Being new to towing cars on flatbeds, I've been asking a few people about how they configure the brakes/driveline for towing on a flatbed.
Everybody seems to agree that:
A) Retainers (straps/chains) should be strong enough to prevent a rig without any brakes from moving.
B) Never tighten the retainers with the rig in Park. If you pull harder from one end (front/back) you can put a large preload on the parking pawl.
Here where the opinions differ, so I figured I'd put it to a poll.
1) Transmission in Park
pros - all wheels stopped and hand brake backup
cons - can wear on parking pawl (?)
2) Transmission in gear w/ hand brake
pros - rear wheels stopped with engine brake backup, no impact on parking pawl
cons - front wheels not fully stopped, load on transmission (?)
3) Transmission or TC in Neutral w/ hand brake
pros - rear wheels stopped, no impact on driveline
cons - no backup to hand brake
Everybody seems to agree that:
A) Retainers (straps/chains) should be strong enough to prevent a rig without any brakes from moving.
B) Never tighten the retainers with the rig in Park. If you pull harder from one end (front/back) you can put a large preload on the parking pawl.
Here where the opinions differ, so I figured I'd put it to a poll.
1) Transmission in Park
pros - all wheels stopped and hand brake backup
cons - can wear on parking pawl (?)
2) Transmission in gear w/ hand brake
pros - rear wheels stopped with engine brake backup, no impact on parking pawl
cons - front wheels not fully stopped, load on transmission (?)
3) Transmission or TC in Neutral w/ hand brake
pros - rear wheels stopped, no impact on driveline
cons - no backup to hand brake