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Old 02-29-2020, 09:53 AM   #31 (permalink)
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So I’m probably going back to my friend’s house in the next few weeks to try this again and I had another thought. Instead of getting a much taller mount for my ball, maybe I should mount the tow bar lower on the towed car if possible so it’s level. It seems to me that mounting the tow bar lower on the towed car so its level and using a more straight ball mount would probably be better than leaving the tow bar mounted high up on the towed car and making it level with a tall ball mount. What do you think of this idea? Thanks in advance!

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Old 02-29-2020, 10:05 AM   #32 (permalink)
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I have seen tow bar kits with different level holes on the towed vehicles front end kit, so yeah it should work great
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Old 02-29-2020, 10:32 AM   #33 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oil pan 4 View Post
I have seen tow bar kits with different level holes on the towed vehicles front end kit, so yeah it should work great
Thanks, I didn't know that. Do you agree that leveling the tow bar by mounting it lower on the towed vehicle if possible is a better solution than getting a taller mount for my ball? Thanks
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Old 02-29-2020, 11:16 AM   #34 (permalink)
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A tall tow hitch makes things give the load more mechanical advantage to the load to bend things.
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Old 02-29-2020, 12:08 PM   #35 (permalink)
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Quote:
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A tall tow hitch makes things give the load more mechanical advantage to the load to bend things.
Yeah that's pretty much what I thought, thanks. I will mount the tow bar lower on the towed car if possible. I presume that the extra mechanical advantage the taller hitch would give the load over my tow vehicle would probably reduce stability too?
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Old 07-28-2021, 05:07 AM   #36 (permalink)
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I finally was able to get to my friend's house to try this again with a taller ball mount, which made for a much more level tow bar. The result was significantly improved stability, but still not great. Braking was greatly improved also since the front end was no longer being lifted up.

With this setup I was able to get the car the 600+ miles home at speeds of around 45-55 MPH with no incidents, but it wasn't a very pleasant trip as stability still wasn't good. Up hills it usually pulled pretty well, but on flat ground or down hills I still sometimes felt the towed car swaying a bit and pushing my tow car around. It never got out of control or started whipping severely, but staying in my lane required constant attention and corrections.

However, the towed car has old mismatched tires as well as somewhat worn suspension and steering parts and an unknown alignment, so perhaps that was contributing to some of the issues. The problem was clearly coming from the towed car as I could see it start swaying a bit right before it started pushing my tow car around.
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Old 07-28-2021, 08:25 AM   #37 (permalink)
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Good news. I suspect the alignment on the towed car was off. I have flat towed my VW bug thousands of miles with a 2001 jetta, never a problem at speeds of up tp 75 mph.

I also flat towed a 84 C10 with a 93 1500, no stability problems, stopping wasn't great because both trucks weighed about the same. I suspect that might be part of the problem you had.
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Old 07-28-2021, 08:51 AM   #38 (permalink)
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This combination was somehow worse than a Jetta pulling an Insight. The Prius tried to push the Tacoma after a turn, it didn't want to stop turning! I wasn't going very fast or very far, so it wasn't really an issue, it just felt terrible.
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Old 07-28-2021, 11:29 AM   #39 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vwbeamer View Post
Good news. I suspect the alignment on the towed car was off. I have flat towed my VW bug thousands of miles with a 2001 jetta, never a problem at speeds of up tp 75 mph.

I also flat towed a 84 C10 with a 93 1500, no stability problems, stopping wasn't great because both trucks weighed about the same. I suspect that might be part of the problem you had.
Yeah the alignment very well could be off, that car needs a lot of work. I suspect the alignment doesn't have to be off very much for a Civic to sway and push another Civic around.
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Old 07-29-2021, 10:34 AM   #40 (permalink)
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No offense intended, but that's a gumby flexy somewhat janky tow set up. Wouldn't think about using it in low traction conditions.

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