Towing backwards on a dolly

Hi,

I recently towed my dune buggy backwards with the back wheels on the tow dolly. The front end started to wiggle on the freeway, and I had to tie down the steering wheel a little better. Then it towed the rest of the way home fine.

Probably would have been safer the other way around, but it is possible.

My buddy also went from LA to Las Vegas to pick up his dad's F-250. He towed it backwards back to LA. It was a heavy truck. Ford does not endorse towing backwards either. Yet it can be done.

I think it will help that the towing vehicle is so much heavier than the towed car.

Have fun camping!

Fred.

I am preparing to tow a Miata with a manual transmission. I plan to put front wheels up. Search for Miata forums on dolly towing. It seems that owners use both methods.

Dutch_12078 wrote:
I'd expect somewhat higher front tire wear when towing backwards. The typical toe-in adjustment turns the wheels slightly in towards each other at the front, so they run straight when the steering tolerances tighten up as the vehicle moves forward. Towing it backwards would exacerbate the spread at the rear of the wheels, causing the tires to scuff a bit more. I sometimes towed cars backwards with a tow truck, but that was generally for fairly short distances. The steering wheel needs to be firmly strapped in place of course. Don't rely on the steering wheel lock.

Thanks Dutch. The steering wheel is a critical factor and I would strap it down and not rely on the lock. Hope fully the tire wear will be minimal.

mowermech wrote:
While I have never done it, I have seen it many times on the highways and byways of Montana. It seems to work just fine. At least, the ones I see doing it have been on the road for many hundreds of miles before I see them here. That tells me that they didn't have any problems!

I too, have also witnessed vehicles being towed backwards. I did receive a reply from a person on the Miata MX5 forum that he does it all the time with no complications.

I'd expect somewhat higher front tire wear when towing backwards. The typical toe-in adjustment turns the wheels slightly in towards each other at the front, so they run straight when the steering tolerances tighten up as the vehicle moves forward. Towing it backwards would exacerbate the spread at the rear of the wheels, causing the tires to scuff a bit more. I sometimes towed cars backwards with a tow truck, but that was generally for fairly short distances. The steering wheel needs to be firmly strapped in place of course. Don't rely on the steering wheel lock.

While I have never done it, I have seen it many times on the highways and byways of Montana. It seems to work just fine. At least, the ones I see doing it have been on the road for many hundreds of miles before I see them here. That tells me that they didn't have any problems!