wanted smart tow car (1 Viewer)

[craiggs]

I would like to change are tow car for a smart car i have allway wanted one and now there is only me and the wife i can have one but do not want to sell the fiat till i find one , is it best to tow a smart car or put on a trailer

 

[gazz]

trade thre fiat in for a smart??

i've done both forms of towing on my smart,

i towed if for the first year on a trailer, but i found that a pain in the bum, storing the trailer at home safely, storing it on a campsite, having a site want extra and to make me leave it in the carpark out front,

got an a-frame now, i got the first one armatiges did for diy fitment, nice and simple to fit,

tows the same as if on a trailer, takes less time to hook up than loading it on the trailer, obviousely cant reverse it, but it takes 10 seconds to disconect and turn the car around, then the van and hook back up,

stores in the footwell of the van when on a campsite,

you just need to get into a routine when hooking up to check the car is not in gear,

so when i park the car behind the van for hooking up, foot on brakes and into neuteral, and watch for the N to show on dash, engine off, hook up to a-frame and van, then i lean in and start the smart, it will only start in neuteral, shut it off and i'm sure it's in neuteral.

 

[theresa]

I would like to change are tow car for a smart car i have allway wanted one and now there is only me and the wife i can have one but do not want to sell the fiat till i find one , is it best to tow a smart car or put on a trailer

we have a smart that we tow , that we also use as a run around at home ,which we then find a bit small whats the fiat you have

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[craiggs]

car

Fiat Seicento 1.1 Sporting very nice car and very good tow car

 

[Reallyretired]

We tow a Smart, only problem is those rare occassions when you need more than two seats. We have thought of towing SWMBO's Corsa but is getting on for twice the weight of the Smart, though still within the train weight (just)

 

[craiggs]

car

Fiat Seicento 1.1 Sporting and it has the self brakeing bar they are only light and have 5 seats and also a nice boot the seats fold down if you need more room

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[theresa]

may be interested in your fiat as we find that the smart is a tad small for us , have to see what the other half thinks if he ever gets out of bed he will kill me if he knows i put that on here

 

[MAUBRI]

Smart

I would like to change are tow car for a smart car i have allway wanted one and now there is only me and the wife i can have one but do not want to sell the fiat till i find one , is it best to tow a smart car or put on a trailer

This topic came up on the sister site of RVOC and my reply was as follows:-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:
Originally Posted by MAUBRI
hi there John,

This subject has been thrashed out quite a few times before, I believe on the Sister site of MOTORHOMEFUN. In a nutshell If its a semi auto and you carry out ALL the instructions supplied when you have the A-Frame fitted you will have no problems. When the Smart first came into this country in its LHD guise back in 1999 an idiot left his car in gear and then towed it. That instigated Smart advising you not to Tow, which insurance companies loved as it gave them an excuse not to pay out on engeering faults etc ( not that they need an excuse).

I owned a LHD Smart Pulse soft-tip from 1999 until 2002 and then RHD upto last year and towed both without any problems what so ever, I have travelled about 9,000 miles in that time.

Basicaly you hitch the A-frame to the front of the car with the clevis pins provided, connect the Footbrake cable to the A-frame's cable again with a clevis pin, hitch up to the Tow Ball,connect the electrics, Put the bungy clip from under the drivers seat onto the Brake Pedal, ensure the Gear lever is in NEUTRAL and the Handbrake OFF and the ignition switch off. Pump the brake pedal about 3 times to evacuate the servo and your ready. I always stand behind the SMART when locking the door because you will see ALL the indicators flash on both vehicles, thus proving some of the electrics. Dont forget to put the Triangles on the rear and the clip-on number plate. If you want to prove your brake lights work and your on your own,open up the tailgate, then stand on the A-Frame's brake cable and you will see the top cluster come on as they are not ign dependant.

The only snag with the Smart and towing is that if you ever need to reverse its vertualy impossible unless you are already in a straight line,

Hope this helps.

Just found this web site whilst looking for another, which will give you the legal side of things

Link Removed


Brian

Hi Brian,

Many thanks for a very useful post it has taken the doubt out of using "A" frames for me.

John


HOPE THIS WAS OF USE

BRIAN

 

[gazz]

someone on here blew their gearbox and engine by accidentialy towing it in gear a year or so ago,

i have a routine that i stick to, and when i get round to it, i will make up a sticker for my dash, so when i get in the motorhome i will see it and be reminded.

i have the armatiges A-frame, so no need to the bungie round the pedal, as the brake cable connects to the pedal under the floor, so no holes in the bulkhead or owt,
i have also changed the power to the brakelights in the smart to be ignition dependant, so the motorhome supplies the brake light power, hence no chance of flattening the smarts battery by parking up with the a-frame holding the brakes on whilst you go shopping or something.

for me, i park the smart behind the motorhome, foot on brake pedal, gear lever into neuteral and watch the dash display change from A to N, turn ignition off,

hook up the A-frame, attatch to the van, test electrics, attatch the numberplate and triangles (i made up a plate which the numberplate and triangles are fixed to, with the numberplate clips on, so attatching the plate to the smarts numberplate gives it the vans reg and the triangles in one go)

then i lean in the smart, key in ignition and start it up, if it's in neuteral it will start, if it's in gear it wont,

key out, lock the doors on the remote, and away you go, (oh yeah, i also remove the vacuum from the brakes as mentioned before, but i do it by raising the a-frame a few times till i feel the brake cable tighten before i connect to the van, i'll also raise and release the a-frames handbrake once to ensure the brakes are working fine.

i love my smart and would never get rid of it, it's ideal for me as there's only me and helen, plus the dog, no kids planned ever,
when i save up the dosh, i will get a towbar on the back of the smart, then tow a little trailer for when i need extra capacity, which is only really taking stuff to the tip, owt new i buy that's big i use the motorhome.

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[tofo]

just had this reply from fiat i was asking about a fiat 500 auto as a toad
==============================================
Dear Mr.tofo

Thank you for contacting the Fiat Information Centre in regards to your
Fiat 500 query.

The car can only be towed in one of the following ways (always and
exclusively with the engine off, gearbox in neutral and handbrake
disengaged):
- with the 4 wheels on the roadbed;-
with front wheels raised or resting on the wrecking car floor and rear
wheels resting on a suitable truck; - with rear wheels raised or resting
on the wrecking car floor and front wheels resting on a suitable truck; -
on wrecking car, with front and rear wheels resting on the wrecking car
floor.
In other words, in this case, if the vehicle is to be towed by a motorhome
all 4 wheels must be on the road with the gearbox in neutral.

Irregardless of the vehicles transmission it can be towed as long as it is
within the vehicles towable weight.

I hope this information has been helpful. If you have any other questions
or need further advice, we invite you to contact us by replying to this
email or calling on our international freephone number, 00800 3428 0000
(choosing option 2). We are here to help Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm.

Alternatively, our website is packed full of useful information detailing
our range of products and services. I have included the web address below
for your convenience.

Kind regards,
Anthony

Fiat Brand Ambassador
www.fiat.co.uk

 

[Reallyretired]

someone on here blew their gearbox and engine by accidentialy towing it in gear a year or so ago,

It was me nearly £2k for repairs.

Like your process for making sure its in neutral. I will make up a laminated card.

 

[craiggs]

car

thank you for all your replys i alway take out off gear leave key in steering lock move from right to left /left to right hand brake off lock door with spear key and off we go

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[gazz]

thing is the smart car has an electronicaly controlled gearbox, and you could turn the ignition off when it's in gear, move the stick over to the neuteral position (only way to get the key out) and think it's in neuteral,

there's no steering lock on a smart, the ignition lock is down on the floor between the gearstick and handbrake, it locks the gearstick into neuteral or reverse for security,

 

[craiggs]

thank you for that as i have never had a smart car i am going to get a s/h one to try and then get a new one the tow car we have is very nice but we only use as tow car has we have other cars at home

 

[davejen]

someone on here blew their gearbox and engine by accidentialy towing it in gear a year or so ago,

It was me nearly £2k for repairs.

Like your process for making sure its in neutral. I will make up a laminated card.

Unfortunately I did this too, coming away from Peterborough show- estimate for repair =£8,000!!!!!- it was only 2 years old, and done just 6900 miles However I was advised to put a claim into my insurance co-NFU and they have just paid out full market value even though I accepted it was my fault, and not a mechanical fault which they would not have paid out . So I will be doing a full check as previously described in future! I had NOT touched the brake when I "put it in neutral". Full marks to the NFU, I will be staying with them.
Cheers, Dave:thumb:

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[theresa]

thank you for that as i have never had a smart car i am going to get a s/h one to try and then get a new one the tow car we have is very nice but we only use as tow car has we have other cars at home

we are selling our smart-car all fitted with A frame (year 1999) very good condition black , very fast little car , £2000 :thumb: