Towing advice requested

[Lyfisin]

Next week, I offered to help my son out and tow a car he bought which is out in Longview. It's an MG of some sort. :rolleyes:

I plan on using the L to bring it home, but I've never towed anything before. I have the roush suspension on the L and I was planning on renting a trailer where all four wheels would sit on it.

Should I be considering any other options and what are the issues with the lowered rear end and towing?

[Sixpipes]

Next week, I offered to help my son out and tow a car he bought which is out in Longview. It's an MG of some sort. :rolleyes:

I plan on using the L to bring it home, but I've never towed anything before. I have the roush suspension on the L and I was planning on renting a trailer where all four wheels would sit on it.

Should I be considering any other options and what are the issues with the lowered rear end and towing?

I've towed a bunch of stuff with my truck (Roush suspension also). It is important to balance the load so that the tongue-weight on the trailer is no more than maybe 100 pounds. But an MG is so light, you shouldn't have any problems. You can also use a U-Haul dolly and just support the front wheels and you won't even notice it being there. :cool:

http://www.svtgalleries.net/gallery/data/500/medium/8Gorila_tow_2.JPG

This particular load was shifted too much to the front and bottomed out the rear springs.

http://www.svtgalleries.net/gallery/data/500/medium/New_Image1.JPG

For a small vehicle like an MG, I'd go this route if you have to rent something to tow it with. :cool:

[Lyfisin]

ok. Three more questions now.

1. How do you know if the tongue wait is within 100 lbs?

2. Is there an advantage or disadvantage of using the dolly one?

3. Do the brake lights have to work on the car when you tow it with the dolly type?

[Sixpipes]

ok. Three more questions now.

1. How do you know if the tongue wait is within 100 lbs?

2. Is there an advantage or disadvantage of using the dolly one?

3. Do the brake lights have to work on the car when you tow it with the dolly type?

1.) If you can't lift the tongue of the trailer and drop it on the ball, it's too heavy. 50 pounds wouldn't hurt, I'm just saying balance the trailer (by moving the car forward or backward) until the weight is distributed over the trailer wheels and the tongue is neither too light or heavy.

2.) It's easy to load, but a biotch if you ever have to back up.

3.) The dolly typically has lights so the car lights don't have to be hooked up. :cool:

[Lyfisin]

2.) It's easy to load, but a biotch if you ever have to back up.

That doesn't sound so bad. Assuming I can get the car on it and move forward on the way here, the car is so light, it can easily be pushed/backed into a parking space if desired.

My brother-in-law towed a Jetta with a Volvo and he wired up the lights of the car. It was a real hassle. I thought the trailer lights should be enough.

Thanks Dennis. :tu:

[lbt]

Next week, I offered to help my son out and tow a car he bought which is out in Longview. It's an MG of some sort. :rolleyes:

I plan on using the L to bring it home, but I've never towed anything before. I have the roush suspension on the L and I was planning on renting a trailer where all four wheels would sit on it.

Should I be considering any other options and what are the issues with the lowered rear end and towing?

My name is Danny, I am new on the board. Was browsing this morning seen you post, notice you live in Allen and I live in Plano. I have a 1-ton dually and a trailer that I haul my hotrod on. I'll p.m. you my cell number call and we'll see what we can do...LBT:)

[tliss]

Towing isn't bad. I towed 4000+lbs of tile in a twin axle U-haul 600+ miles from El Paso. Backing up can get hairy, but just remember to turn the steering wheel in the direction opposite the direction you want the trailer to go and follow it. In other words, if you want the trailier to go left, you need to back up turning right. You get used to it, trust me.

My only warning would be to watch your braking distance. An MG has very little weight, but you are still adding a quarter or more of the weight of your truck to the brakes when you apply them, so be cautious of the fact that you won't be able to stop as quickly.

Have fun!

Tom

[Lyfisin]

Thanks Tom.

I've backed up a trailer with a farm tractor before and I'm familiar with the left right thing. I still appreciate the advice.

Those dolly's are a pain because there isn't much distance between the L and the dolly wheels. And the dolly wheels don't turn the same direction as the rear wheels on the car being towed. It's almost like you have to worry about all three (L trailer and MG) wheels and their direction. As long as I can keep going forward it shouldn't be an issue.

I'll remember to not follow too closely, not that I'm usually riding people bumpers anyway.

I'm going to call the place with the car and make sure the rear end is ok also. That might edge the decision one way or the other.

Thanks for the tips.

[SILVER2000SVT]

Depending on the load 100 lbs of tounge weight might not be enough. I shoot for about 10% tounge weight. The less tounge weight you have the less stable the trailer will be and will tend to wag back and forward at highway speed. The more tounge weight you have the more stable the trailer will be, but you will likely overload your suspension and it will ride really rough.

It's a delicate balance of the two that you want. I would load it up with about 100 lbs of tounge weight and give it a test drive. If it wants to wag on you, ease the car forward a little and try it again. I've seen people on the highway with it loaded so bad that the trailer is whipping 4-5 feet side to side.

[Silver_2000]

Depending on the load 100 lbs of tounge weight might not be enough. I shoot for about 10% tounge weight. The less tounge weight you have the less stable the trailer will be and will tend to wag back and forward at highway speed. The more tounge weight you have the more stable the trailer will be, but you will likely overload your suspension and it will ride really rough.

It's a delicate balance of the two that you want. I would load it up with about 100 lbs of tounge weight and give it a test drive. If it wants to wag on you, ease the car forward a little and try it again. I've seen people on the highway with it loaded so bad that the trailer is whipping 4-5 feet side to side.

The reason he specified about 100 lbs of tongue weight is due to the roush suspension

I have the roush rear springs on mine and it feels like if I carry a case of beer in the back it will bottom out

[tiffo60]

Depending on the load 100 lbs of tounge weight might not be enough. I shoot for about 10% tounge weight. The less tounge weight you have the less stable the trailer will be and will tend to wag back and forward at highway speed. The more tounge weight you have the more stable the trailer will be, but you will likely overload your suspension and it will ride really rough.

It's a delicate balance of the two that you want. I would load it up with about 100 lbs of tounge weight and give it a test drive. If it wants to wag on you, ease the car forward a little and try it again. I've seen people on the highway with it loaded so bad that the trailer is whipping 4-5 feet side to side.

if you get the weight too far back you wont get much above 50 or 60 before she starts whipping, and once the get out of whack its a blast trying to gett em back, but if it does start whipping dont hit the brakes, it will only make things worse, sometimes you can accell out of it if you catch it in time and then slow down.

[SILVER2000SVT]

The reason he specified about 100 lbs of tongue weight is due to the roush suspension

I have the roush rear springs on mine and it feels like if I carry a case of beer in the back it will bottom out

I just mean go as light as you can on the tounge weight and hopefully you won't exceed the rating on the roush springs, but from a safety standpoint it may be necessary to overload the rating to get a stable load.

[Moonshine]

I think the dolly route is probably the easiest way to go, but with an MG (rear wheel drive) I think you'll want the rear wheels on the dolly, and the fronts on the ground. Dennis has the ccorrect tow for the FWD Contour, but you'll want to reverse it. Just put a rope through a steering wheel spoke, and then slam the door shut over the rope and that will keep the front wheels centered up. I dollied my 280Z several times while moving in college and it was no sweat. Use the magnetic lights that come with the dolly and you're set.

[L8 APEX]

If you have the stock bump stops you will be fine. If you have cut the stop down much it can break the stock Bilsteins if you have those. Just drive the car onto the trailer until you see the truck set down an inch or so. That will tell you where the balance and tongue weight is. The other option is to talk him out ofthe MG:D

[Lyfisin]

If you have the stock bump stops you will be fine. If you have cut the stop down much it can break the stock Bilsteins if you have those. Just drive the car onto the trailer until you see the truck set down an inch or so. That will tell you where the balance and tongue weight is. The other option is to talk him out ofthe MG:D

I wish I had that option.

My truck doesn't have stock or cut down bump stops. It has the bump stops that came with the kit as well as the shocks I believe.

I get the balance thing now.

Thanks for all the great info.

[QDRHRSE]

It might be a good time to buy a cheapie airbag kit. They don't take too much time to install and when they are aired down its like they are not there. Considering that your suspension kit already takes away some towling and hauling capacity, a set of air bags may serve you well many more times.

[L8 APEX]

I wish I had that option.

My truck doesn't have stock or cut down bump stops. It has the bump stops that came with the kit as well as the shocks I believe.

I get the balance thing now.

Thanks for all the great info.
If I installed it then the rear bump stops are still there maybe trimmed a little.

[Silver_2000]

I wish I had that option.

My truck doesn't have stock or cut down bump stops. It has the bump stops that came with the kit as well as the shocks I believe.

I get the balance thing now.

Thanks for all the great info.

My Roush kit came with bump stops for the front but not the rear ...

[Lyfisin]

You put it in Terry, but it was awhile back.

I'll check 'em out.

[Lyfisin]

One MG Midget home now.

/whew!

Thanks for all the tips and advice.