Towbar for the Galant

[Gabor]

Did anybody ever tow their car behind another car or truck on wheels?
What tow bar should I get?

 

[Terry Posten]

The only way I would tow a GVR4 w/o a flat bed trailer is a front wheel dolly setup and then drop the driveshaft away fron the rear diff.

And that is the last option.

Best way is to get a full trailer.

 

[Gabor]

I see that you can tow the WRX on all 4 wheels. Haven't played with the Galant in a while. What was the reason we can't do that?

 

[Terry Posten]

Wear-n-tear on the tranny. When the box is in neutral, the gears are not spinning to get the lube up to all the bearings.

Just not worth it IMO.

 

[Gabor]

So lets say I'm going to tow it on 4 anyway. (I think I'll be making enough stops to not cause any damage)
Where do I find a tow bar and plate for our car?

 

[Jason G.]

The owner's manual says you can tow it on all 4, but to keep it under 30 mph and no more than 25 miles. It may be even 50 miles.

I've towed mine before like that about 8 miles or so no problem. I hooked it up to the tow hook directly behind where the fog light would be, thru the bumper cover.

Edit: It may be vice-versa; under 25mph and no more than 30 miles. Check the manual.

 

[jepherz]

Actually, in terms of oil, the input shaft won't even be spinning, so that doesn't need any. The output shaft and intermediate shaft should be spinning as a result of the wheels turning, and all oil to those gears (I think) is just 'slung' into place, so I'm not sure why oil would be a problem. There's probably something I'm not thinking about though.

 

[gtluke]

you'll burn up the input bearing pretty quick unless you put the car in gear and jam the clutch down with something and hope for the best.

 

[GIjoe]

I towed my AWD dynamic-4 before with no problems at all. It wasnt for a long distance though.

 

[Gabor]

There is so much miss information out there about towing that it's not even funny.
For shits and giggles I've searched on tooners and that's all I got, shits and giggles.
Let's try to look at this a little more technically and stick to, if something goes wrong why, rather than it'll just go wrong.

Thanks

 

[HHIVR4]

If you can afford that motorhome you can afford the proper trailer.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Hertz]

With the amount of drag our drivelines have, you'll probably PAY for the trailer by towing the VR-4 as opposed to dragging it with all the fuel you'll save.

 

[atc250r]

A decent used car trailer is around $1500. I'd rather spend the money on that than roll the dice on wrecking the trans. Also, the drag that the trailer will put on the motorhome is less than the GVR4 being flat-towed so you'll be using less fuel and saving wear and tear on the motorhome's drivetrain. Sorry I can't give you technical info on why you should or shouldn't do it but this is some food for thought.

John

 

[Polish]

I agree, do it right. Put it on a trailer. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

If it (manual) says not to do it, one can only assume they put there there for a reason.

 

Or just pull the t-case, and driveshaft if money is an issue.

I've personally done this with two galants back, and forth from Maine to Virginia. Don't be scared.

 

[jepherz]

I speculate that Gabor is wanting to tow his galant behind his RV, in which case, pulling all of that crap each time he wants to go from city to city is probably not an option. I think he, as well, is aware that most people are advising him to tow it using a trailer. With that aside, lets get back on topic and reply where he can get the wanted towing equipment, if anyone knows.

 

[Gabor]

It's not a money issue. I don't care if I get 12 or 10 miles to a gallon. It's more of a convenience.
Taking the car off the trailer all the time would be a pain. Leaving it unattended or storage would be another.
Towing on 4 wheels would be just so much easier. Unhook the tow bar and it's ready to go.
Reading more into it I saw posts where people towed their DSM hundreds of miles without a problem.
So if I tow it at 65 miles an hour for say 300 miles what will happen inside the transmission.

 

[jepherz]

Only thing I am confused about is what GTLuke said. Otherwise, I don't think there's much to worry about.

 

[Gabor]

Here is what I found after a lot of searching on this subject.
click

Looks like I'm going to leave the Galant home and tow a different vehicle on four wheels down.

 

[14u2nV]

That kind of thing scares me with the thought that it might pop into gear and really do some damage. Doubt it would, but paranoia wins. aside from mentioned, wouldn't the tow bar have to be pretty low, making it awkward? Also, how would the AWS be affected or affect the handling,, a wagging galant would not be fun behind an rv.