TR4/4A Towing a TR4

[KVH]

How is it done? To me, it looks like a chain or rope would tear the lower apron off.

 

[bluemiata90]

I wouldn't tow it with a chain or rope except for a very short distance. There are small eyehooks attached to the front frame that you could attach the rope or chain to. Other then that, rent a flatbed car dolly. Personally, I would always rent the flatbed, it saves on damaging the underside as well as the drivetrain.

 

[michalotti_tr]

I second the idea of using a flatbed trailer if you're going any distance - I was forced to use a dolly when I bought my TR4A and lost a wheel on the return trip /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cryin.gif

 

[sammyb]

You can use a tow dolly, but among the important things:
1) Never tow a wire wheel car in reverse -- you risk losing a wheel.
2) Be very careful about clearance. If you tow with a 4X4 SUV or truck, it generally puts you dang close to banging the TR frame. DRIVE SLOWLY!

I've used a dolly to tow a TR3, and it was fine -- although not much clearance.

Now, as far as towing with just a chain or rope -- go to the frame loops in front. Often these have been damaged/rusted, so you will have to go around other parts of the frame. Never go to the body or bumper.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Not sure if you're just wondering or if you need to haul your '4 somewhere. Pmail me if you need to borrow a trailer (not me but a club member who is very generous with his time & trailer).

 

[Andrew Mace]

[ QUOTE ]
..Never tow a wire wheel car in reverse -- you risk losing a wheel....

[/ QUOTE ]So true. Many years ago, a buddy of mine bought an XK-150 OTS for a couple hundred dollars -- yeah, those were the days! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif It came home with rear end up in the air, since a rear hub was already damaged. I followed the tow truck to my house in my own car. Good thing, too, since I saw the LF knockoff spin off the wheel and bounce into the ditch on the side of the road. Thankfully, the car had already sat neglected long enough that those wheels were pretty firmly rusted onto the splines.

Fast forward to summer 2004, when another friend had his '64 Spitfire 4 towed to my house so I could do some work on it. Same thing, almost; I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the car, on wire wheels, being towed backwards by a tow truck. Somehow, the 25-mile tow went without incident, which was really amazing given how bad the wire wheels were. Ultimately, although not due to the tow, we had to toss the wheels and hubs due to wear. The set had been bought used from a foreign car junkyard. While the wheels looked ok and had no broken spokes, the splines in all four wheels and all four hubs were in pretty poor shape.

Trust me: you've not had the full British car experience until you've hit the brake pedal...and not slowed down much, due to the fact that the front wheels were spinning on the splined hubs. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

All of this is a very long and roundabout way of saying that a tow of any distance is best done on a rollback truck or a flatbed trailer!

 

[sammyb]

When I sold my MGB GT to a guy in Canada, the truck came to get it and it was a rollback with a car already on it. They used the wheel lift on back. The guy lifted the rear wheels, and I said "you really don't want to tow a wire wheel car backwards." He said that it wouldn't be a problem, so I simply told him he had been warned, and I signed the papers.

I emailed the buyer, and he was fuming mad, since not only had he paid for a flatbed, the company told him it was currently "being delivered on a flatbed."

 

[michalotti_tr]

[ QUOTE ]
You can use a tow dolly, but among the important things:
1) Never tow a wire wheel car in reverse -- you risk losing a wheel.

[/ QUOTE ]

It wasn't - I had disconnected the driveshaft and put the front wheels on the dolly. The problem was the wheels were center lock (which neither the seller or I knew) but had lug nuts and no center lock spinner. The amazing part is the car made 950 miles out of a 1000 mile trip before the wheel came off! In the end I can't complain - I forced UHaul to pay off for the damages (actually got more than I paid for the car!) then found the missing wheel after several weeks of searching along the interstate.