Left my TOAD running while towing it today

[gmacklem]

My wife and I pulled out of Charleston, SC this morning with our Honda CR-V in tow. We flat tow it. We drove about an hour and fifteen minutes and hit a rest stop. Sounded like the car was running and sure enough it was. We had it in neutral, parking break off but engine on. Doesn't seem to have hurt it though, it is driving fine now. Crazy thing is, neither of us heard it after I finished hooking it up and my wife stayed out for the light check and to make sure wheels were rolling fine. We must take more time in the future to make sure things are done right.

[BandJCarm]

Fellow I know parked his car in covered garage, got in car with friends, drove to football game, came back after game and it was running......lol

[waiter21]

I've hears of people who have done this intentionally when they flat tow an automatic that is not supposed to be flat towed.

[grumpy0374]

I keep two seperate lists printed on some large labels stuck on the drivers side sunvisor visible when it's down, which I place it in everytime I get out of the cab.
One list for the Lexi to remind me to check slides, antenna, steps, hoses, electric line, hatches closed and locked, ect, ect.
One list for the Subi listing
Ignition to acc position
Emergency Brake Off
Tranny in Neutral
RVI2 System set up
Tow Bars, Brakeway Cable, Safety Cables, Pins, all hooked up.

Just to remind me to double check everything before hitting the road.
It works. Trip a month ago, better half ran the Subi up to the Lexi where I hooked it up. She hooked up brake system and ready to go. I just did a quick check of my list and found she had mistkenly put the emergency brake on. Had I not checked, could have done a bit of damage, but I caught it. She was a bit red faced, but it was one of those "brain fart" moments.
Grumpy

[rracer5]

Walked into the garage one day and the old 95 Toyota Camry was running! The keys were hanging on the key hook. Just to let you know, the car does have a 3rd party remote start system that is about 15 years old. We don't know how it started.......that time!

Another time I walked into the garage (winter) with socks on. I bent over next to the car to pick something up and my foot raised up, touched the car & got a static electricity "zap".........the car started!!!

Thank goodness it shuts off automatically after 10 minutes!

[poppytoymaker]

When I first got my Hyundai Genisis I went to a restaurant came out about an hour and a half later and my car was running. Darn push button start and stop has to read goodbye and then it's off, like the key system better.

[smo99]

Been there. Done that. Worse, the darn thing locked the doors once we got moving! After a mad search for the spare set of keys in the RV, all was set right. The one penalty is that the odometer does document your error! :-)

[Dc8mdtmech]

Late last year dw and I left our GPS on the dash of our 09 Element to which while in tow it vibrated off and while falling to the ground it hit the gear shift with enough force it shifted to drive. When I found the situation, my heart sunk and transmission rebuild dollars danced in my head. I selected park, started the Element shifted thru the gears and all was just fine. Don't understand why but I think the solenoids didn't have power to shift because of key position. The all wheel drive Element and CRV are mechanically identical.

[Kadiddle]

If the OP was using a toad braking system such as a brake buddy or blue ox apollo, there could have been screeching if the system engaged with full vacuum pressure. Those systems are designed for no vacuum. Not mentioned so I assume that didn't happen but this is a drawback of having a toad running. I'm pleased to hear that there were no issues with the power steering - was always curious about that.

One time, just one time in over 50,000 miles of towing, I forgot to bleed the vacuum,
had an emergency stop, locked up all four toad tires, saw the toad swinging out in my mirrors, and needed four new tires when we got home. Didn't blow but were not round anymore......

[gmacklem]

Originally Posted by Kadiddle

If the OP was using a toad braking system such as a brake buddy or blue ox apollo, there could have been screeching if the system engaged with full vacuum pressure. Those systems are designed for no vacuum.

I use Blue Ox Patriot and didn't notice any odd behavior while braking. They are made to work without the power brakes being active and I had not thought about that aspect. So far the car seems fine so I will count my blessings this time.

[pmsherman]

My Invisibrake system uses partial vacuum pressure in the toad for braking. If there's full vacuum, the braking system will not apply the brakes. The actuator uses compressed air pulled from the car's vacuum system. At full vacuum, there's not enough air to actuate the brakes.

Phil