[Frankiec55]

haha I hear ya,

I have a good remote spot out in the country to work out driveability issues. I will definitely get all of the remote actuators set up properly before I try and operate the civic remotely.

I think my car and van's sweet spots are pretty close together. I am hoping that occasional assistance from the towed vehicle will help the lead vehicle remain in its sweet spot torque wise. The van has an 0.73 overdrive and a 3.90 axle ratio. The speedometer is broken, but this means it spins 2400rpm at about 60-65mph. It can go faster, but it runs out of power once it gets to that speed. I think that is why it feels slow especially with a load, it can only ride in the left lane relatively easily downhill. The car on the other hand has similar gearing, but of course has all of its power at higher rpms. I have yet to use the van for any highway towing, it should actually do just fine around 60mph in the flats.

I was a bit worried about modulation of the actuators, especially the one controlling the clutch. But I realized that the clutch dumps smoothly at idle above 3rd gear so it will be fine as long as the actuator doesn't ride the clutch and releases it fairly quickly.

I have been trying to decide whether to utilize wired, wireless, or mechanical control of the remote vehicle. I think I will end up mainly relying on wired DC control with some mechanical safeguards. The only thing that I might make wireless would be the cockpit monitor. I will definitely devise a way to physically turn the car off and disengage the clutch remotely, atleast while I am working out the kinks.

My van does sit quite a bit higher than my car does. I will have to figure out a way to prevent the car from pushing the rear of the van up. I was thinking of using a long vertical drop drawbar hitch, but this will give the car leverage on the van and potentially negatively impact steering. I think mounting the tow bar higher(behind and through the bumper perhaps) and an adjustable height drawbar on the van will alleviate these issues. But this is all just speculation on my part. Whatever towbar I use will need a good strong coupler. I wish I could find one like uhaul's that you can crank down.

This definitely isn't the most Eco-friendly idea I have had. I imagine it will be a cumbersome set up at times as well. It should be fun though. I'll be able to enjoy the comfort & space of my van along with the speed, economy, and maneuverability of my car. Remote operation of my car should take alot of stress off of the van's brakes and drivetrain, allow me to load the van up, and keep the rig at decent speed through varied territory.

My original goal was just a DIY brake controller for flat towing the car. That will still be the main function of this contraption. I have not used the van to tow at highway speeds yet, but on a windy with the back loaded up, its pretty gutless on overpasses. I will have to see, I will keep you all posted on progress though.