Eagles International Forum

I've never had to do it, but if she dies on the road, what should a guy watch for? I know about releasing the axle, but how do we protect the front end? I thought it would be good to have a solid guideline here in the technical archive.

David

As far as protecting the front, I'd use the tow hook behind the Eagle emblem.

It's not really a tow hook. It is for a bar. The tow truck may not have one. If they do, that should prevent the front of the bus from contacting anything.

They'd probably just lift the front. I'd have problems with that, I think unless they lifted it from the tires. Most buses probably don't have the rear bumper clearance for that.

The best way is to lowboy the bus. Not cheap but a lot less chance of tearing something up.

Yes. I wouldn't consider trying to lift it from there.

I would use it to flat tow. If the coach needed to be extracted or moved, That's where I would connect. Certain knuckleheads would just wrap a chain around anything they could find underneath.

It happened to me, Door doesn't quite close as tightly as before.

We had to be towed once.
The big rig tow truck placed the life under the tires (cradled by bars front and behind) and lifted the entire front of the bus. No problem with rear clearance.
The drive axles were removed. They had caps to cover the housing/axle holes to prevent oil leakage.
They connected their truck air to the air line behind the Eagle emblem on the front.
We went over a hundred miles this way with no problems.
The big thing I can advise, is make sure you get a well qualified tow service and driver.

Unfortunately, I have more experience here that I care to admit.

Kevin, I used to carry a homemade tow bar that I could use to drag the bus a short distance. The biggest issues involved with that process is that it relies on a good frame structure in the front of the bus and that is an area that is often compromised by leaking windshields. Also, the bus needs to have a driver to steer as it is being pulled. It also assumes the brakes can be aired up or caged. If the engine does not run, steering might be a challenge.

Most folks say that a landroll (sp?) trailer is the way to go. However, most Eagles have a roof raise and that could dictate expensive oversize permits.

Like Bill, our experience(s) have been with tow trucks qualified to tow semis. However, most of those are equipped to lift a semi with a straight front axle. As Bill says, you want one that can lift the wheels.

On our last tow, we discovered that some of the big tow trucks do not have enough reach to get to the front wheels. After the first truck had to give up, we asked the tow insurance company to connect us with the company who would tow the bus. Once I gave them the details, they sent the correct equipment.

Jim

The last time I parked mine I got too far off the side of our caliche road and now one side is sunk down near the axle. There is a culvert and no outlet immediately in front of it, so it needs to come backwards. I’ve tried pulling both ways with a backhoe and trucks with winches (drug both). Pulled from the front center tow point and the rear edges of the tow bar.

Now we’re going to get a semi based tow truck out there to pull in it. In the meantime, I’ve somehow lost my reverse, so it’s just dead weight. The plan is to tow it out to the road, and drive it forward to the local service center.

What is the best way to pull from behind? Chain around something? If so, what?

DavidO, you have a challenge.

I would not try, under any circumstances, to lift the back of the bus with a wrecker. The whole engine support structure was designed for the downward load of the engine (vertical members in tension) and I suspect that trying to lift from that framework (vertical members in compression) is just not a good idea. Couple that with the typical rust issues with the support tubing (recall they rust from the inside out and the damage is not easy to detect) and lifting just does not seem like a good idea.

Pulling from the rear should be fairly safe. I would chain on to the cross member right behind the rear wheels. This is the member that one end of the Torsilastic mounts to. I would hook onto both sides to spread the load. Be sure that there is a straight pull and not a jerking motion.

It would be best to dig a ramp in the dirt. The best possible scenario would be to jack up the axle a bit and then crib the hole left by the wheel.

Jim

beltguy wrote:DavidO, you have a challenge.

I would not try, under any circumstances, to lift the back of the bus with a wrecker. The whole engine support structure was designed for the downward load of the engine (vertical members in tension) and I suspect that trying to lift from that framework (vertical members in compression) is just not a good idea. Couple that with the typical rust issues with the support tubing (recall they rust from the inside out and the damage is not easy to detect) and lifting just does not seem like a good idea.

Pulling from the rear should be fairly safe. I would chain on to the cross member right behind the rear wheels. This is the member that one end of the Torsilastic mounts to. I would hook onto both sides to spread the load. Be sure that there is a straight pull and not a jerking motion.

It would be best to dig a ramp in the dirt. The best possible scenario would be to jack up the axle a bit and then crib the hole left by the wheel.

Jim

Jim, I was thinking along the same lines you were. However I was thinking hook on the rear axle,(both sides, right by the torsilastic,) because the rear axle is hooked to the bus in three places.
Yes, try to make a ramp if possible, it takes a tremendous force to pull an axle straight up out of a hole. You mention a backhoe, that will make things easier... Overall, tow truck operators are usually very good at what they do, but I doubt many know anything about an eagle frame.

Good luck!


Mason