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MG TD TF 1500 - Towing with an A frame

Hi, Has anyone out there towed their TF/TD with an A frame towbar? We tour with a motorhome (RV) and would like to take our TF with us. I could trailer it but that doesn't appeal to me, it would seem to complicate matters and I, being simple, would prefer to keep it that way. There are plenty of examples of modern cars being towed on an A frame and it seems a shame to leave the old girl(not the wife)at home when we could be using her for what she was designed for, pure pleasure.
I would be pleased to hear any comments and advice from the vast source of knowledge that I know exists in the MG world.
Dave Robshaw.
dave robshaw

Dave, I seem to remember that when towing a TD or TF, it is advisable to disconnect the drive shaft if you are towing with the rear wheels on the road. There was somthing about part of the transmission getting insufficient lubrication and causing excess wear on the bearings. I might be wrong but maybe my comment will cause someone else to remember more details.
Jim Merz

Thanks Jim I'll bear that in mind. Dave.
dave robshaw

Dave,

I've towed several T-types thousands of miles with a "A" frame tow bar. Mine anchors to the frame with the two bolts that secure the bumper spring bars to the front dumb irons. I also have a safety chain from the tow vehicle to the T frame. I have never disconnected the drive shaft or suffered any ill effects from not doing so.

Cheers!

T.P.
Terry Peddicord

Dave-
I have also towed both TD's and TF's with an A frame tow bar with no problems. Just like Terry I use a bar that attaches to the dumb iron, so the bumper needs to be removed. You might be able to make a pair of brackets that attach at this point without removing the bumper as long as the standard bolt is long enough (or a longer bolt is used).

One last caution -- You cannot tow a TD without the engine installed. The front end is too light and does not track the steering correctly.

Good luck,
Roy
Roy Challberg

I've also used an A frame to tow a TD, TF and a Sprite. I have a series sets of angle iron brackets with various hole placements to adapt to different bumper mounting set ups. I have only used the tow bar for one long trip and for that I did disconnect the drive shaft.
I did loan out my tow bar once (and that was the last time I would do that) to someone who wanted to tow a Morgan. When he returned the unit the angle iron that bolts to the A frame was all bent out of shape. He told me my tow bar was no good and that he almost lost the car that's why the angle iron was bent. (The angle iron by the way is about 4/4 inch thick and 3" x 3" by 3") What he did was mount the angle iron brackets with each one on opposite sides going in the same direction. (ie: LL) They must always be mounted in opposite directions. That was the last time I loaned out my tow bar.

George Herschell
George R Herschell

Like George H. I also lent my towbar to a friend who was campaigning a bug-eye sprite in the SW states during the late 60's. It fit the sprite without a lot of modification and he had it for the whole season. When I got it back, it had a new coat of paint and looked cosiderably better than when he took it. He liked the design so much that he made up an identical towbar for the following season. Different people "eh".
George Raham
TD 4224
G. L. Raham

I've done a good bit of flat-towing TDs with a tow bar. The attached image shows 'the53' with the bar attached. The hardest part was drilling the holes through the front bumper backing plate to attach the bar.

After rebuilding gearboxes last winter I have a better feel for their lubrication. It's the laygear spinning in the gear lube that throws the lube onto the gears of the output shaft. The layshaft doesn't spin if the engine isn't turning. Towing in neutral means that the output shaft, and its gears, are not really being lubricated. For a long trip I would disconnect the driveshaft at the differential.


Bud Krueger

And a closeup


Bud Krueger

To Terry, Roy, George H, George R,and Bud.
Thank you very much. It's what I'd hoped to hear. I'm working on how to release the propshaft from above, rather that below. Hum, it looks like a careful job for the jigsaw. Dave
dave robshaw

Hi guys: Does anybody have a A frame towbar drawing/plan for a TD that would like to share?

Thank you very much.
Stuart J. Ramos

Here's another image, showing Lazarus hooked up:



Bud Krueger

Here's the Towbar ID


Bud Krueger

Here's the bracket that I bolt to the bumper backbar:


Bud Krueger

Here's the towbar:


Bud Krueger

Bud, your photos are good info for your website. Now I know what is wrong with my towbar.
Jim Merz

I flat towed my TF many miles behind my 55 pontiac - A word of caution - do not use the A-Arm pivot bolts for mounting a tow bar, they are not strong enough! Luckily it was a low speed turn without serious damage.
I always removed the bolts on the rear u-joint and pinned the driveshaft up tight to the top of the tunnel with a flat bar that was secured by two of the bolts that attached the tunnel to rear bulkhead. I replaced these original tunnel bolts with long ones, so I just had to install a nut to hold the flat bar in place. That worked much better than my original attempt in the use of bailing wire...

Joe
Joe Buchmiller

hi all of You.
I can not understand how you can tow a car with 4 hweels on the ground with a a frame
I would not do that with my car TD
thoralf
t g sorensen

Thoralf, it's really not a hardship for the TD. As long as the wheels spin freely and the steering operates normally, the car will track behind the towing vehicle. It's also important that the mounting points to the the front of the TD are at least 24 inches apart. Safety chains are used to prevent a catastrophic failure.
Bud Krueger

Bud-
The dumb iron bolts are exactly 20" apart and I use a fixed A arm tow bar that fortunately has a 20" spacing pin to pin. The towing is fine with this setup. The bar is a Class II (rated for towing a 3500 lb car). The TD weighs in at just over 2000 lb.

I noticed your pictures and your bar appears to be a Class III (5000 lb rated). See attached picture.

Roy
Roy Challberg

And the picture ---


Roy Challberg

Here you go, Jim: http://www.ttalk.info/towbar.htm
Roy, my information from Reese indicated that the spacing should be at least 24" for acceptable tracking. Using the bumper bar mounting gives me a bit of 'spring' action with the bumper mounts. I seem to recall that being the only bar that the dealer had at the time. What's a little overkill?
Bud Krueger

Bud-
On the subject of the tow bar span, you may be on to something. Draw-Tite was the manufacturer of my 20" tow bar, so I sent them an e-mail asking if they made that particular bar anymore (didn't see it on their web site). They answered that they no longer make the 20" but they have a 24" that they would recommend. Just a coincidence, I don't think so. I know the 20" works but it may be borderline. Maybe some of the other BBS posters could specify what they use.

In the interest of possible safety I would recommend something as shown in the attached sketch. Or something like what you did for your hookup.

Roy



Roy Challberg

Here are a some views of another example of a tow bar which I adapted years ago for a backup in case of a break down. This is a fold-up bar. The adapter at front is to attach to the same points as the bumper assembly, after removing the bumpers and bumper brackets as a unit. Uses the same bolts to attach. The tow bar arms slide over and pivot on the trunnions on each side of adapter.
I have used this for pulling both the TD and an Austin Healey 3000(I made another attachment adapter to fit it) and it works well, although I would add that the distances were only locally for a few miles during a move. For greater distances I would chose a car trailer over a tow bar.

Dallas


D C Congleton

I, like so many of you, have also towed my TF 1000s of Kms with no ill effects. I have never disconnected the prop shaft.

Its a sturdy triangulated A-frame, made from a galvanized cross-bar (2" angle-iron) from a utility pole. I'm inclined to think though, our A-frame tow bars would be less effective on a heavier car, like a Morgan.

However, I'm interested to learn that it also fits a Sprite. My dtr has just bought a midget (GAN3) and I'm anxious to measure that critical distance between bumper mounting points on her Mk II.

I, like Dallas and others, made a couple of simple brackets to adapt to my Giuletta and it too tows well, even at speeds up to 140kph behind my Maxima.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A. Clark

One more comment/question-

Dallas-
What I surmise from your photo is that your adapter bar attaches to the dumb iron after removing the bumper. And it appears that the span between the tow bar "A" arms is less than 20". Is this correct?
Roy Challberg

This TD was at Gatlinburg in 2006 with permanently mounted towbar attachment points that are visible below the nerf bars. No worries about removing and reinstalling the front bumper. Lou VanK.


Lou Van Koningsveld

Roy , the distance between the tow bars is slightly less than 20 inches, but the attachment to the car is the bumper bolt distance. I built this several years ago and was not aware of, or considering the 24 inch or more guidelines mentioned by Bud. My thinking at the time was that the dumb arm extensions are not as thick as the chassis, and I was concerned about lateral forces on them. I addressed the adapter as the front of a square when bolted to the extensions and it would reinforces the dumb-arms, or at least that was the theory. Looking at it now the front portion of the adapter could be extended some and widen the tow bars. I would still have some concern about a "yaw" or lever effect on the extensions if the arms were too wide apart.

But I tend to over-think things sometimes ;^)
Dallas
D C Congleton

Hi Dave,
I checked the Dept of Transport (UK) and it appears that the max weight of an unbraked tow is 750 Kg.
I would check with a recovery firm before chancing it.

Ray TF 2884
Ray Lee

This thread was discussed between 12/07/2008 and 19/07/2008

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