bliffle

Has anyone towed an FB behind a motorhome? Sometimes it's called a 'toad'.

Slightly used motorhomes are a dime a dozen around here with all the financial distress, so I was thinking of getting one and using it for long getaways up and down the coast, to Mojave, etc. It would be nice if I could drag along one of my cars for local use. I know that these things are mucho expensive to operate, both for gas and repairs, but it might be a decent way to wander around some. If gas/diesel is $5/gallon and you get 10 miles/gallon, that's, say, $1/mile in round numbers. So I figure maybe 200 miles per hop, and hop once every two weeks, so it's about $100/week for fuel. Might be a nice way to see the parks slowly and be cheaper than using motels, etc.

The 'toads' I've seen people tow in pictures and on the road are usually pointed forward. In the Olden Times when I went racing we worried about transmission gears wearing out because the gears were turning but they were lubed by the input shaft which is idle in neutral. So if we towed with wheels on the ground we lifted the back end and locked the steering wheel in place. But that was a couple centuries ago so I suppose modern thinking is different.

Maybe I should just hang a moped on the back and stow a bicycle in the cabin, instead.

Of course, another option is to tow a lightweight trailer with the RX-7, but the only things I've seen a 7 tow are a small trailer or a Zodiac. I once saw one towing a foldup tent trailer.

Rx-7Doctor

iTrader: (13)

You can purchase a tow bar that will attach to the front tow hooks. If you are going very short distances you don't have to worry about the transmission.

If you want to make sure the transmission is being lubricated properly then install an elbow in the filler hole and fill the transmission to the top.

I did this on my Se when I towed it from Ca to Oregon. It was approx 670 miles and I have had no issues.

74RX4

iTrader: (10)

With Pictures

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/flat-towing-questions-654432/

bliffle

The front tow hooks are OK?

I wouldn't want to drive more than 300 miles in any one day, anyhow.

I think I see: point the elbow up to create a fluid head that keeps lube above the gears.


How many days for the trip?

Jeezus

iTrader: (4)

Kinda side question here, if you don't mind the semi-thread jack:

If you were to flat tow an RX with wheels on the ground, trans in N and whatnot, I know it is bad and you can burn out the transmission. How? I thought that if you were in N then the transmission still spins with the wheels, sloshing the oil around as if it were driving? I think I missed something, so if someone could clarify, that would be great

74RX4

iTrader: (10)

Read the thread I posted above for more details. I have flat towed a lot of different RX's and never had a transmission problem. You may be thinking of a tow dolly. I've never used one on a 7, but the info I've heard is that the fluid drains toward the rear of the tranny because of the front end up orientation of the car. When this happens the main shaft and gears are not lubricated properly.

dbragg

iTrader: (7)

just take off the driveshaft and duct tape a spray can cap over the end of the tranny.

bliffle

Of course the flaw in my motorhome vacation idea is that it's hard to find a place to stop these days. And expensive. I guess the state is filling up with people. Us oldtimers remember when you could pull off the road someplace off the main road, put out a char grill for cooking and an old aluminum lawnchair for relaxing. Walk down the beach to pee and go to a gas station to dump. Nowadays these places charge $50-$100 a night for a space (in a not very scenic place) and Federal or State parks are booked years in advance.

Maybe it's just another dumb idea.

Rogue_Wulff

Back about 25 years ago, I flat towed a Mazda pickup less than 10 miles. A couple months later, I had to replace 2 bearings in the trans. The oil is only circulated inside the trans when the input shaft is turning, which in turn, spins the countershaft. The CS is immersed in oil, and the spinning of the CS is the only method of moving the oil.
The bearings I had to replace, were the output shaft bearings. The one at the rear, in the tailshaft housing, and the one at the front, where it meets the backside of the input shaft.

Due to this, I wouldn't recommend flat towing or tow dollying, without dropping the driveshaft. It only takes a couple minutes to unbolt it, where it takes much longer to replace the trans.

Rx-7Doctor

iTrader: (13)

13 hours straight. The only thing I stopped for was gas and to let the Dogs stretch their legs.

bliffle

Rogue,

Yes, that's what I was afraid of. But other guys seem to have good success by loading up on lube. Maybe it takes a combination of low fluid and no input rotation to cause a problem. Anyhow, I hate to think of dropping under to bolt/unbolt a driveshaft for personal use.

10 miles seems a very short distance for an unloaded ball-bearing to wear out in. There should be enough residual lube to keep it wet. I think most of these special transmission lubes (like the Redline MTF I use) have film strengtheners for that purpose.

Rogue_Wulff

I thought 10 miles was a short enough distance to not hurt anything, as well. However, the truck only had ~65K on it at the time, but it was rather cold at the time. I had to wait a couple days for the snow to disappear from the roads, before I towed it home. That may have contributed to the problem. Especially since I went 65MPH most of that distance. I really don't know how long it had been since it was last driven, though I was told it had only been a couple weeks.
Since that time, I have just made it my personal rule to always drop the driveshaft, or use a trailer, anytime I am going more than 1-2 miles, or faster than 25-35MPH.

Also, the truck was actually an 80 Ford Courier, according to the title, but it was 100% Mazda aside from the badges. I bought it with a bad head gasket in 82, which is why I was towing it home. The trans wasn't low on oil, as I checked it just before changing it, after I fixed the head gasket. 3 months later, I rebuilt the trans...... That only required the 2 bearings I mentioned.
After those 2 repairs, I got another 150K out of the truck, before I sold it. Funny, I got more for it than I paid originally. I cannot understand why it was almost 25 years before I bought another Mazda product, considering the first one gave such great service. Even more impressive, considering I was 17 when I bought it, and drove like I was 17.......

orion84gsl

iTrader: (5)

Do as us truckers do in a jam. Walmart parking lot, onramp to the interstate, or the shoulder of a side road. Not the greatest or most scenic but it does the job when you need to get off the road. Also truck stops are handy but late at night you'll never find a spot.

bliffle

Is an auxiliary brake required?

74RX4

iTrader: (10)

I checked the state laws about flat towing a couple years ago and found a web page on an RV site. They listed each state and its laws. Some states (not many) require an extra brake if the towed vehicle is over 2000 lbs. I don't think the law is enforced very often. No extra brake has been needed in my experiences. The F250 easily stopped the RX-4, Cosmo and RX-7s. Backing and tight turns are not advisable with the cheap solid tow bar I use. $500+ ones have shock absorber type ends on each of the bars. These allow better maneuvering in tight turns.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

I understand the towing issues but isn't there something wrong with towing an RX-7 behind a motor home?

Shouldn't you be, like, in the 7?

Better gas mileage. And more fun. That's what I'd do my vacation in, if I had one.

grandgarson

The easiest solution I've seen to this problem is to disconnect the driveline from the rear end and use a piece of wire to hold it in place so that the rear end still spins free, but it doesn't turn the transmission. This way you wouldn't need to do anything about capping off the back end of the transmission and you wouldn't have to worry about transmission not getting lubed right. The only drawbacks to this are that you will want to make sure that you secure the driveline quite well so you don't have to worry about it working it's way loose, and then you will have to reattach it before you drive it.

bliffle

I did that years ago towing cars, but I do not want to have to do it now. I 'm getting too old and lazy to get out and getunder every time I want the RX-7.

grandgarson

Another option is to get a small car trailer. It wouldn't need to be very big for a 7. There are plenty out there that were built to haul sandrails and that should be plenty big enough for what you need. I'm sure you could find one fairly cheap and then you wouldn't have to worry about any of the problems, just back it off the trailer and drive.

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

I towed my GSL back 200 miles on a dolly and the LSD rear end is still serving admirably 40K later

Rogue_Wulff

The rearend is not an issue. It would be lubed as it turns, the trans is not lubed, unless the input shaft is spinning.

bliffle

Does the dolly elevate the frontend? I think there was a concern that an elevated frontend results in transmission fluid flowing to the back of the case. Of course, that might be an advantage since the output gears would require the lube while the input gears wouldn't. That leaves the layshaft as a mystery.

Rogue_Wulff

Yeah, a tow dolly raises the front. That may allow the rear bearing to get lubed, but it won't help the one on the front of that shaft, which rides inside the end of the input shaft.

bliffle

Harbor freight has a $50 towbar and a $20 magnetic lights setup, and I'm guessing that's enough.

I may need a hitch attachment to lower the attachment point. there are a few in different heights.

Ogre

Actually the tow bar #94696 goes on sale for $39.99 and the lights on sale for $14.99 and they go on sale very, very often. You know its a good thing when you go to work feeling like a fat kid in a candy store. I work more for tools then a do for a wage. Which makes it very hard in turn to put any money into the rex.