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?? About Towing A Vette

  • Thread starter Thread starter 81NMVETTE
  • Start date Start date
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81NMVETTE

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My Vett Lives in Lubbock Texas (Bobby Knight Country) and I live in Albuquerque NM. I want to tow the car to my house here are my questions.
1. Tow dolly or trailer ?
2.My tow vehicle is a 2002 Dodge Caravan , Manual says that the van can tow up to 3500 #. Will towing the Vette be to much for the Van ?
Let me know what you think. Thanks
Earl
 
Beg, borrow, or rent a tilt bed with a front shield to protect the car in tow. You will be much happier when you get home if you value your C3...........:beer
 
81NMVETTE said:
1. Tow dolly or trailer ?
2.My tow vehicle is a 2002 Dodge Caravan , Manual says that the van can tow up to 3500 #. Will towing the Vette be to much for the Van ?
1. Trailer only, stay away from the dollies.
2. C3's weigh in the neighborhood of 3500 lbs. Then the trailer will be another 1500 or so. Total of at lease 5000 lbs. Sorry but the Caravan cannot do it.

tom...
 
My C-3s have only been flatbedded-- even short distances.

dlrshort
 
dlrshort,

I like the way you think. For I am aswell a flatbed please man. When the few times that I needed to call I specifically asked for a bed. One time comes to mind.. bear with the ramblings of an old man......

I was on a pleasure drive when my engine temp spiked so over I go to the side of the road I went, shut the car off, and out I went to see what was happening, thats when I noticed that I was loosing coolant in rapid fashion.

After having it cool for a few mins I crawl under the front where the coolant had been draining out and sure enough the rubber mount on the lower steel arm had rotted away and caused it to rub on the brass radiator and wear a small hole in it.

So I called up the first tow company and asked for a bed... sorry we dont have one, so I called another and then another. The third call was the charm they had one but was on another call and would have to wait for a couple of hours. So I sat waited and took in the scenery :)

The guy shows up, absolutely professional, treating my baby like it was meant to be treated, darn near drove into the ditch to get himself as low as possible before lowering the ramp, put the metal hooks away that he uses on cars of lesser value (must have been a vette guy) and brought out the big cargo straps, even had those web'd wheel straps, hooked it up good and snug.

ok.. enough rambling, after seeing how most tow companies handle cars with normal trucks, bed it all the way :)

Bill
 
Bill, I agree, I think 2 years ago I set the record for flat bed towing--4 times in 3 months!! That was my '71 coupe which I no longer have.

dlrshort
 
Thanks for the advice guys !.
I will rent a trailer and borrow a truck to tow the car back to Albuquerque. I figured the weight of the Vette was about 3500 but I forgot about the weight of the trailer so the van just wont work. And the dolly is out of the question.
Thanks again
Earl
 
Last year on my cross-country journey, I broke down, let's see now... No wait, we're talking "tows" here, not the total number of breakdowns. :L

Anyhow, I was incapacitated to the point twice where I needed to be delivered to a repair facility. Both times I relied on AAA and both times they sent a flatbed to take me to a shop. I guess automatically they knew because I had a Corvette.

However, now I trailer it myself if need be, with my new 20-foot Featherlite enclosed trailer. :D

truckandtrailersmall.JPG


_ken :w
 
Ken, it would have been great if one of those had come with my '71 coupe!

dlrshort
 
Having worked for the AAA National Headquarters as a tow truck driver back in my college days (circa 1971-1975) and long before flatbed's were so prevalant, I towed many a Corvette with a standard Holmes dolly/sling. However....... it required a number a very specialized aluminum I-beam and slides pieces to clear the steering linkages, headers and of course that long sexy PLASTIC and chrome nose; and an extremely gifted (me) driver to do it properly. It can be done, but I'd never let anyone today tow mine by a sling. I doubt anybody still has the equipment necessary to do it right. Even so..... Flatbeds or Ken's type of trailor are the ONLY way to go. Good luck.

............. Nut
 
Ken,

Last year on my cross-country journey, I broke down, let's see now... No wait, we're talking "tows" here, not the total number of breakdowns

We are still talking about cars here right? :) Emotional breakdowns and being towed out of the bar dont count :L

Bill
 
81NMVETTE,

Your 81 will weigh in around 3331 pounds (curb wieght per GM). I trailered mine from Maine to Kentucky when we moved last August. I rented an open deck tandem trailer from Ryder. The vette road very well with no damage that I have found. As was said, even the open trailer will weigh in around 1100 pounds, which will definately be too much for your Caravan. I cut a pretty good deal on a truck and trailer from Ryder(one way), it took some negotiating but the cost was very reasonable compared to U-haul or hiring a moving company.
 
Dale, should we tell him to ask Chris about towing with an open trailer? :L

_ken :w
 
billybob said:
Ken,



We are still talking about cars here right? :) Emotional breakdowns and being towed out of the bar dont count :L

Bill

Ah! Another Len in the budding? :L
 

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