We towed the Cabrio up the Door penninsula between Michigan and Wisconsin this last week. Towed just fine... but DID need the bungee as usual.
Boy, that little bugger sure gets dirty back there in the wake instead of inside in the back of the coach. On the other hand.... hooking up the toad is actually probably a bit easier than loading up in the garage and doing all the tie-down stuff. Pulling the car is no problem at all but then ya have to unhook the car to get this size coach through most CG/ resort type places.
Not a big deal. Just different.
We get a lot of comments about the Cabrio looking even more tiny than usual when hooked up to the Tiffin tag-axle coach. Looks like a bumper sticker back there....
We could tow just about any vehicle or trailer imaginable with this coach, but the wife still likes the Smart and so far wants to keep it.
Does the shaking problem occur with all towbars or is there one that it happens more often with? I have a Roadmaster towbar and I have not experienced any problems yet. I think just in case I will keep a bungy cord handy.
I use a Blue Ox and haven't experienced any of this.
Could it be:
1. Those with the electric power steering option?
2. Short RVs with small turning radius?
Though I don't have the problem with mine, I'm very curious to why some have trouble and others don't. Even the guy who did my install had the bungees ready just in case.
I use a Blue Ox and haven't experienced any of this.
Could it be:
1. Those with the electric power steering option?
Nope - I don't have power steering, and experience the steering issue.
Quote:
2. Short RVs with small turning radius?
My RV is a Bounder 35E - it measures about 36 feet bumper to bumper, but does have a fairly short turning radius due to the steering geometry of the Workhorse chassis - I can make a U-turn in a surprisingly small area.
Quote:
Though I don't have the problem with mine, I'm very curious to why some have trouble and others don't. Even the guy who did my install had the bungees ready just in case.
I think it has to do with the rear overhang on the motorhome. In my case I only experienced the issue every so often, but when I put on a 10" extension on my hitch receiver the issue was much more pronounced. Using bungee cords solved it completely.
I have towed my smart cabrio behind my MH, using the Roadmaster Falscon 2 towbar and their "invisible" tow brackets. They are very clever, being virually unnoticeable when not towing.
I have religiously followed the procedure laid down in the 2009 manual ever since my 2008 cabrio received its upgraded chip and larger battery. I have pasted a copy of the procedures, simple as they are, on the sun visor and actually read and follow them every time we tow, much like a pilot doing his safety checks before each flight.
However, on Thursday, Sept 3, one mile beyond the halfway point at Barstow on a journey from San Diego to Las Vegas, I was waved down by a trucker and found the car full of smoke, with oil or transmission fluid covering the whole back. A call to 1 800 smart usa resulted in a tow truck picking up the car and I proceeded with my journey.
I will post the rest of this upsetting tale tomorrow
Maybe it was acidentally left in gear.
There may be a problem related to disconnecting the battery in this regard as I mentioned once before. With the battery disconnected, how do you know what position the gearshift lever is actually in? With the battery on, the shift position is lighted. You can also not only verify that it is in neutral but if the dash display goes out that is also a verification that the key has been turned off. I use those two simple displays to determine that everything is good to go. With the battery disconnected, you do not have those verifications.
We've towed our smart behind the motorhome for over 10,000 miles now with no problem. Others have done the same.
It will be interesting to hear the cause of this unfortunate incident.
OK. Suspicion that the car had been left in gear was exactly what I was expecting, hence my elaborate description of the procedure carefully followed before towing. The car WAS in gear when I stopped, but had NOT been when we started.
As you know, there are no "gates" to negotiate. The gear lever movement is a straight line with little perceivable resistance when changing gears under normaI conditions. I believe that any detente which exists when the battery is connected is disabled with the cutoff switch installed. This allowed the car to move into gear, probably when negotiating a severe bump. Something that had never happened during the thousands of miles of being towed with the battery connected.
My major beef is with the smart organization, the car has been with the dealer now for 13 days. On at least 3 occasions in the first week, I was asked the same questions by him "to complete paperwork" concerning the sequence of events. Not only has no work been performed, the service manager states that he can get no response from smart HQ.
lewisb, I will be interested in when and how this is resolved, since you and I both tow our 2008 Smarts (although I never installed a battery cut-off) and we share the same Smart Center.
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