M38 flat towing

[Asgar]

I have traveled up to the MVMVC Weare NH rally a few times now with my M1008 pulling a car trailer with a M38 on it and two kids. The trip is about 3 hours but when you get to NH going 35 mph in second for 10 mins at a time going up the hills gets old fast. Going up the same hills is possible with my foot to the floor and holding 55 but I need to run into the hill at 65 to pull this off and 'melting pistons' is in the back of my mind. I am wondering if I really need to be towing a 2200# trailer with a 2600# jeep on it. The other issue is that I need to rent the trailer for three days which gets kinda expensive. I orginally thought I could remove the body off of my M101A2 and make a ramp set up for it but it is just too narrow and tippy for the jeep. Soooo....

I am looking for advice from folks who have actually flat towed M38 or M38a1 for hundreds of miles at 50~55mph. How does the jeep do? I would drop the drive shafts unless a bunch of folks tell me not to bother. I have a very sturdy tow bar for it.

Has any one had issues with 'death shimmy' or wheel lock flat towing M38s?

One of the Weare rally folks tows his M151 to the show from the boston area and says he goes 65 the entire way without any problems.

My steering box is worn (not out of adjustment) so I do get shimmy issues from time to time at speed. I will most likey rebuild the box prior to trying this.

Note, I searched for a long time on the site for a similar thread without luck, so hopefully I don't get pointed to a 300 post thread on the merits of flat towing 1/4 tons!

Thanks, hope to hear how flat towing 1/4 tons has worked for you, Thanks!

 

[NDT]

I have flat towed my M38A1 with no ill effects behind a deuce for hundreds of miles at a time. This means never faster than 55 mph. I did not remove any drive shafts. If you plan to flat tow it faster than 50-55 mph, I would recommend locking hubs up front and disconnecting the rear drive shaft. For the most part the Jeeps track well in corners. The M151's do not and you have to tie the steering wheel.

 

[tigger]

I trailer mine but i have flat towed it befor but only 40 miles and at 45 mph with no prob. i would get your steering fixed first

 

[BillF]

go to willysmjeeps.com some good information on that site. How about getting a car dolly so you dont have to worry about the steering?

 

[knc1105]

I am new to SS and purchased a 1952 M-38. I have 9.5 x 30 Light Truck radials on it on 8" rims, thats the way it came. I have purchased original rims and tires. It has a great towbar and I was told to put everything in neautral and go. Thats what I did for 200 miles at 60-65 mph. I did not detect any damage. I did not know that this might hurt it. It is a great Jeep that has now become part of the family. I wired into the lights and put a 6-way female trailer plug under the grill and made up a 6' pigtail with 6-way male ends on it. So now to tow it I have 2-pins for the tow bar and the lights to plug-in, safety chains and roll. I bought the Jeep because I was told you did not need a trailer or tow dolly ( I have both, but then it gets a little much for a 1/2 ton truck to pull ) Any info would be appreciated, I am new to the M-38 and do not want to hurt it.

 

[pvtjorge]

I towed my M38 to hunting lease, 500 miles one way before I restored it. At the end of the season I towed it back home. Jeep had lock out hubs on front axle. Left the rear drive shaft connected all the time. Didn't seem to hurt a thing. I wouldn't drive more than 60 though. It does wear the tires out faster I think towing it though. I dont' believe the tires were made for pavement. I'm talking about NDT or NDCC tires.
I did that for few seasons then bought a trailer.

 

[knc1105]

Thanks for the info. Mine has new style tires. I'll keep the speed down. Thanks, ken

 

[tennmogger]

I have towed my '52 M-38 cross country several times. Unlock the lockouts on the front, and drop the rear driveshaft. Same tranny since 1969 so the technique must work ok.

It tended to lock full left or full right so the steering wheel was 'bungeed' to center to allow a little give but not allow full turns. Front tires chirp a little in a full turn but that's better than having to stop in an intersection to jump out to straighten the steering!

IMHO the transfer case and tranny should not be spun by the rear shaft while towing. Lubing is not the same as when driven. You might get away with it, or you might heat up something, but is it worth the risk? The rear U-joint is easy to unbolt (then wrap the U-joint in plastic bag and tape it up so it does not come apart). Tie the shaft up out of the way or unbolt both ends.

Bob

 

[pvtjorge]

Yeah now that I have restored the gear boxes, I beleive it would be a good idea to drop the rear drive shaft and save on turning those gears when towing. The shaft can be taken out altogether. Only remove the the Ubolts on the rear as it slips into the forward yoke and pull it free. Tape a plastic baggy over the forward yoke to keep out dirt or mud so you can easily stab the shaft back into it once ready. I think is a good way to go to keep from losing the shaft if something unexpected happens.

 

[knc1105]

Guys, thanks alot that is a great idea. Mine is a 1952 M-38 also. The lease is 155 miles each way, and thats not that big of a deal. Back home I have a place we can sometimes hunt and it's only 14 miles, would you do the same thing or on the short trip would you just put everything in neutral and go? Thanks in advance for the advise. ken

 

[Stretch44875]

Short trip just neutral and go.

My 46 cj2a was towed to Colorado from Ohio and back every year in 60's. Unhook the driveshafts and go.

 

[knc1105]

Thanks for the reply/advise. I love my Jeep, it's part of the family now. Found a back seat for it I'm getting recovered to match the front seats. Then all four of us can go. Thanks, ken

 

[knc1105]

My M-38 has lock out front hubs. I have a car dolly, what would you do if you used that? I am the king of overbuilding everything, and a trailer I built would be heavy. I towed it on a short tandem axle flatbed trailer and it got to be more than the pick-up wanted when you got in the hills. I looked at building a single axle skeleton tilt trailer with a 6,000lb brake axle but using real steel instead of sheetmetal like the car dollies it will weigh 1/2 of what the Jeep weighs. It is such a cool rig I don't want to hurt it, and parts probubly would not be easy to find or cheap.

 

[m816]

Never ever tie the front wheels on a M151 while townig it with a tow bar.

 

[knc1105]

Mine is a 1952 M-38. Are you saying if I use a tow dolly I would need to pull the driveshaft loose? I can lock out front hubs, but the in/out shift lever in the floorboard does not have a detent for neutral, you can put it in the middle but it's really in or out and I worried that during towing it would move to one position or the other and hurt something. If you are towing with a towbar would you take both driveshafts loose or just one? And if you used a tow dolly, I assume you would only pull the rear drive shaft? Thanks for the help, Ken

 

[jeeplvr247]

I am looking at flat towing a M38a1 350 miles. I do not believe it has lockout hubs, would it be ok to tow it at neutral if I was just doing 55 on the way back? What kind of damage could be done if the drive shaft is not dropped?

 

[Stan]

I've flat towed an M 38 approx. 800 miles no problems. Transfer case in neutral is all I did.

 

[majorm38]

Over the past 43 years, I have towed my M38 from Atlanta, Ga. to Crested Butte , Colorida and back, and to North Carolina and back three times. I have also towed it to many shows and parades. The jeep has front locking hubs and a tow bar on a two inch Ball. I have never taken the rear drive shaft loose only put the transfer case in neutral. With the lock out front hubs the front drive shaft does not turn. The jeep runs and pulls in good order. I have been reading all the discussion on both this web sit and many others consercering this towing issue. I hope my experance is of help to you in this matter Bob

 

[emr]

Tow-barred my M 38 for a few thousand miles, like the military that has done it for maybe a million or so over the years in its service, I never unhooked anything, just all in neutral . The few million in service tow bar miles never had the hubs locked out.