Towing a car ... Remove driveshaft?

[blueriver]

When towing a car on a dolly behind the pickup ... do you need to remove the driveshaft??

 

[Diamondpilot]

When towing a car on a dolly behind the pickup ... do you need to remove the driveshaft??

Thats the way it used to be done. I have not towed a car on one in over 15 years and the three times I have they were all Front Wheel Drive GM products so no need to do so.

Chris

 

[RadarTech]

Check the cars owners manual.
Some cars say do not tow on a dolly.

Once I towed a mercury merkur,
I assumed I knew what to do.
I messed up the steering gear box.

Some cars will say to disconnect the battery and turn the key on...


But the rule I heard a friend say recently is that if you wouldn't want a tow truck to pull it, don't get a dolly, get a trailer.....

I think it goes without saying, but a dolly and the potential damage is more than a trailer will cost....


I hope this helps!


J

 

[blueriver]

Well its going from here to MN ... so I guess removing it is best.

 

[RadarTech]

What kind of car?

 

[LD1]

When towing a car on a dolly behind the pickup ... do you need to remove the driveshaft??

Short answer, YES.

99% of the time that is the case with a RWD and an Automatic. The reason for this is that the driveshaft spins gears inside the transmission (even if you have it in N). Without the other end running(engine and torque converter) you have no tranny pump running. Most trannys rely on the front pump to deliver the oil where needed to lubricate.

On a manual car, you can usually tow them though. They rely on "splash" lubrication and have no pump. So it doesnt matter which end you "drive" a manual tranny from.

But again, read the owners manual. All of them are different. And when in doubt, remove the DS or you could always tow it in reverse.

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I would rent a trailer from someone like Uhaul and trailer it. Keep in mind that if towing it on a dolly you cant back up more than a few feet unless you are verry good or lucky. I tow my jeep behind my motorhome and it is a PITA if I need to back up.
Bill

 

[blueriver]

What kind of car?

1997 Mercury Grand Marquis ...

 

[blueriver]

I would rent a trailer from someone like Uhaul and trailer it. Keep in mind that if towing it on a dolly you cant back up more than a few feet unless you are verry good or lucky. I tow my jeep behind my motorhome and it is a PITA if I need to back up.
Bill

Bill, Thanks. The long story short ... my ex-step son in law came down to visit his son that lives with us. He brought the dolly behind his pickup to reclaim the car that the step daughter has ... sooo he already has the dolly and the car here at my place. He did tow it 30 miles to get here ... I am the one who suggested removing the DS for the trip to MN ... Thanks

 

[schmism]

ive towed a number of rear wheel drive cars backwards with no issues. quicker than pulling the DS.

obviously if its a front wheel drive car pulling it on forward would be best :thumbsup:

if its all wheel drive... forward and pull the DS

 

[RoMad]

For that old of a car, I am pretty sure you need to remove the drive shaft. On most newer GM products you can tow them without removing it. As far as towing it backwards, I would highly recommend against it. when you use a tow dolly with a car on backward you are completly counting on the steering wheel lock to keep the front wheels straight so the vehicle will follow you. I tried it once with a ford ranger pickup behind my motorhome and it wandered all over the place. If my motorhome wasn't so heavy I think I would have had some serious issues. You might want to go to an RV forum and do a quick search. Those guys have a lot of towing experience.
On the other hand it is your ex SIL, so who cares.:laughing:

 

[Mace Canute]

Towing a car backwards on a dolly can also result in it whipping like a trailer that is loaded tail heavy unless you travel at quite a slow speed, even with the steering locked. BTDT. When a trailer starts to whip, you can at least apply the trailer brakes manually to try to straighten it out, with a dolly, you don't have that option.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Radartech: Why would you need to remove the battery and turn the key on to tow a car? If you needed to unlock the steering, just turn it to unlock, the key is still not in the ON position so no need to mess with the battery. Every dolly I have seen has swivel pads under the wheel chocks, but I suppose there are cheaper versions that just lock tight and the wheels would need to move to follow the dolly, still, just unlock the steering column lock and lock the doors after taking the door lock key off the key ring.

 

[RadarTech]

Radartech: Why would you need to remove the battery and turn the key on to tow a car? If you needed to unlock the steering, just turn it to unlock, the key is still not in the ON position so no need to mess with the battery. Every dolly I have seen has swivel pads under the wheel chocks, but I suppose there are cheaper versions that just lock tight and the wheels would need to move to follow the dolly, still, just unlock the steering column lock and lock the doors after taking the door lock key off the key ring.

That was what the owners manual said. Might have had something to do with the computer... I really have no clue. This car only had one key. Door and ignition was the same key.

The mercury merkur was a weird little car.. 4 cylinder with a turbo, and the parts were crazy hard to find in the 90's.

 

[aczlan]

Purchase a couple of heavy (1000# WLL) 1" ratchet straps (I have 2 sets of these) and use them to lock the wheel in place after you back the car on. I did that when we bought my 1997 Volvo V90 (RWD) and towed it from Bridgeport, CT to Rochester, NY. We were able to go 65+ MPH without any swaying.

I WOULD NOT tow a car backwards without strapping the steering wheel in place. I have heard of too many people who have had the steering wheel lock let go and allow the car to wander.

Aaron Z

 

[Skyco]

The manufacturer of the tow dolly my dad had for his motorhome advised NEVER to tow a car backwards on it. Some of the reasons have been stated here but I'm also sure it is to cover themselves against a lawsuit if something went wrong.
On an older rear drive car I would disconnect the driveshaft from the axle and wire it up. Some cars if you pull the front out of the transmission oil will spill out and dirt will get in.
Also mention was made manuals have no oil pump so they are safe to tow...well some do have oil pumps so anyone doing that should make certain about theirs.
My dad hated the tow dolly and went with a Honda Fit that can be flat towed.

 

[crazyal]

I know Saturns (at least some) had ball bearings and a way to lubricate them when being towed (stiff hitch) behind a motor home in their automatics. I would guess that Ford is an auto and would need the shaft pulled.

 

[sandman2234]

In the mid '90 era, one of the only cars available to be towed on the ground without the driveshaft removed was a Saturn(and the warranty remaining intact). My inlaws didn't want to have to "dolly" a vehicle or trailer it, so the Saturn was purchased because it didn't require removal of the driveshaft to tow. Since towing on a dolly didn't change the warranty issues with most companies, I would assume it to be because of their not wanting to cover extra wheel bearings and tranmisson repairs.
David from jax

 

[Bird]

In the early '90s, the Saturn was the only automatic transmission car that the manufacturer said you could tow with all 4 wheels on the ground with no modifications or restrictions. But with manual transmissions, there were plenty of others. We towed a manual transmission Isuzu pickup for awhile, then towed a new 1993 Ford Escort station wagon. The Ford manual recommended stopping and starting the engine for a couple of minutes every 200 miles.

As for towing backwards on a dolly, my brother & I towed his automatic transmission Suzuki Sidekick backwards on a dolly over 800 miles one day with no problems except a broken side view mirror (darn that little stretch of gravel). But we did tie off the steering wheel.

 

[slowzuki]

An automatic sidekick has a gm 3 spd in it, but I assume you unlocked the hubs and towed backwards, nothing was spinning.