Towing

[Harry Bloomfield]

Try this. Find yourself a slight hill with no cars parked on it. Switch off your engine and pump the brakes half a dozen times to exhaust the servo. Let your handbrake off so that the car rolls downhill. Try to brake and steer it. Let us know how you get on.

MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE THE KEY AT POSITION I, or the steering would be locked.

Last time I was towed was off the M62, new company car and the engine ECU had failed, at speed in L3. I managed to get it through traffic to the hard shoulder with the dead engine, then call breakdown. RAC, after confirming it, hooked their rigid bar on it, to take me to the nearest dealer. The bar had to be at an angle and every time he braked, it would try to force me out to one side. Quite scary with no power steering or brakes, but we got there.

Time before that, different company vehicle, the gear lever linkage failed. It was a common problem apparently and fixed within the hour, without need for a tow.

 

[norseman]

I broke down on the motorway some years ago (snapped cambelt). Those traffic patrol people turned up and said I had an hour to get off by my own means or they would call out one of their contractors.

You'd think these day with managed motorways they'd tow you off to get traffic flowing.

Probably 'Elf 'n Safety again

Years ago many vehicles had non-servo brakes and non-power steering. Have you tried controlling a vehicle without those nowdays? No brakes and no steering. Sometimes I can’t get our Diesel Golf outside our house as a station Parker has parked there so I park two houses up. Before I go to bed, I like my car to be outside our house so I move it. As it’s often late and we have a slight slope in our road, I just let the handbrake off and roll it two houses. Almost impossible to turn the steering wheel and I have to practically stand on the brake pedal to stop it and that’s at less than walking pace! Being in the motor trade, I have many years of experience of both towing and being towed and even I wouldn’t allow myself to be towed in a modern car - there is NO WAY I could brake for the car I’m in, let alone the car towing me.

Try this. Find yourself a slight hill with no cars parked on it. Switch off your engine and pump the brakes half a dozen times to exhaust the servo. Let your handbrake off so that the car rolls downhill. Try to brake and steer it. Let us know how you get on.

Try this. Find yourself a slight hill with no cars parked on it. Switch off your engine and pump the brakes half a dozen times to exhaust the servo. Let your handbrake off so that the car rolls downhill. Try to brake and steer it. Let us know how you get on.

I totally agree, if I ever towed again I would be very choosy about the circumstances associated with the recovery of a modern car; classics are usually ok as most didn't have servo's or PAS in the first place.
I have a towing pole, rated at 2 tonnes, but it's never been used largely because it's too bulky to carry.
For my part I always renew my breakdown cover annually, peace of mind is important at my age as I don't even fancy changing a wheel these days.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Mottie you raise a very good point, here we all are reminiscing about back in the day when power steering and the like was a luxury.

 

[Mottie]

I totally agree, if I ever towed again I would be very choosy about the circumstances associated with the recovery of a modern car; classics are usually ok as most didn't have servo's or PAS in the first place.
I have a towing pole, rated at 2 tonnes, but it's never been used largely because it's too bulky to carry.
For my part I always renew my breakdown cover annually, peace of mind is important at my age as I don't even fancy changing a wheel these days.

Yep, annual breakdown recovery for us too although I always carry a pair of gloves and disposable paper overalls in case I have to change a wheel in my good clobber.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Mottie you raise a very good point, here we all are reminiscing about back in the day when power steering and the like was a luxury.

I remember the struggle to park my Granadas back in the day, with no PS

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I remember the struggle to park my Granadas back in the day, with no PS

I decided never again would buy a car without PS.

 

[norseman]

I remember the struggle to park my Granadas back in the day, with no PS

Trump you there H, back in the early 'seventies 24 tonne 8 wheeler with no PAS & 2 axles to steer
I had more muscles then, but was never a big lad.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Trump you there H, back in the early 'seventies 24 tonne 8 wheeler with no PAS & 2 axles to steer

But could you park in the space for a Granada

I was forever ripping muscles trying to squeeze it into normal spaces. One thing I learned and still do with PS, is to never try to turn the steering, unless the car is moving.

I drove an HGV once, with no PS. Loaned to collect some concrete. I managed to nudge high kerb and the reaction at the wheel almost ripped my thumb off.

 

[norseman]

But could you park in the space for a Granada

I was forever ripping muscles trying to squeeze it into normal spaces. One thing I learned and still do with PS, is to never try to turn the steering, unless the car is moving.

I drove an HGV once, with no PS. Loaned to collect some concrete. I managed to nudge high kerb and the reaction at the wheel almost ripped my thumb off.

That's why you always keep thumbs on the outside of the steering wheel when driving off-road.
Another item of totally forgettable info.

 

[Avocet]

Years ago many vehicles had non-servo brakes and non-power steering. Have you tried controlling a vehicle without those nowdays? No brakes and no steering. Sometimes I can’t get our Diesel Golf outside our house as a station Parker has parked there so I park two houses up. Before I go to bed, I like my car to be outside our house so I move it. As it’s often late and we have a slight slope in our road, I just let the handbrake off and roll it two houses. Almost impossible to turn the steering wheel and I have to practically stand on the brake pedal to stop it and that’s at less than walking pace! Being in the motor trade, I have many years of experience of both towing and being towed and even I wouldn’t allow myself to be towed in a modern car - there is NO WAY I could brake for the car I’m in, let alone the car towing me.

Try this. Find yourself a slight hill with no cars parked on it. Switch off your engine and pump the brakes half a dozen times to exhaust the servo. Let your handbrake off so that the car rolls downhill. Try to brake and steer it. Let us know how you get on.

Yes, they're spectacularly bad. Servo ratios have gone through the roof over the last 30 or 40 years. Believe it or not, there is a type approval test they have to do where they have to stop in a certain distance from a set speed and achieve a specified minimum deceleration with the servo "failed", AND there's a limit on the amount of pedal effort you can apply, I seem to remember! Modern cars will actually pass that test but crikey, if you lose your servo you don't half get a shock!

On the plus side, brake pads last a lot longer these days, they still work after you've been through a flood, and they don't give you asbestosis when you change them!

 

[Avocet]

Same here and it really annoyed me when the mate you were towing found it funny to try to overtake you!

Many years ago, when I was a student, my mate ran an Alfasud. Cracking car, but of course, a complete rotbox. One day, he bought a scrap one for parts. He asked me if I'd tow him from the seller's house, back to his place in it. At the time, I was driving a Citroen DS, so aside from trying to find something (on either of our cars) solid enough to attach a two rope to, it was no big deal.

I was in a hurry so while my mate paid the guy, I sat in my car with the engine running. I was getting really ****ed off because they were having a right old chinwag, and I wanted to get home Eventually, my mate got into the scrap car and just as I was about to set off, the seller came running out of his drive, waving frantically at my mate and shouting something. By this time, I was in a bad enough mood to just think "stuff it!" and drive away.

All the way back, he was being a complete muppet - letting the two rope go slack, not trying to brake for me, nearly rear-ended me at one point! I couldn't understand it - I'd towed him plenty of times before!

When we got back to his place, I tore a strip off him over it. He let me finish my rant and then said "yeah, but what the bloke was shouting when you just drove off, was that he'd just remembered he'd sold the front pads out of it"!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Yes, they're spectacularly bad. Servo ratios have gone through the roof over the last 30 or 40 years. Believe it or not, there is a type approval test they have to do where they have to stop in a certain distance from a set speed and achieve a specified minimum deceleration with the servo "failed", AND there's a limit on the amount of pedal effort you can apply, I seem to remember! Modern cars will actually pass that test but crikey, if you lose your servo you don't half get a shock!

On the plus side, brake pads last a lot longer these days, they still work after you've been through a flood, and they don't give you asbestosis when you change them!

A good way to realise just how much the servo helps, is by trying the brakes with your left foot, which is used to pressing the clutch.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

A good way to realise just how much the servo helps, is by trying the brakes with your left foot, which is used to pressing the clutch.

Not sure I'd recommend that to anyone not familiar with the practice, I've done it myself plenty to bed new pads in but pretty scary if you've never tried it before.

 

[securespark]

Same here and it really annoyed me when the mate you were towing found it funny to try to overtake you!

Ha, ha! My Monty broke down and my mechanic towed it. He and me were in the towing vehicle, and his lad was in the Monty. I got the shock of my life when I looked over to see the Monty in the next lane!!

Laughed my tits off!

 

[ericmark]

I remember towing a wagon, my boss told me to go and recover it with a tractor unit, I felt this was unsafe, so said I did not think this was permitted, boss said ask the police, if they say OK then you recover it, if not then I get a recovery firm.

Police said it was OK, so with a solid bar, and an air line I went to tow him home, bosses son in wagon being towed, again asked police, and seems he is classed as a steers man, so did not even need a licence.

Two things went wrong, one we hit an ambulance, but police agreed it was not my fault, and we continued after a delay, and second going down a steep hill I could not stop, lucky the bosses son realised the was a problem and used his brakes.

The ambulance was due to no power steering.

I then went to work abroad, and it seems the police did approach my old firm, but since I was not in the country they got away with it.

OK talking about HGV not a car, but it showed there are problems towing a disabled vehicle, even using a solid bar and an air line. And this was before 1980.

Today most cars do have a maximum towing limit, unbraked I think around 600 kg and braked can be up to 3,500 kg, but my Kia Sorento is 3,000 kg, and to tow a caravan many cars have a maximum of under 1500 kg, which means most cars even if you have a dolly or ambulance with over run brakes could not tow a disabled car as simply too heavy.

On a rope clearly not using the tow vehicles brakes, but unless not power assisted there would be a problem, OK with a Morris Minor, but most modern cars have power steering and power assisted brakes, also often it will cause damage to tow them as no lubrication to the transmission.

Even my old Honda Jazz has both power steering and brakes, I can't think of any modern car where you could tow it within the law.