I am curious. Does anyone "disable" the odometer on their towed vehicle when it is being towed?
If yes, why do you do so? I've been thinking about this and realize that I would need to keep records for driving miles and for towed miles so that I would know when to perform what maintenance.
Comments? Thanks
Roz said
05:04 PM Oct 3, 2007
Greetings, My Man!
Most of the "electronic odometers" do not record the mileage with the ignition turned off. Granted, the ignition key must be in so the steering wheel is free to turn, but the odometer is not aware of the mileage.
Therefore, it depends on the type of odometer the car has as equipment.
Take care,
Charles
mcw50 said
07:52 PM Oct 3, 2007
I don't know anyone who has to disable their odometer. The mileage does not record while being towed. The mileage on our motor home is the "towed" miles and the mileage on the odometer of the car is mileage the car has actually been driven. Generally, our tires are taken care of on the total mileage, oil changes on the "towed mileage."
Mary
Karon said
06:10 AM Oct 4, 2007
We tow four down and we don't accumulate miles on the towed vehicle. Key is in accessory, hand brake off, and shift in neutral. No miles!
mikeway said
09:36 AM Oct 4, 2007
We have had 3 toads and none accumulated odometer miles. They were all 4wd so the transfer case was in neutral. In the case of the GM cars, fuses were pulled and the Jeep key is in the off but not locked position.
Mike
Jim01 said
02:19 PM Oct 5, 2007
I used to have a 1992 Nissan Pickup that we towed. It accumulated the mileage, so I went to an Office Supply store and purchased a small log book that was used for recording business miles on a private vehicle. I don't know if you can still get these books or not, but maybe you can still find them.
Every time I drove the vehicle, I would write down the starting and stopping mileage, and that way, I could keep track of the mileage for normal maintenance, such as oil changes etc.
On most vehicles, it is kind of difficult to disconnect the cable. Like was stated in previous posts, most vehicles now have electronic speedometers, and either they don't register, or you can take a fuse our if they roll up the mileage while towing.
If yes, why do you do so? I've been thinking about this and realize that I would need to keep records for driving miles and for towed miles so that I would know when to perform what maintenance.
Comments? Thanks
Mary
We tow four down and we don't accumulate miles on the towed vehicle. Key is in accessory, hand brake off, and shift in neutral. No miles!
Mike
Every time I drove the vehicle, I would write down the starting and stopping mileage, and that way, I could keep track of the mileage for normal maintenance, such as oil changes etc.
On most vehicles, it is kind of difficult to disconnect the cable. Like was stated in previous posts, most vehicles now have electronic speedometers, and either they don't register, or you can take a fuse our if they roll up the mileage while towing.
-- Edited by Jim01 at 15:21, 2007-10-05