What's the rules on flat towing

[Neal Zimmerman]

What are the rules for flat towing MOPARS equipped with automatics?
If I go get this car and drop the driveshaft to flat tow it, wont tranny fluid pour out all over the peoples driveway from the tail shaft? Not sure how happy they will be.
If I stick it in neutral and flat tow it with driveshaft in place, wont that hurt the tranny anyway?
Seems I recall that early torqueflites ( what years exactly I cant recall) had a rear pump and you could actually push-start them, so I would imagine this would be a death knell for one of those years. But I am dealing with 1965 and newer Mopars.
Yeah, yeah I know ,trailer would be best but I don't have one nor the 800 dollars to pay someone to do it, so I am stuck with my little Flat tow setup which I have used successfully twice towing long (400 miles) distances without incident. Those cars though had no tranny's in them.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Hello Neal
I Flat towed (Tow Dolly) a 64 Plymouth Sport Fury 45 miles. Dropped the driveshaft, taped up the seal with plastic and tape.

 

[Dave6T4]

U-Haul rents car trailers quite cheaply. My friend rented one up here; $55.00 for weekend.

 

[DeltaV]

U-Haul told me my B-body was too large/heavy for their trailers.

 

[Don Frelier]

You could take the driveshaft off, knock the front U-Joint out and tape just the slip joint on the end of the transmission.
Or bring a loose slip joint.

 

[4speed68rt]

Bring a drain pan, a funnel & and a couple of empty gallon jugs.

 

[Neal Zimmerman]

Yeah Ive tried the whole U-haul trailer thing before. They said no. I'm not sure what their deal is, but they claimed whichever Mopar car was too heavy, even though it had no motor /tranny. I felt it had more to do with the age of the car , rather than weight ,as I know many contemporary cars are way heavier. I just don't want to deal with them anymore. I like the spare slip joint stub idea. Never thought of that.

 

[Sam69sat]

I flat towed a 67 coronet 400 miles on a tow dolly. Left the driveshaft in place. All i did was unbolt the driveshaft from the differential and wired it up out of the way.

 

[rklewis1005]

U-Haul told me my B-body was too large/heavy for their trailers.

I used a U-Haul Car Trailer (all 4 wheels on the trailer - not a dolly) and towed my 70 Charger (complete w/engine, etc) from Western NY to SC ~ 700 miles. Are you sure it's the trailer or the tow vehicle they complained about?

 

[bm02tj]

Add something to tie drive shaft up to and leave in place
Also tape cups

 

[PeteyDaMan]

From U-Haul's own site for the auto transport trailer:

Capacity​

• Max load: 5,290 lbs.
• Gross vehicle weight: 7,500 lbs. max.
• Empty weight: 2,210 lbs.

Whoever is staying your B Body is too heavy isn't reading their own literature.

 

[plymouthman72]

Tell them you are towing a 2004 Chevy Malibu or something like that. I have had issues with them in the past. I know that those trailers can handle a heavy car as I towed my Roadrunner 200 miles on one.

 

[Dave6T4]

When I sold my 1964 Polara 500 convertible (4,000 lbs.), the purchaser showed up here in Ontario, Canada with a U-Haul car trailer, and towed to Allentown, Pa. area. My friend that rented trailer up here used it to tow his '62 Dart Max Wedge clone to Woodward Ave. Cruise last year. Might have more to do with particular franchisee.

 

[Sam69sat]

I flat towed a 67 coronet 400 miles on a tow dolly. Left the driveshaft in place. All i did was unbolt the driveshaft from the differential and wired it up out of the way.

Forgot to mention that i had reserved a uhaul auto transport trailer about a week before i was going to tow it. Come to find out, uhaul cancelled my reservation. The only reason i found was because i called to make sure they had my trailer the night before. Those asshole didn't call, email, or anything to let me know. I really needed a trailer because the car had bad tires, a bad rear wheel seal. I had to rush like hell to find a seal, pull some wheels off another car, and drive 400 miles to the car so i could tow it back home. Luckily the sob's at uhaul still had a tow dolly. I had to replace the wheel seal roadside because the property owner didn't want me working on the car on his property. Uhaul can go to hell. I hope they go work and go out of business.

 

[33 IMP]

U haul has standards for the tow vehicle too.
If it were me? I'd flat tow it out of their driveway. Then jack it up, pull the driveshaft, clean the tailshaft with a little diesel,and wrap the tailshaft with a couple plastic bags, and tape em up with some racer tape.

EDIT: a zip tie would work better, and you wouldn't have to clean off the trans.

 

[33 IMP]

When we were flat towing our Duster to the race track, we pulled the slicks off, and used stock wheels and tires with homemade tow hubs.
AMC hubs, welded to a half inch plate, with the bolt pattern drilled in it.

 

[radical rob]

Used a Penske trailer which looks very similar to u hauls to bring my rr from Ohio to Florida Penske won’t rent a trailer unless rent a truck.

 

[Belvedere408]

Uhaul usually won’t rent a car trailer unless you have a 3/4 ton truck or larger.

 

[toolmanmike]

I flat towed a 67 coronet 400 miles on a tow dolly. Left the driveshaft in place. All i did was unbolt the driveshaft from the differential and wired it up out of the way.

THat's what I was thinking. Pull it off the rear end yoke aheswing it aside. Wire it up or use a ratchet strap to secure it. Hook it to the springs near the front mounts.

 

[DeltaV]

I used a U-Haul Car Trailer (all 4 wheels on the trailer - not a dolly) and towed my 70 Charger (complete w/engine, etc) from Western NY to SC ~ 700 miles. Are you sure it's the trailer or the tow vehicle they complained about?

Trailer