Why does the owner's manual say no tow dollies?

[BlackRuby23]

I need to haul my Gladiator 800 miles with my 1 ton diesel truck. I don't want to set it up for flat towing because this is a one off. A 7k car hauler does not have enough capacity, and the 10k trailers are just too much money for me right now.

My answer is a Stehl tow dolly, but then the manual says that's not allowed. Why? Is there something I'm missing? I have no problem removing the rear driveshaft. Can somebody help me understand what the problem with using a tow dolly would be? Thank you in advance.

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[Escape.idiocracy]

I bring nothing to the table… but I am curious to the answer….. don’t understand how you can flat tow them but a dolly is a no go?? ??

Edit:
So, this makes more sense after reading the manual- If I were in this position, I would disconnect the rear drive shaft and dolly tow.

 

[PuddleJumper]

I need to haul my Gladiator 800 miles with my 1 ton diesel truck. I don't want to set it up for flat towing because this is a one off. A 7k car hauler does not have enough capacity, and the 10k trailers are just too much money for me right now.

My answer is a Stehl tow dolly, but then the manual says that's not allowed. Why? Is there something I'm missing? I have no problem removing the rear driveshaft. Can somebody help me understand what the problem with using a tow dolly would be? Thank you in advance.

idk enough about our T-cases to know why. i just know it isn't recommended. I know in an emergency you can pull the trans neutral release to tow it onto a wrecker but you can't dolly or flat tow it like that. Might have something to due with keeping both driveshafts spinning for lubrication and if the front is dollied then it can't ? just a guess.

 

[DarthAWM]

I need to haul my Gladiator 800 miles with my 1 ton diesel truck. I don't want to set it up for flat towing because this is a one off. A 7k car hauler does not have enough capacity, and the 10k trailers are just too much money for me right now.

My answer is a Stehl tow dolly, but then the manual says that's not allowed. Why? Is there something I'm missing? I have no problem removing the rear driveshaft. Can somebody help me understand what the problem with using a tow dolly would be? Thank you in advance.

I would say if you want to use the dolly and pull the rear dive shaft that would mitigate whatever risk the manual is advising against.

 

[Volt0]

This may not be of any help, but I thought I saw an episode of Matt’s Off-road, where he talked about the backend of the tranny ( or t-case ) not getting lubricated properly while towing with the rear wheels on the ground. Might have been Casey LaDelle as well. I think they just removed the driveshaft as well.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

Me and a friend killed a trans because we didn't pull the rear driveshaft. He's blaming me. ?

 

[WILDHOBO]

I bring nothing to the table… but I am curious to the answer….. don’t understand how you can flat tow them but a dolly is a no go?? ??

Edit:
So, this makes more sense after reading the manual- If I were in this position, I would disconnect the rear drive shaft and dolly tow.

Based on this, I’d just disconnect the driveshaft from the rear diff, securely ratchet strap it above to the cross members, and dolly tow it forward.

 

[DylanM]

The oil pump in the transfer case is mounted on and driven by the rear of the mainshaft, so any time the rear output is spinning, regardless of whether that's via power input from the transmission or by a coasting rear axle via the driveshaft, the pump is operating and the transfer case is getting lubricated. The pickup for the pump is located near the bottom of the case at the parting line between the case halves, so the slight incline the vehicle sits at on a dolly causing the pump to suck air doesn't hold water unless the fluid level is drastically low already. The pump's location on the rear output is why you can't (or shouldn't) tow a Jeep with just the front wheels on the ground if the front driveshaft is still installed.

The only things that make sense why the transfer case could be damaged while being transported on a tow dolly would be either the clutches in the Selec-Trac get burned up (plausible with only the rear shaft spinning), or the bearing surface/bearings where the front axle drive sprocket rides on the mainshaft may get damaged. In either situation, simply disconnecting or removing the rear driveshaft would prevent any possible issues.

 

[Sweetums]

I need to haul my Gladiator 800 miles with my 1 ton diesel truck. I don't want to set it up for flat towing because this is a one off. A 7k car hauler does not have enough capacity, and the 10k trailers are just too much money for me right now.

My answer is a Stehl tow dolly, but then the manual says that's not allowed. Why? Is there something I'm missing? I have no problem removing the rear driveshaft. Can somebody help me understand what the problem with using a tow dolly would be? Thank you in advance.

Why not rent a car trailer? Less wear and tear on your truck and the tires; let Penske take the hit on that.

 

[BlackRuby23]

Why not rent a car trailer? Less wear and tear on your truck and the tires; let Penske take the hit on that.

That was the first thing I looked into. Neither Penske nor U-Haul rent a trailer which will accommodate the Gladiator.

 

[Sweetums]

That was the first thing I looked into. Neither Penske nor U-Haul rent a trailer which will accommodate the Gladiator.

Did you check any other places?
https://www.hercrentals.com/equipment/equipment.html/10-000-lbs-tilt-trailer-p610-1770.html

These guys are in Washington and have 10,000 lb rentals.

 

[BlackRuby23]

Did you check any other places?
https://www.hercrentals.com/equipment/equipment.html/10-000-lbs-tilt-trailer-p610-1770.html

These guys are in Washington and have 10,000 lb rentals.

Yes, I saw them. That's a pintle hitch trailer, but also I need a 1 way rental. Thank you for looking, but I found nothing.

 

[Sweetums]

Yes, I saw them. That's a pintle hitch trailer, but also I need a 1 way rental. Thank you for looking, but I found nothing.

A pintle adapter for your truck would be a small price to pay. Sometimes places like this will work with you on one-way rentals if you call, especially if they have a trailer they want to relocate to another location.

 

[mrhemi]

That was the first thing I looked into. Neither Penske nor U-Haul rent a trailer which will accommodate the Gladiator.

I just checked U-Haul's site and the car trailer was available for the Gladiator, with a 2500 pickup as the tow vehicle. I recently trailered a '94 F150 approx. 1000 miles on a U-Haul car trailer and was impressed with how well it worked. I was towing with a Ram 2500 Cummins. Would not hesitate to use that setup again.

 

[ZeeJay]

Just pull the rear driveline at the diff yoke and tie it up to frame or exhaust load it in the dolly and send it. This isn’t the man mission to mars half these guys are making it out to be. That disclaimer is in there because of yuppies and idiots who can’t even change their own oil would load it up and go then wipe the drivetrain out. This is exactly how any commercial vehicle or motor home with or with and auto trans is towed behind a heavy wrecker, they pull the driveline at the rear yoke.

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