Ruined manual transmissions

Not RV, but back in '70s, when driving a tow truck there where some that we would only pull as far as the shoulder before we pulled axle or driveshaft.
I towed my old "3 on the tree" Ford for about 300 miles 4 down. After that it made noise in 2nd gear.
I know several guys that would tow their VW based dune buggies. 3 of them towed about 500 miles in convoy. 1 would not shift when got home.