Towing a Spartan chassis RV with independent suspension

[dansawyer]

I recently had a road side failure. A tow truck showed up and I was informed he couldn't tow the RV because it had independent front suspension.

(I was able to cobble a patch and drive 5 miles to where a repair could be made.)

For future referance what is the correct / required method tow a Spartan IFS RV?

Can these be towed by lifting the front end with the fork lift mechanism or must they be towed on a flat bed?

(I am doing PM like crazy but with a 20 year old rig a tow is likely somewhere in the future. )

Thanks, Dan

[David 70]

I had my Workhorse with independent suspension towed. The operator used a wheel lift like you see the tow trucks use on cars. It all went well.

[Lt Dan]

Agree with the tow truck driver. They can not put lift forks under the independent front suspension. They have to use wheel cradles like DavidSawyer said. You're not supposed to put a jack under the A frames either.

[Ray,IN]

That tow truck driver was full of it; in 2020 Camping World ERS had my MH towed 60 miles to Cummins Great Plains. Since I was in a small RV park, they sent a 2T small wrecker to lift my IFS Spartan Chassis and tow it out of the park to the highway. There the big Dual-tandem wrecker picked up the front with standard forks under the front tires, attached a compressed air line between the wrecker and my MH and away we went, without any issues along the way.


LT Dan, my Spartan chassis manual states to only jack under the center of the IFS suspension where the tow hook is welded to the Reyco-Granning IFS1200.

[Lt Dan]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

LT Dan, my Spartan chassis manual states to only jack under the center of the IFS suspension where the tow hook is welded to the Reyco-Granning IFS1200.

Interesting, my Power Glide IFS just says do not put jacks under the A frames. When I had new tires the installer was careful to put the jack under the spindle end next to the tire. I didn't know about putting a jack under the center as ours doesn't have a tow hook.

[MRUSA14]

See this document for procedure to tow a Spartan Chassis Entegra Coach. This information should be basically valid for all Spartan chassis coaches.

[dansawyer]

Thank you all. This is helpful advice. I will read the instructions. It is valuable to read the vehicle can be supported by the IFS frame that attaches to the main frame. I have never seen a tow hook, I will recheck to see if I can identify it.

[Rob_M]

Originally Posted by dansawyer

I recently had a road side failure. A tow truck showed up and I was informed he couldn't tow the RV because it had independent front suspension.

(I was able to cobble a patch and drive 5 miles to where a repair could be made.)

For future referance what is the correct / required method tow a Spartan IFS RV?

Can these be towed by lifting the front end with the fork lift mechanism or must they be towed on a flat bed?

(I am doing PM like crazy but with a 20 year old rig a tow is likely somewhere in the future. )

Thanks, Dan

I’m not sure a well maintained 20 year old diesel rig is more likely to need a tow than the new stuff out there. More failures are due to emissions systems malfunctions/failures.

[RVingNow]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

There the big Dual-tandem wrecker picked up the front with standard forks under the front tires, attached a compressed air line between the wrecker and my MH and away we went, without any issues along the way.

What about the driveshaft? When my ifs1050 was towed the front wheels were lifted, air was connected, and the driveshaft was dropped.

[AFChap]

Tow truck info I culled from the manual for my 2002 Spartan MM is: Overall length 40'; Total rig weight 32,000 lb; Front Axle weight 12,000 lb; Independent Front Suspension; Reach Back distance (to center of wheels) 6 1/2 ft; Requires triple stage wheel lift; Must disconnect drive shaft; Air bag suspension, wrecker must supply air to suspension. I have not seen a tow hook on mine.

[FormerBoater]

Have been towed twice in 14 years of ownership.


A skilled tow truck operator will want to know if you have IFS. Once the operator is aware (if knowledgeable) they will bring what they need to tow your rig in the appropriate manner.


Wheel lift was the technique on both occasions.


Both times the operator removed the axle rather than the driveshaft . The second operator (who was an absolute expert) even had a special bag to put the axle in to eliminate the possibility of any damage or contamination to the axle itself.


The wrecker provided the air for the suspension by connecting to the aux port in the driver side front compartment.



No damage to the coach on both occasions .

[Rob_M]

Originally Posted by FormerBoater

Have been towed twice in 14 years of ownership.


A skilled tow truck operator will want to know if you have IFS. Once the operator is aware (if knowledgeable) they will bring what they need to tow your rig in the appropriate manner.


Both times the operator removed the axle rather than the driveshaft . The second operator (who was an absolute expert) even had a special bag to put the axle in to eliminate the possibility of any damage or contamination to the axle itself.


No damage to the coach on both occasions .

Axles.

Did he cap off the hubs? Or stuff rags in them? Pulling axles is definitely the easiest.

[FormerBoater]

Originally Posted by Rob_M

Axles.

Did he cap off the hubs? Or stuff rags in them? Pulling axles is definitely the easiest.

On both occasions rags were stuffed to minimize the loss of gear oil. Took less than a quart to top off.


Both tows were short in distance and duration.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by RVingNow

What about the driveshaft? When my ifs1050 was towed the front wheels were lifted, air was connected, and the driveshaft was dropped.

Of course; i skipped that part because it is SOP, and my fingers were stiff due to arthritis. The drastic weather change here hit my 80 yr old body hard.