Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Flat Towing A GMC
| Flat Towing A GMC [message #124899] |
Fri, 06 May 2011 19:44  |
A Hamilto
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Registered: April 2011
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I know it may be a bit of work, but would it be possible to take the axles out of the knuckles, separate the cv joint, put the axles back in the hub, tie the other end of the cv joint up and clear of everything, and then flat tow the coach for hundreds or even thousands of miles? After you get where you are going, take it all apart again, clean and grease the cv joint, and put it all back together.
I ask in case someone ever needs to transport one that they can't get running. There are bound to be people out there like me that have access to a truck with adequate towing capacity, but no trailer. Or the weight of the coach AND a trailer would exceed their towing capacity of their truck, but a coach by itself wouldn't.
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| Re: [GMCnet] Flat Towing A GMC [message #124904 is a reply to message #124899] |
Fri, 06 May 2011 19:57  |
Robin Hood
Messages: 1078
Registered: April 2011
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What about BRAKING capacity?
On Fri, May 6, 2011 at 7:44 PM, Mark <markbb1@netzero.com> wrote:
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>
> I know it may be a bit of work, but would it be possible to take the axles out of the knuckles, separate the cv joint, put the axles back in the hub, tie the other end of the cv joint up and clear of everything, and then flat tow the coach for hundreds or even thousands of miles? After you get where you are going, take it all apart again, clean and grease the cv joint, and put it all back together.
> I ask in case someone ever needs to transport one that they can't get running. There are bound to be people out there like me that have access to a truck with adequate towing capacity, but no trailer. Or the weight of the coach AND a trailer would exceed their towing capacity of their truck, but a coach by itself wouldn't.
> --
> '73 23' CanyonLands
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Robin Hood
Jackson, MS
2003 Buick Lesabre
1968 Pontiac Catalina
1978 GMC Royale motorhome
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| Re: Flat Towing A GMC [message #124905 is a reply to message #124899] |
Fri, 06 May 2011 20:06 |
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mike miller
Messages: 3576
Registered: February 2004
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
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| ahamilto wrote on Fri, 06 May 2011 17:44 |
I know it may be a bit of work, but would it be possible to take the axles out of the knuckles, separate the cv joint, put the axles back in the hub, tie the other end of the cv joint up and clear of everything, and then flat tow the coach for hundreds or even thousands of miles? ...
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I have thought about this. It would be nice to rent a UHaul or something and pull a coach home.
You would need a HEAVY duty tow bar and some kind of a base-plate.
I would be concerned about the brakes. That is a LOT of weight pushing what ever you are pulling it with. If you try to stop when not completely straight, the coach will be pushing straight forward... easily jack-knifing almost any rig.
Instead of taking apart the CV joints, it might be a good idea to acquire a set of unserviceable/unrebuildable outer joints. (I saw a picture of a pile of them at the Coop.)
Mike Miller -- Hillsboro, OR -- on the Black list
(#2)`78 23' Birchaven Rear Bath -- (#3)`77 23' Birchaven Side Bath
More Sidekicks than GMC's and a late model Malibu called 'Boo'
http://m000035.blogspot.com
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| Re: Flat Towing A GMC [message #124920 is a reply to message #124905] |
Fri, 06 May 2011 21:33 |
A Hamilto
Messages: 4508
Registered: April 2011
Karma: 39
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| mike miller wrote on Fri, 06 May 2011 20:06 |
| ahamilto wrote on Fri, 06 May 2011 17:44 |
I know it may be a bit of work, but would it be possible to take the axles out of the knuckles, separate the cv joint, put the axles back in the hub, tie the other end of the cv joint up and clear of everything, and then flat tow the coach for hundreds or even thousands of miles? ...
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I have thought about this. It would be nice to rent a UHaul or something and pull a coach home.
You would need a HEAVY duty tow bar and some kind of a base-plate.
I would be concerned about the brakes. That is a LOT of weight pushing what ever you are pulling it with. If you try to stop when not completely straight, the coach will be pushing straight forward... easily jack-knifing almost any rig.
Instead of taking apart the CV joints, it might be a good idea to acquire a set of unserviceable/unrebuildable outer joints. (I saw a picture of a pile of them at the Coop.)
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I found a couple of vendors that sell tow bars rated for 10,000 lbs. Without people and belongings in the coach, not many of them weigh more than 10,000 lbs.
Lots of folks have devices in their toweds that apply brakes when the towing vehicle's brakes are applied. Rig up something like that in the coach and install a jc4 pump running on coach/house batteries and you should have the brake problem solved (might have to run a wire from the towing vehicle alternator to keep the coach battery(ies) charged).
Getting one of these transported by trailer generally costs $2 per mile or more. For any distance of 500 miles or more, it should be cost effective to assemble the towing and braking packages that would serve the purpose. That is if someone has access to a coach and tools to build a baseplate that mates to both the coach and a suitable towbar. Once a working prototype is built, detailed drawings and specs could be posted for prospective new owners to construct their own towing rigs before setting out to retrieve non-running coaches. Or maybe a working rig could be loaned and shipped to new owners that need to transport their coaches.
Even if this doesn't seem to be cost saving, consider that a lot of new owners buy these with a DIY mindset. Towing your own instead of paying a trucking company might have considerable appeal to those owners.
I understand there is serious risk of significant property damage, injury and even death if a careless DIYer doesn't apply the appropriate diligence to safety measures. And that might be a good enough reason to drop this discussion. I will understand if I get a lot of feadback to that effect.
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| Re: Flat Towing A GMC [message #124925 is a reply to message #124920] |
Fri, 06 May 2011 21:50 |
rvanwin
Messages: 325
Registered: April 2007
Location: Battlefield, MO
Karma: 6
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[quote title=ahamilto wrote on Fri, 06 May 2011 21:33]| mike miller wrote on Fri, 06 May 2011 20:06 |
You would need a HEAVY duty tow bar and some kind of a base-plate.
I would be concerned about the brakes. That is a LOT of weight pushing what ever you are pulling it with. If you try to stop when not completely straight, the coach will be pushing straight forward... easily jack-knifing almost any rig.
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I flat towed a 23' MH about 20 miles. Went slow so didn't worry about transmission or brakes. I removed the front bumper and mounted my Roadmaster tow bar brackets onto the front cross member. The mounts points were close enough to the side frame members that it held up quite well.
One problem I did not anticipate is that on a relatively sharp turn, the swing of the rear of the two vehicle causes the towed vehicle to turn the opposite direction slightly before following the tow vehicle. If you tow a towed, you can watch and see that happening. On the GMC, the wheels started in that opposite direction but would not turn back to follow the tow vehicle. In fact, it went quickly to the lock and we had to work to get the wheels lined up again. My brother rode in the towed GMC and when we turned from one street to another, he had to help the towed GMC to track properly.
If you pursue flat towing a GMC, this issue would need to be investigated. I, for one, would not flat tow a GMC for long distances.
Randy & Margie
'77 Eleganza II '403'
Battlefield, MO
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| Re: Flat Towing A GMC [message #124926 is a reply to message #124899] |
Fri, 06 May 2011 21:56 |
Dennis S
Messages: 3046
Registered: November 2005
Karma: 2
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| ahamilto wrote on Fri, 06 May 2011 19:44 |
I know it may be a bit of work, but would it be possible to take the axles out of the knuckles, separate the cv joint, put the axles back in the hub, tie the other end of the cv joint up and clear of everything, and then flat tow the coach for hundreds or even thousands of miles? After you get where you are going, take it all apart again, clean and grease the cv joint, and put it all back together.
I ask in case someone ever needs to transport one that they can't get running. There are bound to be people out there like me that have access to a truck with adequate towing capacity, but no trailer. Or the weight of the coach AND a trailer would exceed their towing capacity of their truck, but a coach by itself wouldn't.
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Mark,
Interesting to discuss -- but to me it emphasizes the value of buying project coaches that are close to home.
As for recovering a coach in the event of a major breakdown/incident -- I would have so many butterflies in my stomach already I would just want to trailer it home.
Dennis
Dennis S
73 Painted Desert 230
Memphis TN Metro
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| Re: [GMCnet] Flat Towing A GMC [message #124937 is a reply to message #124899] |
Sat, 07 May 2011 00:34 |
jimk
Messages: 6734
Registered: July 2006
Location: Belmont, CA
Karma: 9
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Mark,
This can be done as your thinking.
Get or barrow a old outer constant vel. unit without the guts and
grease the seal and torque the big nut 160-200.
We have parts laying around that we send out for people to use.
On Fri, May 6, 2011 at 5:44 PM, Mark <markbb1@netzero.com> wrote:
>
>
> I know it may be a bit of work, but would it be possible to take the axles out of the knuckles, separate the cv joint, put the axles back in the hub, tie the other end of the cv joint up and clear of everything, and then flat tow the coach for hundreds or even thousands of miles? Â After you get where you are going, take it all apart again, clean and grease the cv joint, and put it all back together.
> I ask in case someone ever needs to transport one that they can't get running. Â There are bound to be people out there like me that have access to a truck with adequate towing capacity, but no trailer. Â Or the weight of the coach AND a trailer would exceed their towing capacity of their truck, but a coach by itself wouldn't.
> --
> '73 23' CanyonLands
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
>
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Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Fremont,CA
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| Re: Flat Towing A GMC [message #140245 is a reply to message #124899] |
Sat, 20 August 2011 19:12 |
A Hamilto
Messages: 4508
Registered: April 2011
Karma: 39
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| ahamilto wrote on Fri, 06 May 2011 19:44 |
I know it may be a bit of work, but would it be possible to take the axles out of the knuckles, separate the cv joint, put the axles back in the hub, tie the other end of the cv joint up and clear of everything, and then flat tow the coach for hundreds or even thousands of miles? After you get where you are going, take it all apart again, clean and grease the cv joint, and put it all back together.
I ask in case someone ever needs to transport one that they can't get running. There are bound to be people out there like me that have access to a truck with adequate towing capacity, but no trailer. Or the weight of the coach AND a trailer would exceed their towing capacity of their truck, but a coach by itself wouldn't.
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Would it make more sense to disconnect the transmission from the final drive? Can it be done easily/would that be practical?
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| Re: Flat Towing A GMC [message #140257 is a reply to message #124899] |
Sat, 20 August 2011 20:17 |
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jaholland
Messages: 565
Registered: June 2010
Location: Sweet Home Alebamy
Karma: 0
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| ahamilto wrote on Fri, 06 May 2011 19:44 |
I know it may be a bit of work,
but would it be possible to take the axles out of the knuckles, separate the cv joint,
put the axles back in the hub, tie the other end of the cv joint up and clear of everything,
and then flat tow the coach for hundreds or even thousands of miles?
After you get where you are going, take it all apart again, clean and grease the cv joint,
and put it all back together.
I ask in case someone ever needs to transport one that they can't get running.
There are bound to be people out there like me that have access to a truck with
adequate towing capacity, but no trailer. Or the weight of the coach AND a trailer
would exceed their towing capacity of their truck, but a coach by itself wouldn't.
|
===========================================================================
Years ago we were in our '73 GMC in S Indiana following a south bound flatbed
when a piece of angle iron fell off the truck, bounced twice on the highway,
went thru our oil pan at 60 mph ~
I knew a farmer in Cobert County Alabama that had a Tri-axle Doce tailed Goose Neck
I asked him to come and get me and then we cranked out the awning, fired up the onan,
set up the outdoor grill, got comfortable and waited to be rescued
When he and his wife showed up late the next day, ee all relaxed, grilled some steaks
and went to bed, They were comfortable in the front and we took the rear bed
After breakfast the next morning we winched the GMC on the trailer, chocked the wheels,
deflated the air system, strapped down the GMCand they headed south with us following in the toad
I really tried to keep them in sight and was able to catch up when they stopped for fuel ~
They enjoyed the break from bailing hay and we enjoyed their Rescue and Company
BTW
They were very reasonable also ~
~ Joe ~
/_]*[__][] *[__|] ~ * '73 TZE063V101887 "
"
O----------OO--]* ~ '78 TZE168V100234 "
"
" Joe & Lavelle " "
"
'sweet home alebamy'
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| Re: [GMCnet] Flat Towing A GMC [message #140262 is a reply to message #140245] |
Sat, 20 August 2011 20:40 |
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USAussie
Messages: 15912
Registered: July 2007
Location: Sydney, Australia
Karma: 6
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Senior Member |
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Mark,
Yes, it is possible to do what you want to do, however, to get the outer CV
joints out you have to remove inner CV joints and axles.
You would have to:
1) Remove the axle assembly (outer CV joint, axle shaft, and inner CV joint)
2) Remove the outer CV joint from the axle
3) Disassemble the outer CV joint
4) Remove the inner race, ball separator, and balls
5) Clean the outer race in the CV joint and coat the bearing surfaces with
wheel bearing grease and tape it closed with duct tape
6) Reinstall the outer CV joint
You will then have to manufacture a tow bar that attaches to the frame. I
GUESS the easiest way to do that would be to remove the front bumper and
bolt it to where the bumper mounts to the frame. I am sitting at my PC
GUESSING that the bumper mounts could take the forces generated by pulling
the GMC. Plus I would think that you would have to have a system that
applied the brakes in the GMC to assist with stopping.
If you disconnect the final drive from the transmission you still have to
remove the axles.
Regards,
Rob M.
-----Original Message-----
From: A.
ahamilto wrote on Fri, 06 May 2011 19:44
> I know it may be a bit of work, but would it be possible to take the axles
out of the knuckles, separate the cv joint, put the axles back in the hub,
tie the other end of the cv joint up and clear of everything, and then flat
tow the coach for hundreds or even thousands of miles? After you get where
you are going, take it all apart again, clean and grease the cv joint, and
put it all back together.
> I ask in case someone ever needs to transport one that they can't get
running. There are bound to be people out there like me that have access to
a truck with adequate towing capacity, but no trailer. Or the weight of the
coach AND a trailer would exceed their towing capacity of their truck, but a
coach by itself wouldn't.
Would it make more sense to disconnect the transmission from the final
drive? Can it be done easily/would that be practical?
_______________________________________________
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Regards,
Rob M. (USAussie)
The Pedantic Mechanic
Sydney, Australia
'75 Avion - AUS - The Blue Streak TZE365V100428
'75 Avion - USA - Double Trouble TZE365V100426
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| Re: [GMCnet] Flat Towing A GMC [message #140275 is a reply to message #140262] |
Sat, 20 August 2011 22:25 |
A Hamilto
Messages: 4508
Registered: April 2011
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| Robert Mueller wrote on Sat, 20 August 2011 20:40 |
If you disconnect the final drive from the transmission you still have to remove the axles.
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Why? I understand how the transmission would be damaged if it is turned without lubricating itself, but why wouldn't the final drive lubricate itself when being towed?
Or are you saying the axles have to be removed to disconnect the transmission from the final drive?
[Updated on: Sat, 20 August 2011 22:26] Report message to a moderator |
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| Re: [GMCnet] Flat Towing A GMC [message #140279 is a reply to message #140275] |
Sat, 20 August 2011 22:33 |
Ken Henderson
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
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The final drive bolts directly to the transmission. There is no way to
decouple the two without removing one of them. Removing the drive axles
disconnects the final drive, making the FD, transmission, & engine just dead
weight.
Ken H.
On Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 11:25 PM, A. <markbb1@netzero.com> wrote:
>
>
> Robert Mueller wrote on Sat, 20 August 2011 20:40
> > If you disconnect the final drive from the transmission you still have to
> remove the axles.
> Why? I understand how the transmission would be damaged if it is turned
> without lubricating itself, but why wouldn't the final drive lubricate
> itself when being towed?
> -
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Ken Henderson
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www.gmcwipersetc.com
Large Wiring Diagrams
76 X-Birchaven
76 X-Palm Beach
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| Re: [GMCnet] Flat Towing A GMC [message #140284 is a reply to message #140275] |
Sat, 20 August 2011 23:16 |
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USAussie
Messages: 15912
Registered: July 2007
Location: Sydney, Australia
Karma: 6
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Senior Member |
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Mark,
I have posted the page out of the Parts Book that shows how the
transmission, final drive, axles, and hubs all bolt together.
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=40244
You must remove both the axle assemblies to remove the outer CV joints.
The inner CV joints must be reinstalled to retain the hubs in the knuckles
and establish the correct bearing clearances.
There is no reason to reinstall the axles and inner CV joints.
To remove the final drive you must remove the axle assemblies and once
you've done that there is no need to remove it.
Regards,
Rob M.
-----Original Message-----
From: A.
Robert Mueller wrote on Sat, 20 August 2011 20:40
> If you disconnect the final drive from the transmission you still have to
remove the axles.
Why? I understand how the transmission would be damaged if it is turned
without lubricating itself, but why wouldn't the final drive lubricate
itself when being towed?
--
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Regards,
Rob M. (USAussie)
The Pedantic Mechanic
Sydney, Australia
'75 Avion - AUS - The Blue Streak TZE365V100428
'75 Avion - USA - Double Trouble TZE365V100426
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| Re: Flat Towing A GMC [message #140290 is a reply to message #124926] |
Sun, 21 August 2011 00:15 |
George Beckman
Messages: 1085
Registered: October 2008
Location: Colfax, CA
Karma: 11
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| Dennis S wrote on Fri, 06 May 2011 19:56 |
Mark,
Interesting to discuss -- but to me it emphasizes the value of buying project coaches that are close to home.
As for recovering a coach in the event of a major breakdown/incident -- I would have so many butterflies in my stomach already I would just want to trailer it home.
Dennis
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I lost a transmission about three miles from our church family camp. I knew the transmission was acting funny and had already ordered a Manny Tranny. I was able to get it flatbedded to Manny's for $600. It was 170 miles, and Manny lives on quite a hill.
'74 Eleganza, SE, Howell + EBL
Best Wishes,
George
[Updated on: Sun, 21 August 2011 00:16] Report message to a moderator |
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