951Gary

I'm thinking of renting a tow dolly to tow(to a DE day) my 951 behind the motorhome. For the Winnebago challenged, a tow dolly is essentially a towable axle that the front tires rest upon, most commonly used to tow FWD cars behind motohomes.

Has anyone done this? Are there known problems?

thanks
Gary

IceShark

I suppose there are different types of tow dollies, but U-Haul says not to use ANY of theirs with the 944. It is reportedly very easy to bend up the car's front end. Like it happens more or less every time.

They rent a trailer that works pretty good. Cost me $80 for 3 days on a 500 mile household move.

Gundo

I towed a beater 86 944 on a u-haul dolly for 250 miles (through New Jersey, over the George Washington Bridge and through Manhattan, to Connecticut no less) If there are more potholed roads somewhere on earth, I'd like to see them!

Afterwards, I noticed no ill effect on the car's handling.

I don't, however, suppose I would tow anything I cared about on one of those trailers - they are quite scary.

Cheers
Brendan

Z-man

The only problem with using a tow dolly is that it can damage your rear differential! The rear wheels are turning, but since the engine is off, there is nothing that circulates the fluid and as such, you can fry your diff! If you travel short distances, it should not be a problem.

I did read somewhere that you can disconnect the diff from your axle (?) and then be able to use the tow dolly thingy.

Sorry I don't have a more technical explanation: bottom line: it's best to use a full trailer with all 4 wheels off the ground when towing a 944.

-Zoltan.

Perry 951

Take out the driveshafts.

I used the U-haul trailer to tow my 951 when I moved. It worked fine, little scraping when driving it up there, but not a big deal. Make sure the tounge on the trailer is in good shape, and the ball and hitch are good to go.

99% of the problems with U-haul trailers is the welds for the supports on the tounge crack, and then the tounge cracks and bends. No fun. My finacee's father pitched a new Accord off one because of this.

keith

I've used a tow dolly several times - I tell them I am towing a 1988 Jetta, so they will rent it to me. Never any ascertainable damage, have towed up to 20 hrs. (did remove driveshafts that time) but tow 3.5 hrs or less semi-frequently w/driveshafts in place. You just have to use your head when loading the 944, esp. the 951 to avoid front end damage. A couple of 2x6"s usually do the trick.

Z-man

That's it! The driveshaft has to be removed!

Thanks Perry and Keith!
-Z.

951Gary

Thanks for the observations. I don't understand the issue with the diff...
[quote] The only problem with using a tow dolly is that it can damage your rear differential! The rear wheels are turning, but since the engine is off, there is nothing that circulates the fluid and as such, you can fry your diff! <hr></blockquote>
There isn't a pump in the '87 on 951, or any NA 944, isn't it all just splash oiling anyway???


Gary

Ahmet

I've also wondered why many believe that there's an issue with towing a 944 (rear wheels on the ground). The transaxle operates as it would if the car was being driven, when the car is being towed. I don't see an issue with towing it, as long as it's in neutral. If anybody can offer another perspective, please do.
Ahmet

Matt O.

I towed my 924S 600 miles to NC, and then I took the 944 down to Wilmington, both and U-Haul and both made no contact with the trailer (other then tires). I got, and I recommend the one with all 4 tires OFF the ground. Worth the extra money.

I don't know the cost, because it was free - because U-Haul accused my dad of stealing a covered trailer that we returned (which was found on the side of the road in Arkansas or something).

-Matt

keith

NOTE: by driveshafts we are really meaning AXLES.

In any event, on 951s with the oil cooling loop, I don't know the difference between towing and driving, either.

Perhaps that is old-school wisdom (?) about towing automatics...

Danno

Yeah, the oil-pump in the tranny is driven off the diff. and it doesn't matter if it's engine power or the wheels turning that drives the diff., the oil-pump will still pump oil. Besides, the load from spinning just the tire and the diff. is completely miniscule compared to pushing through 300lb-ft of torque from the engine at full-throttle!

This line of reasoning sounds like the assertion my brother made while we were bike-racing in college. He alledged that using a roof rack was bad on your bike because the air would have put 300-miles of wear on your front wheels. Gee golly, what's 300-miles of freewheeling through the air @10-20mph with zero load, compared to 300-miles of racing @30-60mph with a 150lb load (300-350lbs under braking)?

951Gary

[quote] In any event, on 951s with the oil cooling loop, I don't know the difference between towing and driving, either.
<hr></blockquote>

[quote] Yeah, the oil-pump in the tranny is driven off the diff. and it doesn't matter if it's engine power or the wheels turning that drives the diff., the oil-pump will still pump oil. <hr></blockquote>

Is this intended to imply that for an '87 951, or any 944 NA, that there is a problem?

thanks
Gary

instigator

i dont get this line of thinking, that because just the dif is turning that no oil is being circulated. well if the diff is turning so is the pinion shaft, that in turn has gears that when in neutral spins the gears that are attached to that shaft (oil friction) this anlone is flinging oil onto other components just like it does when you are driving. now these gears are meshed with the gears attached to the input shaft and since the gearbox is in neutral these gears are also spinning freely therfore working the oil that was just flung onto them into the bearings.

i used to think that leaving the car in neutral w/clutch ingaged that the bearings were getting starved but the above also works when the spinning input is from the other end(input shaft)

so i would tow the car with the shafts still on, you are just being over protective about something the engineers have already thought of. (for quite some time now )

Danno

Yeah, not to mention that empirical data (real-world experiences) appear to show that there's no harm in it at all.