I'm posting this to the list against me better judgement. I'm sure I'll get
10,000 flames but what the heck. The 400 mile flat tow went without a hitch
(pun intended.) Actually this is my second attempt at doing this. I flat
towed my deuce tractor from Philly to Florida in March. That trip was 1250
miles. Here is what I learned from both trips. Keeping the towbar at a
downward angle helps transfer weight to the towed vehicle which helps on
braking. I found out that I can stop both trucks pretty quick.....once! Two
episodes of crisis braking would be disasterous. One must be at the top of
his game to do this. I planned travel during light traffic hours and had
recon runs of both routes. You can't be careful enough when doing this. I
had over 1000# of stuff in the bed of my pickup which made a big difference.
I've done several dry runs around the house including pulling around a
22,000# wrecker to see the effects of it. Bottom line for what I've done is
this,
Don't Do It unless you are 110% of attention. The tractor was far easier to
tow than the cargo truck. The problems with track steer was sharp right
turns. The tractor went everywhere I did. The cargo truck refused to
follow on sharp right turns with out being helped. Also, as a matter of
reference, it started raining during this episode and better judgement made
me park until it passed. I think this is a crucial issue. Don't do this
when its wet. As far
as safety concerns, I did use safety chains as law dictates. I also
used magnetic towing lights as well as a small yellow strobe attached to the
back of the deuce. Also pulled axles and drive flanges to reduce components
in the equation. For those planning any type of deuce tow, when I pulled my
rear axles, I installed the front drive flanges to the rear hubs to contain
the gear oil. Thinking ahead, I brought an extra pair for the other rear
axle.
As an additional note, for those anti GM diesel people, maintaining any speed
was never an issue. I kept to 50-55 but could easily
traveled with traffic.
For those who wish to comment on my lunacy, feel free but try to be
professional about it. Just remember, I have 1650 miles of successful
experience! Kenny
Kenneth Engle
Loxahatchee, FL
'52 Stude M-275 tractor
'75 AM General M-35A2
Recovry4x4@aol.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 05 2001 - 00:40:35 PDT