83 380 sl dolly towing?

[deportes]

Can you tow a 380sl with a uhaul tow dolly, will it hurt the tranny when in neutral and will it circulate the fluid through the cooler? Thanks.

[Wodnek]

Originally Posted by deportes

Can you tow a 380sl with a uhaul tow dolly, will it hurt the tranny when in neutral and will it circulate the fluid through the cooler? Thanks.

They don't recommend towing a mercedes with the drive wheels down. Can you pull it backwards, with the front wheels down? Either that or you will need to rent the full car trailer.

[nobby]

Originally Posted by deportes

Can you tow a 380sl with a uhaul tow dolly, will it hurt the tranny when in neutral and will it circulate the fluid through the cooler? Thanks.

Depends how far. Under 30 miles or so....you should be ok in neutral. Any further you either need to:

1) Tow it backwards
2) Remove the propshaft
3)Get a FULL car carrying trailer so that no wheels are rolling.

[deportes]

Thanks, I can remove the driveshaft, can't tow it backwards it has a busted arm bracket. Not on recall!

[97 SL320]

Towing a car backwards on a tow dolly can lead to disaster. Somewhere on this site someone did that at too high a speed and pitched the whole assembly off the road and upside down from what I recall.

Tow dollies have 2 pivot points, the trailer ball and the wheel pan. Towing a car backward leads to the wrong alignment needed for stability. What used to be toe in for stability is now toe out. Caster is all wrong leading to the wheels wanting to steer 180 in order to run straight. ( the column can be locked but there is always some free play. )

This 2 pivot and car instability is what leads to issues. Now, using a regular tow truck to tow a car backwards can be done with less drama as there is only one pivot point and enough weight on the trucks rear wheels to over come the tail wagging the dog.

[strelnik]

Originally Posted by 97 SL320

Towing a car backwards on a tow dolly can lead to disaster. Somewhere on this site someone did that at too high a speed and pitched the whole assembly off the road and upside down from what I recall.

Tow dollies have 2 pivot points, the trailer ball and the wheel pan. Towing a car backward leads to the wrong alignment needed for stability. What used to be toe in for stability is now toe out. Caster is all wrong leading to the wheels wanting to steer 180 in order to run straight. ( the column can be locked but there is always some free play. )

This 2 pivot and car instability is what leads to issues. Now, using a regular tow truck to tow a car backwards can be done with less drama as there is only one pivot point and enough weight on the trucks rear wheels to over come the tail wagging the dog.

You are 100% correct!

I towed my 380SL backwards 100 miles at 40 mph and had no problem. Did it on country roads where there was no traffic.

When I accelerated to 45-50, I could feel the pull.

Go slow, you can do it.


PLAN YOUR TRIP CAREFULLY!

[Nate]

Towing DISASTER!!!

Remove the driveshaft, and then tow it. DO NOT LOAD IT BACKWARDS ONTO A DOLLY