Towing an '86 Camaro

you'll have to put the rear wheels on the dolly. it might scrape the nose. i don't know what it would cost to rent the uhaul, but i've found if you just buy a 16x7 utility trailer or car hauler for about 1500 new or less if used, then u can either keep it or sell it @ your destination and recoup quite a bit of the $. if you got a friend or two, thats all it'll take to get it moving fast enuf to get it on the trailer. or you can hook up the trailer, hook a strap to the camaro and the other end to another vehicle and drive by the side of the trailer while pulling the camaro onto it. make sure someone is in the camaro to stop it in either situation, and make sure its securely tied down to the trailer when transporting it. hth

U-haul may not recommend it but I don't see where a car that is sitting 5" higher in the front on a tow dolly is going to scrape the ground in the rear. Methinks that they may be trying to rent you the more expensive and also quite a pain to drag behind you aluminum car trailer. Put it on a tow dolly with all of the extra lights and stuff and take it home.

...Ron

--

68' RS Camaro 88' Formula Bird 00' Mustang GT vert Some are wise and some are otherwise

I have SOME experience towing my 80 Camaro on a UHaul dolly. First, you CAN NOT push it up on the dolly. You WILL need a hand winch or come-along. I too, at the tender age of 19, thought I could push my Camaro up on that. I even jacked it way up and tried to slide the dolly underneath, no dice. The come-along is about $30 at a hardware store. Second, you HAVE to tow it from the front end, unless of course you do not need the nose of the car. If you have a weak rear suspension jacking up the front will make the rear sit lower. I have Monroe air shocks so I can just air them up to raise the rear end if I need too. If your car is lowered you will no be able to tow with the dolly, you will need the full sized hauler. Third, the reason they say you can't tow it is due to the fact it's a RWD. You will need to disconnect your driveshaft, unless of course you do not need the transmission. Also the front tires onthe third gens are pretty wide. The first time I towed I have a beefy front tire / rim combo, the straps jumped off the tires twice, thank god for the safety chains. The last time I towed, which was from NH to NV, I had on some 14 inch 205/60s I believe. They were MUCH smaller then what I had on there the first time. the tow bar is not an optin because your bumper is behind your front fascia, I towed my Blazer with one of those bars and it wasn't pretty but it worked. Any other ??s

Thanks for the replies - some follow up comments ...

1) I've heard a lot of people say that you don't need to disconnect the drive shaft if you have a manual transmission, you can just put it into neutral. Bogus?

2) I'll admit, I don't know what a come-along is - what is it exactly? A full-size trailer is not much more expensive to rent ($10-$15 more) than the tow dolly; if there is something I can use to get the car up on the thing, then I'd rather get the trailer.

Thanks, Rich

1) well, the mainshaft and idler gears will still be turning in the trans from the driveshaft. i've read that sometimes this causes lack of lubrication and can cause premature trans failure. also afaik the factory recommends not to go over 45mph with the rear being towed. 2)

1) An automatics pump is driven off of the input shaft, that won't be turning, there will not be enough lubrication in the system if you are hauling down the road at 75. BUT I do see retirees out here hauling their RWD trucks behind their Winnebago and I KNOW they don't crawl under and disconnect the drivesaft. Of course there is a transmission shop every mile out here, that's probably why. Personally, I'ld drop the shaft. Although on a manual the gears are submerged in lube and the spinning of the gears will circulate the lube up and around the gears, it's the same as if you were driving down the road I suppose. 2) A come along is exactly what snipped-for-privacy@times.com linked too. Mine was a tad cheaper, check around, one of your friends might have one laying around. I paid $30 for mine at a local hardware store. You can rent the full carrier for not much more but you need more truck to haul it. I know my Blazer wouldn't have liked pulling the full carrier up and down the mtns on my last cross country trip. If you have a bigger truck, go for it, but it sounds like you still might need to get the car up on the carrier some how.

I would use a trailer over a dolly But you willl need a bigger truck. As for buying a come a long I got one at Wal Mart they have them over near the auto area ask one of there clerks As for what I paid for it I forgot I had a 86 Nissan Pickup I had to tow from upstate New York to Phoenix AZ An I rented a transport trailer an towed it that way.

Dark Man

I found a 2-Ton come-along at Ace for $30. Should do the trick.

I went ahead and reserved a trailer, I'm using an F-150 to haul so it shouldn't be a problem. The trip is pretty flat from FL to MS. I brought it out from Arizona on a trailer behind a K5 Blazer, the only difference being the Camaro ran at that point. :)

Good deal man, good luck on the trip. Let us know how it turns out.

Hmm.. thats interesting.. when my alrternator went out on me on the Interestate.. the tow truck grabbed the front and lifted and told me to throw it in neutral and we took off.. was going 60 for about 15-20 miles... if its that bad, wouldn't he know that? He has been a towtruck/garage/dealership for 43 years...