BAC Forum
General Boards => General Discussion => Topic started by: Jeff Watt on December 11, 2013, 09:31:45 PM
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I have a question that I hope I never have a need to know the answer to...
A friend of mine recently had a relatively minor engine mishap - turbo boot broke, so no power - and needed to be towed as the repair could not safely be done on the side of an interstate.
He sent me a picture where the motorhome was being towed away with rear wheels still on the ground. My manual states that if a tow is required, then the coach is to be loaded onto a flat deck and not towed with rear wheels on the ground. It may be a function of distance as apparently they were close to a cummins shop.
What is the consensus of opinion? Any one been towed? Like I stated, hopefully the issue will never arise, but I'd like to know anyway.
Jeff
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My understanding is that the driveshaft needs to be disconnected in order to tow with the wheels down.
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Jeff,
Towing your coach on a flatbed is the preferable way to tow your coach if towing is necessary, but that is not always possible. The availability of towing equipment as well as clearance issues that arise when the coach is loaded on a flatbed may necessitate towing the coach with the rear wheels on the ground.
To tow your coach with the rear wheels on the ground, you need to remove the drive shaft to prevent damage to the transmission. Extreme caution needs to be exercised in order to prevent damage to the rear cap from dragging the rear of the coach at any dip in the road. Also there can be damage to the front cap by the arms that extend under the coach to lift the front wheels, especially if the coach air pressure system is not maintained with adequate air pressure to prevent the suspension from lowering below normal ride height.
Gerald
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I had a breakdown that occurred on the interstate very close to a service area. The Cat started to make a real bad noise as I approached the service area at midnight. Pulled in and called a towing company and they removed the driveshaft, Towed the motorhome approx. 70 miles to my service provider wheels down. The tow company knew exactly what to do , no question....I think that may be the key!
Turns out the coupling for the hydraulic pump at the back of the coach (sorry, don't know what it is for) had let loose and the two parts of the coupling ground off their ends (the bad noise). Anyway, to answer your question....no damage to the coach as we drove it 1830 miles a couple of weeks later 8).
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Queried my friend and they had disconnected the driveshaft. Apparently the tow truck operators knew what they were doing.
Thanks for the info; I'll keep it in the back of my head just in case.
Jeff.
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Had to have 3 tows this summer. Flatbed was not possible due to overall height. Tow drivers will disconnect drive shaft. Repair shop re-installs. As noted above, be sure to check rear & front cap clearances when coach is "lifted" tow. Also, use bungie cords, or similar to hold up mud flap to prevent dragging.
Steve
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"Had to have 3 tows this summer"
Steve, with a great desire to prevent "needing" to be towed. What were the causes of the three?
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The tow truck operator removed our driveshaft when we were towed to Fairbanks in 2008. That was the hardest part of the job, since he was a plus size guy, like me and neither of us had an easy time getting under there to disconnect it. The rear suspension frame made the job even harder. He actually had to tow us a couple of miles VERY SLOWLY to get to a place where we could remove the driveshaft.
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Had to be towed last Friday. After the 3rd rig (first was too small, second was a flat bed, hence too tall, then finally, a big rig wrecker) and 3 days. And this after telling AAA and the tow company more than a few times, it's 12' high and 30K pounds! And yes, he removed the drive shaft. I followed him to my machanic for the 14 mile trip. Within a 1/4 mile, he pulled over to retighten the chains to the sadles on the hydralic arm. Then 2 miles down the road and just after making a right hand turn to the onramp to the freeway, chains came loose, the Beaver slid 4' to the left and I about wet my pants! I helped the guy reposition the coach and we were once again on the road. With just 2 left turns to go, he took it too sharp and snapped the drivers mirror off with the boom of his rig. Beavers running now (fuel pump replaced) and had a leaky right rear air bag/valve (which was also an issue with the tow as we had to air it up on the side of the onramp while we were repositioning from his rig) But, the mirror hasn't been fixed or replaced by them yet!
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Terrry,
First one was to an Allison shop as the tranny wouldn't come out of 3rd. Once there they informed me that they only did replacements, not repair! (Would have been nice had they let me know BEFORE I got towed there). Next day another tow to a shop that did repair. Found bad electrical connections were causing problem. 3rd tow was due to overheating problem caused by leaking heater core.
Steve
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Randy, switch to CoachNet.
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This is seconds after the coach got loose and shifted to the left!
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By about this much!
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I've been towed twice, both times in Canada. The first was a flat bed, second a big rig tow truck. Both times were almost 100 miles. The flat bed tow my tow hitch dug into the asphalt while I was driving the Beaver onto the flat bed. It was scary and not fun. I tried filling the airbags to get more clearence for the rear of the coach as I drove it on but I could not get enough to keep from grinding the hitch into the pavement and bending the metal on the rubber skirt. The second time was a little less eventful with the tow truck. It did take quite a bit of time to remove the drive shaft. Your right Jeff, the best plan is to not need it. But if you do Joel is right, Coachnet was excellent insurance to have. They took care of everything for me. Well, except for the repair bill to get the Beaver rolling again. I never saw the tow bill though. They also arranged for us to be towed to an RV Park for the weekend because the repair facility was not open. The driver dropped us right in an RV spot so we had full hookups. They then called us on Monday morning to make sure we were up and ready for the tow truck to come back and tow us to the repair facility! Now that is service.
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So I got a call from the tow company that broke the driver mirror and he wanted my VIN number to match the paint! Since I bought the coach 5 years ago, I don't think it's the original paint. Question is, is it a "stock" Beaver color? It's got 3 shades of green as pictured in my previous post on this thread. I remember passing a Beaver like mine on I-10 a few yeras ago and they looked like twins! :)
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Paint code should be on a decal on the inside of one of the kitchen cabinet doors. Ours is on the one over the sink.
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Thanks Jim, but I'm just not sure the coach has the original colors!
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Picture of the coach sure looks original color to me.
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Randy,
Looks like a stock color. That combo was fairly popular with both Pats and Marquis in the circa 2000 period. Paint codes should be on a sticker inside one of the kitchen cabinets.
Steve
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I think if you call Beaver Coach Sales, either Ty Kelly or Ken Carpenter could help you with the colors.
Roy
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Should your code not work out (no local shop could decode mine, as the paint brand codes did not transfer to locally available brands of paint) I had some success buying a spray bomb of touchup by taking a small piece of trim to a Lordco Auto parts store (on the recommendation of a body shop) where they have thousands of paint swatches, looking through all of the domestic manufacturers colours till I found one that looked correct. They made up the spray bomb (took less than a week) and when I applied it, the match was perfect. I borrowed the trim above the driver's window, a piece that covers the joint between the front cap and the side, below the rain gutter. On my coach, this is the same colour as the mirrors, so if I ever need to touch those up, I have the right paint.
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I have been towed a few times, and it has always been with the rear wheels on the ground. In one case the tow was about 50 miles. The drive shaft has to be disconnected, which a lot of tow truck drivers to not like to do, but it's a cinch for a really qualified one. You have to make sure that the tow bar and mud flap do not drag; both of these can be dealt with. I have not been problem free, but in every case the problem has been due to incompetence or inexperience of the tow truck driver, and I have found that to be very hard to judge before it's too late.
A flat bed would be great because it's easier to get the coach up on it and lashed down, but it is problematical due to the height of the coach; there are too many underpasses that a coach on a flat bed will not clear. If the towing outfit has a low boy it is possible that it will work, but you still have to be wary of the underpasses and in most cases you are dependent on the knowledge of the driver.
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Trucks are allowed a full 14' so underpasses on truck routes are all at least that high. Motorhomes are only allowed to be 13'6" high, so you have at least 6" allowance to be raised by a tow truck. If you don't know how high your coach is in the front, you should measure it. Then you will know when you are approaching that limiting 14' if you are ever towed. The same applies on a low bed, as they will also raise you at least a foot.
All underpasses that are only a little higher than the 14' allowed to trucks are marked with the height. If you measure, then you will know for sure.