Someone left their new toad in 4 wheel low. Engine estimated at over 50000 rpm.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/39794/rv-driver-annihilates-their-new-jeep-wrangler-by-flat-towing-it-in-4-low
That will sure hurt. A friend of mine lost his VW engine when the transmission dropped into gear while towing. I guess he was lucky to get away with only a $10,000 bill.
Had a Sidekick pop into gear while towing back in 2000 @ 65 mph
was so much damage I gave it to the tow truck driver
One of the SE Busnuts left his VW in gear and the insurance co paid for the damage.
Jack
Now these are horror stories we hope we never have to experience. Since 1973 we have towed eight different makes of toads 1/2 auto tranys & so far so good. :^
Quote from: dtcerrato on March 19, 2021, 06:46:24 AM
Now these are horror stories we hope we never have to experience. Since 1973 we have towed eight different makes of toads 1/2 auto tranys & so far so good. :^
I don't see a automatic popping in gear,I never put our Jeep in 1st gear it was always in 4th towing so if it did pop in gear the engine would not be turning high RPMs once was enough for me
I used to tow my air cooled VW with the keys in the ignition to keep the steering lock pin disengaged ,, well it engaged one time and I caught it 80 miles later with major wear on the front tires.. Since then I use the ignition key only, instead of the whole ring of keys..>>>Dan
Probably our safest tows were those requiring drive shaft disconnect, we had to do that on a 71 F250 and had a Judson drive shaft disconnect on our automatic 91 Explorer.
Our worst towing event was when the front bearing pack went out on our 05 Sierra & wiped out the tire, rim, and whole front corner dragging it that way on back roads through AL at night.
Quote from: Utahclaimjumper on March 19, 2021, 06:59:43 AM
I used to tow my air cooled VW with the keys in the ignition to keep the steering lock pin disengaged ,, well it engaged one time and I caught it 80 miles later with major wear on the front tires.. Since then I use the ignition key only, instead of the whole ring of keys..>>>Dan
Doyle did that on his Saturn in 40 miles both front tires blew in the middle of west Texas lol but he had the keys in his pocket.I like towing the Envoy flip a switch remove the keys and lock the door then ride off into the sunset
Quote from: bronson on March 19, 2021, 04:24:53 AM
Someone left their new toad in 4 wheel low. Engine estimated at over 50000 rpm.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/39794/rv-driver-annihilates-their-new-jeep-wrangler-by-flat-towing-it-in-4-low
Impressive that they could mess up so bad.... :o
Oddly enough it's an easy mistake to make, what with the distractions that often accompany a departure. I left the Samurai in gear one time and although it spewed oil out up under the hood that tough little bugger didn't come apart. I still wonder how. After that I began to use the trailer. This is one situation where I think the e-car could make a lot of sense.
Jim
Yup. Stupid is as stupid does (ask me how I know). When I got home my mig and I welded the steering lock pawl in the unlocked position. A secondary upside is that I don't have to leave the key in the lock. Jack
My first Fiat 500 with manual 5 speed, was a great tow, so light. I left town and in Lancaster, CA on the 14 hwy an 18 wheeler tank truck flipped over blocking all lanes, a nearby exit ramp was the only way around. In the miles of stop and go, a guy runs up to the bus drivers window and frantically yells out my little car is on fire! My rear view camera doesn't show anything, I jump out to see the engine on fire, hubcaps melting, fire underneath, nothing camera could see. I run up to the car in front, telling her about the fire to please move forward, as we were on a bridge, with the abutment sticking out. She flips me off and rolls up her window, the guy that warned me about the fire, starts pounding on her window yelling at her, I yelled there could be an explosion. The fire now is getting bigger. She refused to move so I forced my way thru the tight space tearing the rear wheel well guard, pull off on to the embankment, to disconnect the car and move the bus forward.
I get home after the whole episode, in the mail was an emergency recall on the fiat, manual transmission. Do not drive your car! Have it towed to nearest fiat dealer, asap. Regarding manual trans that might have a fire...
Don't know why my picture are upside down, I even reversed the picture then selected the upside down picture, to see if it reversed to right side up, down know why it's doing that...
Why I tow a trailer. Many time in our boat club in the winter when we turned into a 4 wheel drive club I would up with my but being towed on the ground and another club members car on my trailer. I just don't like towing on the ground.
When I had an 02 Jeep Liberty, it had to have the key installed and in the first position to keep the steering unlocked.. I had a key made that did NOT have a chip,, it would unlock the steering but not start the engine.. Now with the 2012 Liberty that I now have ,, there is no steering lock so a key is not needed..>>>Dan
This won't apply to any other vehicles that I have heard of, but on my old Series II, IIA, and III Land Rovers, the hubs are the same on both axles and I can put locking hubs on all four wheels. I simply unlock all four wheels to tow.
Quote from: DoubleEagle on March 19, 2021, 08:07:50 PM
This won't apply to any other vehicles that I have heard of, but on my old Series II, IIA, and III Land Rovers, the hubs are the same on both axles and I can put locking hubs on all four wheels. I simply unlock all four wheels to tow.
The CJ was the last Jeep you could install locking hubs on that was over 30 years ago
Quote from: luvrbus on March 19, 2021, 08:27:16 PM
The CJ was the last Jeep you could install locking hubs on that was over 30 years ago
Time flies by. My newest Land Rover will be 50 years old next year, but the hubs still work fine. Warn still makes models for a number of vehicles, CJ's up to 1986, and the Wagoner, Cherokee, J-10 Pickup up to 1991. They have models for Toyota Tacoma's, and much newer Ford pickups. Locking hubs are not dead just yet (just like us). :o
My 98 TJ I just put it in Neutral/neutral and pull the key out. Works great.
The old Jeep Cherokees like my '99 just need the transfer case put in neutral.
I installed unlockable hubs on my 03 Suzuki Vitara 4x4 automatic. Just unlock hubs and put transfer case in nuetral.
I drag a 2019 ford ranger 4x4 and made a laminated page from the manual as there is a lot of steps to follow and keep it on the driver side visor . I sure miss my 98 Nissan one wheel peel standard . pop it in neutral and go
dave
I tow a 2005 Lexus LX-470. It is a very comfortable SUV and I enjoy driving it. I gave up my Jeep TJ because it was not comfortable. To do this, I purchased a driveline disconnect system from Superior Driveline (see their ad in our magazine). This is a great system and allows me to tow my Lexus wheels down so I have a comfortable car when I get to each destination.
We had a Remco driveshaft disconnect on our 91 explorer toad - worked great.
Currently on our 09 Jeep Grand Cherokee - just put the transfer case in neutral...
The biggest PITA was our 71 F250 - many years ago - disconnect the driveshaft & tie in place with tie wire :o