Fun to Drive Tow Vehicle?

WilberM3 wrote:

I really can't imagine that being great to tow even if it does work.

Would you recommend a TBSS...you know, since you still have one for sale?! Someone buy Wilber's TBSS...it is one of the few that honestly hasn't been beaten on.

90's Buick roadmaster with a few suspension upgrades. Save yourself the swap

BMW X5 tows 5,000 lbs or more and is one of the most fun SUVs to drive everyday.

sanman wrote: 90's Buick roadmaster with a few suspension upgrades. Save yourself the swap

I'd say 86-91 crown vic/country squire wagon with 5.0L HO swap. Cheap and easy to make it handle, go and stop. Tows well. 4x8 sheet of plywood fits in the cargo area-with the tailgate closed.

LT1 caprice/roadmaster would be good too.

Trucks are designed to ....tow. Towing a trailer is no joke. A Festiva with a hitch may actually pull 5,000 pounds but things could get mighty squirrley when asked to do something difficult. Like stopping or turning or not melting on the side of the road somewhere. A 1500 will take care of your single car trailer bidness and a 2500 will handle it like it wasn't there.

To tow you need giant brakes, a decent amount of heft, reasonable power, and a fairly stiff suspension. If you are towing a lightweight car on a lightweight trailer (aluminum), a GT car with stiffer suspension will be fine. The European market tows with big BMW's, Mercs, Volvos, etc... all the time. The issue you run into in the US is finding a decent trailer hitch and the liability if you rig something up and things go south. For those who are about to blast me for suggesting you tow with something that doesn't weigh 7000lbs I ask you to consider this: that same 7000lb truck can be certified to tow 3-4 times its rated tow capacity if you just take a test and maybe upgrade the springs. Basically the driver plays almost as big a part as the vehicle.

Edit: I forgot to mention a fairly long wheelbase as a plus when selecting a tow vehicle.

I've been thinking of towing with a 2002 Audi Allroad. It is rated to tow 3100lbs in the US but 4500lbs in Europe. It looks like I can get an aluminum trailer with electric brakes that's 1200lbs + the 2800lbs rally car would make 4000lbs. I'm sure it's not perfect for regular use but I would only need it a couple of times a year.

Allroads are not very reliable but they sure do depreciate: 6-8k for a good one around here. As far as fun goes just put the adjustable air suspension in lowest setting and it's almost a sports car.

madpanda wrote: I've been thinking of towing with a 2002 Audi Allroad. It is rated to tow 3100lbs in the US but 4500lbs in Europe. It looks like I can get an aluminum trailer with electric brakes that's 1200lbs + the 2800lbs rally car would make 4000lbs. I'm sure it's not perfect for regular use but I would only need it a couple of times a year. Allroads are not very reliable but they sure do depreciate: 6-8k for a good one around here. As far as fun goes just put the adjustable air suspension in lowest setting and it's almost a sports car.

Ya you and I are thinking alike. So do you have any info on the 1200lbs trailer? What brand and cost? Okay so have we been over why the Euro ratings are higher? Is it the driver training and speeds?

madpanda wrote: Allroads are not very reliable but they sure do depreciate:

With good reason, IIRC not too many of those air suspension parts are available except from Audi, never mind the 2.7TT and its appetite for maintenance (none of it easy)..when I worked in the service dept at a Audi dealer I was shocked at parts prices, and that people actually paid the absurd prices to fix them-maybe I am missing something having never really driven one-just make sure your roadside assistance can tow a car that is already towing a car

and this thread is relevant to my interest- I was just cruising c-list for a caprice/roadmaster wagon myself

snipes wrote: Ya you and I are thinking alike. So do you have any info on the 1200lbs trailer? What brand and cost? Okay so have we been over why the Euro ratings are higher? Is it the driver training and speeds?

Corrrection to my earlier post: apparently the Allroad is rated for 3300lbs in US and 4600lbs in Europe.

For trailers I originally got the weight estimate from these guys called Aluma I found by random googling. I don't know if they are any good and I'm not sure about their prices since they ask you to contact a dealer.

I just noticed that in the recent SCCA magazine there is an article on trailers that recommends Trailex. These are even lighter at 845lbs for a trailer that will carry 4100lbs. But it's 6k...

As far as Euro ratings, I've been googling around trying to figure out what the difference is and can't find anything. My best guess is that it has to do with American lawyers but then again that's true for almost any question about differences between US and the rest of the world.

At vdubinsd: You are totally right, the Audi I'm thinking about using is my father's. He paid only 6k for it 2 years ago but he has had to spend about 3k on repairs since then. So you do have to budget for that...

What about a Dodge Srt-10 truck they have a 7.5k towing capacity

saw a late model ('91?) Full Size Wagoneer with an LSX swapped in for sale awhile back. I don't think they were asking much dough either

My suggestion from real experience would be a 1 ton van. I had a Chevy 3500 van that pulled a '72 Camaro on a U-Haul trailer like it wasn't there. OK, no mountains were involved, but that truck was a beast. And you have secure storage and room for a Queen size bed. I kept that truck as a work vehicle until the 350 puked. My SIL gave me a really good 350, so I did a driveway engine swap and quickly found that the "New" engine blew out oil in sealed quart cans. Argghh.

alfadriver wrote: Buddy of mine used to tow his ~3000 package with a V8 Mustang. Now he has the S60 to do the same thing. Never seemed to complain about it much. Pretty funny to see a car that small tow. But it worked, and he never had a failure.

I have done a lot of towing with my Dodge Dynasty. It's smaller than a mustang or an S60. I only tow with a dolley or a tow bar, but i've had a little over 4000lbs behind it and it felt acceptable. Certainly not GREAT. It's mostly the brakes that keep it from being great because the stability is fantastic, better than the 22-ft long dakota i also tow with.

But, i think it is only acceptable because of the mods i have done.. 4 wheel brake upgrades, stiffer springs, stiffer tires, etc. Stuff an s60 or a mustang would already have.

And if one is considering full size vans i'd recommend against the super-long versions that have a lot of distance between the rear tires and the hitch. Thats a recipe for instability.

a friend of mine had a mid 90's extended cab, longbed, turbodeisel 3500 dually chevy. 2wd, lowered 4/6. we had a goosneck with that thing, and pulled something almost every weekend, even an enclosed 2 car trailer. he had helper bags on the back, and some upgraded brake stuff, like better pads, stainless lines, etc. nothing major. he also had some of the diesel mods done like a chip, exhaust, etc.

the thing was a rocket when unloaded, comfortable, cool looking, great towing, and was actually pretty fun to drive due to the handling, comfort, and looks.

it also fits full size adults in the back pretty well.

Michael

^ a nicely lowered truck of that body style is hard to beat as far as getting some looks and standing out. They're not super duper rare but for some reason the style just plain WORKS when they're slammed.

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