Limiting steering wheel?

I thought there was a towing guide online from Motorhome Magazine.
I can't find it this evening. We have some problems with the laptop.

So....the "smart" car is the only type to secure the wheel on?

......

down home wrote:
On the forums here quite some time ago, I believe someone talked about towing a Smart Car and having to tie the wheel down.

That 'some time ago' may have been the post just prior to yours. :)

......

There are a few occasions where securing the steering wheel during flat towing is appropriate. If the toad does not track straight then it can cause tail wagging as it drifts left and right while being towed. This can cause a lot of arm fatigue to the MH driver - from constant correcting for the tail wag. Locking down the steering wheel can force the toad to stop drifting. The trade off is a bit of scuffing on the tires. Arm fatigue vs tire scuffing.

I flat tow a smart car. It is a narrow gauge car. Here in WA the major roads (like the rightmost lane of I-5) are a bit rutted from logging trucks. A smart car is not wide enough to sit in the ruts. It drifts back and forth between the ruts - even when I'm driving the car on I-5. Using a rubber bungee (just one bungee) to secure the steering wheel plus a rear trac bar took care of the tail wag. The bungee allows the steering wheel to move a couple of inches either side of center, but is tight enough to return the steering wheel to center afterwards.

Therefore my conclusion to the topic of limiting the steering wheel is: It depends. Most of the time it is not needed. In a small percentage of the applications it solves the problem.

I remember tow drivers having to tie the steering. BUT, that was back when everything was rear-wheel drive, and the normal thing was to tow from the back. Especially if there was a problem with the drive train. In that case, they did have to lock the front wheels to tow it.

lanerd wrote:
No disrespect intended, but where in the world did you get that from? :h In all my years of towing a toad, I've never come across that before.

Ron

Lol....None taken. I just remembered as a kid my dad had a car towed and the wrecker driver tied a rope on steering wheel and rolled window up on it.

I can tell you that if you do tie it down it only takes one turn to figure out your mistake..
BTDT. :o

Not unless you are trying to back up, which is another thing not to do! Got a long story about that and a levee, but DW would break my fingers.