Tow Dolly for nearby track (50 miles)

[philooo]

what do you guys think of towing with a tow dolly for nearby tracks ?

I am in florida where roads are perfectly flat and it Florida doesn't require to be registered and neither the towed vehicle

see here: http://www3.flhsmv.gov/dmv/Proc/RS/RS-63.pdf

A tow dolly does not require registration nor does the vehicle it is transporting. However, the towing vehicle must be currently registered.

My FRS has stock suspensions so it is plenty high enough.. any feedback on the pros/cons.

[campy]

The owners manual says you should not use those to tow an FRS. There's potential for drivetrain damage of some sort.

On an unrelated note: can a Wrangler really tow a car? I didn't know they had the power or weight for it.

[ddeflyer]

Originally Posted by philooo

what do you guys think of towing with a tow dolly for nearby tracks ?

I am in florida where roads are perfectly flat and it Florida doesn't require to be registered and neither the towed vehicle

see here: http://www3.flhsmv.gov/dmv/Proc/RS/RS-63.pdf

A tow dolly does not require registration nor does the vehicle it is transporting. However, the towing vehicle must be currently registered.

My FRS has stock suspensions so it is plenty high enough.. any feedback on the pros/cons.

Towing the car like that may damage the Torsen differential. The manual goes into more detail, but I believe you are supposed to use a platform or at least tow rear end forward (though that would likely mangle the hell out of the front lip).

[SeanRTR]

Wranger can tow just fine, as long as it's a 4 door.

The 2 door wrangler has plenty of torque / power to the tow the car, but isn't rated for such as the wheel base is too short for speeds above like...45 MPH.

I've towed my Neons and MR2 using a tow dolley, behind a 2003 4.0L Ford Explorer, manual trans 2wd. Neon loads front wheels on the dolley, MR2, with the rear wheels on the dolley.

However, I probably wouldn't use it to tow my FR-S, but if I did I'd definitely try to tow it with the rear wheels up, dragging the front wheels avoiding any potential driveline issues.

[JoeC]

I've never done it, but I would have thought you'd be asking for trouble towing a vehicle backwards.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by JoeC

I've never done it, but I would have thought you'd be asking for trouble towing a vehicle backwards.

Before FWD many vehicles were towed backwards! Mind you those towing methods would rip the bumper covers right off modern cars.

I have a buddy that tows a Miata behind an RV for thousands of miles. He just backs it onto the dolly, locks the front wheels straight and off he goes.
I have no idea if he should do it this way, but he does, and has never had a problem (that he admits at any rate)!

[redlined600]

Imho it's the worst of both worlds. Most of the extra complexity and cost of towing without the ability to fully load up a car if something were to go wrong.

If the car has stock suspension why not just drive it or, reach out to your local club and ask to rent a trailer. Worst case some have had luck with uhaul.

[philooo]

the big advantage of the tow dolly is the storage space, storing a trailer takes tons of space.
and filling uhaul pocket each weekend is a pain as well. Tow dolly would really solve many problems for me.

[Travis Bickle]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Before FWD many vehicles were towed backwards! Mind you those towing methods would rip the bumper covers right off modern cars.

I have a buddy that tows a Miata behind an RV for thousands of miles. He just backs it onto the dolly, locks the front wheels straight and off he goes.
I have no idea if he should do it this way, but he does, and has never had a problem (that he admits at any rate)!

You have no buddies don't lie you are just a lonely jerk that rides a 3 wheel bicycle wearing a football helmet and hangs out on a car forum.

[Andrew025]

Originally Posted by Travis Bickle

You have no buddies don't lie you are just a lonely jerk that rides a 3 wheel bicycle wearing a football helmet and hangs out on a car forum.

You would think someone who wants their account removed would spend less time stalking some random dude that hurt your precious feelings.