Towing questions

[ammo troop]

In need of advice from the masses, Getting ready to move cross country from cali to ohio, retiring after 20 years with Uncle Sam. My questions are this, I plan on towing my flat towing my 93 Explorer behind my 99 Mountaineer, Never flat towed before and was wondering if I could get some advice on what to expect, Also, besides having the cooling system and transmission serviced, (I am putting on a bigger trans cooler) what should I pay close attention to? Or should I scrap the Idea and pay to have my truck professionally shipped?

 

[ammo troop]

Advice.... anyone, Good or Bad?

 

[jimbo74]

make sure the brakes are perfect! trying to stop two explorers with one explorers brakes will really stress out one vehicle... do several test runs where you practice on how both react and such..... make sure to rest the truck every so often it will heat up... make sure towed x has the driveshaft removed... make sure you have trailer lights as required per DOT standards.. make sure you have a good way of securing the 93 to the 99-towbar whatever.... safety chains... dont overload the vehicles..... i am sure there are more......

 

[ammo troop]

Thanks for the reply, Hope to not have to big an issue w/ brakes, my towing vhicle is a mountaineer w/ 4 wheel discs. Do I need to remove drivshaft front and rear on my explorer? the front has manual hubs and is a 5spd. sorry I didn't include that earlier. Where would be a good place to look for a quality tow bar?

 

[BIG COUNTRY]

YES!!! Check your safety chains! Last year I saw somebody's car that was being towed in the ditch with the driver not even around! that puppy rolled! The driver probaly didnt even know it, what a way to find out 100 miles down the road and your car that you were towing is not behind you anymore...

 

[CHuntMD]

Get/rent a tow dolly. Flat towing a two similar weight rigs will be asking for trouble.

1) Can the tow rig stop an extra 4000pds? Most states require some sort of braking either electric or hydrolic when your pulling that much.

2) You must unlock the towed sterring wheel. Best to unhook the battery of the towed rig. The rear rig will try to keep going straight when the front rig wants to turn.

3) forget about backing up at all.

4) You will be going up some elevation which will cause extreme heat build up in the tranny. Get a BG Tranny flush (not just a drain) Think about installing a tranny temp.

5) Get magnetic tow lights. Make the towed rig extremely visible.

6) Don't put anything in the towed rig, keep it as light as possible.

7) Keep the speeds low.

8) Consider shipping the extra rig back to OH or sell in in CA.

9) You love gas$ and car insurance$ in OH, both way lower than CA at least in the Dayton area

 

[taxx]

I agree. Rent a tow dolly with brakes. Your brakes on that mounty are not made to stop that much extra weight. Flat land around here for a couple hours I would say you are fine, but there are gonna be mountains, turns and loads of stops. Do your mounty and every one else on the road a favor and use a tow dolly if for anything else BRAKES. I towed my explorer on a trailer with my other explorer and had no problems. braking was great. But it was all flat land. the engine and tranny would have never made it though the mountains. But if your mounty is a 5.0 you'll be fine just take it easy on the up hills.

Good luck and have a safe trip. Welcome to (or back to) the midwest.

 

[Crankcase]

For that distance, your best bet would be to get a Uhaul car hauler trailer.....one of the flat deck deals. You would not have to worry about getting any other special things for the trip.

 

[SplashMan]

Defiantly look into a dolly or a trailer... I pull my B2 on a 14' trailer with my Explorer, but when I first got it I tow-bared it home... big difference. With the tow-bar, the B2 would push me pretty good coming to a stop and an emergency stop would have been VERY interesting. Keep in mind that my Explorer is heavier than my B2, so your Explorer is going to push your Mounty even more. Even though the trailer plus the B2 is heavier now, the trailer has electric brakes and when I need to stop, the trailer does close to half of the work. I experimented with the trailer and used just the trailer to stop me a couple times and once those brakes kicked in the wight of the B2 and trailer stooped the Explorer real quick.

Where in Cali are you coming from and when? I have a friend transferring to Cali (San Diego) around Feb... he could possibly pull my trailer out with him and then you could use it to bring your X home... I'm in Chicago, so I could meet you half way and pick it up... just a thought.

 

[ammo troop]

Thanks for all the replies, I need to get on the road to work, will be back tommorrow with specific questions. And yes, I am Heading back to the great MIDWEST!