Flat towing manual trans 85 318i?

[Softail98]

Has anyone towed one behind an RV with a tow bar?

[superj]

no, but I have towed them across town behind the truck, with a rope, for 15 or 20 miles on the highway. I am not sure what the owner's manual says for towing but I never had any trouble. if no one answers, see what google says

[my1stE30]

towing a manual transmission car with all four tires rolling is NOT a problem at all. Just make sure that the transmission stick is in neutral and the emergency brake is released.... then you can tow it all day long anywhere.... never towed an e30 that way but I have towed other manual transmission small cars with a tow bar on the highway

[Softail98]

towing a manual transmission car with all four tires rolling is NOT a problem at all. Just make sure that the transmission stick is in neutral and the emergency brake is released.... then you can tow it all day long anywhere.... never towed an e30 that way but I have towed other manual transmission small cars with a tow bar on the highway

Thanks. My concern is that there is conflicting info floating around. BMW manual does not recommend using a tow bar, however Bentley manual says there is no problem. I assume the tow hooks behind the bumper will accept a modified tow bar base plate and are strong enough.

[randywalters]

I seem to remember the owners manual says it's ok to flat-tow the car with a manual transmission. And everything i read said it won't hurt the drivetrain on manual cars (i'd considered flat-towing to autocrosses and track events, but never ended up doing it).

But i'm not so sure the sheetmetal horns where the bumper or tow hook points are are strong enough for the road forces incurred while flat-towing the car (the normal bumps and starts and stops and side-loads during turns throughout the trip etc). I imagine these areas were designed to be strong enough to pull the car up onto a flat bed tow truck or drag it out of a ditch, but i'd be concerned towing my baby across state. I'd get good verification that it's safe for the highway. Maybe i worry too much ha ha.

[Softail98]

That's my concern also. I spoke with a tech at the local dealership and was just given the company line, "All our cars are made to be towed on a flat bed." Guess I have to get it up on a lift and see how and what the hooks are attached to. Thanks Randy.

[superj]

One comment made me remember a flat towing time i did with a 325e five speed car. We unbolted the bumper and hooked our tow bar to the bumper mount points.


The mount points were solid enough, our tow bar was not. The car ended up next to us on the road and we had to get in front of it and slow down for the car to hit us and then we stopped.

Luckily it didnt try and turn and hit something.

[323i E30]