TOAD towing question

[LadyFaire]

Was looking for a small, lightweight car to trailer behind the coach. Lucked into a listing for a Geo Metro that was set up as a TOAD. The seller purchased it from a little old lady, widow, who no longer RVs since her husband's death. He had no idea about the tow bars, or anything that came with the car. We are heading up to look at, and possibly purchase, the car, since it is within our budget and has the work already done. The car is a manual transmission.


My questions are these: Do you just kick it into neutral and that's it? Also, what do you do about the front wheels? Do you center them and leave them 'locked' or leave the ignition switch on (engine off)? I've never flat towed a vehicle, so I have no idea. I've towed all sorts of OTHER things, but this will be new for me. But, I need some suggestions immediately if I'm going to pull the car home tomorrow behind my pickup truck. If I am still clueless, I'll take the car hauler and bring it home that way.


Thanks for the tips, hints and suggestions. Y'all are tops!!

[Scotty B]

Check what the owners manual says...

[deckape]

Ask for the owner manual or goggle it . I would bring the trailer just to be sure if you don't find the manual .

[Wayne M]

Get the information before you go after it. No sense making the trip if it is not going to do what you want it to do.

What year is the metro? The 2001 manual does not say anything about towing with a manual transmission. It does say to use a dolly if towing with an automatic and the procedure to do so.

The 1998 can be towed 4 down with a manual transmission. The manual tells what the procedure is.

[Morich]

Checking the manual is best but if not finding it, go with the following as likely to be good. Look for "recreational towing" for info?
You DO NOT want the front wheels locked and you DO want them to be able to swivel as you make turns. If the wheels are free and STAY free during towing, they will turn and the car will follow the RV track very closely. If the car is not set to keep them free, they will turn on the first corner and lock with them pointed toward the curb as designed. You will likely notice this right away if the car tries to head to the curb!!
That will not work and you will hear and feel it right away, so be prepped to stop if it feels wrong.

How to set each car may vary but on manual shift, go for neutral, leave the key in and turned to the first click and that will often leave the wheels free to swivel.
But don't trust to luck but test it by turning the steering wheel fully left and fully right to see if it locks at some point. If it locks, try a different setup on the key, etc until it doesn't lock when the wheel is turned.

Before starting down the road, test how it will go when the wheels turn as you corner and that is what turning the steering wheel does instead of as the RV and car move.

Then there may be a bit of doubt as you may have a tow tehter for the electrical and there is a "standard" wiring but some DIY and make it up on their own. If standard wiring was used, the there should plug into your RV plug and a plug on the car front to make the taillights, turn signals, etc all work together.
Plug it together and test each light. Right, left turn, brake and turn the headlights on to verify the car lights work with each change on the RV. You can breathe much easier if you test and know BEFORE you move out!

If you have a meter and want to be a bit careful to avoid lots of confusion, testing the lugs on your RV before hooking to anything if the new is good. One probe to ground like the frame and one probe to one of the connections on the rV plug like one of the turn/stop lights, should give you something near 12VDC when you step on the brake and a flashing 12v when the turn signal is working.
The idea of this is to know your RV wiring is doing it standard or not and then when you add the tether cable and it doesn or doesn't come out the car end of that wire, you will know it is the cable, not your RV wiring that may need changed??
With luck, everybody used the standard and it all works when plugged in but going slow and checking can save tons of confusion---just in case it is NOT wired right!!
Life's easier if we avoid causing ourself trouble>>>>

[LadyFaire]

I researched towing the 93 Geo Metro. With a manual transmission, towing is (according to the Suzuki files) easy. Set in neutral, turn ignition switch over WITHOUT actually starting the engine. Supposed to be good to go. We are going to install a battery cutoff switch to avoid killing the battery, as the switch POSITION, not the electronics, control the front wheels. I will experiment with the steering/front wheels as you suggest, as I hadn't even CONSIDERED that, and I do appreciate the heads up! You are all such a wonderful resource!


Cute little thing!!

[Bo Walker]

We towed a 1998 Chevrolet Tracker (Suzuki) many miles. It looked like the old style Suzuki Sidekick.
I traded it for a Jeep Wrangler. Another RVer bought it to tow behind his motor home. I hope he is still enjoying it.

I never towed anything easier.

[LadyFaire]

I am going up today to get the little TOAD. It does NOT have the wiring done. I'll use magnetic lights for the trip, and we will decide later if we want the TOAD wiring done. According to the seller, the original owner used only magnetic lights, so it must work OK. The little car is so light that I doubt Pooh (our Winnebago) will even notice that the car is back there. It certainly handled the car hauler trailer and car that we used for our last trip. The Geo Metro DOES need a few things done, but not much. Mainly, it really needs a thorough cleaning and the hood patched where the previous owners had silly hood ornaments attached. Maybe I can find a Poodle figurine to put up there and cover the hole...

[GeoDog55]

I tow a Kia Soul, manual transmission. After it is hooked up to the tow rig, I put it in neutral, take e brake off and turn key to ACC. That will keep the wheels from locking up.

[LadyFaire]

Went up the other day and brought the Metro home with me. Flat towed it behind my truck. It pulls beautifully. The only thing we need to do it to get a cut-out switch for the battery. For the drive home, I pulled the positive battery terminal, so as to not deplete the battery. Other than the little car being SO LOW to the ground, it is a perfect, LITTLE car for a TOAD. Even talked the seller down a couple hundred dollars. Need to adjust the clutch - it is a touch sloppy, but the adjustment (cable, not hydraulic) is simple. TINY little car. About the size of an MGMidget!

[LadyFaire]

UPDATE: I was driving the Metro around to get used to it - "Armstrong steering" and a manual transmission (which I haven't had in quite a few years) and only a couple of inches off of the ground - anyway, 2nd time I'm out in the Metro, it died in an intersection. I mean DEAD. No power even for flashers. Alternator went out. Took it (had it towed) to our mechanic and asked him to go over the little car to make sure it was good to go. Replaced the alternator, battery, timing belt, head gaskets and did an oil change. Little thing is running like a top! Now, I need to find a way to beef up the suspension just a bit - according to the specs, hubby and I exceed the max cargo allowance (!!!) for the little thing. Still a cute, peppy little thing, and I think it will work out great on our trips in the coach! Oh, since we call our coach Pooh (Winnie the POOH??), we named the little thing Pooh Jr [grin] and the vanity plates read POO JR.







Forgot to mention, we did get, and install, a battery cut out switch. Now, we put her in neutral, turn the key to ACC and flip the kill switch. No fuss, no problem!

[Bo Walker]

You should have a lots of fun with that little thing.

[bigb]

When you disconnect a battery it is best practice to disconnect the negative side, not the positive side. This helps avoid accidental sparking.
BTW I like your Pooh names! Tigger would have been another option!

[LadyFaire]

Our mechanic installed it, on the negative side with our firm request. I, too, had a mental image of the positive terminal swinging out in the breeze and motion. Another reason we wanted the switch, as opposed to just removing the battery cable.


Hadn't even THOUGHT of Tigger! That WOULD have been a good choice. Not sure how we would have done it with the plates. Hmmmmm. TGGR? TIGGR? TGGER? No matter. Biggest problem we had was the maximum number of characters allowed. Why we only had 5 (6 with the handicapped symbol) is beyond me.