Towing a Fiat 500 Question

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by shenrie

how extensive did you guys who flat tow make the bracketing where the towbars attach to the car being towed? ive only been able to look at one setup and he just bolted the brackets to the stock bumper and called it good. the bumper support on the car i would like to tow is only held on to the car with 4-10mm bolts (the head of the bolt, not the thread pitch/size). i dont trust that size bolt to hold up jerking a 2500lb car around behind the van. am i being paranoid?

No you aren't. That's way insufficient IMO. I've just towed with a real tow setup, Roadmaster brackets and one of two Roadmaster tow bars I've had. Currently I have a bent and half destroyed 'All-terrain' tow dolly but it still works ok. Auxiliary cables/chains are important as well.

My Dad bolted a cheap A-frame tow bar on to an old Land Rover Discovery to tow behind his MH once. He just bolted it through the bumper like you described. He looked behind him at one point and the truck was gone. Believe it or not it had detached itself, rolled through a huge ravine and come to a stop in a parking lot without hitting anyone or anything. The cops and all involved got a big kick out of it. I just shook my head. Oh, he had a Honda Civic he was towing pop into gear once too, and before he realized it, it cooked itself and burnt to the ground. He was towing behind a diesel pusher and said he never felt it. I quit taking advice from Dad about this time.

[BajaSportsmobile]

Get something like this: http://www.etrailer.com/towbar-2015_Fiat_500.htm

There are complete systems available for your car - that is what I would do.

[shenrie]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

...I quit taking advice from Dad about this time.

^^^ lmao.

thats insane though...how lucky was that?!?!

regardless, thanks for the input guys. that setup for the fiat is pretty slick. the setup for the car i wanna tow is an unsightly ankle buster...for the same price. back to the drawing board

[dhally]

We picked up a Tracker (5spd 4x4) so we can do some exploring while SilVan stays in camp. It already has a good tow bar and tail light wiring. I'm wondering if I should add brakes as well... I remember pulling a travel trailer over I84 from Twin Falls home without brakes. It weighed about 5,000 lb and going down grades on the freeway was exciting.

Our van scales at 7800 lb and the Tracker will be about 2500 lb lightly loaded. I know I don't NEED brakes, but what about a panic stop situation? The braking systems look fairly expensive - are there cheap(er) options out there?

[carringb]

I wouldn’t worry about. You won’t even feel that.

[BCam]

The Ready Brake system is less expensive than most braking system, if not the least expensive, and works very well:

https://www.readybrake.com/store/p1/..._Style%29.html

[mikracer]

I flat towed a late 90's toyota tacoma 4x4 and I hardly noticed it. I only towed it home 120ish miles, but that included going down a decent grade and up and over some hills.

[WhitH]

I agree. At that weight I go to the dump with that in my utility trailer and don’t even think about it.