Re: Towing a scout II

[Steve Grossman <grossman@domain.elided>]

>>>>> "Clay" == Clay McDonald <cbm@domain.elided> writes:


    Clay> Has anyone out there tried flat-towing a Scout ?  I'm a
    Clay> little worried about it's steering, as it doesn't return to
    Clay> center worth a damn.  In my understanding, you are relying
    Clay> on the return-to-center to keep the towed vehicle in line.
    Clay> Is this true ?  If so, can anyone suggest a solution ?

In 1988, I flat-towed a '60 Scout 80 from Las Cruces, NM to Dallas, TX
- about 800 miles behind the second smallest U-Haul truck (the one
with the ford van front end - maybe a 14 footer?)

The return to center was only a problem when backing, and in tight
parking lots.  On streets and highways, it returned to center just
fine.  The U-Haul had more than enough power, even fully loaded, to
push the Scout perpendicularly to the direction the tires were pointing.
So, if the tires were turned fully left from making a left-hand turn,
and I was backing trying to turn the Scout right so the U-haul was
pushing te front of the Scout left, it would scoot the tires across
the pavement.  It didn't seem to hurt anything, but it only had the
152, not the more than twice as much weight as the V8's

I disconnected the rear driveshaft from the diff-pinion yoke, and
wired the end of it up to a floor rail, put the u-joint cups in an
empty beer can so they didn't get lost, and hit the road.  Since the
U-haul would go well over 70 even pulling the Scout, I'm sure it was
the fastest that Scout ever went, unless somebody has since pushed it
off a cliff.

You're right about a Scout weighing too much for a U-Haul trailer.

Good luck, and be careful.

Steve

-- 

Steve Grossman                                   	grossman@domain.elided