flat towing
- Thread starter dgr
- Start date
IF YOU ARE GOING TO DO THIS, DISCONNECT THE REAR DRIVESHAFT.
you will ruin a ZF5 in less than a mile if you don't.
if you are a 4x4, any hint of trouble in a transfer case will go unnoticed until disaster strikes.
make sure the truck towing is bigger than the vehicle being towed or CHP will hassle you.
the easiest on they can ding you on is the towed unit is over 6k/lbs and you have no braking assistance from it. in a panic stop, a jackknife is guaranteed.
you will ruin a ZF5 in less than a mile if you don't.
if you are a 4x4, any hint of trouble in a transfer case will go unnoticed until disaster strikes.
make sure the truck towing is bigger than the vehicle being towed or CHP will hassle you.
the easiest on they can ding you on is the towed unit is over 6k/lbs and you have no braking assistance from it. in a panic stop, a jackknife is guaranteed.
tbirdfiend281
Full Access Member
Each to his or her own, but a lot of the local tow truck drivers pull the rear axle shaft rather then the drive shaft. I like pulling the rear axle shafts, maybe you lose a little fluid, but not enough to cause any problems.
pulling axle shafts don't require crawling under the truck. that's why it's prefered.
Matrix37495
The Amish Wolfman
Tow truck drivers also carry caps for when they pull the axles. You would have to make something or you run the risk of getting a lot of dirt in your rear axle....
tbirdfiend281
Full Access Member
Eh a well deserved fluid change in the differential would fix any dirt
Whats the damage point on this in case I ever have to go in on a hook and have to argue with the pig headed wrecker companies around here like I have to do everytime they pick up one of the Euro cars I used to work on and they would want to argue with me on transport methods... at least non of them have tried to deny me a rollup for one of those cars for a number of years, it used to be a fight every time until they managed to finally *locate* the factory tow specs
The oil isn't thrown around properly, causing bearings to run dry. With your aux Trans, can't you put that in neutral?
icanfixall
Official GMM hand model
Hello Robert... Calvin once posted here and told me the only way a ZF 5 speed gets any oil to the upper shaft is to have the engine running. But if its towed in neutral the trans main shaft wont be turning so no oil is thrown or splashed up. I think he said someone was towing in a rig with a 5 speed and it locked up on the road. Ended up requiring another tow rig to pull it up on the flatbed roll off tow rig... We do learn from others mistales.... For me dropping a drive shaft with 4 nuts or bolts is simpler than removing all the axle bolts on each sides. I think thats 16 bolts to pull axles.
chevytaHOE5674
Full Access Member
On a 4x4 with the T-case in neutral the transmission won't spin.......
Flat towed many a truck like that over the years.
Flat towed many a truck like that over the years.
Very true, and the rear shaft will spin the cluster in the oil even in neutral, so it wont have a problem with the rear bearing
IIRC that happened to Tonkadoc...in any event, yeah, you want to disconnect the rear driveshaft...
460mudsports
Full Access Member
One thing to remember about flat towing, it doesn't add as much tongue weight to the pulling truck as a trailer would and you have the front tires on the pulled vehicle making it not track as well a trailer on corners.
Also, don't forget to add trailer lights to the towed vehicle. The easiest thing I have found for this is a set of magnetic base towing lights ($25 to $50 for a set depending on where you get them). Depending on the length of the wiring with the lights and the length of the towed vehicle, you may need a wiring extension. I keep these lights and a 20' wiring extension in a box in one of my toolboxes any time I make a trip of more than about 100 miles with a trailer of any kind. It is cheap insurance to make sure I won't have any trailer light issues, as it is an emergency backup set.
In march this year, I flat towed my 90 E350 Uhaul home behind my 95 F150 reg cab long bed. I have an 70's era Uhaul tow bar that I used. I put as much tongue weight on the pulling truck as I could - to the point of bending the van bumper. My F150 is much heavier than most due to frame reinforcements, toolboxes and tools - it scales at about 5800 pounds fuel of gas. The E350 was heavier at about 8500. I was very carefull because of the push from behind. I made it with no great problems, but it did make me a bit nervous at times as it was a 150 mile trip.
City street corners are hard even with someone steering the towed vehicle. If they oversteer, it is like applying trailer brakes and it will try to slide the rear of the pulling truck to the inside of the corner. If they understeer, it is also like applying trailer brakes and tries to slide the rear of the pulling truck to the ouside of the corner.
As far as pulling the axles or driveshaft, that is more of a personal preference. If you ever notice a set of semi trucks goated together (hitch on the fifth wheel and frame of the truck in front and under the front axle of the rear truck(s), most of them have the axles pulled. Most of the ones I have seen have only used a piece of cardboard for an axle cap with half of the bolts holding the cardboard on. It does work, and they get less oil on the cardboard than you would think. If you want to pull the axles but seal it up better, use a piece of shrink wrap, aluminum foil, or aluminum tape over the open end of the axle, then cardboard, and put some larger washers on the bolts.
The few folks around here that pull stuff with floating axles alot have acquired a set of extra axles and then cut the shafts off to make proper caps. They also have PVC pipe tubes with caps to put the axles in to keep them clean and damage free.
Also, don't forget to add trailer lights to the towed vehicle. The easiest thing I have found for this is a set of magnetic base towing lights ($25 to $50 for a set depending on where you get them). Depending on the length of the wiring with the lights and the length of the towed vehicle, you may need a wiring extension. I keep these lights and a 20' wiring extension in a box in one of my toolboxes any time I make a trip of more than about 100 miles with a trailer of any kind. It is cheap insurance to make sure I won't have any trailer light issues, as it is an emergency backup set.
In march this year, I flat towed my 90 E350 Uhaul home behind my 95 F150 reg cab long bed. I have an 70's era Uhaul tow bar that I used. I put as much tongue weight on the pulling truck as I could - to the point of bending the van bumper. My F150 is much heavier than most due to frame reinforcements, toolboxes and tools - it scales at about 5800 pounds fuel of gas. The E350 was heavier at about 8500. I was very carefull because of the push from behind. I made it with no great problems, but it did make me a bit nervous at times as it was a 150 mile trip.
City street corners are hard even with someone steering the towed vehicle. If they oversteer, it is like applying trailer brakes and it will try to slide the rear of the pulling truck to the inside of the corner. If they understeer, it is also like applying trailer brakes and tries to slide the rear of the pulling truck to the ouside of the corner.
As far as pulling the axles or driveshaft, that is more of a personal preference. If you ever notice a set of semi trucks goated together (hitch on the fifth wheel and frame of the truck in front and under the front axle of the rear truck(s), most of them have the axles pulled. Most of the ones I have seen have only used a piece of cardboard for an axle cap with half of the bolts holding the cardboard on. It does work, and they get less oil on the cardboard than you would think. If you want to pull the axles but seal it up better, use a piece of shrink wrap, aluminum foil, or aluminum tape over the open end of the axle, then cardboard, and put some larger washers on the bolts.
The few folks around here that pull stuff with floating axles alot have acquired a set of extra axles and then cut the shafts off to make proper caps. They also have PVC pipe tubes with caps to put the axles in to keep them clean and damage free.
WElll it really is nice to know these things. I've always known about slusheboxes going TU if getting towed with the axle dragging, but not a manual box.
My truck has only gone in on a hook one time , right when I first bought th ething, I had almost forgot about it , the steering box locked up, and lo and behold, the oldest and most respected towing operator in town came to pick me up and guess who was driving... the original owner.. yea, the old guy who should have known everything , and guess what he did. ... hooked up to the front, threw er in neutral and dragged er on home. Didnt disconnect a thing
, and what was really funny is my truck outweighed his towtruck by a good 2k and he was doing wheelies half the way back ( I told the AAA folks how much it weighed when I called it in, the thing weighs around 8k empty ), Yea, THAT was a safe tow
My truck has only gone in on a hook one time , right when I first bought th ething, I had almost forgot about it , the steering box locked up, and lo and behold, the oldest and most respected towing operator in town came to pick me up and guess who was driving... the original owner.. yea, the old guy who should have known everything , and guess what he did. ... hooked up to the front, threw er in neutral and dragged er on home. Didnt disconnect a thing
, and what was really funny is my truck outweighed his towtruck by a good 2k and he was doing wheelies half the way back ( I told the AAA folks how much it weighed when I called it in, the thing weighs around 8k empty ), Yea, THAT was a safe tow MIDNIGHT RIDER
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At a swap-meet, --- I LOVE SWAP MEETS --- , I picked up a big heavy bull-stout tow-bar that has a self-contained braking mechanism.
A cable connects to the braking mechanism and is routed through the towed truck's fire-wall and connected to the brake-pedal.
When the towed truck pushes against the tow-bar, the cable tightens and applies the brakes, much like the tongue-brakes found on boat-trailers and the like.
I have made a stout set of brackets on my front bumper that connect to this tow-bar.
I also made a set of brackets mounted on the flat, up close to the head-rack, where I pinned the tow-bar up snug against the auxillary tank shroud, such that the tow-bar is always with me.
Plans are to make brackets on the front of every vehicle we own, thus we can rescue ourselves from any drive-train disabling situation, so long as the wheels will still roll.
At our shop, I have seen several tow-bars like the one I have being used to tow a full-size pick-up behind a large motor-home.
I have asked several of these flat-towing veterans what they do about the steering-wheel and most state that they un-lock the column and let the steering-wheel go wherever it wishes.
Once in a while, someone will state that they tether the wheel such that it cannot turn.
I really don't know which method is correct.
A cable connects to the braking mechanism and is routed through the towed truck's fire-wall and connected to the brake-pedal.
When the towed truck pushes against the tow-bar, the cable tightens and applies the brakes, much like the tongue-brakes found on boat-trailers and the like.
I have made a stout set of brackets on my front bumper that connect to this tow-bar.
I also made a set of brackets mounted on the flat, up close to the head-rack, where I pinned the tow-bar up snug against the auxillary tank shroud, such that the tow-bar is always with me.
Plans are to make brackets on the front of every vehicle we own, thus we can rescue ourselves from any drive-train disabling situation, so long as the wheels will still roll.
At our shop, I have seen several tow-bars like the one I have being used to tow a full-size pick-up behind a large motor-home.
I have asked several of these flat-towing veterans what they do about the steering-wheel and most state that they un-lock the column and let the steering-wheel go wherever it wishes.
Once in a while, someone will state that they tether the wheel such that it cannot turn.
I really don't know which method is correct.
