Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

I have two female tow hitches (the ones that go over the tow ball).

Can I join them by square tubing so that I can tow a broken down vehicle by just hooking it's tow hitch?

My concerns are

Steering geometry?
diff and gearbox running in reverse for extended periods of time?
are those female couplings strong enough to handle the load?
legal matters regarding weight of towed vehicle and towing vehicle?

The couplings should be adequate.

I presume you imply that the towed vehicle will be towed 'backwards'?

I foreseee a few problems.

• Steering. Rear wheel steering (the towed vehicle will be towed in 'wrong' direction) is very dodgy at best. There is no self-centering and the towed vehicle will tend to 'crab' to one side.
• (as you said) the diff gears are cut to transfer power more effectively in one direction. Even though the forced when being towed are minimal and there are records for driving very far in revers, but I would not try it.

Un-manned towing can be done safely with an A-frame or a dolly

I was thinking about locking the steering wheel of the towed vehicle in a straight position.

I agree that this is not a long distance solution but I was hoping that this could work for short distances - say less than 10km.

I'm just unsure whether the diff would sort out the turning of the wheels (front and back) without making the wheels bite too much on the tarmac as they are not steering but can turn at different speeds.

Locking the wheels in a straight position is a sure way to disaster - forwards or backwards!

I also feel it is dangerous but can't quite workout why?

What is different to this trailer setup with four wheels locked in a straight position setup?

4ePikanini wrote:I also feel it is dangerous but can't quite workout why?

What is different to this trailer setup with four wheels locked in a straight position setup?

The difference is the solid hitch (only one hinged connection), which forces the trailer to follow the towing vehicle.
With a tow 'bar', the hitch has two hinged connections, allowing the 'trailer' to run in a different path than the 'horse'.

aha. That makes sense.

I'll scrap that idea then.

Wise move Pikanini

Like they say there is no university for experience Rather get someone to drive the rear vehicle and use the link as a draw bar with a hitch on the one side and a length of chain that can be secured to the towed vehicle, this would eliminate the need for brakes on the second vehicle. You can tow a vehicle safer without brakes