Towing

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Mon 23 Feb 2004 15:29
Towing - SjB {P}
Oh what fun it was...to tow a SAAB 9000 with no means of clutch disengagement for nigh on seventy miles last night. Because it was only clutch actuation at fault, we left the engine idling on the SAAB so had no battery drain issues, and reassuringly for me driving and owning the car in front, full servo braking and powered steering!

Solid, instant, torque from our manual gearbox V70 2.4T made the towing part a breeze, but there were a few BOING, Boing, boing, bng, bg moments along the way when I was hauling the SAAB in to the biggest roundabout gap he was ever gong to get, when the driver would then lose his nerve, stand on the brakes, and decide to wait for Christmas. The brakes would then be released in one go a split second later when Christmas appeared to be not such a good option as an on boost turbocharger is by then hauling the front off his car!

To be fair, other than two or three moments like this, the towee (such a word?!) coordinated his actions with mine very well, and kept a nice gentle tension on the rope. The car was a left hooker, so by placing my V70 to the right of the carriageway, he also had a clear view of the road in front of me, and predicted slight speed adjustment needs, braking, and cornering, very well. Good teamwork. We average 41 MPH in free running, extremly light, traffic, and averaged 23.8MPG. This compares with 29MPG (and middle fifties MPH) that I normally get on this frequently done run, so was not too bad.

Made me think though, how far have other backroomers towed another car on a flexible rope (not a towing rod), and what was the experience like?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 23 Feb 2004 15:57
Towing - BazzaBear {P}
In my misguided youth, and with a misguided father, I was once towed in my old Astravan by my dad in his Nissan 300ZX, from Lancaster to Congleton (80 miles ish?), on the motorway, at full motorway speeds, with a tow rope which was about 6 feet long.
Idiotic behaviour, I know, and not something I would ever consider now.
By the end of the journey I had trouble letting go of the steering wheel, and my knuckles were as white as snow.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link