MGA Forum
Towing An MGA
Posted by rikhogan
Topic Creator (OP)
Jul 29, 2014 01:03 PM
Joined 17 years ago
674 Posts
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I tried searching this but had no luck finding an answer. A lady friend of mine is moving to another state and wants to tow her
MGA behind a moving truck. Does anyone know if the width between the tires will fit on the rental trailers. The one my neighbor used several years ago had tracks for the tires to fit in and looked to wide for my Midget. Just asking if anyone knows if an MGA will fit. Thanks
Rik
MGA behind a moving truck. Does anyone know if the width between the tires will fit on the rental trailers. The one my neighbor used several years ago had tracks for the tires to fit in and looked to wide for my Midget. Just asking if anyone knows if an MGA will fit. Thanks
Rik
rkassed
randy kassed
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Jul 29, 2014 02:21 PM
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Topic Creator (OP)
Jul 29, 2014 03:49 PM
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matchlessman
Ken M
Eastern Ontario, ON, Canada
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Jul 29, 2014 04:37 PM
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A word of caution about U-Haul car carriers. Last year I rented one to pick up a recently purchased coupe. The rails on the trailer are just close enough to accommodate the track width of an MGA - barely - but it does fit. That's not the problem. The ramps to the trailer rails are slightly wider apart than the rails on the trailer. Be prepared to come up with some sort of system that will allow the car to be "ramped" up to the trailer. I used 2 x 8 x8 feet as ramps. They bent plenty but the did hold the weight. I'd suggest using doubled-up 2 x 8 x 8 for safety sake. The other reason for the longer ramps is that the U-Haul ramps may be too short for the car's ground clearance. Like I said - a word to the wise. Check out a U-Haul car carrier to see what I mean.
Ken
Ken
Jul 29, 2014 04:40 PM
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Jul 29, 2014 05:06 PM
Top Contributor
Joined 18 years ago
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For short loading ramps, crank the trailer tongue jack up in front to tilt the trailer back (while it is still connected to the tow vehicle). This lowers the tail of the trailer, increasing angle of the trailer and decreasing angle of the ramps. I did this a lot in years past when towing a stock car on a flat bed trailer.
Barney Gaylord - 1958 MGA with an attitude - http://MGAguru.com - barneymg@mgaguru.com - Ph: 630-946-3841
(Please email me direct, do not leave a PM on the public server).
Barney Gaylord - 1958 MGA with an attitude - http://MGAguru.com - barneymg@mgaguru.com - Ph: 630-946-3841
(Please email me direct, do not leave a PM on the public server).
Gary E
Gary Edwards
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Jul 29, 2014 09:58 PM
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I have towed 2 MGAs on UHaul trailers with no problem on the ramps. I also towed one on a UHaul dolly with no problems.
I towed my car to Ottawa with a tow bar bolted to the bumper where the over riders bolt. No problems...
Gary
Murphy's law
Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe, and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it, and he'll have to touch it to be sure.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-07-30 11:57 AM by Gary E.
I towed my car to Ottawa with a tow bar bolted to the bumper where the over riders bolt. No problems...
Gary
Murphy's law
Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe, and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it, and he'll have to touch it to be sure.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-07-30 11:57 AM by Gary E.
Topic Creator (OP)
Jul 30, 2014 09:33 AM
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vdubmga
v wasem
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Jul 30, 2014 10:14 AM
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Jul 30, 2014 08:09 PM
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Mine has been flat towed a couple times that I know of. Attachment points are kind of problematic if you are planning on making it a regular thing, and you want convenience. I'm not sure what my dad's attachment looked like, since it was long gone by the time I needed to tow it, but I still had his towbar. I removed the front valance and fabricated a mount that bolted to the frame in a couple of places, and was partially located by the bumper mounts:
That was kind of a quick and dirty fabrication job; I was up until the wee hours of the morning welding it together so I could make the next ferry out of town that weekend. But I was able to press it into service again, when I bought a parts car and had to move it across town. If I wanted to tow an MGA a lot I would probably invest in a trailer.
I suspect that the mount my dad made, just attached to the bumper mounts on the front extension. The extension had cracks there, that I had to weld up. Based on this, I would not recommend any tow mount that relies solely on the bumper mounts. The front extension is pretty fragile when it comes down to it.
That was kind of a quick and dirty fabrication job; I was up until the wee hours of the morning welding it together so I could make the next ferry out of town that weekend. But I was able to press it into service again, when I bought a parts car and had to move it across town. If I wanted to tow an MGA a lot I would probably invest in a trailer.
I suspect that the mount my dad made, just attached to the bumper mounts on the front extension. The extension had cracks there, that I had to weld up. Based on this, I would not recommend any tow mount that relies solely on the bumper mounts. The front extension is pretty fragile when it comes down to it.
vdubmga
v wasem
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Jul 30, 2014 08:38 PM
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Topic Creator (OP)
Aug 6, 2014 04:38 PM
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about 3 years and 10 months later...
olesoldier
Steve A
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Jun 2, 2018 07:08 AM
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Jun 2, 2018 07:51 AM
Joined 17 years ago
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Those are not tow attachment on the GT they are hold down brackets for shipment on ship to usa
Gil
In reply to # 2756184 by vdubmga
Can you flat-tow an A? It would be a great toad behind my RV. I notice the GT I just bought has attachment points for a tow bar, so it was apparently flat-towed at one point or another.
Gil
Jun 2, 2018 07:53 AM
Joined 17 years ago
8,794 Posts
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