Towing A Model A
 

I am planning to tow my Model A from Northern CA to Phoenix AZ using a tow dolly. My question is, would it be better to tow it backwards with the steering wheel secured so the drive trainis not in motiion? I have heard that with the drive shaft moving the output shaft of the transmission could go without lubrication since the cluster gear is not turning. ny suggestions.

Re: Towing A Model A
 

I'd use a flatbed trailer. U-Haul, if necessary.

Re: Towing A Model A
 

Ditto on the trailer!

Re: Towing A Model A
 

Trailer would be best, but with all vehicles old and new, you should never tow them on the drive wheels.

Re: Towing A Model A
 

There have been a few threads from a few years ago. Others have done it. I have successfully towed my 29 CCPU more than 600 miles one day on a tow dolly. It has an F-150 trans.
Vic

Re: Towing A Model A
 

One guy a few years back towed with the drive wheels on the ground and forgot to take it out of gear. Put a rod through the block.

Re: Towing A Model A
 

flat trailer all the way uhaul is an option

it can be done but ditch the dolly

Re: Towing A Model A
 

The $65 must be for 24 hours and returned to the same location. It cost me a few hundred "one way" from Everett, WA to Pendleton, OR

Re: Towing A Model A
 

U-Haul trailers weigh more than a Model A so make sure you have a vehicle they approve of. U-Haul rented me a trailer to tow behind my Astrovan rated at 5000 lbs and the next time they wouldn't rent to me with that vehicle

The trailer with a Model A is just about 5000 so they are worried you will put an F250 or a vintage Cadillac on the trailer and go way over the rating.

Just for the record, there have been thousands of Model As towed cross country with four wheels down. Some stop and run the engine every couple of houirs and "drive" the A a few feet to insure lubing the cluster. Some overfill the transmission case and end up with an oil bath clutch. Some do nothing and have no problems.

Richard
Anaheim CA

Re: Towing A Model A
 

Use a flat bed!

Re: Towing A Model A
 

Back in the 60's I towed my model A on the wheels from Fort Bragg,Ca. to Sanford,Fl. I had made a tow bar that attached to the frame horns - without the bumper - I had big balloony tires on it. No trouble =ever at 75 mph across the desert. BUT! I'm the luckiest guy in the world! Gary

Re: Towing A Model A
 

another vote for the uhaul auto trailer, I use them all the time, they're fantastic.

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/...-56-22_698.jpg

Re: Towing A Model A
 

12 years ago when I bought my A I rented a trailer from U-Haul and they wouldn't let me pull it with my car. Ended up renting a truck from them. By the time it was all over it would have been cheaper to hire a roll-back tow truck, have him dead head to San Antonio and bring it to me in Houston. Consider the total cost.

Re: Towing A Model A
 

I towed my 31 coupe from near Havre, MT to Tacoma, WA a year ago. I towed it with my 98 F-150 and a U-Haul trailer. Other than my half ton pickup sucking down the gas @ 9-11mpg (heavy load w/o overdrive) the trip was great. I was pulling at about 65mph the whole way, If I'd slowed it down a bit I might have had better milage. I've had my F150 since new and with 175K on the odometer and 13 years old it towed my 5,000+ pound payload (lots of spare wheels and parts in the bed) over 4 mountain passes and didn't burn (or leak) a drop of oil. The trailer ran me $305 dollars for the nearly 800 mile trip. Fuel? Well lets just say thank God it wasn't with this years prices. :eek:


Agreed! I used extra ratchet straps also and was glad I did. A word of warning with the U-Haul trailer is that their front tire straps that are secured to the trailer have a tendancy to slip off the narrow, tall Model A wheels. Secure it well and check it often.

http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/w...isc/hiline.jpg


http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/w...c/IMG_2099.jpg

Re: Towing A Model A
 

The trailer method is our choice. We are working on an article regarding towing the Model A for the next issue of the Model A Times. We have used all the methods mentioned over the past 50 years. While we haven't had the failures mentioned here we find in comforting to know the Model A is secure and safe on a trailer with out causing unnecessary wear and tear on the old part on a tow situation.

Re: Towing A Model A
 

In 1973 my brother towed a Model A from New Mexico to Maryland. The tow vehicle was a 1939 Rolls Royce. (Wish I had a picture of that).

At night, he would unhook the A and drive it around the motel parking lot to oil the transmission bearings. He was not trying to tow it 70 mph. '

If you have sealed bearings in the transmission, take the top off and fill it to the brim. That will keep the bearings good for the trip but I still wouldn't try to break any speed records.

Re: Towing A Model A
 

While trailer towing is best, I used to flat-tow my widebed every where I went. My theory is that the output shaft is turning, so the low/reverse sliding gear is turning and splashing oil throughout the trans. My A's have V8 transmissions in them.

Re: Towing A Model A
 

Be aware -- U-Haul has restrictions on the tow vehicle. A Ford Explorer doesn't qualify! (even if they [U-Haul] are the ones that installed the hitch!)

Re: Towing A Model A
 

not quite.
last year I got an online quote to from U Haul to pull a car hauler with a Toyota Tundra pickup carrying a Model A one way to the Cleveland area. it was almost $400.
cheaper to drive the Model A and spend a night in a motel.
tonight I checked again to confirm, it's $340.

Re: Towing A Model A
 

Back in 67 I drove a 39 Dodge 3/4 ton 1,200 miles to look at a 28 Phaeton,liked what I saw and flat towed the car with a home made tow bar back home with no trouble at all.