picked up my new tow rig

Yeah, I've always pulled cars forward. Some people say pull them backwards or remove the shaft but I've never ever had a problem.

I always stick it in Neutral, strap the front and roll with it.

Never had a single problem with it. Just make sure those straps are TIGHT!

The price must have gone up on them. Like I say I paid 600 brand new for mine. It's well worth it if you do a lot of short distance towing.

PS: Sorry about the Mustang.
 
for towing from the rear, use the seat belt to buckle in the steering wheel to lock the front wheels from turning
 
for towing from the rear, use the seat belt to buckle in the steering wheel to lock the front wheels from turning

Why? Turn the key to the on position, put it neutral and then turn the key back as far as it will go. It won't go far enough back to remove the key but it will go far enough back to lock the steering wheel. Shouldn't be an issue on most cars. Not that I've encountered anyways. I guess redundancy (sp?) never hurts...

OR, if it's a newer car with one of those fancy shift lock bypass buttons you can use it. Just leave the keys out, put it in neutral and go with it.
 
honestly? if you put it on backwards.... just stick it in park!!!


what about front wheel drive??? not really, lol but what would park do for locking the wheels from steering??

also, I would not trust the whole shift lock or ignition lock deal, could cause mechanical issues.

In my towing experience, towing from the rear removes the chances of damaging things like the transmission on a rear wheel drive vehicle.

With that being said, I towed bigger stuff that had no ignition lock and was a must that the trans be either having fluid pumped through it or driveshaft disconnected if towing from the front.

Bogosian, I hope you can glean something from my jibberish and ramblings, sorry for cluttering your thread!
 
Yes, you're always taking some sort of risk towing a vehicle with a driven axle on the ground. I've always taken that risk and been lucky. Tho, I have seen transfer cases in 2 pieces as a result of it. I saw that on here as a matter of fact.

If ya wanna be safe pull front wheel drive vehicles forward, rear wheel drive vehicles backwards and remove the rear shaft out of 4wd vehicles and pull them forward.

and leave all post-60's model Mustangs to rust in a field. :)
 
ok lets make this easy,

front wheel drive cars: drive it on forwards, put in park, tie it down.

rear wheel drive cars: back it on, put in park, tie it down.

four wheel drive cars: drive it on forwards, transfercase in neutral, tie it down.
 
ok lets make this easy,

front wheel drive cars: drive it on forwards, put in park, tie it down.

rear wheel drive cars: back it on, put in park, tie it down.

four wheel drive cars: drive it on forwards, transfercase in neutral, tie it down.


Thats what I said!!! lol You just said put the T-case in neutral instead of pulling the shaft. That's risking the same thing as leaving the trans in neutral. :)

Again, I've never had a problem. Other than leaving it in park and starting to drive off. Ya notice real quick like what the problem is.
 
Well just an FYI but not all 4wd's have the pump on the tail shaft. The reason they tell you to pull the shaft is so you do not run the transmisison dry and burn it up. ;)
 
I also read that if you tow backwards on a car dolly the weight is not correct and the rear vehicle can act like a sling shot. Not sure I am going to take a chance with that. A tow dolly is designed for the weight to be over the axles of it.

The problem I am currently having is braking. The xj gets squirmy when coming to a stop when towing. Its got plenty of motor for what I am doing though.
 
You can add electric brakes to the dolly... not sure what all is involved but I've seen it done. I know they sell dollies with brakes already on them but they're a good bit more pricey.
 
You can add electric brakes to the dolly... not sure what all is involved but I've seen it done. I know they sell dollies with brakes already on them but they're a good bit more pricey.

Probably just bolt on the backing plate with the hardware and swap to a drum hub and run the wiring. Just a guess though.
 
I stopped at a trailer place yesterday and he said he'd give me $500 trade in towards a 19' car hauler that would cost $1900. Im just worried that I would be getting too far past the xj's abilities.
 
it would be..... i have just at under 10k in my truck and trailer setup which in your case if your making a living with it is pretty justifiable. of course the tow rig can always be had cheaper, there's a ton of 3/4 and 1 ton mid 90's fords out there for under 5k even powerstrokes. my truck is blinged out with all the options since it used to be a daily driver so it cost me more than a bare bones hauler
 
Yeah, I doubt you'd want to haul a 19' trailer behind an XJ...

I pulled my 16' trailer behind my Trail rig with the other trail rig on it thru the yard once and the XJ sat on the bumpstops thru the yard. lol
 
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