Towing- a final note

[Perez Oscar <PerezO@domain.elided>]

Ben Wrote:

>I have used nothing but tow dollies (U-haul) to tow my Alfas (and friends)
and
>have never once had a problem nor scraped any exhaust on the ground.  If
your
>exhaust is hitting the ground you have incorrectly installed your exhaust
and
>or your springs/shocks are in dire need of replacement - and/or you
overloaded
>the trunk with stuff bottoming out the springs.

This is an important subject as towing can be dangerous, and many of us will
do it at one time or another.

I too have used a Tow Dolly, but only for short trips,  I had no scraping
problems at all.  When towing my spider around town I did have my driveshaft
removed as part of a repair.  I was told that it is not a good practice to
tow rear wheel drive cars on a tow dolly w/o the driveshaft removed?  (bad
for trans// clutch? no explanation given)  I probably would have rented a
car transport if the drive shaft hadn't already been out.  I also know that
my owner's manual suggests only all four off the road towing. 


>Unless U-haul and Ryder policies vary by location - neither company will
rent
>a flatbed (car-transport) to you unless you pull it with one of their
rental
>trucks - I've tried to rent them to pull with my vehicle - they did about
10
>years ago before they got safety conscious.

When I had to tow my spider from Chicago to Indianapolis (early January) I
rented a car-transport by calling [ 1-800-GO-UHAUL ].   U-haul is the only
rental company that does not require you rent a truck from them to do so.
It had the front Jack mentioned by Jay Mackro in the last digest #529.   


>U-haul requires that the weight of the vehicle being towed + the weight of
the
>tow dolly/trailer is less than or equal to the weight of the towing vehicle
>less 500 lbs, if this is not the case - they will not rent you any
equipment.
>When you tell them you are towing an Alfa Romeo most places haven't a clue
how
>to figure out the weight (it doesn't matter if you know the weight or if it
is
>stamped on the door jamb - they have to have it in their book -  no weight
=
>no equipment.

I had no trouble through the 1-800 number.  In my experience they asked for
the -make, model, yr- of both cars.  While I waited they verified that it
was safe to tow my 91 Spider with my 97 Chevy Tahoe, (no hissing please). 

I hope this helps anyone having to tow their Alfa for whatever reason:
move-repair-etc..

Oscar
91 Spider
Speedway, IN

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