towing my mav

So finally I will go "home" and pick up my car and bring it to my "adoptive home."
However, here is my next challenge.
Because of economic reasons I can not haul it on a trailer or tow dolly because of the expense of having to buy one and the extra tollway expense ( and believe me Mexican tollways are very, expensive)
I have a bumper tow bar ( the kind u-haul sells) but I do not believe it could be bolted on the small, thin bumper on my mav besides of the fact that it could be dangerous.
Has anyone had to deal with this issue? and if so, how did you handle it?
Thanx a bunch for your input guys!

 

Rather than BUY a Tow Dolly why can't you RENT one?

How far do you have to tow the vehicle?

I towed a jeep with one of those bumper tow bars a couple years ago and I just stopped once or twice and checked to make sure everything was tight. I would gues I towed that Jeep about 15 - 20 miles and it towed really well with the bumper tow bar. The towbar I used was similar to this

 

A friend of mine recently towed a car over 200 miles on one of those tow bars in the pic above. Really a pretty good way to go. But I can't think of how to to attach that to the front of a small bumper Mav...

 

Well, for one thing there is not a single company rents equipment to be used in Mexico and Mexico does not have a company where I can rent a tow dolly and return it in the USA.
I need to tow for almost 1500 miles so I need to think of a way of doing this safely and costwise.

 

Hm... If I were facing this problem, would either rent a dolly locally and forget to mention it's going to Mexico, then return it where I got it, or I would try to borrow/rent a tow rig of some kind from a friend. Maybe even buy a used tow dolly... Have you tried your local Craigslist? Maybe somebody will let you borrow something for a deposit, or sell you one cheap?

 

Find a friend with a big trailor thats what i do.

 

I rented a uhaul car trailer to pick mine up. Actually rented it twice to pick it up just for practice. Thats another story. Didnt tell them I was crossing into the US from Canada. Border guys never said anything. Just had to pay for the extra axles crossing the bridge. What a ripp off.
The rental is very fussy though. Have to give the tow vehicle info and the cargo info. Then they tell you if you can rent it or not. Turns out a Maverick doesnt fit according to the software they use so they denied the rental. The Maverick then turned into a 2001 Sebring and the trailer was rented. Of course the Mav fit fine on the trailer. Thats the government regs for ya. They probably have no idea what a Maverick is so they just say no.

 

DON'T attach a tow bar to the Mav bumper and tow it 1500 miles. You'd be VERY lucky if the bumper bolts didn't work thru the bumper. I towed mine with a $50 tow bar from Harbor Freight. But I removed the bumper brackets and bolted the tow bar to the sub frame where the bumper brackets had been.

 

There ya go.

 

These posts are exactly what I was thinking as well. There is absolutely no way the small front bumper and brackets are strong enough to tow the car by. You will totally destroy the front of the car like that, and that is if you don't totally destroy the whole car when it all comes apart and the car takes off without you...

I see used to dollys all the time on craigslist around here for $200-$500. Just buy or rent one.

 

I just towed mine with no probs, I just put a wood 4x4 under the bumper and chained her up, towed it 200 miles on interstate stopped 2 times to make sure it didn't loosen and all was well

 

Well I once used a rope to tow a non-running Firebird behind a non-braking Firebird, about 180 miles from Biloxi, MS to Jackson. I don't suggest that though. You really have to be about 20 years old and still have a little reefer in your system from the night before to pull that off. Funny thing is, the car in front didn't have an accurate speedometer, so the driver no idea how fast we were going. I, in the rear, did have a working speedometer. If we'd had working cell phones I might have informed my friend we were doing 90 most of the way. Oh, and the towed car was on two donuts.

 

It ain't safe to tow a small bumper Mav by the bumper. A good jolt could rip it loose and someone could get killed.

 

:bananamanOK guys,
Much to my relief and that of some of a few board members I have found a tow dolly in the Memphis area for a reasonable 400 dollars.
I gues I will be towing my mav in a proper and safe way and then I will turn arround and sell it for at least what I bought it for.
Now it is gonna get picked up, dissasambled, loaded and on to Mexico Amigoooooooooos!!
Lucky me!!!!dance:

 

Excelente

Have a safe trip, and post some pics of your Mexican Maverick!