Towing with car dolly, acceptable?
 

Looking to buy a car this weekend, I wil be towing it back home around 450 miles.


Poll question: Do you guys think a tow dolly, Rx8 rear tires on the ground and transmission in neutral, for around 450 miles will be fine?


Tow car: 2006 Explorer 4.0L V6 4wd with 5,000lb tow capacity


Towing: 2005 Rx8 Manual transmission on stock suspension.


Comments/Discussion welcome


EDIT: Loki's statement in post 2 confirmed, going with a auto transport trailer.

That's not a good idea, transmission oil is moved around via the input shaft, so if the engine is off but driven wheels are on the ground, the trans is turning without adequate lubrication. Could end badly.

If it's a swivel type tow dolley you can back it on and lock the steering wheel in the straight position and then tow it like that. I hauled a BMW Z4 across most of the country to race events doing this for two years.

Keep the rear wheels off the ground.

It would be your standard "U-Haul" tow dolly, unclear on the type of setup they use.

Then I'd recommend against it. I've had a number of friends/family whose trips were made more difficult by dollies from U-Haul falling apart mid-trip.

Okay so I have decided against a tow dolly. I verified that Loki's statement was in fact correct, and I am not going to go through the effort of disconnecting and removing the driveshaft on the car with minimal hand tools and hope that I am successful in doing so, because should I be unsuccessful then I would be SOL to get the vehicle back home. I hate being the one to ask really dumb questions, but hopefully this will be a helpful thread in the future for others.


Going to rent a auto transport trailer from U-Haul.