They say you can/should not tow a T on all 4s for long distances without pulling the plugs and/or disconnecting driveshaft etc. It is about 250 miles to Spokane from Whitefish.

Well, Friday night from my balcony at Whitefish, I saw Tom Carnegie hooking up his "cherry" new blue wheeled roadster to a midsize Pontiac. But, he had different wheels on the rear.

By the time I got down there to check it out, it was dark so I didnt get to see all the details.

The concept is Pure Genius.

Thanks Tom for all your contributions to our hobby.

Kirk Peterson
Santa Fe, NM

Carnegie's pix of his setup have been posted here not too long ago.

On all fours my preferred way of transporting our T, but with an aux tranny in neutral.



The heavier the tow vehicle, the better. This one is 4200 lb, with 4-wheel discs for stopping from the high speeds this car is built for. At that, I've considered using a BrakeBuddy or other remote braking device for the T.

The first time we arrived at a tour, the guys were horrified, fearing I had burned up the tranny...

rdr

I know you all do this without problems.And I aint meaning to start a fuss.
But in my humble opinion,it would look to me like if you are going to stress all those parts on the little T towing it behind something else at 60+mph for 250 miles,why is that any better for the car than just driveing it?And if you are towing it at T speed,again,may as well just drive the T.
I know I aint the brightest bulb in the box,but I thought the main purposes of towing a T were to have a way to get it home if it breaks down,to drive something with heat and air till you get to the tour,to drive faster than T speed,just to list a few.
This appears to me to defeat the purpose of towing the T unless it is caput.And Lord only knows what would happen if you hit a chunk hole and break a rear axle or a wishbone like is being discussed in another thread.By the time it got thru whipping back and forth and skidding on the hwy,your T would be nothing but skid marks on the road.

http://antiqueautoranch.com/montana500/may2004/index.html

This is the link to how to build those free wheeling hubs. I have been using his design since 2004, and have put 1000's of miles on this setup. The great thing is it is cost friendly, No trailer to deal with, fast, fuel efficient, and looks cool!

Mine and My Wife's car ready for the 2010 MT500

Interesting that you clamp to the axle, Mike. I made these brackets:



I made my own towbar.

rdr

Mike, do you have a picture, or can you 'splain how the made up hubs mount to the rear axle. I read the article, but my brain isn't making the connection. I can't seem to visualize how the pieces come together.

Thanks.

I have seen no ill-effects to clamping to the I-beam. Clamping to the I beam rather than making permanent fixture leaves the T looking more aesthetically correct. I have had my Model T at speeds greater than 80MPH while towing and couldn't even feel it behind me.

Demountable wheels like 26-7 Model T wires are needed to use this setup.

That's what I was missing! I get it now.

Thanks Mike.

Say Ricks, I seem to remember vaguely a picture of you towing your car, with the big wheels still on it. Do I remember that correctly?

This is Tom Carnegie's Model T

Mack, some of us live where land has been $1 Million an acre, so it's unaffordable for storage of a trailer, and impractical to drive a vehicle heavy enough to tow a car in a heavy trailer. My wife also prefers to ride in comfort. An outing in the T is an ordeal for her, let alone traveling 100 or more miles. Pulling the T, the Jag gets 15.5 mpg, certainly not as good as either car by itself, but better than driving both.

Yes, Herr Lang, all I do is put the aux tranny in neutral, after making sure its lube is full enough to hit its output bearing.



Uh, it's a Langbein. Any relation?

I've also towed with a modern overdrive in freewheeling in the T driveline.

rdr

I had forgotten you had that auxiliary transmission. That would make it easy to tow. I remember seeing a picture from the 50's of a car similar to my Pontiac towing a T. I don't know where I'd ever go like that. I only leave the island about once a year.

The only famous person I am remotely related to, is Lawrence Welk. This could explain why I like easy listening music, and bubbles.

A one, and a two....

Kirk, thanks for the kind words.

Mack, you make some good points. First let me say that I don't advocate towing a T in this manner for anyone except me. I didn't invent free wheeling hubs and make no royalties from people that use them, so I don't care if you use them or not.

Mack said:

"But in my humble opinion,it would look to me like if you are going to stress all those parts on the little T towing it behind something else at 60+mph for 250 miles"

The rear axle shaft might be slightly more stressed. The front wheels bearings have the same stress as regular driving. In my opinion having your rear axle break whilst towing would be preferable to it breaking while driving. If it were weak enough to break from the tow hubs, it would have to be defective.

Mack said:

"why is that any better for the car than just driveing it?And if you are towing it at T speed,again,may as well just drive the T."

You can tow it much faster than driving the T.

Mack said:

"I thought the main purposes of towing a T were to have a way to get it home if it breaks down,to drive something with heat and air till you get to the tour,to drive faster than T speed,just to list a few."

Exactly, tow hubs do all of these things.

Mack said:

"This appears to me to defeat the purpose of towing the T unless it is caput.And Lord only knows what would happen if you hit a chunk hole and break a rear axle or a wishbone like is being discussed in another thread.By the time it got thru whipping back and forth and skidding on the hwy,your T would be nothing but skid marks on the road."

This system is not without its risks. There have been incidents. One guy had his hitch come loose and the T went tail over tea-kettle into the bank. One guy had a tow hub bearing fail, which he became aware of when the tow wheel passed him going down the freeway. He brought it safely to a stop in a few hundred feet. The rear brake drum of the T was damaged from skidding on the pavement, but the T was not rendered undrivable.

Thanks for helping me understand a bit better.

Note to anyone who builds this. In order to reverse the Model T must be disconnected from the tow vehicle. So when driving try not to get yourself into a hole.