Posted by David Sherman on Monday, May 15, 2006 at 9:32PM :
In Reply to: Towing Question posted by 62TWMike on Monday, May 15, 2006 at 0:43AM :
I flat-towed my M37 400 miles last fall using a 67 1/2-ton chevy as the tow vehicle. Everybody told me not to, but I got there in one piece and nothing scary happened. I had a good stout home-made pintle-type tow bar on the M37. The keys to making it work, I believe, were lots of weight in the tow vehicle, dry roads with no rain in the forecast, and driving mostly at night when traffic was light. It was definitely a case of "go slow and get there quicker". The Chevy was underpowered for going up Stevens Pass and the Orondo-Waterville grades, but if I'm not holding up traffic, I can't see as it hurts to go 15-20 mph. All that more power would have done is get me in more trouble faster.
I had the Chevy loaded up to a GVW of 5800 lbs, which was undoubtedly what kept the M37 from pushing it around. Plus I drove very carefully, slowed down well before curves, didn't get close behind anybody else, etc. I also took 2 days to do the trip, so I didn't push it after I got tired. Another key to making it track decently was to tie the steering wheel firmly in place with a rope. I also removed the front and rear drivelines, and the front hubs so as to avoid any lubrication problems with the gearboxes.
The worst problem was that the brakes were squirrely and tended to pull hard to the side. That was because I had cheap shoes on them that I overloaded going up and down the hills of north-western California with 5800 lbs weight. Once I got safely home with the M37, I put in some NOS asbestos-type shoes and the braking was fine.
I wouldn't recommend anybody do it this way, but with lots of care and good weather, I think it can be done safely.
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