Tow Bar use

Has anyone ever towed their van with a configuration like this? Is it safe and/or doable for short distances?

I've towed many an Econoline that way. It is best to disconnect the driveshaft. Be sure the grease joints are full. Be sure the wheels turn freely. Note that you can not backup unless someone holds the steering wheel.

Ok thanks Barnabas. The more I see it, the more I think I'll just go rent a trailer! lol

Would it be worth it to disconnect the drive shaft if only towing 10 miles?

Trailer it!! Yes even if towed on a car 2 wheel tow dolly -disconnect that DS!!

Back in the 80s I towed my 1965 Econoline, manual transmission, around with a tow bar. I never had any problems.  

I have seen discussion about the lack of oiling in the transmission when being turned from the driveshaft rather than from the engine.  If your van has been driven recently, there might be enough oil on the gears and output shaft to not cause any problems on a short haul.

I have towed a lot of Econolines that have been sitting for many years.  If yours is a daily driver, some of this might not apply.  Here are some of my memories.

If you do disconnect the drive shaft, disconnect it at the axle end. (7/16" open-end wrench on the small axles. 1/2" open-end wrench on the 9" rear end) Have some tape ready to wrap the U-joint before the caps fall off and make a mess.  An old coat hanger or piece of wire can hold the driveshaft up to the parking brake cable.  Be sure there is a little pressure on the wire holding the driveshaft towards the front of the vehicle, or else the slip joint might slide out.  If it has a slip joint, you could slip it out and put the driveshaft inside the vehicle.

If using a tow bar, be sure to grease up the front end (king pins, drag link, tie rod). If not, your towed van might not track properly and might fight you the whole trip.

Chains at both the towed vehicle end and the towing vehicle end make it much safer.

Make sure the brakes are not dragging.  When towing a van that has sat for a while sometimes you need to squirt in rust spray, then go in the little access hole and back off the brakes.

Make sure the tires are worthy of the trip.

Here is a picture of my towbar setup.  The chains at the towed vehicle attach to the Econoline tow hooks.  I take off the front bumper of the van I am towing and attach my customized bumper. Disconnecting the bolts that connect the bumper brackets to the frame is a PITA, since the nuts were smashed at the factory to keep them from coming loose. Even more of a PITA if the van has a rusty belly pan.

I can not tell what your tow bar is attached to.  Hopefully to the frame.

I made a custom wiring harness that goes in the driver door to under the dash. I have to disconnect two connectors and connect my wiring. Then I get a ground from a dash screw.



Years ago I bought a trailer that makes collecting Econolines much faster.  I was paying U-Haul $100 each time for theirs, so this $1600 trailer has been a good investment.

Good Info Barnabas. I'd like to have a trailer eventually too, but got to have somewhere to store it first. Plans are being laid lol

All good info except the part about a coat hanger to hang the driveshaft from the brake cable. Been there and done it. It makes the brakes drag.

Back in the 70's that was the only tow bar out there. they were designed to clamp the top and the bottom of the bumper and always worked well, I still have one, also the van club also has one. every where we go the tow bar is there, we never left a member stranded. i've towed cars and vans 100's of miles with no problem...

EconoUSAparts wrote:All good info except the part about a coat hanger to hang the driveshaft from the brake cable. Been there and done it. It makes the brakes drag.

I meant to say the brake cable bracket, which is usually above the driveshaft, and welded to the frame.  Sometimes I have tied it to the muffler.

Definitely, do not tie directly to the brake cable.  Thanks Tim

I had a friend help me once. Darn thing wouldn't roll but it rolled on the dolly. I looked underneath and he had tied it to the cable and the weight of it applied the brakes. Lesson learned, trust nobody.

EconoUSAparts wrote:I had a friend help me once. Darn thing wouldn't roll but it rolled on the dolly. I looked underneath and he had tied it to the cable and the weight of it applied the brakes. Lesson learned, trust nobody.

That is funny, but for the novice doing this the first time, we can not afford to make any assumptions.

BTW - the tow bar in my photo is from Northern Tool. I am very happy with it. Easy connect and disconnect. I used the two existing bolt holes towards the center of the 1961-1964 bumper (connect to bumper bracket) and drilled two more.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200514171_200514171

I have a tow bar that I use from time to time. I even flat towed my 61 behind my RV once to Chicago. It works but I feel much safer with my trailer. My bar is rigged to a spare bumper like barnabus does. It makes hooking it up easy. It's still nice to have for breakdowns. I've had to retrieve mine and friends have borrowed it to retrieve theirs.

We have a club member that was using a tow bar on his 63 van pulling it with his second gen Econo and blew a steer tire on the 63 going thru West Memphis AK and totaled the 63. Major damage to the second gen. You have to be careful. Things can go bad in a hurry with a tow bar.

My preference for speeds over 30 miles an hour is trailering. If I'm in the city close by and can keep it around 30 mph if something happens it doesn't happen too fast. At highway speeds when something happens it happens too fast to correct it. At least with a two axle trailer if you have a blow out you can get stopped without too much trouble. And your tow speed should be no more then 50-55 mph. Yes, trailers cost more but then so do bad accidents.

Really sorry to see the damage to both those nice vans. A real bummer.