Zrated83

iTrader: (17)

Whats the best way to tow my 3rd gen camaro 150 miles? What is also a cheap way? I called U-haul up to see how much a car trailer would cost and it was like $130 just for the trailer. Anyone who has experience or advice let me know! Thanks

Mike

86IROCKET-Z

both of my cars were brought one a roll-back.. but then again it was only about 5 miles at the most.. just make sure you get something safe too.. my friends used 2-wheel dollys to bring their cars from about 100 miles away... try to find someone who has one that will lend it to you for a weekend..

LAFireboyd

iTrader: (3)

150 miles sounds like a long way, but if you think about it, that's only a little over two hours. So if you're careful, a dolly should workout fine. But don't go during rush hour, lol.

PyRo9862

If your going to move it often, look into buying a car dolly, they cannot be much more that $130 can they?

kretos

buy a car dolley man they are life savers, if you can't afford that rent a flatbed truck for the drive shouldn't cost you more then 60- 70 bucks.

Ivon1877

I would think tow dolly would be the way to go. Just put the front tires up on the dolly and remove the drive shaft so you are not turning the transmission over, unless you have a manual transmission. Then you can just leave the manual in neutral! That is the way i am planning on towing my camaro from CT to MS when i get out of the Navy! Unless any one has had bad experiences?

PyRo9862

Why wouldn't putting the automatic in neutral work?

mystikkal_69

iTrader: (2)

the transmision is still gonna be spinning while the driveshaft is still attached. with no fluid to keep the clutches from burning up, since the engine is off and not being driven, that is real bad.

Zrated83

iTrader: (17)

I just need a one time deal since Im going to pick the car up. The car has a shot tranny so I cant drive it back home. When I get out of school today me and my dad are going down to Uhaul to get some prices. I have heard that posi rears dont like being towed on dolleys. Will I be ok since the rear end in the car is not posi?

LAFireboyd

iTrader: (3)

I've also heard that about the drive shaft. A friend found out the hard way, but he towed his car across the country. I'm not sure if a couple of hours would cause the same damage. But if the tranny's shot already anyway, what's to worry about?

I've never used a tow dolley, so I'm not sure about this suggestion, but since tow trucks raise cars and tow them by their rear wheels, couldn't you put the rear of the car on the dolly? Since rear ground-clearance is higher than in front, and it has a shorter span from the wheels to the end of the car than in front, wouldn't that actually be easier to load-up? It should definitely be much safer, and the car would tow perfectly, I'd think.

91wtROH17's

I was thinking the exact same thing LA.

LAFireboyd

iTrader: (3)

I realize that driving it on backwards might be dangerous, but since the car has no tranny, it can't be driven onto it. It'll have to be either pushed onto it, or it'll have to be raised and the dolley rolled under it. So towing it from the rear should workout perfectly.

gen3z

i have used tow dollies and they get the job done just make sure the rachet straps are secure,for a long distance haul i would pull over periodicly to check them,other than that i wish i had one of my own,soon!as well as a car trailer to bring my s10 to the track!more money ughhh!

Jokerman

Tow dollys work, but if you can get a flat bed trailer do it, the hassel is much less. We towed my first car (a 76 gremlin, and just shut up right now, i loved that car) from kansas city to columbia missouri (about 2.5- 3 hours) with one and while it worked it was a pain. You must remove the drive shaft, well if the tranny is anygood that is. Anyway, you shouldn't try to do it backwards. The reason being, well if the wheels are perfectly straight then its going to wander dangerously. Even if they are straight the steering will move a bit and you could brake the lock out causeing the wheels to move on their own. Just take the time and effort and put it on the right way. Most companies take poor care of these dollys so they will work fine for short runs, but if you have a long trip you will be stopping fequently to check it and/or stopping to put the damn thing back up into place. So make sure there is someway to keep the car chained to it and that when the dolly rotates down the front wheels don't hit the pavement when the chain is pulled tight. Really, just spend the extra cash and get a full trailer, my dad and i would have done it had we been thinking, but hindsight is 20/20.

LAFireboyd

iTrader: (3)

OMG! Homer! A Gremlin? My mom had one of those, lol!

ksrammstein

FLAT BED!!! Kinda expensive but depends on who you get. It is by far the best option.

rmfought

Mike, did you ever figure out how to tow it?

I am in the same dilemma at the moment, I need to tow my non-running '86 Coupe (V6, standard) about 200 miles and U-Haul says the ground clearance is not enough for the tow dolly (I think this is bogus, if anyone out there has done it successfully I'll just tell them I'm towing something else).

I don't know how I would get it on a full-size trailer.

Thanks,
Rich

Zrated83

iTrader: (17)

Hey Rich, I pmed ya Im not sure if a tow dolly will work. Maybe someone else does. But I would go the flatbed trailer route. Just get a couple people to push the car onto it.

Mike

goofnrox

I towed an 87 Tans AM about 6 hours on a tow dolly. Was a peice of cake. Car had no engine or tranny, so I didn't have to worry about that portion of it. As for the clearance issues uhaul talks about, it wasn't a problem for me as the front end was way up in the air without the engine. With a couple of big guys lifting the front end as you pull it up on the dolly, you should be fine. We hooked another car up to a tow strap to pull it up. Was about 80 bux from uhaul for the rental. As for buying one, good luck finding one for under 500, they arn't that cheap. This biggest thing is to make sure your tow vehicle is up to snuff. I used my Ranger (4.0 5 speed), and went 65 on the freeway no problem. It has an upgraded radiator, and it was winter. I made sure to keep plenty of distance between me an traffic, as stopping was greatly increased. A tow dolly will be the least expensive by far.

Krazzycowgirl

ANy tow company is going to tell ya to tow it backwards. its the safeest way to tow an Auto car.


But I would tow on a Flatbed if I could.

AaronIROCZ

iTrader: (5)

I pushed my IROC onto a flatbed trailer with my 84 s-10 jimmy, just put a tire with no rim between the bumpers and pushed it right up. You will need to find a second vehicle to do the pushing cause you will need to have the trailer hooked up to something.

red87iroc

I towed an 87 IROC 350 miles on a tow dolly. IROC has an auto, so I towed it backwards. Was quite an adventure, car would sometimes begin to swing back and forth. I would just ease off the gas and wait for things to settle down, then get back to speed. I towed it through rush hour traffic, construction zones, etc. Made it safe and sound. But I was using a full size pickup to tow it with.

If you plan on using a tow dolly, get a couple of six foot long sections of 2x6 wood, and several bricks. You will need to put the wood on the ramps to get a better loading angle, and put the bricks underneath to support the wood.

I learned this the hard way, and now have scrapes in my ground effects (grrrrr!).

The advice about checking the straps every so often is great advice - DO IT!

Remember, if you remove the drive shaft, all of the tranny fluid will drain out., unless you put an input or dummy shaft back in the rear of the trans.

rmfought

Thanks for all the input!

A full-size trailer is not much more expensive to rent than the tow-dolly, and since there seems to be differing opinions on whether or not I need to disconnect my drive shaft with the manual transmission when using a dolly, I think I will go with the trailer.

I'll just use a come-along to pull the car up onto the trailer.

Thanks again!

Rich