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first post here. Towing question [message #329919]

Mon, 12 March 2018 23:43

GMC2000

Messages: 193
Registered: March 2018
Location: Georgia

Karma: -3

Senior Member

hey everybody,

I am considering to buy a GMC MotorHome that is not running and thinking about having a substantial towbar made that I can remove the GMC front bumper and its mounts then bolt the towbar directly to the frame of the GMC. (its flat surface, end to end)

Ive towed cars and trucks with towbars countless times this way but none of them were front wheel drive so I would like to ask here if anyone has done this? does it self steer OK?

the frame looks strong enough as long as the towbar portion that attaches to it is something like 1/4" thick and fit to the front frame cross brace with plenty of good bolts so long as no really sharp turns are made and reversing is avoided.

my main concern is if the front wheel drive will self steer. Ive been searching and reading the forum here for a bit but havnt found anything about this and the search only brings up towing toads with towbars.

I need to go about 25 miles but only need to make seven turns and they all lend themselves to wide turns very nicely.

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Re: first post here. Towing question [message #329950 is a reply to message #329919]

Tue, 13 March 2018 19:03

lqqkatjon

Messages: 2324
Registered: October 2010
Location: St. Cloud, MN

Karma: 5

Senior Member

This looks to be posted in the wrong area of forum. But i will try to answer

I have towed many things, but i would not tow a gmc that way.

If you do, it will steer, but you really need to pull the axles and take apart and bolt in the outside cv
Shaft or you will most likely do some transmission damage.

For 25 miles I would either get aaa, or just pay the cash out to have it wheel lifted/towed by a tow truck. Going to take some time to properly rig it up for a tow bar.

Jon Roche 75 palm beach EBL EFI, manny headers, Micro Level, rebuilt most of coach now. St. Cloud, MN http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/

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Re: first post here. Towing question [message #329955 is a reply to message #329950]

Tue, 13 March 2018 19:52

GMC2000

Messages: 193
Registered: March 2018
Location: Georgia

Karma: -3

Senior Member

lqqkatjon wrote on Tue, 13 March 2018 19:03

This looks to be posted in the wrong area of forum. But i will try to answer

I have towed many things, but i would not tow a gmc that way.

If you do, it will steer, but you really need to pull the axles and take apart and bolt in the outside cv
Shaft or you will most likely do some transmission damage.

For 25 miles I would either get aaa, or just pay the cash out to have it wheel lifted/towed by a tow truck. Going to take some time to properly rig it up for a tow bar.

Im not familiar with the "GMCnet" and didnt want to annoy anyone. seemed to be the right subforum for a first time poster who is not a member of the GMCnet? I dunno but some edgy discussions about it turned up on previous unrelated searches of the forum (Ive been digging in here for a little while before joining) so I went with the seemingly safer subforum.

yes, remove the axles for sure. it should work OK so long as any major lateral movement resulting in skidding the tires sideways is avoided. that might even tweek the frame too which is another reason I asked.

I even wondered if a large tow dolly might be better but I definitely want to be able to DIY this, just too many bad experiences with towing companies resulting in some pretty major damaging mistakes. no GMC Motorhome experiences but it has become too close to the norm for me to consider at all unless its an actual emergency and even then I looks for ways out.

rather build a huge dolly even if it cost way more than what a tow company would charge.. even the highly recommended ones. BTDT

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Re: first post here. Towing question [message #329962 is a reply to message #329919]

Wed, 14 March 2018 06:31

lqqkatjon

Messages: 2324
Registered: October 2010
Location: St. Cloud, MN

Karma: 5

Senior Member

Too bad you have had
Those bad experiences with tow companies. I have had mine towed twice and had no issues. Both times Were simple fixes, just no sense in messing around on side of road, and about an hour wait. Had a friend last year call aaa and they came and yanked one out of the weeds and dropped it in his driveway 80 miles away in about 2 hours. Towing quality does vary by location. There is a towing guide:

http://www.gmceast.com/technical/Mueller_GMC-Towing-Guide.pdf

As I stated before, the flat tow has been done, but you need to secure the front bearings by the outer cv. The cv bolts also are a 1 time use bolt. You can get by with lock tite on them, but not a good practice. People try to just retorque the bolts holding the cv to the final drive, and they come loose.

Issue with a dolly is weight capacity and width. A dolly would need to be way over legal width. And it also needs 4000 pound capacity, check tire weight capacity on the
Gmc front and see what tires you need to come
Close.

Good luck. There may be some edgy conversations but they and I are just trying to help and share our experiences. My coach came home on a constructon trailer. And i have helped rescue a few others out of the weeds.

People here mean well by what they are trying to say. You still are able to make your own decisions.

Jon Roche 75 palm beach EBL EFI, manny headers, Micro Level, rebuilt most of coach now. St. Cloud, MN http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/

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Re: first post here. Towing question [message #329963 is a reply to message #329919]

Wed, 14 March 2018 06:36

lqqkatjon

Messages: 2324
Registered: October 2010
Location: St. Cloud, MN

Karma: 5

Senior Member

I should of maybe stated that 85% of these motorhomes will drive.

Get some carb filters and a boat gas tank. Feed the fuel pump with good fresh gas directly, make sure transmission and fluid levels are good and brake fluid is up. New battery, and drive it away.

Helped a few do that now and I know a guy that has rescued and driven many gmc's long distances that way. Like 15-20.

Jon Roche 75 palm beach EBL EFI, manny headers, Micro Level, rebuilt most of coach now. St. Cloud, MN http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/

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Re: first post here. Towing question [message #329982 is a reply to message #329919]

Wed, 14 March 2018 15:53

GMC2000

Messages: 193
Registered: March 2018
Location: Georgia

Karma: -3

Senior Member

it has been done.. good to read.

and thanks for the input on it. I may do this if I have to but would prefer to drive one and make it all the way home but thats another reason for asking.

with a towbar at the ready even if it doesnt make it home for whatever reason and thats a big risk since Im trying to get my feet wet the least costly way.

while I am here, this subforums sub header says "A place to post test messages without annoying the GMCnet mailing list."

and the top topic is the announcement "Purpose of the GMCsandbox" that is pinned by Batman which reads:

"This forum can be used for testing out features of the Forum wesite.

Messages posted here will not be sent to the GMCnet e-mail list and will be periodically deleted. "

I see what it can be used for 'testing' but nothing that it cant be used for and other than 'periodically deleted'

Im not sure what the harm may be by using it if we are not a GMCnet member. the other subforum says it is a mirror of it (GMCnet) and it sure is alot of scrolling to navigate threads there, it seems to be email stuff mostly and Im not big into email unless its for a specific reason.

is there any objections if I continue to post questions or other stuff in this subforum instead of the other one? I dont have enough knowledge to be of much help on GMCs to anyone else so anything I post here, if it gets deleted, thats OK with me.

no harm in asking I hope.

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Re: first post here. Towing question [message #329986 is a reply to message #329919]

Wed, 14 March 2018 16:54

pjburt

Messages: 436
Registered: February 2016
Location: Fresno, California

Karma: 1

Senior Member

You are already a GMCnet "member". That happened when you registered to post here. By posting on the GMCnet Forum threads, it is also sent to the email list which gives you a much larger audience. Most members don't even see the Sandbox forum. Come on over to the light... You'll be glad you did. Very Happy

Jerry Burt Fresno, CA.
73 Gmc 26' Canyon Lands
Members: FMCA - GMCMI - GMCWS
A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

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Re: first post here. Towing question [message #329999 is a reply to message #329986]

Wed, 14 March 2018 22:30

GMC2000

Messages: 193
Registered: March 2018
Location: Georgia

Karma: -3

Senior Member

pjburt wrote on Wed, 14 March 2018 16:54

You are already a GMCnet "member". That happened when you registered to post here. By posting on the GMCnet Forum threads, it is also sent to the email list which gives you a much larger audience. Most members don't even see the Sandbox forum. Come on over to the light... You'll be glad you did.

uh oh, one of the first things I always do when joining internet forums and such is to turn off all email notifications and features, hopefully that didnt break anything.

I do not use email unless it is required and/or unavoidable.

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Re: first post here. Towing question [message #330022 is a reply to message #329999]

Thu, 15 March 2018 15:15

pjburt

Messages: 436
Registered: February 2016
Location: Fresno, California

Karma: 1

Senior Member

You don't have to receive email notifications. What you post in the forum format will be sent to those that choose to participate by email rather than the forum. And, you will be able to see their responses in the forum format.

I know how you feel I belong to a number of forums and getting notifications every time someone posts would drive me Confused

. Bottom line is you don't have to muddy up your email with notifications but you will get more responses to questions in the GMCnet Forum.

Jerry Burt Fresno, CA.
73 Gmc 26' Canyon Lands
Members: FMCA - GMCMI - GMCWS
A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

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Re: first post here. Towing question [message #330078 is a reply to message #330022]

Fri, 16 March 2018 18:21

GMC2000

Messages: 193
Registered: March 2018
Location: Georgia

Karma: -3

Senior Member

pjburt wrote on Thu, 15 March 2018 15:15

You don't have to receive email notifications. What you post in the forum format will be sent to those that choose to participate by email rather than the forum. And, you will be able to see their responses in the forum format.

I know how you feel I belong to a number of forums and getting notifications every time someone posts would drive me . Bottom line is you don't have to muddy up your email with notifications but you will get more responses to questions in the GMCnet Forum.

very good. Its not that I dont want to 'muddy up' my email, I use it so infrequently that I often forget the pass. also seems in this case, using that subforum might cause problems with the email folks. I may be expected to reply to some email Ive yet to open or something like that?

this probably works great on the email side of things somehow but that subforum is hard to read and doesnt lend itself to quoting specifics and such as here with all the long
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strings of stuff and the email signatures and other stuff. its actually kinda confusing and tedious just trying to read the good info.

oh well, thanks for the info.

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