If it is towed with the rear wheels on the dolly, the front tires would want to tire left and right (Do they have locking steering? Its been a while since I've been in mine)
If you put the front tires on the dolly and the tranny in neutral the transmission could still get too hot...
Yes tow on dolly with back end on. Steering column is locked. In Michigan you have to have key in ignition. If you use U Haul DONT tell them how you are towing. They don't know about Fieros and the engine in the rear etc. and if you tell them with rear wheels on dolly some places will not rent to you. I towed my first Fiero from Pittsburg to Grand Rapids Michigan without a problem.
I was able to rent a dolly in Missouri but only because the nice folks at the rental place lied about the towing vehicle. I towed my 87gt back (rear wheels up) to Oklahoma city with very little problem in my 2002 Chevy S10. I had to take my time and the hills were kind of slow but we made it just fine. Bottom line, you will have to either have a big truck or lie about what you are towing it with. You might also consider going on craig's list and seeing if you can find one and buy it. If you have to take it to different places for work it will come in handy.
Aggree with the flat bed! On a dolly seems like the nose would be to close to the ground. For this hall I did need 2 X8 so the nose would not scrub the ramps.
[This message has been edited by LornesGT (edited 06-19-2014).]
I have my own dolly. If its a stick, tow it with front wheels on the dolly and in neutral. Lock the steering wheel with the seat belt...dont trust the ignition steering lock. If its an automatic, the rear wheels MUST be on the dolly to keep from burning up the transmission. Make sure the tires on the ground are good. Towing it with the front up can prevent the hood, doors, sunroof or deck lid from blowing open on a hard bump. Ive never had a Fiero, kit, my GT40, or Corvettes ever scrape the front or rear on the ground on the dolly. You have to use a trailer if you have any suspension problems with the towed car. Ive towed my cars thousands of miles without a single problem. Do check your tie downs during rest stops every few hours as they can bounce loose. Remember with a dolly, its IMPOSSIBLE to back up with any car loaded on it. You will damage the towed car. Dont go or park anywhere you cant pull on thru. You have to unload the towed car to back up. If your towed car is lowered, you should have some pieces of 2x4 to set on the ends of the ramps to load it without scraping on the dolly. Depending on what your tow vehicle is a dolly is a lot lighter for gas and weight than a trailer of any kind. I towed my GT40 from St Louis to Columbus with a 3800 v6 minivan with no problem at all. I just set the cruise for 65 and went. A standard trans is not going to get hot towing in neutral any more than it does driving it. Its not going to hurt it at all.
Ill also confirm DONT tell U Haul if you rent one from them. Tell them its a Pontiac ( Sunbird or Sunfire if they press it) and your good. Your normal collision insurance will normally cover a towed car connected to your insured one.
[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 06-19-2014).]
I have never been able to get UHaul to rent a dolly if I told them I was towing a Fiero. They never asked how I was towing, just WHAT I was towing. They always said they wouldn't rent if I was towing a Fiero, so I've always told them its a Beretta, Cavalier or Grand Am.
Just an hour ago, a wrecker brought my brother's 86GT in. An automatic picked up by the rear wheels. There are low profile tires on the car and they came over several sets of rough RR tracks to get here, without scrubbing the nose. If the wrecker has the device that lifts by the wheels, he can keep the device as low as he needs to prevent nose drag.
During Run For The Hills 18, an 85GT broke down. The AAA wrecker had a small dolly with tandem wheels that picked up the rear wheels, then he used the wheel lift device on the wrecker to lift the front wheels. http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/191090927845?lpid=82
Edited to add that the above device can haul a car behind a wrecker even if all wheels are flat or helter-skelter after a wreck, just as long as they will sit into the dolly and the wrecker's wheel lift device.
[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 06-19-2014).]
Yes you can use a dolly but the best way is a car trailer. I have done both but the car trailer is my choice to transport my car to events that I attend!
------------------ 1984 Indy Pace Car\1988 Formula Custom\1986 turbo GT Founder of Mason Dixon Fiero Owners Group NYFOC Member
I've towed many Fieros and the best way is with a full auto transport. If your renting, it's only $10-$20 more than a dolly and having all 4 wheel off the ground and no worries...is totally worth it! spend the extra couple bucks and get a trailer.
one I didn't see mentioned was that when using a tow dolly the car you are towing has to be registered in most states anyway. Just a heads up if your Fiero is not registered.
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't
That's just ludicrous. What if you bought a parts car or as often happens with some of our Fieros, a car that's been sitting in a field or barn for 10 years? If you have to have it registered, I'm sure they would also require insurance on it, too.
Methods of towing a Fiero depends upon the tow vehicle. UHaul won't rent anything to be towed with my Ford Explorer Sport Trac. Not even a dolly. Nothing. Can't even get anything to tow a VW Beetle or a Fiat 500. I took my Dodge truck, got the dolly to tow a Grand AM, transferred the dolly to my Explorer, towed a Fiero through the hills of N. Georgia without issue. Returned the dolly attached to the Dodge. The Explorer, however couldn't pull a carrier with any car.
Ohio law on dollys is shakey at best. Some cops will say the dolly has to be tagged, others will say it dont. Same about the vehicle towed...some say tagged, some not. I dont have my dolly tagged (20 years no tag) but cars I tow do have valid tags. If its a parts car you found and its not safe then use a trailer. If its a roller, you can also put a $3 temp tag on one to use a dolly. Your normal collision insurance coverage usually will cover the dolly AND towed car automaticly. If yours dont, rental insurance can be bought pretty cheap. My insurance covers each of my cars, my dolly, and the towed car (as long as its attached). When its unhooked its covered under my homeowners policy (I know because Ive collected on it before). Like I already said, most new cars CANT pull a trailer. On my minivan just an empty trailer exceeds its tow capacity. Its not a problem if you have a 4x4 dually diesel pickup...
I disagree Formula. Not just Fieros, but I tow all manual shift cars from the front always as the preferred way. Many benefits and no drawbacks, at least none Ive ran into. I used it to haul customer cars all over the state (when I was full time business). I never towed a manual car or a FWD auto by the rear end. I intentionally bought a Caravan (found I needed a van more than a car) because its much easier to tow behind my motorhome on the dolly by the front. I wouldnt consider an Astro because it had to be towed by the rear.
If I use a tow dolly to tow my fiero with the rear wheels up on the dolly, do I leave the steering wheel unlocked or locked? It has an automatic transmission I am just making sure. I am making a long trip with the car and want to be sure I am not going to cause any problems with it. Thanks Pat
I was able to rent a dolly in Missouri but only because the nice folks at the rental place lied about the towing vehicle. I towed my 87gt back (rear wheels up) to Oklahoma city with very little problem in my 2002 Chevy S10. I had to take my time and the hills were kind of slow but we made it just fine. Bottom line, you will have to either have a big truck or lie about what you are towing it with. You might also consider going on craig's list and seeing if you can find one and buy it. If you have to take it to different places for work it will come in handy.
I was using my demo at that time. It was a 2000 Pontiac Trans Sport. The new body style. I did a great job towing thru Penn. and eastern Ohio.
Last year when moving our Warrior Project car from 1 location to another, rear wheels on the dolly, I hit some rough spots on the interstate. Without warning, the car began whipping violently, nearly causing me to wreck. Front steering and suspension needs to be in good condition to tow with the rear up. I had to because the trip was 75 miles and it was an automatic.
This is the easiest and lightest way to tow a Fiero, with either end on the tow dolly, even with damaged suspension. The carrier dolly disassembles to fit into the bed of a truck. After one end of the car is loaded onto the tow dolly and strapped down, the cross-rails of the carrier dolly are positioned in front and rear of the tires which are still on the ground. The trollies are positioned, and attached to the cross rails, then the car is lifted by a self-contained system. It trails as if it was a vehicle being pulled with a tow bar. The small tires are rated for highway speeds.
Originally posted by handymanpat: If I use a tow dolly to tow my fiero with the rear wheels up on the dolly, do I leave the steering wheel unlocked or locked? It has an automatic transmission I am just making sure. I am making a long trip with the car and want to be sure I am not going to cause any problems with it. Thanks Pat
NEVER try to lock with steering column lock pin for towing! If the pin doesn't fail, will break other column parts. The pin is for parking and anti-theft and barely does that.
You must lock the wheel to the seat and tilt wheel all the way down. (Tilt lock was never design to take towing loads.) Long trips lock the wheel to seat track sections bolted directly to the floor. Why? Seat and track can fail when loaded "wrong way" and pulled up.
Vehicle to tow another will matter... Bad things can, often will, happen tow a car with another car. If you don't break the drive train, the brakes can fail trying to stop the load. Even if the don't fail outright, Double or more the normal stopping distances. Many SUV vans and light trucks have same problems. Cops can stop you for overloading a car or light truck same as they to for Semis. Worse, They can make you stay and wait for something heavier to tow the Extra car or impound it.
Most cars and others are barely rated 100 tongue weight, 1000 draw weight. Draw weight is a dynamic weight and does change at any given time. maybe 100 lb to over total weight for driving, stopping, etc. Many Dollies add 700 to 900 pounds to Tow a Fiero. (Fiero Curb weight 2,593 to 2,789 lb per Wiki) Many Tow trailer will double the weight. Example: U-haul Empty weight: 2,210 lbs. While Trailers w/ Tandem Axles are require by law to have Trailer Brakes, You need a vehicle to handle ~5000 lb even on flat roads.
U-hual and others won't rent dollies to tow backward because morons fail to lock steering wheel and some states can be illegal. If you lie to U-haul and have problem or a wreck then U-haul can wash their hands. In a wreck, Best insurance plans likely won't be enough money when you get sued. You could face criminal count too.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
Aggree with the flat bed! On a dolly seems like the nose would be to close to the ground. For this hall I did need 2 X8 so the nose would not scrub the ramps.
Have to agree here. After trying to dolly a Fiero home several years ago, the nose was almost destroyed by the dips / bumps in the roads. My last Stealth R/T was flat beded home with no damage to anything for only $10 more. Only trailered things from then on..... well worth the extra couple of bucks.
A trailer probably is the best way but as Ogre pointed out, not all vehicles can handle the combined weight. My Explorer Sport Track factory hitch is rated at only 3500 lb. towing capacity and 350 lb. tongue weight. A mini pickup certainly would be overloaded with just the trailer. Sometimes a dolly is the only option.
Use straps around the control arms or around rear axel. To pull onto the flatbed. I was going to make tow hooks some while ago and started a thread asking about what others have done. Wanted to be track ready as cannot go without tow points.
I told uhaul I was towing a beretta with a Hemi Dodge Ram. Then they said it wasn't approved bc she put the vehicles in as the beretta towing the truck instead. So after a short argument of what vehicle was towing what, I got the flatbed trailer and went and got my "Beretta". The balance seemed a little different bc the engine in the rear but get as much as u can over the axles and it was a smooth ride home.
I will just get a flatbed trailer, it will be easier and I can use it for other things on the way back. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to answer the questions that I had. Pat
A trailer probably is the best way but as Ogre pointed out, not all vehicles can handle the combined weight. My Explorer Sport Track factory hitch is rated at only 3500 lb. towing capacity and 350 lb. tongue weight. A mini pickup certainly would be overloaded with just the trailer. Sometimes a dolly is the only option.
And that gets back to the original question.
Trailer is "best." If someone has a limitation that prevents them from using the "best" method, compromises have to be made. It may be all a person can do, but it's not the best way to do it.
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