Posted by David Sherman on Sunday, July 08, 2007 at 18:03:24 :
In Reply to: Towing PW? posted by John Pierce on Sunday, July 08, 2007 at 16:00:07 :
I know a lot of wise men will disagree with me, but I'm of the opinion that it's safe to flat-tow a vehicle like that IF you do everything right. That means the towing vehicle must be heavier than the towed vehicle (actual scale weight), the road must be dry the whole way, you go on back roads, at night if possible and keep your speed down (and pull over to let people pass), and you pay way more attention than usual to what's going on around you and ahead of you. I flat-towed my M37 400 miles behind my 1/2 ton Chevy pickup and had no problems with handling. I had to tie the steering wheel in place to make it track properly. I used a heavy home-made pintle-hitch tow bar bolted to the front bumper of the M37. The Chevy was loaded up to 5900 lbs with me in it, which just slightly outweighed the M37. That, along with dry roads, was my main security against jacknifing.
That said, it's clearly a lot easier, safer, and less nerve-wracking to rent a big truck and an equipment trailer with brakes, or just hire somebody to move it. Like most things in life, it's a tradeoff between risk, money, time, and convenience. Under no circumstances would I use a tow dolly. Those are meant only for towing light automobiles behind much heavier trucks. Either flat-tow it very carefully or get a good trailer. If you do flat-tow it, disconnect both drivelines at the pumpkins and tie them up securely. Most "car-hauler" trailers are too light for hauling a PW. It should go without saying that towing with a chain or rope is also a bad idea unless you're just going down the block. I did tow the telephone truck with a chain up from Wallace to Moon Pass when I moved it to my cabin, which is about a 2000' climb in 10 miles, because the engine was too weak to propel itself up that grade, but it was uphill all the way so there was never an issue of the chain jerking due to slack. I'll have to pull the engine and overhaul it before I drive it back to this side of the hill.
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