how are you supposed to tow a car?

[Lifer]

towing another car with your own truck or car...
is it ok to put the car being towed on neutral, latch it on to your car/truck that has a hitch with chains?
will that damage the drivetrain?
am i supposed to lift the drive wheels off the ground?

 

[Subzero]

I would use a towstrap instaed of chains,more flex to avoid damage,just put the towee in nuetral and take it slow.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Depends on the car. An automatic transmission should NEVER be towed any significant distance with the drivewheels on the ground. NEVER. An automatic transmission relies upon the engine-driven pump for its lubrication and cooling, even if it is in neutral, the output shaft is still spinning if the drivewheels are on the ground and you will overheat and damage the transmission. Some manual transmissions are OK being towed in neutral, some are not, it depends on the specific design.

As a general rule, either get the drivewheels off the ground or somehow disconnect them from the transmission unless you know with 100% certainty that the car is of the sort that can be towed in neutral without damage. If you have a 4x4 with a manual transfer case, you can put the transfer case in neutral (which disconnects the axles from the transmission) and tow the car on all four wheels. Otherwise, get the drivewheels off the ground to be safe.

Again, NEVER TOW AN AUTOMATIC WITH THE DRIVE WHEELS ON THE GROUND!

ZV

 

[Lifer]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Depends on the car. An automatic transmission should NEVER be towed any significant distance with the drivewheels on the ground. NEVER. An automatic transmission relies upon the engine-driven pump for its lubrication and cooling, even if it is in neutral, the output shaft is still spinning if the drivewheels are on the ground and you will overheat and damage the transmission. Some manual transmissions are OK being towed in neutral, some are not, it depends on the specific design.

As a general rule, either get the drivewheels off the ground or somehow disconnect them from the transmission unless you know with 100% certainty that the car is of the sort that can be towed in neutral without damage. If you have a 4x4 with a manual transfer case, you can put the transfer case in neutral (which disconnects the axles from the transmission) and tow the car on all four wheels. Otherwise, get the drivewheels off the ground to be safe.

Again, NEVER TOW AN AUTOMATIC WITH THE DRIVE WHEELS ON THE GROUND!

ZV

define significant distance. 5 miles? 20 miles?
what about AWD vehicles? should they always be on a flatbed then?

 

[HappyPuppy]

Just rent a towing dolly and a hitch. That way you don't have to worry about it.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

Originally posted by: Lifer

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Depends on the car. An automatic transmission should NEVER be towed any significant distance with the drivewheels on the ground. NEVER. An automatic transmission relies upon the engine-driven pump for its lubrication and cooling, even if it is in neutral, the output shaft is still spinning if the drivewheels are on the ground and you will overheat and damage the transmission. Some manual transmissions are OK being towed in neutral, some are not, it depends on the specific design.

As a general rule, either get the drivewheels off the ground or somehow disconnect them from the transmission unless you know with 100% certainty that the car is of the sort that can be towed in neutral without damage. If you have a 4x4 with a manual transfer case, you can put the transfer case in neutral (which disconnects the axles from the transmission) and tow the car on all four wheels. Otherwise, get the drivewheels off the ground to be safe.

Again, NEVER TOW AN AUTOMATIC WITH THE DRIVE WHEELS ON THE GROUND!

ZV

define significant distance. 5 miles? 20 miles?
what about AWD vehicles? should they always be on a flatbed then?

50 miles at a max speed of 50mph

when in doubt drop the driveshafts

 

[Lifer]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Just rent a towing dolly and a hitch. That way you don't have to worry about it.

well, i'm asking in case my car dies on the side of the road and i can't contact a tow truck, they're closed, etc.
maybe i'd call home and have family come and tow me.

 

[bmacd]

Originally posted by: Lifer

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Just rent a towing dolly and a hitch. That way you don't have to worry about it.

well, i'm asking in case my car dies on the side of the road and i can't contact a tow truck, they're closed, etc.
maybe i'd call home and have family come and tow me.

with your "magical manual transmission" driving skills, i'd never guess that you have car troubles!

-=bmacd=-

 

[Ness]

Don't even bother thinking about it is the car doing the towing isn't built for such.


Otherwise you'll need to have 2 cars towed instead of one.

 

[Lifer]

Originally posted by: bmacd

Originally posted by: Lifer

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Just rent a towing dolly and a hitch. That way you don't have to worry about it.

well, i'm asking in case my car dies on the side of the road and i can't contact a tow truck, they're closed, etc.
maybe i'd call home and have family come and tow me.

with your "magical manual transmission" driving skills, i'd never guess that you have car troubles!

-=bmacd=-

still bitter after getting owned in the other thread eh? :roll:

 

[Antisocial Virge]

Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos

Originally posted by: Lifer

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Depends on the car. An automatic transmission should NEVER be towed any significant distance with the drivewheels on the ground. NEVER. An automatic transmission relies upon the engine-driven pump for its lubrication and cooling, even if it is in neutral, the output shaft is still spinning if the drivewheels are on the ground and you will overheat and damage the transmission. Some manual transmissions are OK being towed in neutral, some are not, it depends on the specific design.

As a general rule, either get the drivewheels off the ground or somehow disconnect them from the transmission unless you know with 100% certainty that the car is of the sort that can be towed in neutral without damage. If you have a 4x4 with a manual transfer case, you can put the transfer case in neutral (which disconnects the axles from the transmission) and tow the car on all four wheels. Otherwise, get the drivewheels off the ground to be safe.

Again, NEVER TOW AN AUTOMATIC WITH THE DRIVE WHEELS ON THE GROUND!

ZV

define significant distance. 5 miles? 20 miles?
what about AWD vehicles? should they always be on a flatbed then?

50 miles at a max speed of 50mph

when in doubt drop the driveshafts

Ever try "dropping the driveshafts" on a FWD?

 

[OrganizedChaos]

Originally posted by: Antisocial-Virge

Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos

Originally posted by: Lifer

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Depends on the car. An automatic transmission should NEVER be towed any significant distance with the drivewheels on the ground. NEVER. An automatic transmission relies upon the engine-driven pump for its lubrication and cooling, even if it is in neutral, the output shaft is still spinning if the drivewheels are on the ground and you will overheat and damage the transmission. Some manual transmissions are OK being towed in neutral, some are not, it depends on the specific design.

As a general rule, either get the drivewheels off the ground or somehow disconnect them from the transmission unless you know with 100% certainty that the car is of the sort that can be towed in neutral without damage. If you have a 4x4 with a manual transfer case, you can put the transfer case in neutral (which disconnects the axles from the transmission) and tow the car on all four wheels. Otherwise, get the drivewheels off the ground to be safe.

Again, NEVER TOW AN AUTOMATIC WITH THE DRIVE WHEELS ON THE GROUND!

ZV

define significant distance. 5 miles? 20 miles?
what about AWD vehicles? should they always be on a flatbed then?

50 miles at a max speed of 50mph

when in doubt drop the driveshafts

Ever try "dropping the driveshafts" on a FWD?

yeah, CV shafts would be a pain to screw with but its irrelevent. hes talking about towing a car 4 wheel down without a towbar. before he makes it far enough to damage the tranny hes going to get the guy steering killed or get pulled over and get his ass reamed out by a cop. me and a couple friends towed another friends cadillac home once with 50ft of 1/2 inch steel cable. that was scarry, car can't track without a towbar and whenever the slack in the cable ran out the guy who was pulling its pickup would jump a foot left or right. meanwhile i'm in the passenger seet just waiting for that cable to snap and come through my face.

 

[brigden]

Don't do it this way...

 

[Lifer]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Again, NEVER TOW AN AUTOMATIC WITH THE DRIVE WHEELS ON THE GROUND!

ZV

oh, and today i saw a tow truck tow a mercedes benz with the rear wheels on the ground.

 

[acemcmac]

Originally posted by: brigden
Don't do it this way...

I was just thinking that :beer:

 

[Cashmoney995]

Nobody said it,

Very Carefully

 

[jagec]

BTW, it is worth noting that you shouldn't tow with a "soft" connector like chains or rope unless you know what you're doing. If you don't maintain tension on the rope/chain the WHOLE time (including all the downhills), there will be severe jerks which could a)damage the tower or towee and (b) snap the rope/chain, which may or may not cause injury and additional damages. Also, there is the risk the the car being towed will be moronic and run over the tow rope, dragging it up the wheel well. I've seen this in person, not pretty.

Because of this, you should either take it very, very carefully, or just get something built for towing like a tow bar, dolly, trailer...