FW: Towing- a final note

[Perez Oscar <PerezO@domain.elided>]

Demitri-- 

This was a thread on the digest in early March.  IMO- The transport (four
off the road) is the way to go- why take a chance -- With the U-haul number,
the costs were not much more for the transport vs dolly.  This is a response
I sent to the digest on March 5 of this year.  I think it addresses several
issues well.  




> 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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End of alfa-digest V7 #677
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