Towing with a dolly?

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Cope

Cope

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Im looking for some advice towing my 71 auto trans dart almost 300 miles on a front wheel u haul dolly.

How bad of an idea is this? do I need to pull the drive shaft or do I dare just put the column shifter in neutral?

Thanks for all your thoights, idea's and advice.
 
Get a spare yoke, pull the shaft and plug the trans and tie / wire the yoke into the trans.
 
Pull the driveshaft.
Don't tow with transmission in neutral, it will cause expensive problems!

CudaMike13
 
I towed a 61 fury 3000 miles with a tow bar, just disconnected drive shaft from rear and wire tied it up. I think to the pinion snubber. And drive carefully, you have a lot more mass to stop, and you will be longer.
EDIT: and take some tape and put it around the u-joint caps to keep it together
 
Just wondering if you have the capability to use a uhaul trailer as opposed to the dolly, not sure what your towing with. They usually don't cost much more. Then you shouldn't have any worries of damages etc. Just my 2 cents.
 
Neutral and drive. 300 miles is nothing in a vehicle in good mechanical condition. People tow vehicles behind RV's all the time and never drop the line. If you have the time, sure go ahead and pull it. But not required in this case.
 
Save yourself some grief -- Rent - OR - Borrow a trailer.
 
I have a trailer BUT im afraid that the dart may not fit on it. ( I would hate to drive 5 hours one way to not have the Dart fit on the trailer..) anyone care to measure their dart for me?
 
Blind Squirrel said:
Neutral and drive. 300 miles is nothing in a vehicle in good mechanical condition.
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Myself I prefer to go with what Ma says. This is right out of the 1972 service manual
 

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Last time I towed my Barracuda 600 miles I looked at renting a U-haul. A one way rental was $430.

Since I was already at the my destination, renting from U-haul for a "local" move was $53/day. I did an out and back in two days...total cost $106.
 
Done it several times. Pull the shaft and tape the u joint caps. Keep the straps tight, stopping every hour for a break and site inspection of the load.
 
I rented one of the U-Haul car trailers to tow my Firebird 100 miles home. I rented it and a truck in the town where I bought the car, and the trailer was negligibly more expensive than the dolly and easy to use.
 
It's really a dumbass thing to argue against pullin the shaft when 1) the owner's manual clearly says to do it and 2) it takes less than 20 minutes to do.

Unless of course you just enjoy the possibility of boogerin up somethin that ain't boogered up.
 
When I bought my Dart, the price difference at UHaul between the dolly and trailer was only about ten dollars. Not worth the hassle of crawling under to disconnect the driveshaft if its running. If it's not running, a tow dolly might be easier than getting it up the ramps of a trailer. How are the tires/rear end? Rented their truck too as mine almost has 300K on it. Figured if mine had any issues on the way, it would be their problem to get it back somehow. I think I spent about $250 + gas for a 350 mile trip.
 
As others have said, pull the shaft. the Dart will fit on the trailer. Every time I rent a trailer, I'm towing home a"'68 Dart". It seems like if I tell them some other vehicle, they find something about the vehicle that won't fit on the trailer and refuse to give me the trailer.Oh, and may you have better luck than I had a few weeks ago.I rented a trailer to bring home a '73 Duster. Sometime on the way home, the right rear leaf spring locating bolt broke and let the rear axle shift and let the right rear tire just about burn a hole through the fender.After an hour and a half waiting for roadside assistance, I was back on the highway. After I complained when I took the trailer back, They didn't charge me. I suppose it could have been worse.
 
I would have it hauled on a roll back,

some towing companies can do a bulk rate of like $2.50 a loaded mile + hook up

That is about $800. but there is no worry about tire blowouts or breakdowns which would cost more if it happens. If you breakdown and need to tow two separate vehicles and a car dolly in from the highway, that can cost more in the long run and risk damaging precious cargo.

A tow company is insured and bonded and the whole nine yards, why stress out ......just cruise there and rest assured your dart will be there when you get there.

I have done it before and it's so much less stress...jus sayin, to throw out more ideas.
 
Can anyone tell me the width of a 70s dart? I was just looking in my notes from before I left town and i got the length of the dart but apparently did not get the width. if i have the numbers I csn measure my trailer and maybe go that route.

thanks.
 
I've pulled many cars with a dolly and a trailer. Pulling a vehicle with a dolly is much easier on the tow vehicle than pulling a loaded trailer with a vehicle. As said above, pull the driveshaft. I've taped a couple of zip lock bags over the trans tailshaft, as opposed to using a spare driveshaft yoke, which I never seem to have. A little messier, but still gets the job done.
 
My advice is to use a chain and chain the car to the dolly. Don't rely on the straps alone or this could happen. Ask me how I know.

Use the chain as an extra safety link.
 

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Tony Fields said:
My advice is to use a chain and chain the car to the dolly. Don't rely on the straps alone or this could happen. Ask me how I know.

Use the chain as an extra safety link.
Click to expand...

That Sucks! Great advice, and advice I'll follow in the future.
 
I assume You meant "put it in neutral and let the engine idle", if not no way,pull the shaft.
If You did mean that, I've pondered that as a "what if", no tools/wrecker/tow strap/only
option. But this isn't an emergency,so no reason to test that method.
I dropped the shaft on my '64 GT vert to dolly it from OK to PA, and it is a 3 on the tree.
The thought of it catching a gear at 65mph and waggin' the ***-end around and ramifica-
tions to follow didn't appeal to me. A word about those dollies,as mentioned check the straps
often and back them up w/your own ratchetstraps/chains.If the roads are rough,check the
lamp housings to make sure they won't turn in the fenders. I had to pull over and repair the
wiring twice when I realized the harness wasn't just twisted as a matter of manufacture!!
The last fix involved jamming mech. wire in the led connector,wrapping the broken wire
'round that, then stealing a couple trim screws from my car to run into the fender to lock
the lamp in place. Getting pulled over doesn't appeal to me either, esp. out if state!
I'm curious what trailer You're considering that an A-body is a questionable fit??
 
I towed my dart 700 miles on a tow dolly. Removed the drive shaft. No problems
 
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