Tow Bar Towing

[bucket]

i rented a tow dolly once and drove 500 miles one way to pull this home. The volvo had a 5000 lb rating but there is no way i would do it again. i needed a much bigger vehicle.

[jimfulco]

How do you back up with a tow bar?

[Longhorn Man]

very carefully.
It can be done, but you gotta go real slow and really pay attention to what you are doing.

[Chris H]

Yes, I have used a towbar. It worked great for my 10 mile round trip, but it was very uncomfortable braking. That C30 motorhome could have pushed my truck through anything, including anything stopped in front of me. I kept it under 40mph on back roads to the junkyard where we removed the camper portion.

[hoser]

Originally Posted by Chris H

Yes, I have used a towbar. It worked great for my 10 mile round trip, but it was very uncomfortable braking. That C30 motorhome could have pushed my truck through anything, including anything stopped in front of me. I kept it under 40mph on back roads to the junkyard where we removed the camper portion.

Wow that looks like it would have been a great classic to restore you dont see many of them any more.

[Longhorn Man]

Imagine a one ton longhorn pushing an 87 K/5... 450 miles.

[Chris H]

Originally Posted by hoser

Wow that looks like it would have been a great classic to restore you dont see many of them any more.

The camper portion was total junk and beyond restoration. My wife saw it and told me to go find a nice one, so I did. Details here:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=170729

[70GMCer]

I once towed a 67 Chevelle with a 67 Chevelle from California to Maryland with a bolt to bumper tow bar without any problems. I was doing around 65 MPH on the highways. The only thing is, I had a motor/trans in the car that was being towed. One thing that wasn't mentioned, DO NOT back up while towing. The front tires on the tow vehicle will go in the opposite direction. I also had to remove the power steering hoses, as the steering box had resistance if the hoses are connected to the pump.

[Longhorn Man]

with the trucks you won't need to disconnect the hoses, and backing is OK. Some vehicles act one way, others another way. I've seena couple times ppl towing 2nd generation Camaros with tow bars, they don't track for sh!t. You turn one way, the Camaro wants to go the other way.
But the trucks track fine.

[69TowRig]

So if I want to tow behind a moving truck with the tow bar, do y'all recommend protecting the front of my Blazer with anything? It looks like I will be moving from TX to NC late next month and while the Blazer is not in great shape I do not want to risk any new damage to it.

[LUV2XCLR8]

The only thing I know that will get any damage is the front bumper,
no matter how carefull you are it will get some damage, I'd remove
it if the bumper is a keeper, btw which route you taking to NC? I'm
always looking to meet more board members and I'm on I-40 in TN.

[69TowRig]

The bumper is a dumpster-trophy. I was going to remove it and use some heavy bar stock to securely mount the tow bar. I looked at the one Northern sells and I think I will pick that up this week.

Luv, I'd love to stop by but I will surely be taking a route to I-20 from Houston, then I-20 to Atlanta then I-85 to I-40. I will miss you by quite a few miles. Since I will be that much closer we may have a chance of meeting in the future, of course you may have to drag GQ out in the sunshine to do that.

[71meangreenc10]

Just remember to ensure what your towing weighs less than vehicle that is pulling. If its close then youll feel it when braking and you dont want to find out at 65mph. I feel for you going all that way using a tow bar. That will be a wild ride. The weight ratio is probably too close for u haul to rent you a tow bar. Liabilities.......I would get a trailer, but ensure it has brakes on it. Tow dollies are good but again lack of braking. Most places dont rent large dollies anymore. I just pulled my 68 with a tow bar 450 miles and that far of a distance was a haul. Just make sure if you use a tow bar that you have tow lights, and I use a safety chain too. ( Take you time also)

Smitty

[junkyardjohn]

I WOULD PERSONALLY REALLY REALLY TRY TO FIND A TRAILOR. I HAVE TOWED CARS WITH A DOLLY, TOWBAR & TRAILOR. I LIKE TOWING WITH MY TOWTRUCK THE BEST SO FAR. WHATEVER YOU DECIDE DONT RENT ANYTHING FROM UHAUL. THEY HAVE MORE NON-MAINTAINED JUNK ON THE ROAD THAN ALL OF THE OTHER RENTAL COMPANYS COMBINED. BAD BAD COMPANY. THE LAST TIME I TRIED TO RENT FROM THEM, I CALLED THE DISTRIC MANAGER TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE LOUSY, RUDE,LYING TREATMENT I RECEIVED AT THE HUNNINGTON BEACH CA. STORE, & HE OFFERED TO GIVE ME A COUPLE OF 1/2 OFF VOUCHERS FOR THE NEXT TIME I NEEDED TO RENT. I TOLD HIM TO KEEP EM, & THAT I WOULDN'T RENT FROM UHAUL AT ANY PRICE, & IT WOULD BE MY LIFELONG MISSION TO TELL EVERYONE WHO'LL LISTEN, WHAT A BUNCH OF NO NOTHING JERKS THAT I'VE HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF MEETING.
(O-K ENOGH PREACHING FOR NOW) JOHN

[yank]

69tow rig you will be going right by me on your travels. my shop is just off from I20 (I can hear the traffic some times). what day will you be passing through Meridian Ms.?

[Fred T]

Dad and I towed a couple of cars with a tow bar. Biggest problem is you don't have enough brakes. That's why trailering is prefered, the trailer has brakes. If you're towing with a bar at highway speeds, you really need someone in the towed vehicle to run the brake pedal.

Worst tow we did was when the tranny went out on the 68 Dodge Polara while pulling a 16' travel trailer. Dad caught the bus back home and got the 63 Bel Aire wagon which had a 327 and powerglide. The first 40 miles we pulled both the car and trailer, and almost lost the trailer going downhill. So we dropped the trailer at a truck stop in northwest Kansas and pulled the Dodge back home running between 80 & 90 mph. The old Chevy had guts, and then some.

[69TowRig]

Well I was thinking of "unloading" all the stuff I had in the Blazer before I towed it. Is towing it really that bad with a big moving truck? I must admit that while I don't like doing it, my '01 Frontier 4x4 tows my 3500+ lb boat with no trailer brakes just fine as long as I keep a good following distance (I will be upgrading the trailer soon). I figured a big 20'+ box truck could tow my "little" Blazer okay. The rest of the move is going to cost enough as it is and I was hoping to avoid having to buy a trailer too.

And I know enough stories about U-Haul to tell some you haven't heard. Penske is the bargain beater at the moment, and Budget is twice the price. I will most likely hit Meridian in the afternoon of the Feb 19th if this works out right. I just drove through there twice going up to NC and back on my vacation to see the folks for the holidays.

[rwgregory]

A 20'+ box truck will tow your Blazer just fine. A heavy-duty rented tow bar
will do the job with ease. Just remember to keep your speed down,(60 mph or
less), give yourself pleanty of breaking room and be very light-footed on the
brake pedal, check the tow bar for looseness FREQUENTLY, and check your
towing lights every time you stop. By taking these precautions and using some
common sense you should be fine.

[Longhorn Man]

Like I said earlier in this thread, if you just use common sence, you can tow at free way speeds and then some, you can stop and turn and back up if you learn how in an empty parking lot. With a big ass moving van with all your stuff in there, you literally won't even know it is there when you come to a stop sign... taking off, you'll notice it, but that's about the only time.


If these were unsafe, they'd be illegal. Palin and simple.

[69TowRig]

Well in a strange twist my company informed me yesterday that I may be getting a relocation package! So the towbar may not be needed at the moment as my company will pay to move 2 vehicles if it goes through for me!

*crosses fingers*

[Longhorn Man]

I was thinking about something today...with the argument of not having brakes when doing the tow bar deal... I could easily add a wrecker boom to my one ton truck, and be perfectly legal for towing cars and trucks... with the same amount of brakes as I do right now.
Many tow trucks do not have upgraded brakes.
Just something to think about or to argue back with when some one says something about the no brakes thing.

[WK Truck]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

The tow bar I have now, it requires 2 big 'ole 7/16 bolts to hold the bracket to the vehicle being towed. I took a long piece of flat stock and drilled the holes in it, and then bolted it to where the bumper used to be.

Longhorn Man, I have to pull a C30 home, roughly 100 miles. I have the same tow bar set up, however I need the hole spacing so I can drill out the flat stock bar to match up to the frame. Would you be able to get me those measurements, it would help tremendously. Thank you

[Palf70Step]

Longhornman has not been on the board in a couple years.

[WK Truck]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Longhornman has not been on the board in a couple years.

Thank you
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