Thursday, May 1, 2014

Towing the Honda home....

When I arrived at the Wichita airport, I had thought about pulling the CRV with the Jeep for the entire day and had worked myself up into some worry that things wouldn't work out right.....

Why do we do that in our mind...?

Mainly what I was worried about was airport security...  Would they actually let me hook things together along the road way...?  There is a cell phone parking lot along the air freight building that is head in angled parking...

So as I arrived, I parked there and sat in the car for a while just to see if anyone was checking on things....   The sign clearly was marked no unattended vehicles...

No one seemed to pay any attention to me, and there were only a couple more folks in the lot...  So I abruptly got out of the Jeep and walked away...  It was only about a block over to the dead storage lot and I walked there quickly....

The lot has no attendant, only a machine that you put your parking card in an then your credit card....  If it doesn't go thru for some reason, the gate won't open...  But I got out without a hitch...

So then I parked the Honda next to the Jeep...  Still no one checking the lot for unattended vehicles...  Security did drive thru but went right past without even a look see....

Since they had just gone by, I jumped out and installed the tow bar from the Honda on the back of the Jeep...  Then I pulled the Jeep out crossways to the parking stalls...    It took me a couple of tries, but eventually the Honda was lined up and the pins were in the tow bar arms...  Still no security people...

After hooking up the safety cables and the light wires, I put the car in neutral and killed the engine... I always check for certain that the key lock  on the steering column is not locked and that the wheels are free to turn from side to side...

I have read stories about folks that have left their cars in gear, forcing the engine to run even though it isn't turned on....  Or dragging the steering around corners when the wheel is locked in the straight position...  Both of these mistakes are costly in repairs...

I had to pull the car thru the departure lane in front of the airport terminal because the short cut thru the parking lot was blocked off with construction... But this allowed me to watch the front tires as they turned to follow the Jeep...  You can't see that happening when its behind the motorhome...

I went directly thru downtown Wichita on US 54...  I was going slow trying to get the feel of this lash up....  It wasn't the best...

I got onto the turnpike for KC, but only drove the 40 mph minimum for a while as the wind was blowing me all over the place...  Eventually I settled on 55 with the cruise control...

The Honda weighs 3400 pounds, and the Jeep about 4200.... And the Jeep isn't enough heavier that it pulls the car very well...  And with the wind whipping the Honda around in 40 MPH gusts, I had my hands full...  It didn't make for a pleasant driving experience.... The Jeeps new pentistar engine had no trouble with power, and never slowed down any on the hills....

I had to be really careful not to fish tail the car as it would oscillate back and forth with the play in the tow bar...   With the motorhome the car has no choice but to follow, as it doesn't effect the steering of the motorhome...  But it did sway the back end of the Jeep...  It was a long 200 miles back to the house in Overland Park...

And as I arrived here, we were having a torrential rain squall.    We got an inch and a half of rain in less than half an hour...

Needless to say, I sat in somewhat of a stupor as I enjoyed my recliner for the rest of the evening........

10 comments:

  1. You Have Big Balls Sir.

    Glad it all turned out well.

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  2. So glad you are home with both cars. Enjoying the recliner would be a good thing to do after that kind of day.

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  3. I've enjoyed your travel story Rod from my recliner here in Arkansas City... As a regular driver in Wichita, I can't imagine how many impatient drivers honked at you! That's the first thing we always notice when we come from a trip anyplace! They're the most rude! But you made it through the Flint Hills so good for you!!! What a trip you had! Rest up dude! You deserve it!

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  4. My recliner always stuporizes me.......

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  5. And a stupor you well deserved!!! I am one of those that left the pick-up in gear while towing.... stupid, stupid, stupid, one of the things that made me doubt my abilities :) It was totaled..... had to start over the search for a tow!!

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  6. Relax in your recliner - you DESERVE it! :-)

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  7. THANK GOD YOU ARE HOME !!!!!!!

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  8. Glad to hear you are home safe and sound! We know people who have actually done both those things--one pulled his car in park behind the motorhome so far the rubber came off ALL FOUR tires!! The other friends drove their Saturn in gear destroying the engine. The little 1959 VW we have has a replaced engine as the elderly friends who gave it to us did the same thing--pulled it behind their motorhome in gear, destroying the original engine. I always walk beside the jeep as Mike pulls forward with the motorhome, making sure the tires and steering wheel turn. Hope you have lots of fun with the jeep this summer--maybe you will get out and do some of that extreme jeeping we saw in Moab!! :))

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  9. Glad you made it home safe and sound, Rod, and the vehicles too from the sounds of it. All around this trip has been a pretty harrowing experience. Time to rest up in that recliner for a few days.

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  10. Good job, Rod! Now you can relax.

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