flat Tow M?

[Josh]

Anyone here ever flat tow an M with a regular pickup? My boss has an 01 3/4 ton superduty with the powerstroke, and my brother has his 78 with the 440 in it... the 78 would be easy to get ahold of, but Im not sure if it has the weight... I would obviously drop the driveshafts on hte M, and air the tires up to make it roll easier. any suggestions on where to get a towbar?

[rixm37]

Hi Josh I have thought about towing mine but I always think how fast do you want those old parts spinning? Towing an M at 60 or 70 could cause running gear to overheat or seals to give out. Maybe ok if you pull the rear drive shaft and have front hubs. Still I am not sure if it is ok or not.
Just my thoughts.

[Paul in Kempner, TX]

Those of us who flat towed M-37's when we were in the Army knew it took a deuce and a half to do it safely. For every person who claims they did it with no problem, there are several who actually did it and have some horror stories to tell.

One of mine had to do with getting the M-37 to follow. The front wheels cocked to one side after we made the first turn. Picture a set of front tires after being towed straight ahead for ten miles when they were at full right turn.

There is no way to tie off the steering wheel that avoids this.

Manuals and policy say no one in the cab of the towed vehicle. There were many instances of the towed M-37 flipping over.

If you are going only a mile or so at 15 mph or less on a road where there are no other vehicles, property, or lives to consider, disregard the above.

Otherwise have a friend with a video camera follow you. The pictures could be worth a lot on America's Funniest Videos. Those of us who have no injuries will "split our sides" watching.

[Josh]

Those of us who flat towed M-37's when we were in the Army knew it took a deuce and a half to do it safely. For every person who claims they did it with no problem, there are several who actually did it and have some horror stories to tell.

One of mine had to do with getting the M-37 to follow. The front wheels cocked to one side after we made the first turn. Picture a set of front tires after being towed straight ahead for ten miles when they were at full right turn.

There is no way to tie off the steering wheel that avoids this.

Manuals and policy say no one in the cab of the towed vehicle. There were many instances of the towed M-37 flipping over.

If you are going only a mile or so at 15 mph or less on a road where there are no other vehicles, property, or lives to consider, disregard the above.

Otherwise have a friend with a video camera follow you. The pictures could be worth a lot on America's Funniest Videos. Those of us who have no injuries will "split our sides" watching.

geez, it was a simple question.

My M is no where near stock, so teh heating issue would not be an issue. I suppose I could try it and see if it worked for a few miles if my other plans of having it flat beded dont pan out.

[Monkey Man]

Don't be disheartened Josh, the problem with these vehicles is they are heavy for the average vehicle to tow, if the brakes are in a good state and the steering feels fine then put a tow rope in the works, sit in the drivers seat and go for a slow test run to see how it all goes with the tow vehicle keeping a mirror set with you in view.
If the tow distance is short and the test goes well then go with it, if it's a longer distance or has highway speeds then a trailer or a flatbed towtruck is the way to go. The guys on here poke a little fun occasionally but beleive me, they have your welfare and best interests at heart, no-one here wants to hear the story of Josh, the man who got wiped up the road by his M37.
Take Care in however you do it, take photos and keep us posted

Regards - MM

[m-11]

Josh,

I just bought my M last week and I towed it home on a tow dolly. It took every bit of space on the dolly but I made it the 20 mile trip at 50 mph with no problems. I used my 98 Dodge 3/4 ton diesel. If plan your route and take your time you'll have no problem. I had to use the highway to get mine home but I stayed in the right lane and drove 50 mph.

Tim

[m-37Bruce]

Josh, you are level headed person, Paul is right, tracking could be an issue, Tony is right too, try a test run? If your going to go any distance, remove your axles and or drive shafts. Remember, safety is paramount!

[Brett]

This may be a silly question, but why not rent a trailer? Its a whole lot safer, for you and the truck. I got Mine home on a bobcat trailer I rented from a rental company. your M will fit on most of these(measure first) , and they're built on 5200# axles, not the 3500# ones on car haulers. Find a salesman for a rental company, and shoot the breeze with him for about 45 min, and get him to give you a deal. I had the trailer for 4 days, and he charged me one days rental at $25 plus tax. Make sure you get the newest looking one on the lot, it'll have brakes that are in better shape.

Brett

[knattrass]

Brett - sound advice and great idea on the bobcat trailer. We rented a car hauler that was supposed to have been rated at 7500# - little did we know it was a twin axle rated at 5000#. A normal 4 hour haul took almost 9 hours of the most white knucklin' driving I had ever done. The BVDs were in such a wad when we got home....true skid marks!!

Luckily we that was the only damage done - but we had a few close calls doing 45 on the freeway.

[Josh]

Only thing that scares me with the trailer idea is the high center of gravity, thats alot fo weight up high!

Does this cause a problem? There is a place a few miles out of town that will rent 10K lb capacity trailers, so, I have acess to one, I just dont know about the CG thing... Thats why I was contemplating the flat tow. We flat towed the Dart home almost 2K miles, but, a dart is not an M.

Hopefully my original plan to have a coworkers son in law flat bed it will pan out, although he is slow to get back to me on moving it. I dont know if business is just that good, or if he just doesnt want to do it now.

[tmbrwolf]

I flat towed mine home using a military towbar and an M715, all I can say is DON"T DO THAT!!! Considering that the m37 weight's 5900 LBS even a Ford superduty isn't heavy enough to tow it safely, Also I had the wheels go full lock on the only tight turn I had to make (had to hold up traffic to straighten them). Safest bet is to get a trailer, find one that is heavy enough, do NOT get a u-haul car trailer, they are not heavy enough to do the job (don't ask how I know)

[Gerry]

I trailered mine home last month. A 4 hour ride going 55 mph. I have a 3/4 ton Dodge and had no problems. The trailer had good brakes and I couldnt even feel it when braking. I didnt notice any problems with the high center of gravity. Of course I took all sharp turns extra slow.
Good Luck,

[bubba_got_you]

Only thing that scares me with the trailer idea is the high center of gravity, thats alot fo weight up high!

Does this cause a problem? There is a place a few miles out of town that will rent 10K lb capacity trailers, so, I have acess to one, I just dont know about the CG thing... Thats why I was contemplating the flat tow. We flat towed the Dart home almost 2K miles, but, a dart is not an M.

Hopefully my original plan to have a coworkers son in law flat bed it will pan out, although he is slow to get back to me on moving it. I dont know if business is just that good, or if he just doesnt want to do it now.

Ok towing on a trailer will work just fine I have done it once and will be doing it again in the next week or so. So I think you will have no troubles.

[Brett]

josh
Yes, the center of gravity may be higher But

1. The track width of the trailer will be about 2 feet wider
2. The trailer doesn't have an uncontrollable steering axle
3. The trailer should have working brakes, and lights

BTW I pulled mine home at about 75 on the interstate behind my dually no problems.

[refit1701]

I had no easy way to tow mine home so I had a roll back wrecker do it. I think it was about 15 miles and cost me $75. Not bad, and the drive was interested in the truck so we shot the shit for a few minutes.