Towing a mb willys jeep

[Lynn Eades]

I think "towed " in that sense, means with a rope, which would obviously require a steerer, as would someone being towed on a fixed bar. Surely no country's laws would require a person in the drivers seat of a vehicle being drawn by an "A" frame, or on a dolly.
I have heard that A framing a jeep can sometimes present problems, with the jeep trying to head off in a different direction to that of the A frame. A caster issue, I imagine.
Over here some guys just pull the rear axles and bolt a pre-made cap on each side to keep the dirt out, if they are planning a long trip, with a jeep under tow.

[Little Jo]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

I think "towed " in that sense, means with a rope, which would obviously require a steerer, as would someone being towed on a fixed bar. Surely no country's laws would require a person in the drivers seat of a vehicle being drawn by an "A" frame, or on a dolly.
I have heard that A framing a jeep can sometimes present problems, with the jeep trying to head off in a different direction to that of the A frame. A caster issue, I imagine.
Over here some guys just pull the rear axles and bolt a pre-made cap on each side to keep the dirt out, if they are planning a long trip, with a jeep under tow.

Hi Lynn and Terry

The government legislation for A Frame towing in Australia is very strict and states that no person is allowed to travel in a "Towed" vehicle. The only time it is allowed is if the vehicle is towed by a cable or tow rope, then a person is allows to be in it to steer the vehicle and use the brakes. When I referred to "Mr Tibbs" I was joking as he is my dog and that is also not allowed. There really are a lot of for and against when using an A Frame and I agree with some ideas and worry about others. I have heard some people use altered resleeved front wheel hubs and remove the rear axles so the wheels all free wheel for long distance towing. All food for thought.

Cheers

Tony

[Robin Craig]

Frankly I feel what we are legally allowed to get away with on this side of the pond for various vehicle related activities is darn right dangerous.

The Europeans have mandated brakes for the towed vehicles for a while now.

All I can say about having a vehicle on an A bar and the thing not following is that it is classic tail wagging the dog syndrome.

It gets even worse when you take the engine out and the front end looses its weight which is what we did with our Land Rover 90 to shunt it around while the engine and gearbox are out for rebuild. Thankfully i'm using a Dodge 3500 dually as the prime mover and it has the grunt to be in control.

What has always got me worried would be in an emergency braking situation that the un-braked towed vehicle could either push the rear of the prime mover up or could itself over run the A bars and get it's front off the ground. Standing at the side of the combination of the two vehicles and looking at the angle of the A bar to the prime mover gives you an idea of which way it would go.

I have experienced this when A bars are used with dead tracked vehicles. If you want a graphic example of a unbraked towed vehicle, there used to be a clip of one FV434 towing a FV432 moving on a German road at a fair clip, the traffic lights changed and the towed vehicle pushed the prime upwards and it followed underneath to the point that the A bar couplings snapped and the rear of the prime slapeed back down on top of the front of the towed vehicle.

Sadly it has been removed from you tube recently.

If you were lucky enough to see it or have the vision to imagine the scenario then you might see why I'm in support of the Euro brake legislation.

R

[Phil Waterman]

Hi

Over the years seen a number of modifications for flat towing Jeeps, show up at our MV Rally's. These have included free wheeling hubs like the front mounted on the rear in place of the standard drive flange axles. Only problem with these was they did stick out.

The other more common method was just to remove the rear axle shafts and put dummy drive flanges on to keep out the dirt. Then of course free wheeling hubs on the front.

Old military Jeeps seem to tow fairly well, but the M151 series seem to have more problem agreeing with the towing vehicle as to where they were going. One of the guys towed his M151 to a 4th of July parades this week and when he made the turn into the parking lot where the parade was forming up we all watched the show as the tow vehicle turned right and the M151 wheels turned hard left and it just sort of bounced up and down as it came around the corner. Yes he had the steering wheel tied down but not tight enough. One of our M151 experts says the problem is with the steering geometry.

Concerning towing and brakes only time I towed a Jeep sized vehicle it was M151 that broke down on a club trip and we hooked it on the military tow bar behind my C60S didn't even know it was there could hardly see it in the mirrors. Didn't notice anything different when braking with the towing vehicle having about 3 times the weight the truck was not even up to rated weight.

Cheers Phil

[Little Jo]

Hi Robin, Dianaa and Phil

I take your comments on board which all adds to the research I have been doing on the subject. I take what Robin said about the A Frame angles he saw, but the towing attachment on the MB Jeep is off the front bumper which is higher off the ground and with the A frame being about 4 ft the Jeep would be close enough to the tow vehicle to eliminate the jeep going under the tow vehicle. My tow vehicle will be my Jeep Cherokee which is heaps heavier than the MB Jeep.

I have also looked into a scenerio where I could get hold of a couple of spare front wheel hubs and lathe turn the spine off making it smooth, then the hubs would free wheel so that the front shafts do not turn saving wear on the axles and crown pinion. Then later if I should want to go to back to front wheel drive, I just put the original splines hubs back on.

When going on long drives, say to Corowa which is about a 2000 Klm round trip for me. I would, as Phil commented on, remove the rear axles and put an old axle cover, with the axle cut off on to keep out the dust and Bingo. I have all 4 wheels free wheeling, just like towing a 4 wheel trailer, no wear and tear on all the axles, drive shafts, transfer and transmission and when I get to my destination spend about 15 to 20 minutes putting the rear axles back on.

The MB Jeep is not a heavy vehicle and will comply with the legislation. And because the combined weight of both vehicles is under the 4.5 tonnes limit no brakes would have to be added. Though I have had a look at using a rod and cable set up that I could use to add a mechanical brake sytem attached to the MB Jeep brake pedal.

I am still looking at all the pros and cons and have spoken to several people who have advised that some of the bad problems some people have experienced were on later model jeeps such as CJ models. The jury is still out on this project.

Cheers

Tony

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hey Tony - looking at all these responses/theories/opinions, you just gave yourself a major headache. You HAD a beautiful trailer AND NO PROBLEMS but you sold it.

Bob

[Little Jo]

Originally Posted by Bob Moseley

Hey Tony - looking at all these responses/theories/opinions, you just gave yourself a major headache. You HAD a beautiful trailer AND NO PROBLEMS but you sold it.

Bob

Bob

I am surprised at your comment. You more than anyone knows the reasoning behind what I am trying to do. You know the reasons why I sold my trailer. You know I had no place or room at my home to store it. You also know that I was paying $120.00 a month at a storage facility which became to too costly and now you have a cheap shot on the world forum because I am trying to do something cost effective so that I can enjoy my hobby.

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hey Tony, I don't do those. We will discuss this in private.

Bob