Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

[Bard1]

Re: Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

I love the idea!! Let us know how ya do.

 

[HVSTRINE]

Re: Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

I used to pull my old '59 Owens 14ft runabout fiberglass(heavy) down to the ramp and back with a little 82 chevy chevette. It was only about a mile away. It had a 45 hp chrysler OB and it was my first powerboat. If the tide was all the way out me and the kids would have to wait for awhile to be able to pull her out cause the ramp would be too steep. Good memories.

 

[jones19428]

Re: Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

**** all of this stupid ****, and **** this site.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

I tow with my 73 Chevelle 2dr coupe. works fine. I put a TH400 trans in it with a cooler. I have a 3500 lb hitch on it and tow a 1900 pound boat.

 

[Shizzy]

Re: Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

I tow with my 73 Chevelle 2dr coupe. works fine. I put a TH400 trans in it with a cooler. I have a 3500 lb hitch on it and tow a 1900 pound boat.

I have always been a fan of the 73-77 GM Mid size cars. They never got the respect the deserved.

 

[cadunkle]

Re: Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

One thing to consider would be putting a locker in the rear if your boat has any weight to it. Heck, my truck will spin the 38.5"x15" tires on steep ramps if I'm nto real easy on the clutch. A Detroit would be nice, but those Tru-tracks and other little jobbies that replace your spiders like a mini-spool seem to work just fine for most moderate power levels.

 

[MikDee]

Re: Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

My favorite tow vehicle was my old "burgundy, & white topped beauty" A 71' Caddy Coupe Deville, 472cu in that ran on unleaded reg gas, with no Cat. That car was a 4800lb 2dr. but it was Grand! handled like a kiddy car, I could almost make a u-turn on a narrow street, using two fingers, rode like you were on your living room couch, and it was flat cornering, at any speed. It was fast also, for what it was,,, I used to blow away 73'-75' Monte Carlo's easy (one of my fav. cars at that time), not too bad on gas either considering, avg. 12mpg, and it towed my old 18.5' Wellcraft Airslot with an 888 Mecruiser like it wasn't even there!

Years later, I read they used this chassis for the Excalibur luxury sports car, because of the heavy springs, and components, they considered it one of the best full size factory stock chassis around.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

If not a station wagon or a convertible I wouldn't mind a late Travelall

They were decent trucks but today they are a problem to get parts for. I've had a few Internationals in later years and for most model specific items you are bound to dealing with collectors and specialty shops.

The main problem is motor and trim parts, the rest are just reallocated parts from other makes and models. I had a couple of Travelalls, they were good trucks but were hard on fuel and hard to keep running in parts even 20 years ago.

I did always think that a nice clean Travelall with a modern International diesel would be a good match, especially a 3/4 ton model. Even a 7.3L Powerstroke would be neat to see. A buddy of mine had one with a 6.2L GM diesel from an 86 C30, he went the GM route since the Travelall already came with a TH400 trans.

They borrowed heavily from GM and AMC when they built that truck. The motors were for the most part AMC, if I remember correctly, the options were a 345 or 401ci. Both of mine had the 401 engines. I had a few older Scouts too but they weren't any sort of tow vehicle. All of mine were the older, smaller body style from the mid 60's. They were tough but too short and underpowered to tow anything of any size. I did pull an aluminum boat a few times with my '67 but nothing much more.

 

[catfishcharlie]

Re: Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

I do have a Roadmaster TM...It is a 93 model with the 350 and had a tow package installed. I've pulled a ten foot lowboy with it loaded with assorted stuff...lawnmoers etc. but never pulled my boat.....yet. Since I have a pickup truck I probably wont use it for boating.
The problem I have is I need some extra suspention on the rear. The trailor jack drags the ground at times since it is not the retractable type. I get a few looks but who cares. Power wise, theres plenty.
The other problem that you may have is pulling out of the ramp, since the auto is heavy, added weight of the boat and highway tires may cause some traction problems. But hey, if it gets ya on the water, go for it!!

 

[jtexas]

Re: Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

...The trailor jack drags the ground at times since it is not the retractable type. I get a few looks but who cares. ...

what if the trailer jack hits a speed bump and pops the coupler off the ball?

 

[Shizzy]

Re: Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

I do have a Roadmaster TM...It is a 93 model with the 350 and had a tow package installed. I've pulled a ten foot lowboy with it loaded with assorted stuff...lawnmoers etc. but never pulled my boat.....yet. Since I have a pickup truck I probably wont use it for boating.
The problem I have is I need some extra suspention on the rear. The trailor jack drags the ground at times since it is not the retractable type. I get a few looks but who cares. Power wise, theres plenty.
The other problem that you may have is pulling out of the ramp, since the auto is heavy, added weight of the boat and highway tires may cause some traction problems. But hey, if it gets ya on the water, go for it!!

is it possible to add an air bag setup in the rear? I would imagine just a couple of pounds of air would bring the rear end up a bit. when deflated it wouldnt effect the ride any.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

My wife's Cavalier is FWD, it tows my 400# hydro just fine.
All those old boats were RWD.

Not the Olds Toronado. Front wheel drive since 1966

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Older towing vehicle? (convertible?)

I do have a Roadmaster TM...It is a 93 model with the 350 and had a tow package installed. I've pulled a ten foot lowboy with it loaded with assorted stuff...lawnmoers etc. but never pulled my boat.....yet. Since I have a pickup truck I probably wont use it for boating.
The problem I have is I need some extra suspention on the rear. The trailor jack drags the ground at times since it is not the retractable type. I get a few looks but who cares. Power wise, theres plenty.
The other problem that you may have is pulling out of the ramp, since the auto is heavy, added weight of the boat and highway tires may cause some traction problems. But hey, if it gets ya on the water, go for it!!

Had a '93 Vista Cruiser, the Olds model of that Roadmaster, for a while, it was built like a tank. It was a company car that got driven by many. It had a factory hitch and rear air suspension. I used it a few times to tow an 18' bass boat and many times to pull a utility trailer. That car survived driving through a guard rail at 55 mph and somehow drove away with only minor damage. An employee let their kid drive and she drove right off an on ramp with it. The only damage was a gouge in the fender about two foot long and a broken headlight lens. It had over 300,000 miles on it when we sold it. It was the perfect wagon set up in that there was tons of room and it would haul far more than any of the other wagons made at that time. I had a few Ford wagons and while they would tow just as much, they weren't as stout body wise in a crash and didn't have near the cargo space.
It was far better on fuel than the Fords were too.

If the trailer's jack keeps hitting, I'd either find a way to level the rear of the car or hitch or change the jack to one that won't hang so low. Maybe a swing type jack.