Flat Towing

we just returned from a 4000 mile trip with a Hyundai Elantra in tow. It is fwd, std trans and there is no evidence of tire scrub or anything. We saw many fwd cars in tow, saw nothing out of the ordinary with them either! Trailers and tow dollys ok if you just have to have an automatic trans if you want to tow, but only add another weight and item to have something go wrong with. Friend of ours was towing with a dolly and had a strap come loose, beat the hell out of the front fender. Additionally he scraped the other side trying to get it on the dolly! So there are pos/cons for everything. But the blanket statement made about why not to tow fwd I find is just plain not true. can you post a credible link to back up the statement?

the tow at under 35 mph is with the engine off.. with the engine running you can go 55-60 mph.
the reason for not towing four down with front wheel drives. is that the steering is slower to react than a rear drive vehicle. which will cause more tire scrub...
the best method is to tow, is by using a trailer. saves lots of wear and tear on drive line and steering components and you won't need to buy a brake buddy...
the next best method is using a tow dolly, great for front wheel drive vehicles. nothing more to buy.. unless you are towing a large vehicle. then you will need brakes on the dolly or something like a brake buddy in the vehicle. also using a tow dolly the rear shocks will wear out prematurely.

Just my $.02 - we tow a 2005 PT Cruiser convertible, but it has a manual. It is a lot for me (56 y/o) to get out of and I'm tiring of driving a manual every day. It gets great MPG's if I'm driving it. But its really a crappy car. I wish I would have ponied up for a Civic automatic with a sunroof.

Remco makes a lube pump kit for many automatic transmission vehicles.
Some of them are convertibles.
My PT Cruiser Turbo convertible can be towed four down using a lube pump. In fact, there is an old one installed in the car. I have never used it, and don't plan to. I don't even know if it is any good! My Demco dolly works just fine for taking the PT with us, I see no need to spend the money for a towbar and brackets for the car.

You and my wife are two of a kind. Unfortunatly, her BMW Z4 either stays home, or she drives it following me. We met a couple from Florida with a Pontiac Solstice, but he trailers it all the time. I don't know of any automatic drop top that can be flat towed.

tempforce wrote:
most rear drive automatic vehicles will either need the engine running while being towed (transmission in neutral), a driveline disconnect installed or the driveline removed during the tow.. Most rwd auto trans vehicles can only be towed less than 35mph unless a drive shaft disconnect is installed. I personally don't know of any rwd auto trans vehicles that can be towed 4-down....but I'm sure there's gotta be some.


you should not tow a front wheel drive vehicle four down....There are MANY FWD vehicles than can be flat towed 4-down.... my Terrain is only one of them. Equinox, CRV, etc are very popular FWD toads.


best place to find out, is to contact the service department of the brand of vehicle you may be considering...I would NEVER trust anyone at a dealership on this subject...most have absolutely no idea. The best method is to look in the manual under recreational towing. You can also look at the Remco website or the Motorhome Magazine website for brands of almost all vehicles that can be towed 4-down.

Hope this clears up some of the issues.

Ron

most rear drive automatic vehicles will either need the engine running while being towed (transmission in neutral), a driveline disconnect installed or the driveline removed during the tow..
you should not tow a front wheel drive vehicle four down....
best place to find out, is to contact the service department of the brand of vehicle you may be considering...

Sounds like you may have to go to manufacturers website or look in some old dinghy towing guides.