Tow vs Trailer

I have never towed mine, but I have considered doing so.  In my case I would almost certainly have to flat tow as our only tow-ready vehicle only has a capacity of 3500 pounds.  Only the lightest possible trailer would work, and we would be right at the limit.  With flat towing it would be much easier on the tow vehicle, but harder on the towed vehicle.  Also, a towbar for the Beck frame would have to be engineered and custom-made as no one provides one that is truly suitable.

 

All in all I would rather use a trailer, but that would mean a different tow vehicle than what we have now.

I'll weigh in here, as I'm sure Jim Ignacio will as well.

I have a few thousand miles of flat towing. Just do it. It's easier, you don't needed to register or park a trailer, and you'll get better mileage.

If you're concerned about paint damage, either put a clear vinyl bra on your car or blue tape the crap out of it.

If you have a Vintage Speedster, all you need is as lengthened towbar and a way to add trailer lights or hook up your existing taillights.

It's way cheaper than a trailer as well. I don't even feel the car behind me, I have to consciously remember it's there.

Robert.

I have a tow bar you can have if you really plan to use it.  I've towed Speedsters for thousands of miles and there is nothing negative that I can say about it, but I have only trailered a car once.  At first, I was concerned that the tow vehicle might kick up debris and chip or scratch the Speedster, but that has never happened.

I guess with a trailer, you wouldn't have to deal with tow lights because they would be built into the trailer, but you do have to deal with tie downs.

As far as blue tape, it would be needed whether you are towing or trailering if there is rain involved. 

If you plan on towing your speedster and need lights I'd recommend a set of wireless tow lights.  Well worth the money.

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/items/...CAds=&rmvSB=true

Lane: you really should look into the tow-bar thing.  I think you'd be very happy with it.  Yes, you might need some metal butchering to take place, but that is all doable, and I'm sure you can locate somebody with the means and skill to do so.  You'll get plenty of advice about how to from those in the know here. Yeah, some cash needs to leak out, but not a lot.

 

Just trying to avoid all the belly-aching that will start up around March of next year about will he or won't he bring his amazingly cool, very red Speedster to Carlisle or give it up, and ride in that crummy Bimmer, then beg for rides all week end.  Just sayin' . . .

And not having his own carburetors to tinker with.

 

I'm just saying.........

Troy - if Robert doesn't want your tow bar, I am interested in it.  I have a CMC and live in PA close to DrClock.  Let me know. Thanks - David Bayne aka Bayniac

Well, let's see.......

 

I have at least 16,000 miles pulling my car on a car-hauler trailer, and about 1,200 miles pulling a Ford Taurus on a "dolly".  IMO, not a lot of difference, from the perspective of the guy sitting behind the steering wheel.

 

If you trailer, you'll need BOTH the trailer and a suitable tow vehicle.  A gasoline powered tow vehicle needs to be at least 5.7 liter.  Otherwise, a passing move on an interstate is measured in minutes or miles - you choose.  A diesel tow vehicle should be at least A 6-liter (I like Cummins or Duramax) but offers so much torque that you really don't notice that the trailer/car is back there.  

 

The time to get a vehicle properly loaded the first time and debugged is a long time (several tows around the neighborhood).  Once you get it positoned and balanced, repeating is easy and loading should take no more than 15 minutes, about the same as hooking up a towed vehicle the first few times. 

 

The biggest difference is that trailering will not add miles to your car, while flat towing does.  If that doesn't matter to you, choose the cheapest option.

 

 

@Troy

When I get back from SLO we'll get together about the tow bar. I was fishing for opinions and was going to ask you to help me modify one if that was the clear choice. If you have an extra that's great. You're not giving it to me though, we'll work out a trade for something and cash. Just saying.

Easy to disconnect the speedo cable when flat towing if miles on odo matter. I towed with a 4 cyl '03 Toyota Camry from VA to FL with no issues.  Used the cheap Harbor Freight magnetic towing lights ($10) --- blue taped on.  Some have made creative PVC mounts for the same lights. I merely had to narrow the stock tow bar to clear the front bumper brackets.  I cut old welds and pulled in 3-4" or so - and rewelded.  I bought adjustable height Harbor Freight receiver ($20).

I flat tow mine because She Who Shall Be Obeyed isn't a fan of the baking sun. I use blue tape because our tow vehicle has a bad trait of throwing rocks in thef face of my black beauty. I run a bra on the front and tape the bumpers, headlight glass, a and a bit of the hood.

Is it necessary? Maybe not, but I'm kind of an idiot about my paint.

We drove together for our inaugural run to the coast because it had to be done. We may drive together to the coast again but not until it cools down some. Until then I'll be towing the Speedster to events more than an hour away if my SWSBO goes with me. 

 

Where did you get the bra for your Speedster?

 

Bob, you're getting some good advice on towing, and that probably makes the most sense, but here's another tack to consider, if you're a little crazy like me.

 

I was faced with a similar situation going down to the SLO event - a long trek through central valley heat, long freeway miles in the Speedster, and accommodating SWSBO. I don't own a vehicle suitable for towing and if I did, probably wouldn't want the complication of dealing with two vehicles.

 

So, I thought about how this trip would have been made when the Speedy was new - in 1958. I broke it into two days, using the slower roads that were the only choice in 1958, driving very early in the day before the mid-day valley heat set in, and scheduling several meal/fuel stops to get out and stretch a bit.

 

This made the trip much more of an adventure and SWSBO bought into the idea. It worked out well, we both had a good time, and learned a little more about how people used to go touring in silly cars like this.

 

Looking at the map, if I had to get from Fresno to the Tahoe event, I think I'd leave around 6:00 am on Thursday, take 41 and 49 to Placerville, stopping for breakfast around Oakhurst or a little farther along, and then a lunch stop around Jackson or Plymouth. You'd probably reach Placerville around noon, before it was really hot. You could overnight there and join the caravans from Placerville or Auburn up to Tahoe on Friday. You'd also be passing through some of the best wine country in the north state around Plymouth and might stop to imbibe a bit.

 

I just retired about three years ago and am gradually learning that the fastest way to get somewhere is often not the best. Since I mapped out a backroads route to Monterey for the Speedster, we've been going that way when we drive a normal car, too.

 

Just saying.

 

 

I've driven my Speedster on that highway 49 route to Tahoe and it is a nice drive, with lots of scenery and twisties.

Robert.

I think I might still have a bra that you can have too, but it will need to be modified a bit because it was made for an original 356.  I still don't think you need one based on all the towing I have done with the Jaguar, but it won't hurt either.

Be careful of a chafing bra!  Not that I have any up close first hand experience BUT if it flaps when driving it will abrade the paint/gel coat.  I had my cockpit covered with a tarp - secured with bungee cords and blue tape.  Apparently 1 area came loose and flapped against the gel coat - its hazy there now.  Plus if moisture gets behind the vinyl (and stays there) it will damage paint.  

 

 

About 4 years ago my buddy Don and I bought a then 2yr old 24' Flaman aluminum tilt bed car hauler, 8,000lb tow rating and came with anti-sway bars. We bought it from a guy that used to race 4wd Jeeps for hill climbs etc. and was getting out of racing. We made a heck of a deal on it, paying about half the cost of a new one. We made some alterations to it adding a 6,000lb. detachable winch in case we needed to haul a non-running vehicle, Don built a diamond plate aluminum storage box on the front, added an auxiliary set of detahable lights that can plug in and be mounted on the towed car to try and combat the idiots on the road with in your face bright led lighting and added another spare tire with a quick jack wheel jack in case of a flat. With the tilt bed it is easy to load and haul a lowered car with out doing any damage or scraping the bottom.

 

This trailer tows like a dream, unloaded you do not realize it is there at all...what a difference from my old steel flatbed car hauler. I've used it to haul my F-100 to the body and interior shops and used it several times to haul the Anglia while I was building it

 

I loaded my Speedster on it recently, took a few tries to get it positioned just right and then went for a drive towing it...Towed like a dream...almost like towing empty...so that is probably what I'll do when going to a long distance event with the Speedster. Only thing is at a lot of events is storage for the truck and trailer...guess we'll deal with that when it comes up.

 

BTW the tow vehicle is a '01 Chevy Silverado Z-71, 1500 extended cab. The pickup has the factory 'tow package' and the big V-8 which helps a lot when towing a full size vehicle.

 

I have a 18yr old 28' Featherlite aluminum enclosed trailer that I bought used when we lived in AZ. It is sometimes a real PIA to tow with especially in city or freeway traffic because it is so long and my pickup does struggle a bit when hauling it around, especially if going up or down mountain passes...the truck is just a tad to light, it does tow great with a 3/4-1 ton though. I do not use it all that much any more and it just sits at Don's shop...Don has probably used it more in the past several years than I have.

 

I've probably towed about 15,000 miles with both an enclosed and flatbed trailer, When we moved from WA to CO I sold my steel flatbed to a friend in WA because I could not tow 2 trailers and the flatbed was in just fair shape, needed some TLC.

 

Ditto on Wolfgangs comment about chafing bras and vinyl tarps. I've seen the damage they can cause on finishes. Many years ago an old h.s. friend of mine called and asked if I could help him haul his two Corvettes from CoSprings to Taos, NM where he and his wife were moving to. We were living in the Springs at the time.

Terry had just completed his '67 fastback and was working on his wifes '65 roadster.

We loaded the roadster on my trailer and Terry wrapped the windshield and interior with a plastic tarp.

Terry loaded the fastback, put on the bra, then used a huge tarp to cover the whole car.

We left for Taos early in the morning and got caught in a wind/rainstorm just north of the stateline. When we arrived at their new home in Taos and began unloading the cars, the tarps on both cars had rubbed on the finishes in various places and the bra had really chafed the finish on the frontend, hood and fenders on the fastback...it was pretty bad, with the chafe marks from the tarp added in, the car ended up having to be totally repainted again...it wasn't a big deal on the roadster because it was just in the first stages of bodywork and had just a 1st primer coat on it.

 

That episode taught me a lesson and I've never tarped over a car when towing and have never installed a bra on one either. I'll mask off the windshield, using bubble wrap and tape and maybe mask off the frontend. On my Cobra I would put painters plastic over the interior and install the tonneau cover.

Has anyone tried using contact paper that is used for covering shelves? It peels off very easily, no gunk left behind, and seems like a good way to protect the front end of a Speedster when towing. 

Previously posted:...... A gasoline powered tow vehicle needs to be at least 5.7 liter.  

 

I've towed speedsters on single axle trailers rated at 2,900 GVW for years using both a Chevy S-10  4 cyl 5 speed and a 6 cylinder automatic, both did very well even on the interstates in the mountains of West Virginia.  Gross weight w/ towed trailer & speedster was approx: 5,450 lbs.  Note on single axle trailer you need to have 60% of weight just forward of center axle to get the correct percentage of tongue weight as this produces a easy towing experience. A tow bar altered for a speedster is easiest method.

Robert - that is a smoking hot (tow bar) offer from Troy! Jump on it.

 

Troy - That is a most generous offer and speaks volumes to the kind of person you are. Also manifests why the SOC and friends I've met (and yet to meet) make this the BEST car group I've ever been affiliated with.

 

We've towed with trailer and it has it advantages (less wear on Speedster) and disadvantages (finding parking and stowing trailer)...

 

 

When traveling for vacations (more than a weekend), more luggage is involved (plus more goodies we buy on vacation can be loaded), we flat tow...

 

 

Here's why towing is necessary when SWSBO comes along...

 

 

 

Previously, Previously posted:...... A gasoline powered tow vehicle needs to be at least 5.7 liter."

 

Yeah, I knew that would get you going.    It certainly depends on what you're towing, as you mention.  It also depends on what your towing performance expectations are - When I stomp on the gas to pass, I expect it to pass something NOW, not take the next two minutes to do it.

 

My dual-axle, overbuilt, kinda-heavy, car hauler had a working GVW of about 10,000 lbs. and weighed over twice what Alan's single-axle, aluminum trailer does, but I could haul heavier stuff (like my Daughters Land Rover Discovery, every time it died somewhere - which seemed often, at the time).  

 

My Ford F150 tow vehicle had a 5.4 liter Gas engine.  It could haul it OK, but, IMO, passing things took a long time and zero to 70 was most of a mile of Interstate getting there.  It was about at it's towed weight limit for any sort of decent performance, PLUS I was getting 8-10 mpg, tops.  With the diesel, performance was SO MUCH better, and the towing MPG was a little over 16, BUT diesel fuel is more expensive.  After Chris built my trailer, he hauled it for a while with a V-6 Dakota pickup truck, but quickly sold that and went diesel (7.3 liter) just for the torque (and he got around 20mpg, towing).

 

Sure, you can tow, especially with a car on a tow bar, with a much less powerful engine and even behind a "normal" car - you just have to recognize the tow vehicle's limits and drive accordingly.

 

As far as the towing experience goes, once you're hooked up and everything's snug and you get used to the bumps and creaks and groans back there and everything settles down, it doesn't matter if you're trailering or towing - the experience is the same  with one big, glaring exception:  You can not ever back up with a car being flat towed.  Lots of nasty stuff might happen if you do.  Quickly.  

Yes, some people can do it for very short lengths, but they are descended from the Gods of Olympus or Southern Republicans and shouldn't be emulated.

 

So what'cha do, is carefully scope out around where you're going, to see where you can pull-through without backing up.  After your first or second trip this will become instinctual and becomes not-a-big-deal.  

 

Not remembering that rule a few months ago, I backed Bridget up while hooked to a tow bar at the muffler shop, about 8-10 feet. Did not try to steer and did not go fast. No trouble. 

Blackie follows me where ever I go! 

 

~WB

Jim, that is, and remains, my favorite of your videos.  I get a good laugh every time I see it.  

LMAO every time!  Thanks for posting that vid, Jim.

 

Was that a banjo I saw going into the Speedster??

No, that was Ginny's favorite Pizza Board, for pulling cooked Pizzas out of their mobile Pizza oven......

Landrovers, they held the record as the most towed car in Toronto one year....

 

El Guapo, I think I can second that one that the packing video gave us quite a chuckle, packing my front trunk was as much of a laugh on our maiden voyage. Especially when we had to gas up. Ray

After watching Jim's packing video I have tried for hours to get my surfboard to fit into the car. It's just not going to happen. Are Vintage Speedsters larger than IM's? Is the surfboard collapsible? Jim why would you take a full size ironing board? I don't get it...

You need to iron it flat as Video Jim did :~)

That silver LR is our 3rd LR. I've had pretty good luck with them, but I'm also very aggressive with my maintenance regime. 180,000 miles on this one without any major issues.

 

I still have my first LR, a Range Rover Great Divide I bought new in '91. So far, have logged 310,000 miles and still going strong as my off-road excursion vehicle.

 

 

Sorry for thread hi-jack!

I read somewhere that 90% of all Land Rovers are still on the road.

 

The rest made it home.

 

Just kidding ,Jimbo. (I couldn't resist that old joke. I hate myself)

Yeah, but that 10% that didn't make it home?

 

They made it to the dealers shop to get fixed (for big bucks!)

I can't tell you which is better for you, and which is worse.  

What I CAN do, is tell you this:

- with a proper trailer, make sure you get at least a small winch.  Because there's nothing more frustrating than trying to push a car (even something as light as a Speedster) up an incline.  Last car I did that to was my 7-Series.....no matter how many guys you have pushing, you always need 'just one more guy'

- You'll get less stone chips on a trailer (and none if you have a guard)

- You can always see your car (but can't see behind it)

- if you have the cash, try for an enclosed trailer.  tools, rain, storage....it becomes an investment rather than a tool.

- Trailer you can tow anything (any other cars you have/acquire)

 

With a tow bar:

- You'll need a stone guard

- You won't be able to tow any old car (easily, anyway) right away

- You'll save a LOT of gas

- Obviously less overall cost (with proportionately less overall utility)

- Much quicker to load/unload

- If you have access to Troy's deal, you're a lucky man!

 

Given my most recent flirtation with 'the madness', I was about to arrange for a trailer to tow my car home, and found myself thinking "If only I had one of those bars that Troy had on his Jag..." because my Speedster won't start and I'm not about to try pushing it up onto a trailer alone to get it home...!

(Hence my first point way above!)

 

 

I took Troy up on his offer and I picked up the tow bar on Sunday afternoon.  Teby and I went by and looked at it on Saturday after about 100 miles of driving through the mountains and tearing up the twisties.

 

Got it home but I still need to get the truck in front of the Speedster and line everything up to see how much length to add to it and I'll need to narrow it.

 

If you folks wouldn't mind would some of you post photos of your modified tow bars attached to your Speedster/Tow Vehicle and unattached from them so I can get some ideas.

 

Otherwise I think the process for modifying it should be simple enough.

Here's a shot of mine.

My bar was made to pull VW Busses. It fits inside of each bumper mount. There are locking ring collars mounted to the beam to keep the bar centered and to keep the bar from sliding to the left or right. I used the mounts from the bug bar and welded them to the long bar.

Standard bar modified.