Going to floridas spring thing feb. 23 - 25 and I need help with some ideas on making a mounting braket for the front of my classic 1998 spec.sport pak. I need to attach a tow bar to it and ill be towing it with my 2004 S MINI.. what i need is ideas and pictures .. I know some of you will have some reservations about using my 04 MINI S FOR TOWING but some guys did it for last years event with no ill effects .... all pictures and ideas will be very appreciated..

 

I'm sorry I don't have any suggestions for you. But your 04 s will do fine once you figure how to attach to it. We towed our classic (with a tow strap) up and over two of the passes in Death Valley last year on the way to AMVIV with no problems. The S didn't even know it was there .

Nik

 

minimad has the configuration on the tow bay that he constructed and also might have one laying around......before i got my car the previous owner use to tow it behind his 04 cabrio with no probs ........i dont know where my photos are of it, but i will look when i get home

 

Thanks big Norm. your help would be appreciated if you come thru ill buy you a few beers or soda pops @ spring thing if you are going , if not this is a good reason for you to go

 

get ahold of this guy: he can help.......John aka Minimad

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ber.php?u=4306
http://www.sunshineminis.org/forums/...e1688f4f9709d3

 

You can call MINI FINI, they have a tow kit for our grill car which is a classic. www.miniofpittsburgh.com

www.minifini.com
614-491-4944

 

Do a search on www.minimania.com message thread for "towbar" It gets discussed frequently and many ideas posted. No worry on your S towing (once you have a hitch installed) I towed my classic with an 02 Cooper without issue at 75mph....

On the classic, locate the front subframe mounts. Under bumper you'll find one bolt on each side which passes thru the mount. This bolt is 5/16" remove it, drill it out to 3/8" or 1/2". Use a grade 8 bolt trhu the mount to attach a bracket to the front of your car.

 

check out Harbor Freight item # 94696

5000 lb capacity adjustable tow bar.

Doesn't look like rocket science to figure out how to hang on a Mini....

then u just need to work on the tow-er end....tow-ee is done

this may be my answer for moving the '79 to Fla .... 4 cars and three drivers

 

that doesn't look to bad.....good find.......id like to see it in action....

 

hey Norm, I don't think your signature banner is working right, I just see the link right now instead of the picture.
just a heads up.

 

The MINIFINI tow link is the best way to go. There is a guy that makes custom tow dollys for Classic Minis. Paul Strebie from OH has one. Pm me and I can get you in contact if need be. Otherwise he will be at Spring Thing this weekend. I'll be there too. See you Fri or Sat.

WAY

 

Yeah Norm, take a peek at the Sigorator or whatever it's called in your user CP. New streamlining thing for NAM.

I'd think you could rent a car dolly from u-haul if you had not the time to fabricate the mounts for now just to get it where you need to, but you'd still need to mod the towing car.

 

U-Haul would rent me neither a trailer or a dolly when I told them it was for a Mini (towee). Said insufficient clearance issues. They were not willing to discuss further. So if you want to try that route you'll need to not tell them what you plan to use it for - like if you plan to put a car in one of their enclosed truck/trailers and takes your chances.....

A buddy who rents yal-haul trailers on occasion to move his BMW race car says there can be issues with the rails the tires sit in. He's gotten his lowered race car hung up and now knows to but boards in the channels to avoid the problem. But yal-haul only knows he's moving a Beemer so they have no 'contract issues'.

Sidebar - I took the 79 on the Autotrain. They have a minimum clear' of 4 inches requirement. I measured and had a hair over at the low point so off I went to the station. They came to measure and I started to get out. "No, we measure with you IN the car" to account for the driver when we load/unload." I was under . But they let me sign a liability release. Their problem was the angle of the ramps and long/low overhangs on the body (think Ferr'i). The wheels so far out to the corners mitigated that concern....

 

sig thing not working.......i'll figure it out

 

I don't mean to hijack this - I just want to ask the same question with an emphasis on the tow dolley.

I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to tow the v-tech I have on order behind my motorhome. I contacted Demco (makers of Kar Kaddy - a tow dolley) and they stated it wasn't an issue as far as they knew. Their only concern was it had to be a 76" wheel base or less. I want to ask how much is the minimum wheel base but I would also like to know what "clearance" issues apply to a tow dolley. What gives?

Does it have to do with the rear end draggin?

 

Way,

I am interested in getting some info on this. Remind me if I forget on Sunday at the ATLMINIS drive. You can give me the info when i pick up the jack.

Matt

 

"what are the problems for a dolly?"

only u-haul knows for sure .... but looking at it vs my 79 on 10" wheels

rear overhang - no problem obviously since the wheels are so far back.

But - depending on the dolley.....

a) some have a pocket that the carried tires ride in. That pocket could be too deep for my 10 inchers.

b) is the narrow front width an issue?

c) those w/out a pocket you may need to look at the length of the flat platform the tire rides on.....is there a possibility the rear of the platform can contact the body or underside because the car sits so low to the ground?

don't have one, never user one, but thinking a tow bar might be the answer.

another thought tho - from Harbor Freight or Northern tools one can buy a trailer kit of 1700 lb capacity for less than $500..... I you plan to tow behind something other than a MINI it may be a viable option....

 

Thanks for that BJ.

Well as it turn out the minimum width is 42 inches so that doesn't appear to be an issue.

Demco got back to me with an equation. What do you'all think?



I don't even know if a tow bar is possible on account of the flip front for the Vtech but I'll check into that, too.

 

there are two options with the vtec flip, either cut big holes on it to clear brackets or install longer bolts with steel pipe spacers. I did that on mine, but welded the pipe for security.

 

I think that equation address the possibility of the front overhang hitting during loading and that won't be an issue with a Mini

I believe the potential issue is the short wheelbase causing an excessive angle BEHIND the front wheel allowing the dolly to catch the body right about the front of the door opening. I'd sure hate to introduce a bend in the rocker there..... This angle will be impacted by the height of the dolly and therefore might be mitigated by running a smaller diameter wheel on the dolly thereby lowering the whole thing....or larger diameter wheels in the back of the Mini just for towing to raise the butt and change the angle there.

This begs the question - is it better to use a dolly than a tow bar? What are the pro's and con's. Does a dolly track better? Reduced wear on the Mini drive train?

And a newbie question to this entire idea...if using a tow bar, do you lock the steering or leave it loose?

I too have a plastic front end and am leaning towards the HF bar after fabricating a removable bracket, probably from the frame work added to support the front of the FRG front clip .... probably needing to beef that up slightly. A lil' mig time and no problem!

 

DO NOT lock the steering when flat towing with a tow bar. Take wide turns and the car will follow though front tires suffer when turning a lot. There is NO BACKING UP with an adjustable tow bar.

 

I am currently in the research phase of purchasing a trailer for my classic Mini. Am considering an enclosed trailer that can double as a "garage" as this summer we will be moving where we will probably not have a garage.

Have been researching online and there are so many choices that I am now stumped. The auto-hauler types of trailers are obviously much too large for what I need and can tow with our towing vehicle, a 2005 Toyota Sienna Van AWD. (Save the catcalls please.) Visited a Haulmark dealer today and the salesman all but said I was out of luck given the towing vehicle. He also recommended an 18 ft trailer to accomodate tie downs.

What type(s) of enclosed trailers can you recommend? (I am particularly interested in Length, width, # axles)

How about flatbed trailers?

I cringe at the thought of dollying or towing the car given the conditions of the roads today.

Thanks. Tom

 

A Mini fits perfectly fine in a UHaul 6x12 enclosed trailer... if you push it in or crawl out a window. Block the wheels to the floor. Figure from there for other trailers..

The ramp on a Uhaul tow dolly may damage the rocker panel of a Mini. You need to be careful about that with dollies.

Minis fit okay on Uhaul carhaulers (even Mini pickups with collapsed cones and carrying 3 A-series engines, ask me, I know) Just tell them your carrying something else... an MGB for example. Remember "when you got there you just happened to get a better deal on the Mini, ya know, plans change...."

 

I've had the car on a Uhaul car hauler and it worked fine. Looked funny but did the job. Have considered the 6x12 trailers. Thanks for the inout. tom