A towing automobile on a dolly can ease tension and make life a little bit simpler in a variety of scenarios. On the motorway, an RWD vehicle just broke down. You’re now thinking about how to get the poor automobile off the motorway. You believe that towing is a better alternative, but since your car is an RWD, you do not even know how and where to tow it, thus you now need to understand how to pull an RWD car with such a dolly.
Tow an RWD Car:
Although it sounds simpler when compared to tow an fwd, pulling an RWD can be fairly difficult.
Your transmission should be your main concern while towing an RWD. Towing in the complete opposite direction can damage automatic transmissions in autos.
Do not worry though; the technique is still do-it-yourself and does not call for any specialized knowledge.
Autos with a manual transmission and rear-wheel drive (RWD):
- Tie the tow strap to the front of the car’s frame. If your automobile has tow eyelets from when it was being transported to the dealer, you can tie the tow strap there.
Avoid towing with chains or fastening the strap to the vehicle’s engine.
- It is safer to secure the tow strap to the vehicle being towed via a trailer hitch or towing eyelet.
Attaching to the bumpers or system of the exhaust is not recommended because they are inadequate and not designed to tow other vehicles.
- Place the gearshift in neutral and let go of the parking brake. Permit the car to roll back and pick up the slack. If it can’t be done, let your car move ahead and pick it up.
RWD vehicles with automatic transmissions:
- Jack up the back of the car using jack stands and a flooring jack. Set up the jack stands so that they can sustain the car’s weight.
- By removing the nuts holding the driveshaft to the rear differential, you may take it out. Advance it into the transmission. After that, lower it and remove it from the transmission’s back. To protect the U-joint from damage, tape the U-joint caps in place.
When towing, what gear should the car be in?
When pulling an automobile on a dolly, you must either be in first gear or in neutral. The type of transmission and engine in the vehicle will decide what gear it must be in. The following five scenarios pertain to towing the vehicle behind a dolly.
Automatic Front Wheel Drive:
In this case, your tow dolly should be on the front two wheels, which should be elevated off the ground. The rear wheels will thereafter be allowed to turn freely on the pavement. You can leave your car parked, and then start towing.
Manual Front Wheel Drive:
In this case, the front wheels ought to be lifted off the ground once more. The only distinction is that, if your automobile is a manual, we advise towing in first gear.
Automatic Rear Wheel Drive:
The driveshaft should be detached from rear-wheel drive automatic vehicles. Then you may keep the front tyres on the tow dolly and shift it into any gear.
Manual Rear Wheel Drive:
When the back wheels are on the tow dolly and the back-wheel drive manual vehicle is in neutral, the driveshaft can remain attached.
Four-wheel drive:
AWD vehicles shouldn’t be used on a tow dolly. Simply ensure you detach the driveshaft in such situations.
Use of Tow Dolly:
Moving your automobile is quite simple when you use a tow dolly, which also lessens the load on the vehicle you are towing.
The back wheels of your vehicle slide on the road while it is being towed by using a tow dolly. While towing a front-wheel drive car, this system is more efficient; but, if the car is a back-wheel drive, you must detach the driveshaft to travel over large distances.
Disadvantage of Using Tow Dolly:
You cannot reverse or back up when using a dolly, which is a major drawback. The instructional manuals for dollies clearly specify no backing up instruction, despite the fact that some professionals may have tried and succeeded in doing so.
As a result, if you have to reverse during towing, you must first reposition the towed car as well as the towing dolly before starting to join them up again.
For people who are not accustomed to towing frequently, this might be highly distressing. No huge deal, even though this is still the case when you’re towing with other equipment.
If precautions aren’t taken, tow dollies can easily be damaged. Checking for potential towing issues include dangling car parts like spoilers, air dams, ground impacts, etc. Before the car is put on the dolly, these components need to be taken out.
Some towers have unfortunately had occurrences where the automobile being hauled jumped out of alignment after driving over significant bumps or potholes. It’s annoying to have to repair this back particularly if you don’t have much experience with it.
It might be difficult to operate dollies and they take up a lot of space. When connecting a dolly properly, it usually takes two persons, which is difficult if you live alone.
Conclusion:
I’m sure you now realize that towing an RWD is simpler compared to towing an fwd. If you are unable to hire a towing firm or request a trailer, the best solution for you to tow your RWD is to use a tow dolly.
FAQs:
Can a manual RWD automobile be dolled?
It’s likely that you’ll be able to tow a manual back-wheel drive vehicle with the front wheels on a dolly or all four down.
Can you pull a rear-wheel-drive automobile with a dolly?
The first challenge is getting rear-wheel-drive vehicles’ steering wheels off the ground in order to tow them. Your back wheel car’s driveshaft links the engine to the back wheels. You must unhook your rear-wheel-drive vehicle in order to haul it flat.
How do you sling an RWD vehicle onto a dolly?
- Tow it backward while locking the steering wheel
- Tow its front wheels forward while disconnecting the drive shaft.
- Put the front wheels forward, the parking brake off, and shift it into neutral.