Towing,all four down.

[Mtn Wudy]

We have a Motorhome and would like to tow our stock 48 behind us 60/70 miles to go beach camping.We tow a 71 VW Bug now with no problems..I read on other posts to overfill the Trans and hold the clutch peddle down when towing.A trailer is not an option as you can only have two vehicles per site..I guess the other option is to teach my wife to drive the Woodie and just tow it past the entrance ..You save $15.00 bucks a day,,,an hey if you there say ten days ,that's $150.00 in my pocket and not in the governor's.....

Thanks Guys. Carl

[ford38v8]

60-70 miles isn't going to hurt any old Ford. Go for it and use the $150 to buy a round for the house.

[Mart]

The woody is a much heavier car than the VW. Also a lot more valuable. It will need a very substantial towing A-Frame. While it is do-able (I have flat towed myself) I'm just wondering if it is worth putting the woody at risk (there is always a risk when towing) to save $150.

Mart.

[Ken/Alabama]

I think the problem is that the bearing in the rear of the input shaft gets starved of oil with the transmission being in neutral . I guess you could tow it with the clutch down but that only works if the transmission is in gear, preferably in hi, but then I would be a little concerned about the pilot bearing in the flywheel running all the time. I have a friend that towed his early Ford and he would stop every now and then and crank it up to let oil circulate in the transmission.

[Mart]

We have discussed recently and there are a few ways to do it. The way I prefer is to leave it in neutral and hold the clutch pedal down. The gearbox internals will tend to rotate purely due to the drag in the box, and keep the lube circulating. It will rotate but not as fast as if in a gear. The clutch release bearing does not rotate as the engine is not turning. I wouldn't start messing about overfilling the trans. In fact, exactly HOW would you set about overfilling the oil level on a side shift trans?

Mart.

[51 MERC-CT]

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We used to tow stock cars at least as far (before trailers were the thing)
The only thing we did was put on balding street tires.
When we could'nt tow from the track to back home we had to hire a wrecker and most times it was towed with the rear wheels on the ground due to front end damage.
No holding clutch pedal or overfilling etc.

[Rock Hornbuckle]

I don't know how I would survive without a car trailer. It's paid for itself time and time again.

[Bill]

Teach your wife to drive the woodie--it's just not worth the risk to tow it. Plus she will enjoy all the attention becoming SURFER GIRL Trust me!! Bill

[klicker]

I just cringe thinking about towing my coupe! Maybe if you can't teach the Mrs. to drive the woodie, she could point the motorhome down the road while you drive....

[richard crow]

with the car in nutrel the main shaft turns. the first & reverse gear turns. it will throw oil in the trans & lube the rear bearing & main shaft front bearing. the cluster & inport shaft don,t turn

[Cecil/WV]

I wouldn't be afraid to tow it anywhere without damage to the transmission. I towed a '41 pickup from San Diego with a tow bar in 1980 and never hurt a thing. I agree with Richard on this. But, it's your car, so you make the decision.

[rotorwrench]

Trailer, dolly, or flat tow is always a risk, no matter how far the way. I had a customer decouple while towing a helicopter on a trailer. He was in too big a hurry to connect his safety chains. He about crapped himself when the helicopter passed him up and went off the road into a house. It didn't damage the helicopter too bad but the house repair cost him plenty. Needless to say, he changed over to a fifth wheel set up after that and took REAL good care of his hook up from then on.

[Henry/Kokomo]

Re: Mart's question "How would you set about overfilling a side shift transmission?"...........

1. Remove side fill plug (3/8" NPT, I think)
2. Install a 3/8" street ell in the fill hole, pointing up.
3. install a 2" nipple into the street ell.
4. Add gear oil 'til newly constructed standpipe overflows.
5. Install a 3/8 pipe cap.

It would be a super slow process adding the gear oil account, I imagine, venting issues.

Pretty "Rube Goldberg-ish" but I think it could - as opposed to should - be done. FWIW

[1931 flamingo]

Have her drive the motorhome and you the woody................................

Paul in CT

[columbiA]

Back in 67,I flat towed a model A for 1,200 miles without a problem.The low-reverse gear would dip into the oil & lube the trans.You could always put the car in high gear & pull it a few yards when ever you stop for gas.Always remember to take it out of gear again!

[jimTN]

I have pulled one of my 37s from Chicago to TN without a problem and pulled many stock cars with no problems. Over fill the trans and you are liable to have a mess and if oil gets pushed out the front onto the pressure plate......................

[Robert/Texas]

Back in the '50s, I towed my '34 roadster (hotrod) to the drag races, often Houston to San Antonio, about 200 miles. My tow car was my '52 stick-shift Oldsmobile and we towed it as fast as we dared on the roads back then, probably around 65 MPH. It never even occured to me that this would be a problem The '34 had a '40 transmission.

[1931 flamingo]

Towed my 32 5W with the 60 impala quite a bit back in the 60's and also never gave it a thought.
Me thinks today we tend to over think everything KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).

Paul in CT

[TomT/Williamsburg]

I would not tow such a beautiful car behind my motor home - on a trailer with a fairing to stop/ward-off road debris, yes. For the few short miles you are talking about, and you are NOT going to put it on a trailer w/fairing (at least if not enclosed), driving it there is probably the safest and simplest thing to do.

[Mtn Wudy]

Thanks to everyone that chimed in on my thread.......I think I'll teach her the drive the Woodie and follew me...We can stop a mile away from the entrance, hook it up and tow it into the campground...$150.00 "should" keep me more then hydrated the rest of the week.......Skole ,,Carl

[Old Col]

Hi, can I ask why you want to tow into the campground....or am I missing something obvious?.....thanks, Colin.

[Mtn Wudy]

Sure you can ask...We are going to an event called "Doheny Wood".The event is April 13th,a Saturday ..We are going a week early and camp at the Doheny Campground ..We usually tow our 71 VW (Mtn Vert) so we'll have a car to take side trips ..In the RV lingo that's called our "Towed" and when you enter it's free...SO ,,,if I pull the Woodie thru the gate,,,WhaLa,,I save $150.00 for the time I'm there...I'm not cheep,,I'm thrifty...I have a nice tow bar and have designed the hidden tabs to hook-up...
I too was concerned about the Moho throwing little rocks at the car too...The only reason to tow it was she good with driving the VW..But just not real hip on the column shift yet...
By the Way your all invited to the Show,,over a hundred Woodies ,mostly Ford,some flatheads,and a fun day all around...Be There,or be Square..(I dated myself there didn't I?)
Carl

[Mtn Wudy]

Well here it is the Little Lady is all checked out on the driving ...She'll follow me and a1/4a mile away from the gampground,,,,,,we'll hook it up a save $150.00 for our ten day stint...AND I'll have the whole set-up for ready in case the Woodie doesn't want to run sometime ......

[FlatheadTed]

I A frame towed a 35 coup 800 miles once it had a few mysteries dents in it after that ,

[ken ct]

I flat towed a 36 coupe about 40 mi. behind a MH and the coupe didn't follow the MH too well in corners.Finely had to sit in it while being towed and help steer through corners ????? ken ct.

[blucar]

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The main problem that will occurr while towing an older vehicle with all four wheels on the ground is the old style worm/sector, worm/roller type of steering gears, they are not prone to returning to the neutral, straight line position following a turn.
When it was a common practice to tow the older cars, a light weight cord was attached to the steering wheel and a door knob, etc., to limit the travel of the steering wheel. The car turned just fine on normal turns, providing the tow vehicle was not turned to sharply, then the steering wheel returned to the center position with no difficulty..
I use to tow a VW behind my MH, thousands of mile with no difficulty.. I now tow a Jeep Cherokee 4x4, with the wheels on the road.. The only time I ever had a problem with the Jeep was when I forgot to unlock the steering wheel.. On the first turn the steering wheel turned and then locked with the wheels in a right turn position.. Fortunately I was pulling out of the camp ground and noted the front tires dragging.
I have a large full width mud flap, that almost touches the ground on my MH to minimize the chance of road rash to the towed Jeep...

[wga]

Bring it up to Woodies on the Wharf on June 22nd.

[Old Redneck]

I would not do it. You are asking for trouble. 150 is cheep conpaired to what it will cost if you damage the car in any way.

[FlatheadTed]

early cars you remove the steering arm /sector arm .tows good then .