Buick Le Sabre tow vehicle

[Bronlonius]

Re: Buick Le Sabre tow vehicle

I have towed with smaller cars, I would not be worried about the engine being underpowered. The main problems are that the car is FWD, and that it's geared for low rpms on the highway, vs. more torque at low speeds. The transmission, if it's an automatic, will always be the weak link.

there are 3 things that are important:

1. If it's an auto trans, dont tow in overdrive. Change the fluid often, and make sure it's being flushed so that all 10-12qts of fluid is replaced(draining the pan where you change the filter only removes about 1/3 of the fluid).
2. If it's an auto trans, install an inline cooler. even if you don't have a cooler, let the car run in neutral for a few minutes after towing so that the transmission fluid cools itself off. Shutting off a car with hot transmission fluid can burn the clutches.
3. Balancing the trailer so that it has the correct amount of tongue weight is very important. You need enough to keep the trailer from swaying, but not too much, otherwise the trailer will push on the back of the car too much and you won't have traction coming out of the water.

Usually, "performance" cars will have beefier components to take the abuse of a more powerful engine, and be geared lower. My current tow vehicle is a volvo 850 with a turbo 2.3l engine, and it has no problems towing or pulling my boat out of the water.

 

[SHickey]

Re: Buick Le Sabre tow vehicle

Thank you Broblonius,

I almost have my boat ready for the winter. I plan on getting a real "tow" vehicle next spring or sooner if the Buick bites the dust. I have learned a lot about towing that I never knew from this forum. My plan is to buy a vehicle that has a 3500 lb capacity and install a transmission cooler if it does not already have one. All of your other suggestions will be implemented to save wear and tear on the transmission. I have two trailers for my 1800 lb rig one is @ 400-500 lbs with out surge brakes and the other is 700 lbs with surge brakes. I am thinking the heavier one with the brakes would be better all around with a beefier tow vehicle.

Given this information, does anyone have a favorite vehicle (American made) roomy enough for a family of six but not costing an arm and leg at the gas station??

Again thanks all for the input!!

SH

 

[Bronlonius]

Re: Buick Le Sabre tow vehicle

Really depends on how much you want to spend on the car. Assuming you're looking at something the same age as your buick, your choices are ford, GM or chrysler products(includes jeeps) if you only want american made. For a family of 6 you really need an SUV or van, but all of the minivans of that era are just a car with a bigger body. (Windstar = Taurus drivetrain, Caravan/Voyager = small chrysler car drivetrain, GM minivans = small GM cars). Minivans will get horrible mileage when towing because they simply aren't made to pull the extra weight. I guess for a big family a van is probably ideal, so I'd look at the GMC Safari/Chevy Astro Vans. These are RWD, and built a lot better than a typical minivan(drivetrain is the same as a V6 1/2 ton pickup). Not sure what kind of mileage they get though, probably around 20mpg at best.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Buick Le Sabre tow vehicle

If you like Buicks why not a Roadmaster sedan or Estate Wagon? Find one with the 5.7L LT1. Caprice, Custom Cruiser, and Fleetwood will work as well. Towing capacity on them is 5k lbs or 7k with a Fleetwood with the towing package. These are rated for 25 mpg highway too. LeSabre's are pretty spacious but are dwarfed by its B/C body counterparts

 

[Charlie in TX]

Re: Buick Le Sabre tow vehicle

My understanding is the hurricane will raise the price of used autos $1k or so. That will go for selling yours as well as buying a replacement.

SHickey, I assume you are the original poster. I like the Ford Crown Victoria with the 4.6l for your needs. The Mercury Marque and Lincoln Town car are the same body but more luxurious and more expensive. It will do 25 mpg on the hwy and they are the closest things to tanks in passenger cars.

Having said that, we have a '04 YukonXL. My wife and I have other vehicles ('12 Jeep Unlimited and '10 Dodge 1500 Crew Cab) that will hold the 5 of us, we just cannot get rid of the YukonXL. It is a road eating machine. Doesn't get any better than 18mpg but we arrive relaxed. That is saying something after 300 plus miles with 3 kids that hate each other.

So, depending on your budget, my second choice is the Yukon, Tahoe and Expedition.

 

[cptnmcluvin]

Re: Buick Le Sabre tow vehicle

I owned a 1998 Olds Intrique w/ the 3.8 V6 and traction control. It's similar to your buick. I towed more than 1,600 lbs with it no problem. I kept the vehicle to 145K miles. Then sold it to my buddy who now has over 200K miles on it. If your hitch is rated class II or higher, then you'll be fine for short, local trips. It would be wise to go slow and easy but that's the key to towing any boat. If you decide to go longer distances, then add an aux trany cooler.

My theory is you don't need a monster truck to tow 1,600 lbs.

 

[AMetzger]

Re: Buick Le Sabre tow vehicle

Minivans will get horrible mileage when towing because they simply aren't made to pull the extra weight.

I think you're being too hard on minivans... I tow #3000 with a Toyota Sienna and get 17 mpg @ 62-65 mph. Normally, I get 22 mpg. I really can't complain about the mileage, especially when my bro in law tows a similar rig with his Dodge Ram and get's 9mpgs. I don't look as cool as he does but I save at the pump!

 

[Bronlonius]

Re: Buick Le Sabre tow vehicle

I think you're being too hard on minivans... I tow #3000 with a Toyota Sienna and get 17 mpg @ 62-65 mph. Normally, I get 22 mpg. I really can't complain about the mileage, especially when my bro in law tows a similar rig with his Dodge Ram and get's 9mpgs. I don't look as cool as he does but I save at the pump!

That's pretty good. Toyota's always seem to do a lot better than anything else that's the same size from other makers. One of the best cars I ever had was a camry.