Some Towing Advice

[johnbuckley]

I need to 4 wheel tow my Spider about 125 miles to my cottage. Am I OK to tow it in neutral without disconnecting the drive shaft? It's about a 2 hour drive.. I am concerned about damaging the tranny or diff. Any advice appreciated.

[BEEK]

make sure all fluids are in good condition and full, there is absolutly no problem towing the car that way. but i recomend that you use a dolley or a car trailer. uhaul rents them even in canada. but still no problem, you need to be sure where you hook the tow bar though, the front bumper shocks can be pulled out, ive seen it happen. they were never intended to be pulled on.

[Zippy]

I need to 4 wheel tow my Spider about 125 miles to my cottage. Am I OK to tow it in neutral without disconnecting the drive shaft? It's about a 2 hour drive.. I am concerned about damaging the tranny or diff. Any advice appreciated.

125 miles in 2 hours? Towing a Spider? Are you using a tow hitch or a chain? If you are using a tow hitch I would say maybe. What kind of shape is your Spider in and what do you expect to have left when you get to your destination? If it's in good shape it will probably be ok when you get there. If it's a rust bucket or has a bad front end it could be disasterous. If you are using a chain or strap I would say, don't do it.

If the car is in good shape the 2 things that would concern me are rock chips in the paint and damage to the front end from making hard turns with a tow hitch. I had a friend help me tow a VW once with a hitch from U-haul and he crumpled the front end when we went around the first corner. Cost me more to fix than if I had paid a towing company.

I use a company with a flatbed to move my spider.

Think everything through first and then proceed with care, and good luck.

[BEEK]

of course im assuming that you intend to use a tow bar, not a chain. btw uhaul no longer rents tow bars, a modern tow bar from a rv source should be ok, again its all in the mounting! i recomend a trailer or 2 wheel dolley.
this advice is coming from a person who ownes 10 tow trucks. and i spent 20 years repairing and restoring fiats before the towing business

[johnbuckley]

Thanks to both of you. I am using a tow bar and removing the bumper and replacing the bumper shocks with custom made brackets to fit the tow bar. In retrospect it will more likely take me closer to 3 hours. The front end is in good shape but the body is "under reconstruction", needs new paint and some body work so the odd stone chip won't bother me. Almost all good highway so limited risk there.

Sounds like it will be OK if I am careful and take the turns gradually.