Towing '06 Colorado

Just bought a new Chev. Colorado 4WD pickup. Owner's Manual towing instructions okay towing with Xfer case in neutral, tranny in 1st or Park. Also says " Turn ignition switch to LOCK". Several sources I have contacted (Customer Care and Service Dept.) will only say "that's what it says in the manual, do it." One dyslexic expert said you need to disconnect the battery and then it will steer. Another said LOCK only locks the steering wheel and not the wheels. Can anyone enlighten me on why this is okay and why it won't ruin the front tires, stress the steering and ruin the alignment?

Brian
'94 Liberty XL

Jon:

You wanna have a run on this one?

Heh, heh.

Brian,

We are towing a '06 Hummer H3 and I think it is built on the same body as your truck. Once we switch the transfer case to neutral, we remove the key and lock the doors. The steering column does not lock and the tires move as they are supposed to. It would be easy for you to confirm this empirically with a lift or jack.

As a matter of fact, I made the Hummer dealer shift the thing into neutral and push it around the parking lot before I bought it.

And Brian,

Welcome to the POG forum. Post often. Ask lots of questions so we can keep Jon off the street. He is unemployed and needs the mental exercise that comes from seeking obscure answers to hideous questions.

There are already several threads that will help you sort out the carpet baggers from the good guys on this site. :)

The only thing I can say is that both vehicles I tow (and H2 Hummer and a Dodge Ram 1500) say explicitly that towing is OK and they describe in detail how to do it. Ditto with my previous two cars.

I don't trust anybody's word on that issue because the downside risk is too high.

Jerry & Jon,

Thanks for your comments and welcome. You guys are okay even if you fly nose-draggers. Finally got info from Chevrolet that the key has to be in the lock position but cannot be removed in order to keep wheels unlocked. Very poor instructions in the owner's manual. Over all I think auto mfgs do a poor job of explaining towability and tow procedures. Would really have enjoyed the rally, maybe next time. :)

Jon,

He must be talking about your plane(s) as mine is elegantly proportioned and yours just look like "nose draggers".

Brian,

Now Lew will likely whack us for this, but what kind of plane do you fly?

With reluctance I confess being owned by a C-185 and another airplane that is WAY too much fun..a Bucker Jungmann. Argueably the only good thing that came out of the Luftwaffe. However, am pretty sure this kind of talk is asking for trouble around here. Will be in Albuquerque though and maybe the airheads can meet in the men's room.:cool:

Brian
'94 Liberty XL

We can talk planes anywhere we want on this forum. In fact the more we spread airplane talk around, the higher Lew's blood pressure.

Now for the question: Why is it that plane owners with weird planes think theirs is the best. For example, we have guys with their tails on backwards, their tails shaped like a vee, guys with their nose wheel on the back, etc.

Think about this. All of these aircraft have these unusual rear ends, and they give me the "anal award"?

Jon,

Have flown way too many airplanes to claim that any is best or even better. For me anyway, the trick is to explore the most enjoyable characteristics of anything I am lucky enough to fly. Your 210 for example, is in my opinion the perfect combination of speed (both ends), instrument stability and dead stick survivability of anything available. Our V tail friends can boast speed and a well crafted airframe. Too bad they make the folks in the back seat airsick.:)

Brian
'94Liberty XL

The guy in the next hanger has a 185. Very sweet bird and he completely tore it apart and rebuilt every piece. The panel is outstanding and with the new paint and interior, it was as nice as any of them we saw at OSH.

We only make Cessna pilots ride in the back of our V35 :eek:

All kidding aside, we tried out a Malibu about 15 years ago. We had the P210 for about five years at the time and the Malibu looked appealing. It was an IFR day and despite a climb to 17,000 we couldn't get out of the crud. All the time my wife was in the rear seat and she couldn't hear the conversations.

When we got back to the airport we got the purchase price info and as we departed in our plane she asked how i liked it. I felt uncomfortable in it because on that plane it felt like I was flying a 172 with very light controls. I was used to the truck like feel of the P210. I said we would not be getting one. She was VERY happy because she said she was getting sick from the yaw in the back. She sits in the back in the 210 when we go with others and never feels the yaw, but in the Malibu it was so severe she was getting sick.

Hey Lew...Plane talk.:D

Jon

I prefer Plain talk.