flat towing

[elkriverblue]

Can a Studebaker pickup with the 3-speed overdrive be flat towed. does the pick up have negative camber like the cars ?

[DieselJim]

When flat towing a pick up, on corners, the front wheels don't like to return straight. That said, I flat towed a 3R11 from Arizona to Indiana. Tied the steering wheel so it did not have much movement. I unhooked the drive shaft and tied it up. When arriving in South Bend, the drive shaft was missing.

[elkriverblue]

Wondering about the trans. main box in neutral or od disengaged or what procedure to follow.

[TWChamp]

I flat towed 3 Studebakers from El Paso to Minneapolis with no problems. I left the overdrive knob pushed in and the tranny in neutral.

[t walgamuth]

I've towed a lot of cars with the tranny in neutral. But for a long tow I'd probably unhook the driveshaft.

[thunderations]

If front end geometry causes problems flat towing, why not put it on a tow dolly?
We just towed the 66 Daytona nearly 5000 miles around the country behind the motorhome on a Kar Kaddy, steerable dolly with zero problems. I even got pretty quick with the drive shaft connecting and disconnecting due to it being an automatic.. I placed the drive shaft next to the muffler and used 2 long radiator clamps to secure it. If one's good, two's better. The u-joint caps were taped, put in a heavy plastic bag, and taped to the drive shaft again. Didn't want to pull the drive shaft because the trans fluid would pour out.
Used dollies can be bought cheap on Craigslist, usually. Get one that steers if possible, or at least one that swivels.

[Swifster]

I'll be using a tow dolly to move my Commander from FL to MI.

[StudeRich]

Can a Studebaker pickup with the 3-speed overdrive be flat towed. does the pick up have negative camber like the cars ?

No they do not have Negative CASTER, the trucks also do not have Center Point steering like the Cars, so should not be nearly as hard to Tow as a car.

I probably have covered 8 to 10,000 miles with Studebaker Cars on the Towbar behind another Studebaker over the Siskiyou Mountains in Calif. and Oregon.

I learned to avoid sharp turns and driveway aprons, and Gravel at an angle, I also had to crawl, not go slow, to avoid the Left to Right, lock to lock wobble syndrome on turns.

I now prefer a Car Trailer.

[studeclunker]

I flat tow a Champ from time to time. No, it doesn't like sharp turns, driveway aprons (take it at a long oblique if you can) or speed bumps. Other than that, on a straight line, they're fine. I find the trucks easier to tow than the cars. Still would prefer a dolly, if I could find one at a good price. But Dollies have their drawbacks as well. All the same, towing these old vehicles is much easier with a dolly than an a-frame (which has to be constantly checked for tension and adjustment). And yeah, I would remove the drive shaft where I could if either flat-towing or Dolly-towing any distance or with an automatic tranny in the towed vehicle.

[thunderations]

Watch Craigslist for reasonably priced dollies. Here in Phoenix they are from $300 to $1000, according to your ability to perform some TLC and rewire one that has had a rougher life or pay more and get one that someone has quit using and just wants it out of their way. I bought my Kar-Kaddy, steerable with surge brakes for less then $1000. Replaced a clearance light and repacked the bearings...good to go.

I flat tow a Champ from time to time. No, it doesn't like sharp turns, driveway aprons (take it at a long oblique if you can) or speed bumps. Other than that, on a straight line, they're fine. I find the trucks easier to tow than the cars. Still would prefer a dolly, if I could find one at a good price. But Dollies have their drawbacks as well. All the same, towing these old vehicles is much easier with a dolly than an a-frame (which has to be constantly checked for tension and adjustment). And yeah, I would remove the drive shaft where I could if either flat-towing or Dolly-towing any distance or with an automatic tranny in the towed vehicle.

[studeclunker]

Here in the Peoples' Socialist Republic of California, Car Dollies start at around a grand and go rapidly up from there. However, one is also obligated now to use a device that operates the brakes in the dollied vehicle. I don't know how long it will be before this requirement is mandatory, they are working in that direction though. However, at this time only lights and etc are required (to my knowledge). So, right now, Dollies are a bit expensive for me. A need indeed, however so are parts for Bess, Ed, and Wilber who come first.

[studebakerkid]

My Totota T cab is now on the road. I flat towed it to the alignment shop less then a mile away. Every turn was a fight. My alignment was dead on factory spec. and I just had a yardstick to work with. The cars tow much better if every thing is in spec.

[oldsalt]

Most standad transmissions will not oil properly if only the 'output' end is turning as when towing and the box is in neutral. Remove the drive shaft if you are going very far and like the transmission. If the car has a closed drive shaft, such as a early Ford, pull the shift tower and add a lot more gear oil. The steering wheel can be tied with a piece of bicycle inner tube, or some such compliant material, so that there's no way that the front wheels can go into a 'high speed wobble'.

[t walgamuth]

If flat towing, around town if the towed car runs starting it will make the turns much easier if it has power steering.

[DougHolverson]

Are Studebakers with Planar suspension extra hard to flat tow? From my experience from towing a '47 Champion from Onawa to Soldier and a '41 Commander Land Cruiser from Armstrong to Soldier, it seems like they like to wobble and oscillate a scary little too much before they straighten out.