Anyone ever tried towing an FC on a tow dolley with success?
 

I will be towing a stock S4 pretty soon. It has stock ride height and I want to hook it up to a tow dolley (the light kind that only lifts the front wheels off the ground) because the truck I am using can only tow 3500lbs max. The car carrier, which raises the car completely off the ground is best, but the trailer alone is about a ton and would put me over the max towing limit. So I was wondering if it would be possible to tow my FC with the regular tow dolley? Would I have enough ground clearance? Again, I have stock ride height and stock bumpers with no lips or are dams.

it SHOULD clear... but there's no way to tell without backing the truck up to it...

the height of the wheel wedges on dollies varies SO much that you just need to try

I've never had a problem using a tow dolly. (I always rent one from U-haul.)

+1... I rented a tow dolly from uhaul to tow my FC from sounthern PA to Central NY and it was easy... The car had no engine... so that might have given it a little more clearance to get on but we(4 of us) easily pushed it on the dolly. Some people worry about leaving the driveshaft in place since having the drive wheels rolling the entire time might wear out tranny bearings... but use the search button to search for peoples' experiences with towing an FC on a tow dolly and make the decision on whether or not to pull the driveshaft... I didn't take mine out but I didn't end up using that tranny.. Good luck and enjoy your FC

I towed my s5 about 300 miles last fall. The only problem was getting the car's front wheels on the dolly. I have a stock lip and it would hit the ramps before the front wheels did. We pushed the car onto the sidewalk and backed the dolly up to the car. The ramp were put on the curb which made the ramps level and pushed the car onto the dolly. When we pulled the car off the curb the exhaust hit the curb but nothing serious. I took out the drive shaft just for safety.

Good luck.

I've towed several.

Manual transmission?

Bring some 2x6's with you to build a bigger ramp, the front lip of the bumper WILL hit without using ramps.

Why wouldn't you want to doll up the rear end and let the front roll instead?

perhaps he values his life.

Or his car.

But probably his life :)

I towed several FCs with no problems, I always tow nose first cause it's alot easier get the car on the dolly, plus you don't bang up the exhaust tips.

I don't understand the logic behind this. If you wheel lock the steering wheel, you should be fine.

that's what i did last month but i had no choice. my rear wheels were locked and the tranny was in neutral. i towed it from s. miami to where i live (12 mi. north of ft. lauderdale) and it was fine.

I have rented a tow dolly from U-haul 6-7 times for an FC. Most were short trips but one was from Wisconsin to Pgh and the other from NY City back. I always back the car onto the dolly and tow on the front wheels. I don't trust the steering lock but instead use two nylon tie downs from the seat rail, through the wheel and back down to the seat rail on the other side. It is hard getting in and out of the door on the dolly but I tows perfectly. One FC had a fart can exhaust and I did have to use a couple of short boards under the rear ties to raise it enough. Once lashed in and chained, it will go nowhere. Be careful because you cannot back up the unit with the car in place. Good luck.

BTW I towed an FB from Atlanta using the same method with no problems.

kinda of a PITA to get on and off, careful with the front spoiler, both FCs i have had towed with a dolly wanted to catch on the stock front lip, the FD that was towed didn't catch on anything though *shrug*.

I couldn't get mine on forward. So we turned it around and backed it on. Worked perfectly. I tied the steering wheel to the brake pedal using several wraps of rope. Towed easily and you don't have to worry about the transmission.

:)

+1

If your tow dolly has a tow hook all you really need is a jack, not the stocker but one with wheels. Jack it up, crank it on. Simple. Its what I had to do when I pulled my parts car all teh way from maryland to Tennessee, and that was with the driveshaft still in teh trans.

I hauled a U-haul 8 by 5 from Orlando to NYC and the only problem I had was it blew my rear shocks and burned up gas like a motherfucker lol. I have a custom made hitch thats only for FC. but I see no problems in hauling. as long as you dont try pushing your engine too hard, you will be fine.

DUHHH I am so twisted b/c of the drugs i'm on lol. he meant tow a FC not FC towing lol. my baddddddddd.

That is gay. Get that off your car.

towed fc's 2 times from sacramento to central wa state. one was a low rider (205 45 x16's)
and it still rolled on the uhaul dolly. towed them facing forward. only problem was i lost an exhaust tip going into mac d's parking lot (need to eat overcame caution)

You should be ok, I had to tow my TII to the shop once and used a tow dolly, the clearance was good. only issue was the noise from the dolly when there was not load, that was a PITA.

Just take your time, and remember to increase your stopping distances.

I haven't towed a fc , but i have towed a 04 tiburon. I found these things kinda like skateboard's for the wheels not on the dolly got the rear end up off the ground . Worked great to, wish i still had them.

that hitch setup looks cool, that metal in the tirewell isn't strong though.

I'd tow shit with my FC if I had a hitch.

Big brakes, Big rad, lots of midrange torque = good vehicle to tow with.