This is a Problem Pt. 2, I have a question edition

"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
10/23/2013 at 08:10 • Filed to: None

For those of you who didn't see this yesterday, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . His dad has a car dolly and came and picked up the truck (it ended up being a failed tie rod). So they strapped it on to the car dolly with the front wheels (no other choice). Now I wonder... I've always heard it's bad to have the drive wheels rolling while hauling a car on a car dolly, is that the case with trucks too?

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In edition I know there is a select few vehicles that people are willing to flat-tow behind an RV, I often see jeeps behind motor homes, because apparently they can handle this w/o being damaged. I also read about people that have gotten improperly towed and end up having to sue whoever did it.

DISCUSSION (14)

CalzoneGolem > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
10/23/2013 at 08:13

It's dependent on a lot of things. Normally if the truck is in neutral it is not a big deal. Those flat towed jeeps probably had their drive shafts removed.

ColoradoTaco > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
10/23/2013 at 08:16

Not sure about the Sploder but I know with quattro and other AWD systems it should be flat bed only.

PelicanHazard > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
10/23/2013 at 08:16

The owner's manual will list acceptable towing conditions for dolly, flatbed, and flat towing. Ranger, right? The 2011 Owner's manual states that 4x2 models are fine to be dolly towed with the rear wheels off the ground and front on, 4x4 all wheels off the ground, but in case of emergency a flat tow is fine if the transmission is in neutral, the vehicle is rolling forward, and it's kept to 35 mph or less for 50 miles or less.

In other words, your tow setup was not preferred, but the vehicle should be fine if you met the flat tow criteria.

PelicanHazard > CalzoneGolem
10/23/2013 at 08:19

Some Jeeps (the new Cherokee among them) actually have a flat tow mode that disengages all the drive shafts. No shaft removal required.

Nibbles > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
10/23/2013 at 08:22

If it is a 2wd Explorer, he'll be okay for short distances. If it is 4wd, I hope the transfer case was in neutral. If it is AWD, yeah damage could have been done

Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
10/23/2013 at 08:26

It usually comes down to "does it have a manual trans or a transfer case?" Most manual transmissions are just fine running in neutral, and even cars with autos can be dragged if they have a transfer case that saves the auto by disconnecting it.

The problem is this: almost all manual transmissions lubricate by splash to an extent, and because they physically lock components or don't they don't have friction bands in proximity to surfaces just waiting to seize. An auto trans has a pump on the engine side that circulates fluid, and if that's not running, the auto trans can seize its friction bands, run some bearings low on fluid, and generally fark itself. Most auto transmissions have proposed limits to how far and fast they can be towed. A 4wd transfer case is the same as a manual trans in most cases.

In all these cases, though, the drive diff will be kept turning by the wheels, as will the output shaft of the transmission. This is extra drag if you're towing it somewhere. The least drag is if it's a 4wd transfer case and a vehicle with front locking hubs disengaged, usually. Unless...

Land Rovers - Series II through Defender - have identical hubs front and back. This means that it's possible to convert one to have locking hubs on all four wheels. No driving components kept in motion whatsoever, if you were to do that - just the hub bearings.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > PelicanHazard
10/23/2013 at 08:28

Ah right on, that's the conclusion we came to yesterday, it's an Explorer Sport Trac, but I imagine the same criteria apply. The guy is really lucky that tie rod didn't fail on the highway.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > ColoradoTaco
10/23/2013 at 08:30

Haha yeah, I would flip out if I found my AWD SHO got dolly towed.

PelicanHazard > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
10/23/2013 at 08:37

Yeah, just took a quick look and the same criteria apply for the Sport Trac as with the Ranger.

True about how lucky he was it didn't break on the highway. Tie rod failures like that are one of those things that terrify me. Fortunately haven't experienced one yet, but if/when it happens...

ColoradoTaco > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
10/23/2013 at 09:14

Yep, diffs are expensive.

desertdog5051 > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
10/23/2013 at 10:45

You can tow an automatic . Just start the engine and idle it to keep the pump circulating fluid.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > desertdog5051
10/23/2013 at 10:51

Perhaps all the warnings I've heard pertain particularly to non-running or involuntarily towed cars.

XJDano > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
10/23/2013 at 11:07

When I flat tow my Cherokee I'll remove the rear driveshaft from axle &tiewire it up out of the way. The front can stay, because its auto hubs and spins freely anyway. Too much at risk even if trans & tcase in neutral.