Car trailer or Dolly

[madpaddler]

Ok, Son (16) just bought a 76 automatic and have a 2 hour drive to pick it up. Anyone give me a recommendation for the need for a full car trailer versus getting a Dolly, putting it in Neutral and draggin it home? Any insight is appreciated and tips are welcome. Thanks in advance

[FunkyLaneO]

I have always been told by tow truck drivers that you should not tow an automatic on it's drive wheels unless you remove the driveshaft. Trailer would be the best way to go. I believe that the movement of lubrication in the transmission is controlled by the input shaft so some parts of the tranny will not have enough fluid to lubricate them sufficiently. Tough I could be totally wrong, it's just what I have been told, I have never owned an automatic so it never applied to me.

[Mike Self]

the drive wheels off the ground or the driveshaft disconnected. So unless you want to dolly it backwards with the steering wheel tied to point straight ahead, a trailer is the way to go...

mike

[TobyB]

Trailers are so much easier to deal with, in general...

...there's this whole 'backing up' thing you can do...

...and yeah, the pump on a 2002 trans runs off the motor,

so if you dolly it, you have to either pull the shaft or leave the engine

running!

t

[dasfrogger]

Could always pull the axles too....but then again a trailer would be easier. Plus you eliminate unknowns from the car you're pulling. I was pulling a shell on a dolly thru Chicago i290 when the diff locked. One of the most frightening moments of my life.

[madpaddler]

Thanks for the input to all, I will get a trailer based on the great feedback.

[gretchen72]

A tilt tray is the most common way I move cars around, but if you have to tow then there's no problem with towing it backwards. The steering lock should be enough to hold the front wheels square, but I'd tie down the steering just for safety.