and chains that hook onto its frame. It's the same kind Ryder (used to?) rents. I use it for emergencies only. Anyway--if you flat-tow, you want the front wheels UNlocked so they can turn, which means leaving the ignition switched on. Engine does not have to be running. Just my .02--if you're going to flat-tow, use the heavier vehicle to pull the lighter one, makes life less exciting. But I would only flat-tow a pickup or large car in an emergency, short trips, low-speed. Long trip--use a trailer.
Edit: another thought. Don't use a towbar on gravel roads, the car you're pulling may or may not track behind you. Learned that the hard way too.
Edit: another thought. Don't use a towbar on gravel roads, the car you're pulling may or may not track behind you. Learned that the hard way too.
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Wichita, KS
Guess you posted while I was writing mine, didn't see it. Wish you'd moved last week while I was on Spring Break, I'd have driven one of them for you just for the road trip. Heck, I'd have paid part of my air fare too. Would have been a nice way to get out of town for a few days.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 21,285
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From: Nutter Fort, WV
So get the dolly and tow the Bronco.
I would pull the rear drive shaft towing it that far.
I do not think I would try to tow a pickup with a Bronco cross country either way.
I would pull the rear drive shaft towing it that far.
I do not think I would try to tow a pickup with a Bronco cross country either way.
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Elder User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 950
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From: Michigan
it depends on if the bronco is a early 66-77 or a big bronco. The smaller the wheel base the worse it can act on a tow dolly. Towed my cousins jeep on a tow dolly and anything over 50 and it would start wipping all over the place.
New User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 3
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From: Atlanta GA
I'm planning to tow a light pickup a long distance using a tow bar, and it'll be my first towing experience. What was it that y'all didn't like about using the towbar? Any experience you can share with me doing so?
Thanks a lot!
-James
Thanks a lot!
-James
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,157
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From: Wichita, KS
The only problems with towbars is that the steering axle of the towed vehicle is on the ground, and there's no weight on the rear of the towing vehicle. Means that if the towed truck isn't cooperative, it can pull the rear end of the towing truck around. Of course, you also want to make sure that the driveshaft is disconnected (auto), or transmission's in neutral (stick), etc. I've pulled many cars and trucks on a towbar, had only a few problems and none of them serious, but keep alert. The heavier the towed vehicle is, the more careful you need to be: a small car being pulled isn't going to drag a full-size truck around, but a heavier car or another full-size truck can. Take it easy on rough roads, and when turning corners, especially on gravel.
Postmaster
Joined: Dec 2002
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From: USA
jbminyard, I towed my Bronco with a Chevy 454 dually, which I thought was a plenty big and heavy towing truck to keep the Bronco under control. The dually also had some equipment in the back of it, so the rear end had enough weight on it to keep it stable, or so I thought....
The Bronco being a short wheelbase vehicle with a frontend that isn't exactly fresh and wide tires that like to go where THEY want to, the result was the Bronco had a habit of wanting to go this way and that behind the dually. Two times it got out of control and jacknifed the dually, causing the whole rig to go sliding sideways in traffic. I was not an inexperienced trailer tower and I was not going too fast either. It was really unnerving how easily and unexpectedly that Bronco could pull the rear end of that dually around, without warning. The Bronco on a towbar was just a bad combination.
I have towed it countless times on a full trailer without incident. No more towbar for me, unless it's an emergency and the trailer is not available.
In the towbar's defense, I will say that I prefer a towbar over towing on a chain or rope...
The Bronco being a short wheelbase vehicle with a frontend that isn't exactly fresh and wide tires that like to go where THEY want to, the result was the Bronco had a habit of wanting to go this way and that behind the dually. Two times it got out of control and jacknifed the dually, causing the whole rig to go sliding sideways in traffic. I was not an inexperienced trailer tower and I was not going too fast either. It was really unnerving how easily and unexpectedly that Bronco could pull the rear end of that dually around, without warning. The Bronco on a towbar was just a bad combination.
I have towed it countless times on a full trailer without incident. No more towbar for me, unless it's an emergency and the trailer is not available.
In the towbar's defense, I will say that I prefer a towbar over towing on a chain or rope...
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 24,552
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From: Creedmoor, North Carolina
Towing a pickup from Boston to Colorado, thats a trip.
Reminder, when pulling the driveshaft, don't pull it out of the tranny, you'le loose the tranny fluid. I usually tie the rear of the shaft under the truck with a forward pull. The last time I used one of those ratchet ties and everything arrived snug. You might want to mark the position on the shaft with the U joint so you can put it back the way it was installed.
For that long of a trip, the two driver fly one back deal sounds good.
John
Reminder, when pulling the driveshaft, don't pull it out of the tranny, you'le loose the tranny fluid. I usually tie the rear of the shaft under the truck with a forward pull. The last time I used one of those ratchet ties and everything arrived snug. You might want to mark the position on the shaft with the U joint so you can put it back the way it was installed.
For that long of a trip, the two driver fly one back deal sounds good.
John
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Wichita, KS
I really don't like to use a towbar on long trips especially if there's highway running involved, for the same reasons SoCal mentioned. Things can happen unexpectedly, and very, very quickly. I pulled an '83 Dodge Colt behind a pickup on I-44--no problem. Small car, good front end, 55 MPH no problem. But when I had to pull my '82 Lincoln about 35 miles, different story--stayed under 30 MPH, had the truck ballasted (junk and a topper) and could still feel the car pulling against it sometimes. Had no trouble, but definitely not higher speed. The towbar's for emergencies: sort of our personal wrecker service. When we have to move a car or truck down the highway, we use a tandem-axle flatbed trailer. Much, much easier.