Dragged this 92 C2500 diesel, NV4500 parts truck home last night with my super-duper homemade towbar. The steering refused to follow and just wanted to turn to the left and stay there and slide the tires sideways. So I had to lock the steering centered, used backroads and went slow- Yeah it sucked but wasnt very far.

Only thing I can think is whoever had that truck had some kind of goof coil spacers in the front and it was sitting up way high and no shocks on the front and the steering caster and geometry were screwed due to the lift which prevented the steering from following the tow vehicle . ? What ya think?

Bar secured to truck with 4 ratchet straps- 2 under the bumper and over the frame horns and 2 over the top of the bumper and back to the towbar and a safety chain through the frame on both sides and to the tow truck. Foam padding under the duct tape on the part that contacts the bumper. Some carpet pieces under the straps to prevent chafeing from the bumper. The straps under the hood are just slack strap.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb262/thedavo727/922.jpg
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb262/thedavo727/921.jpg

Saw this thing on the web and figured if 2 ratchet straps were good for them then 4 straps should be good to go for me . http://americantowbar.com/index.htm

I even tried to tie the steering wheel with a strap to allow 3/4 turn or so and that didnt work either it would just go to one side and stay there so i had to lock it straight

you,sir,have some big,cast iron kahunas :grinpimp:

ive drug home some junk on towbars,but never with ratchet straps holding the bar to the junk...

now that i think about it,thats prolly not any stupider than the 4 hour trip i made with an MJ parts truck,and a u haul chain towbar. luckily i made it back with no mishap,other than almost blowing up the motor on the borrowed chevy "heavy half" tow rig cause it wanted oil and we couldt figure out how to get the hood open

its a matter of time... let me go ahead and say it...

youre lucky you didnt kill yourself and everyone around you!

Nightcrawler: Did u look at this http://americantowbar.com/index.htm

$500 for a towbar with 2 ratchet straps connection

Are 4 straps and the safety chain going to break?

The question was- Has anyone had a problem with steering following on a towbar pulled vehicle?
That towbar was attached tight big time to the frame and bumper of that truck and not going anywhere, same as a vehicle tied to a trailer with 4 of those straps and a chain isnt going anywhere.

The question was- Has anyone had a problem with steering following on a towbar pulled vehicle?


yes. the towed vehicle did not have enuff castor to properly follow.

and i still think you have some huge cast iron kahunas :flipoff2:

OK Cool. Yeah I wouldnt pull something driving fast or like a nut with it but 45 mph carefully on backroads was fine.

a friend of mine used to have a dually suburban. something happend to it one time and i ended up pulling it about an hour home for him with my 1/2 ton suburban and that same chain towbar. id forgotten about that... we used that stupid chain towbar for alot of things...

anyway,if you made a very slight,gradual turn,it would follow. any more than that,same thing you experienced- it would turn the wheels and just skid them along,no return to center.

maybe its a chevy truck thing to have crappy caster. or maybe the front suspension on it(and your parts truck) were just so worn out the alignment was way off?

our trip was mostly highway,so it wasnt so bad,and once we got off hed just jump out and straighten the wheels after every turn :p

boy im glad i have trailers now!

Well, I have a new idea- A tow dolly that will quick dissasemble into like 3 or 4 peices so that I can easily throw it into the back of my truck.

Deal is I drive 400 miles to my moms in Oklahoma fairly often and do some other road trips and it would be cool to have a way to drag home a vehicle if I happen into a deal or find something cool without having to drag a trailer everywhere I go. The tow dolly taken apart in the back of my truck would be quick and easy. I will build it stout enough to drag a diesel or whatever comes up.

I would agree, it had to be a caster issue. On the strap thing, the one in the link looks really scary, so I guess yours is only half as scary.
Travis..

Well you should call up that american towbar company and tell them they have to stop selling it. Along with all the 2 wheel tow dolly companys that use 2 ratchet straps to hold the vehicle to the dolly and you all need to stop using ratchet straps to hold down your rigs on trailers because ratchet straps are scary :flipoff2:

they should stop selling it-its a lawsuit waiting to happen.

its really scary to me,having had experience with the basic design. its pretty much the same as my scary chain towbar,with the obvious difference that it used chains instead of the ratchet straps and coily cable thingys.

it was a huge PITA- once everything was good and tight it was OK,but youd stop several times in the first few miles to tighten things up. the chains would loosen as the stress of bouncing and turning tried to move the towbar around,and i bet the straps are not any different.

as i mentioned i made a 4 hour trip from michigan to dayton,ohio with the damn thing and i never did relax- i kept one eye on the mirror the entire trip.

its not hard to attach reliable permanent towbar attachement points to something you tow on a regular basis. if you need to tow random different things often enuff to need a "universal towbar" than you really need to invest in a tow dolly or trailer,IMO.

edit: when i say "you" im refering to the general public,not making a jab at the original poster. :) the "dismantleable tow dolly" sounds like an interesting concept.

nice towbar...seriously, i like it


I have one of those universal chain-on deals. I towed a ramcharger on 40"s once behind a 1/2 ton ram...scary to say the least. Talk about the tail wagging the dog....caster was all fucked up and the 'charger wouldnt follow.....finally had to have my buddy sit in the 'charger and "steer" while i drove the truck and basically used the towbar as a "rigid" chain so i could stop ervything