I remember Denis Jenkinson telling the story of heading for the Mexican road race in a Porsche 356 and being followed by I think it was Ak Miller and some other guys in their station wagon towing their race car and he could not shake them despite trying very hard. No real point. I just like the story.
Seriously? Someone 'thumbs-downed" my Tommy Ivo post?
I thought this place was Grassroots Motorsports? You don't get much more grassroots than dragging your dragster behind a Buick Riviera on a homebuilt trailer.
Plus, it's Tommy Ivo, you know, the guy who built the Wagonmaster:
And the Showboat:
You're just mad because he's cooler than you.
We’re spoiled these days. Everyone has a dually with 800+ torque or similar. Time was, you towed with what you had. I remember reading a book about Pete and Jake (the street-rod builders) where one of them mentioned packing up to move house one time as a child back in the ‘40’s or ‘50’s. Mom and dad packed everything into a trailer and hitched it to the family sedan. They had to travel early in the morning because otherwise the car wouldn’t pull the Grapevine.
In reply to ShawnG :
I have fat fingered the thumbs down a time or two.
In related...I happened to be reading about James Dean this morning, and it was talking about how he towed his Porsche race car with a big sedan (I forget what). Except the day he died, he drove the 550 to the track to break in the new engine, and the tow car/trailer were following him....
There are stories about the Ramchargers team heading to the races overnight with a guy sitting the racecar on the trailer, doing the break-in procedure on the fresh engine.
It would be interesting to find the Airstream club magazine and see what they pulled those big things with .....
And then there was Lucille Ball in the Big Big Trailer with a 1953 Mercury Monterey convertible with a 125 hp flathead.....
I'll just leave this here...
https://jalopnik.com/someone-found-and-restored-that-amazing-beetle-camping-1844000749
Do it
In reply to accordionfolder :
Anyone remember Bud Lindemann in Car and Track? I watched it a bunch of times when it was on - in reruns. Really enjoyed shows with the Avanti and XKE show. That Beetle with the trailer on the roof was shown in one episode of that show.
In reply to 68TR250 :
Just came across an early 1950's Formula 1 car being towed by a Peugeot 203. On a single axle trailer.
I wanted to put a hitch on my 04 Ralliart wagon to pull a lightweight jon boat trailer with a canoe.
In the USA, no hitch is available for the vehicle. The owner's manual says towing is not advised. In Europe, there are commercial hitches made for the same car and I think it was rated for 1000 or 1500 kg.
As a young an impecunious racer, I always towed with whatever street car I owned at the time. For some years it was a Mk 3 Cortina (you US guys never had them) and i was towing either my TVR or MGA race cars. The Cortina (which had the 2.0 Pinto engine) weighed about the same as the race car and trailer (which had no on board brakes) so steep hills and sudden braking were to be avoided, as were clutch slipping starts. No hitches available of course so I just welded up one out of steel that bolted into the two holes that the rear bumper had used (probably aided greatly in any collision resistance).
I also used a Wolseley 6/99 at one point (think Austin Westminster). The old Borg Warner automatic stood up pretty well.
One of the coolest duos I saw was this one that I snapped back in the 80s at Portland - MGC automatic dragging an MGA coupe race car to the historic races there. He would probably have been a bit better served of the MGC had been the GT version, mind you.
You can tow with lots of different 'small' cars!
buzzboy said:
In reply to Tom Suddard :
Oddly googling "W116 Towing" brought me your photos. How did the brakes feel? I'm currently upgrading the W116 to 2nd gen W126 brakes.
I live three blocks from the ramp, so I can't speak to brake fade, but stopping was no problem. It was a 3600 lb. car with 235? section width tires, so the braking physics are about the same as a mid-size truck.
Your owners manual will state what you are capable of towing with your vehicle.
Stick with that and you will be fine as far as your vehicle is concerned.
Your state / province will have laws regarding what the trailer you are able to tow requires as far as brakes, lights, etc.
Hitches are generally bolted not welded. It's easy to tell how strong a bolt is. The difference between a good weld and a bad weld is two coats of paint.
I've only ever owned one vehicle that was incapable of towing and that was my 1982 Starlet. The owners manual actually stated not to tow anything with it.
I've towed with cars and while I much prefer using a truck there's no reason why it can't be done reliably and safely.
I hadn't even though of mirrors. I've only really towed once with proper tow mirrors and it makes just a world of difference. Thankfully the sedan in question has incredible visibility otherwise. Old sedan with small pillars and a roll-cage tucked tight against them.
Wait, so I can tow Miatas, Nissan S13s, and other old Japanese cars with my GF's Xterra then? Everyone keeps telling me not to do that and to get a super duty instead! They almost had me convinced that having a super duty is the only way...
We used a 65 Galaxy as a tow vehicle for a few years; it worked great even with 4 wheel drum brakes, we were only towing around 2200lbs.
When towing, regardless of the law, I keep to 65 mph. On my longest tow the difference between going 65 and 75 is 30 minutes. I'm towing a 1600lb car on an 800lb trailer, so for me a sedan would do just fine.
My only reason for not using a sedan is the camper van is a nice place to be at the track.....I'm currently sold on vans, all the stuff is secure inside and out of site.
Japspec said:Wait, so I can tow Miatas, Nissan S13s, and other old Japanese cars with my GF's Xterra then? Everyone keeps telling me not to do that and to get a super duty instead! They almost had me convinced that having a super duty is the only way...
Guys who buy big trucks tend to have small Willies and a little pair. Sorry, I just think there is some over compensating going on. I've towed all over the country with small modest sized vehicles without a single scary moment.
Face it, money spent on over compensating can't be spent going fast or having more fun.
tremm said:Is anyone familiar with legalities or insurance issues related to towing with a vehicle that's ... I guess not approved to tow?
I've never had to tow anything, but like it when I see hatchbacks with small utility trailers etc.
Seems like I've read some internet hearsay about possible liability issues if you're involved in an accident.
Just wondering if it's legal to weld a hitch onto anything and tow what you'd like (assuming you can keep up with traffic, or the towing speed limit)
I'd guess the other party would have to prove that the vehicle was over loaded & incapable of operating safely (?)
Wow, are you far afield. Those are questions to ask your attorney. make sure you get it in writing and that the Attorney in question has sufficient resources and insurance to back up his opinion.
Realize that matters of law can go all the way to the Supreme Court and cost millions if not tens of millions to properly adjudicate.
Be sure to follow the maxim, Anybody can sue anybody at any time over anything. It's absolutely true.
frenchyd said:Japspec said:Wait, so I can tow Miatas, Nissan S13s, and other old Japanese cars with my GF's Xterra then? Everyone keeps telling me not to do that and to get a super duty instead! They almost had me convinced that having a super duty is the only way...
Guys who buy big trucks tend to have small Willies and a little pair. Sorry, I just think there is some over compensating going on. I've towed all over the country with small modest sized vehicles without a single scary moment.
Face it, money spent on over compensating can't be spent going fast or having more fun.
If I had a small Willys I might actually want at big truck to tow it around.
I tow other cars with my cars often, utilitie trailers are always in use behind my cars.
I should probably say that after years of towing with small SUVs and cars, I bought a 3/4 ton van and then a 3/4 ton truck to replace it. The truck is 4000% better than all the smaller things combined....
In reply to tremm :
There are too many state-by-state laws related to towing to even begin to answer that question, let alone analyzing the issue of the liability held by a hitch maker versus the person doing the towing, exceeding mfr recommendations, regional differences, etc.
Broadly? The other poster that noted anyone can sue anyone else in America for anything is correct, and always remember that there are usually a number of state/local laws that give law enforcement a wide berth to stop vehicles declared "unsafe" for any number of arbitrary reasons.
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