Correct answer is #1.
Towing backwards is dangerous and illegal. The column lock is not
meant to absorb the abuse of road surface bumps and holes...and
when
it breaks lose, the wheels will instantly turn left or right, and
you'll be smashing into a guardrail before you even know something's
gone
wrong. Whoever told you that should never be asked
another
car
question.
NOT
dropping the driveshaft on an automatic car will fry the tranny
if
you tow over 10 miles or so or at any highway speed for more
than
a few minutes. If the engine isn't running, the trans fluid isn't
pumping, and the spinning internal parts will cook.
A
manual tranny doesn't have this issue, so the driveshaft can stay
in....but ALWAYS tow facing forward.
Another thing about tow dollys that people get wrong, often. If
the
dolly is equipped with a pivoting table, meaning the car's tires rest
on
plates on a frame that pivots slightly in relation to the dolly's
axle,
then
you LOCK the steering column of the car being towed. If
the
dolly has no pivoting deck/table, then you want the column
unlocked
to
allow some flex as you make tighter turns as found on local roads
and
intersections.
And
stop after the first mile to re-tighten the straps. Then do it
again
every 30 minutes or when road type changes (highway to local, vice
versa, etc.)...whichever comes first. I arrived once with both straps
dragging behind the car, and the safety chains stretched taught...and
the
car half-way off the dolly! SCARY.
John
I am thinking about tolling
my Gremlin on a dolly later this summer. Will be 150 one way 300 mile round
trip. I have been told three things. One guy told me I would have to drop
the driveshaft, another told me to toll it backwards and the third told me
to put it in N and forget it. What do you guy think?
Terry
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