I'm going to have to tow my Sling from the DC area back to Kentucky soon and need to decide how I'll do that. I could rent a car carrier and try to rig up something to support the rear wheel in the center of the carrier, or I could get a tow dolly and tow it from the front after removing the drive belt. Which way do you guys think would be best? Is there any other way to do it that I'm missing (besides buying a trailer made for the Slingshot - I don't think I'd use it enough to justify the cost).
Need help. Do we have a consensus on whether it's safe to tow with a tow dolly? Is it safe to put the two front wheels on a dolly and tow from the front if I remove the drive belt?
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Don''t know why you would need to remove the drive belt to tow it from the front. It being manual it should be just fine left in neutral. Be very cautious of tight turns with this method of towing it. Easy for the fenders of the tow dolly to get into the side of the sling.
I did see a pic on here somewhere of a guy that had his sling on a open uhaul trailer. He had put down some wood in the middle of the rear of the trailer to support the rear wheel.
Don't blame you for now wanting to invest in a trailer that you would likely not use enough to justify the cost.
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when this subject was brought up for discussion on TDS the consensus was that it would be unsafe to do so and that it needs to be towed backwards or in a car hauler.
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Don''t know why you would need to remove the drive belt to tow it from the front. It being manual it should be just fine left in neutral.
That's what I thought too, but I remember reading somewhere that if the drive belt is in place, it causes something to turn (don't recall what that something is - maybe the angle drive?) that does not get lubricated properly if the engine is not running. In any case, removing the drive belt would stop everything but the back wheel from turning if it's being towed from the front.
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I would try calling the toll free number for Polaris as they do offer advice and answer questions. Get the name of the person who responds (a clerical person usually takes a message for a call back) so you have evidence should something go wrong. I did this over two years ago, although now I don't remember the issue but recall that the guy who called back was helpful.
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I really dont see any problem with it @Tech - Rick for a limited amount of trips, you could just place it in neutral and tow it forward , Really the only concern is the added wear and tear on the drive belt and angle drive, but it would be no more than if you were driving the Sling. the auto towing industry for decades only removed drive shafts on automatic transmissions, when towing long distances , but I would caution you to tie the steering straight as the electric motor provides enough resistance that when the rear end kicks out in tight parking lot turns the restriction in the steering system is adequate to keep it towing doglegged quite a bit down the highway.This also holds true for our rear tire towed dollies, I havent used mine much lately but did accumulate over 4000 miles on it last year and will do so again this year. AND one of my customers , @bald eagle 805 is soon gonna surpass me if he keeps up with the miles he put on this winter already. But keep in mind you should also source out a swivelling dolly , although its less important if dollying forward verses in reverse as the one rear tire will skid around in tight parking area turns far easier then two front tires do in reverse.
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when this subject was brought up for discussion on TDS the consensus was that it would be unsafe to do so and that it needs to be towed backwards or in a car hauler.
I'm leaning towards the car hauler, but as I'm here working a temporary job, I have limited tools available to me. I'm going to see if @lrobbi and/or @ethermion can help me out with the tools I'd need to make the temp modifications to the car hauler. I suspect the only thing I'd really need that I don't have here is a skill saw.
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I'm leaning towards the car hauler, but as I'm here working a temporary job, I have limited tools available to me. I'm going to see if @lrobbi and/or @ethermion can help me out with the tools I'd need to make the temp modifications to the car hauler. I suspect the only thing I'd really need that I don't have here is a skill saw.
There are good pictures of the modified car hauler some where. A little help @Tripod
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But keep in mind you should also source out a swiveling dolly
@kev, what size wheels/tire do you recommend for your dolly? Also, where do you mount the magnetic tow lights on the slingshot? Not much metal on the outside of it. If hauling the Slingshot backwards for a long distance (750 miles in my case), would I need to swap the two front tires so that they're turning in the right direction? Finally, how long would shipping take to the northern Virginia area?
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I think it was @Street Doc that modified an U Haul to transport his sling to DDM maybe he can chime in.
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I'm leaning towards the car hauler, but as I'm here working a temporary job, I have limited tools available to me. I'm going to see if @lrobbi and/or @ethermion can help me out with the tools I'd need to make the temp modifications to the car hauler. I suspect the only thing I'd really need that I don't have here is a skill saw.
Skilsaw I dunno, though I do have a nice garage for doing work. Rent is free.
Hack saw, check. Chain saw, check. Skilsaw, I might be able to borrow one. I know I can get get a Sawzall on 60 minutes notice or less - it is either in my attic or at a friends house, for which I have keys. Depends on what you wanna do. Depends on what you mean by Skilsaw, which these days is many kinds of saws - hand, circular, table...
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Depends on what you mean by Skilsaw
I was thinking a circular saw. I imagine I'd need need to cut and mount some 2x6 pieces across the back of the dolly for the rear tire to sit on. Plus I'd have to make a third ramp to get the back tire up onto the dolly. A chainsaw, sawzall, or jigsaw would work. Even a hand saw would work if necessary.
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Polaris states not to tow the sling with only the rear wheel on the ground. Maybe too much stress on it.
I did modify a U-haul trailer securing a wood platform to support the rear wheel using U bolts. Do a search and it should come up with pics. Let me know if you need more details. -
To easy @Tech_Rick I have a circular saw ... let me know if you need to borrow.
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I believe the issue with towing was the transmission would not get lubricated without the motor running.
I'm not a mechanic but I think that was the reason for the warning against towing from the front with a wheel lift.
