On-road recovery

[pritch]

We've discussed off-road recovery to death here, so as a change to the usual stuff, here's a couple of things I learned about on-road recovery earlier:

1. Just because it fits round a jate ring, the shackles you use for attacking a KERR to a stuck Landie won't necessarily fit the towing eye on, say, a Renault Megane.  Take something a bit smaller as well.

2. Even if the person you're towing says they understand that the brakes won't work as well as normal with the engine off, tell them several times until they've really got it into their head.  The person I towed this evening forgot this about 200 yards from where we started off, panicked because the brakes didn't work very well, and jammed the handbrake on, which leads to my other two discoveries from this evening:

a. It's quite alarming when you see a side-on view on the vehicle you're towing in the mirror
b. A Disco TDi will pull a Megane along sideways just as happily as it will forwards

[gords]

b. A Disco TDi will pull a Megane along sideways just as happily as it will forwards

Ho, ho, ho ... that made I larf :lol:  :lol:

[thermidorthelobster]

My friend was using his Series to tow his daughter's car on a solid towbar.

He pulled in to a layby, she didn't, and she overtook him (not for long though...)

And would you believe this happened twice?

[hobbit]

Did a similar thing with two bedford trucks with a straight bar between them, My mate in the 2nd wagon was not concentrating and lost his back end, all I saw was the backside of a truck bouncing off the soil embankment on this country lane, after stopping a very pasty faced driver stumbled out of the wagon  :lol:

But one thing to remember with these straight bars, there are a lot of these things which are fairly cheap, people must be told to treat them  like ropes, they must assist the braking of the towing vehicle, and not rely on the pole/bar to stop them

If you are going to tow someone in, and are unsure of their capability, try to take an extra driver with you who is, the extra time to find someone capable is worth while in the long run

[muddyjames]

I was towed by my step mum once and she forgot I didnt have breaks as the engine wasn't running and she was doing 40mph down country lanes. I was hooting my horn alot and flashing my lights to try and make her slow down but all she did was wave to me. She didnt think I was trying to make her stop.

[hobbit]

:shock:  :shock:  :shock:

Ahhhhhhrrrrrgggghhhhhh  
INCOMING ](*,)  =D>

[Wanderer]

I've yet to see a straight bar on sale that I'd spend my dosh on. They are all pretty poor.
There must be some decent ones about somewhere at a reasonable price.
Failing that I'll have to make one.

Ed

[hobbit]

Yes ed,
the one I've got is a maypole, but when hooking up to the towing eyes on the cars, the thing can slap up against the front sometimes and twist, which is why the instructions suggest using it like a rope