Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

[nomi840]

I posted this question under another section before I realized this towing section existed.

I just bought a used 1989 Citation 190XL which is a 19 foot boat (at least as it was advertised when sold to me by the dealer). The title shows the boat GVW/WC/LGTH listed as 18 feet....but in either case (19 or 18 feet) I dont know the total weight of the boat with an OMC V6 Stern drive and a galvanized trailer. So I guess this would be my first question: What would you estimate the weight to be for this setup?

Second question is: Do you think a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis LS witha V8 4.6L engine and Class III tow hitch can tow this boat? Up a launch ramp?

These cars have strong engines but the weight of the vehicle and its 2 wheel drive is whats concerning me.

 

[q5ka]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

Any 19 foot boat with trailer is going to be a tough pull. You motor should take it but you are talking about a car. The springs are not exactly designed for the tongue weight. The brakes are not designed for the pushing of the trailer. Does the trailer have its own brakes? For the extra damage you will do to your car, let alone the risk you will be placing other drivers on the road, you could buy a cheap (grand or less) pickup just for hauling your boat. Then you would have a truck that is designed to pull/stop/handle the extra weight behind it. Just think, if you overload your car towing the boat and have an accident, many insurance companies will not cover any damage.

 

[nomi840]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

Any 19 foot boat with trailer is going to be a tough pull. You motor should take it but you are talking about a car. The springs are not exactly designed for the tongue weight. The brakes are not designed for the pushing of the trailer. Does the trailer have its own brakes? For the extra damage you will do to your car, let alone the risk you will be placing other drivers on the road, you could buy a cheap (grand or less) pickup just for hauling your boat. Then you would have a truck that is designed to pull/stop/handle the extra weight behind it. Just think, if you overload your car towing the boat and have an accident, many insurance companies will not cover any damage.

The trailer does not have its own brakes however I did upgrade the rear suspension on the car and installed coil over shocks that can Maintain Ride Height For Up To 1200 Lbs Of Additional Load.

 

[bekosh]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

I would think that you will be OK. Not great, but OK. Your boat, motor & trailer shouldn't be over about 4K lb fully loaded up and the Marquis is rated for 5K.

Camping life tow rating guide.
Year Make Model Engine Tow Limit
1994 Mercury Grand Marquis All 5000
Requires Trailer Towing Package with 3.27:1 axle ratio.
Requires weight-distributing hitch.
Towing not recommended for Capri.

 

[nomi840]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

Camping life tow rating guide.
Year Make Model Engine Tow Limit
1994 Mercury Grand Marquis All 5000
Requires Trailer Towing Package with 3.27:1 axle ratio.
Requires weight-distributing hitch.
Towing not recommended for Capri.

Thanks for posting the info and the link where you got the info. Do you know what "Towing not recommended for Capri" mean?

Now I have to get under the car to see what gear ratio in on the axle and how I would use a weight distribution hitch.

Maybe its just time to get a truck or suv that can handle the weight and not have to worry.

 

[bekosh]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

Thanks for posting the info and the link where you got the info. Do you know what "Towing not recommended for Capri" mean?

Looks like that is something they added on all of the Mercs instead of a separate listing for the Capri. The 94 Capri was a little FWD convertible definitely not suited for towing.

Now I have to get under the car to see what gear ratio in on the axle and how I would use a weight distribution hitch.

If you don't have the right ratio, a good mechanic can change the gears out relatively inexpensively.
I wouldn't worry about the WD hitch, you're only putting 350-400lb of tongue weight on the hitch. With the coil over shocks you should handle the weight just fine.

Maybe its just time to get a truck or suv that can handle the weight and not have to worry.

I just upgraded my tow capacity. Had a Chevy Trailblazer with 5k, now I have a 94 Ford F250 with 10k. The only reason I did that was because I totaled the TB otherwise I would have kept towing with it even though I was pushing it's limit (My Wellcraft/trailer weighs 4800lb fully loaded).

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

Body on frame: good

long wheel base: good

V8: though I don't think the 4.6L has ever been as good as the 302...: good

4R70W: excellent transmission: good

You'll be just fine

 

[Ficht Guy]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

Body on frame: good

long wheel base: good

V8: though I don't think the 4.6L has ever been as good as the 302...: good

4R70W: excellent transmission: good

You'll be just fine

My thoughts exactly. This is really the only car I would tow with now days. They were rated up to 5000lbs towing capacity until 1995 when they didn't offer the tow pkg due to low demand. This is basically a truck due to it's body on frame structure.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

Been there, done that, as they say. I have a 1980 Pontiac Bonneville Sport Coupe with a 4.9l V-8 and the std. economy 2.73 axle. I do have a towing suspension package, though, plus I added air shocks. As the Merc, it has a full perimeter frame. I bought the car brand new, right after buying the boat.

My boat is also a 19' I/O, tandem trailer, towed weight 3400 lbs. The Bonne with that axle was rated for 4500.

I just hate pickup trucks. I won't own one. When I saw how good the Bonne towed the trailer, I bought another car and dedicated the Ponch as a towcar.

I think you're Merc will do just fine.

 

[mike343]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

Did you "just fine" guys note that the trailer has no brakes??

 

[Lou C]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

Old School US full size cars can be good tow vehicles...with certain limits...one is that it's 2 wheel drive (really one wheel drive unless you have a limited slip rear in it)...so if your ramps are slippery I'd add a limited slip...the other is that they tend to have very soft springs which is good for ride but bad for carrying loads...even the tongue weight on the trailer...the ultimate set up suspension wise would be:Bilstein monotube high pressure gas shocks....Air Lift or Firestone air bags in the rear coils...the Bilsteins will give MUCH better ride control than the cheap twin tube low pressure gas shocks the OE's use...and the air bags will reduce the rear sag and bouncing from the tongue weight of the trailer...A good set of aggressive all season tires would help too...
OF course trailer brakes and good balance of the trailer (proper tongue weight).

NOTE: Air Bags are superior to either coil over shocks or air shocks...coil over shocks will stiffen the ride all the time...air shocks will put weight load on shock mounts that are not meant to support weight...air bags put their force on the spring mounts which are designed to support weight and with the Air Lifts you keep 5 psi in em when unloaded and you don't feel em at all...no extra stiffness till you need it...I have em in my old 98 Jeep and they work great...

 

[lrdchaos]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

I wouldn't pull with it....the trailer has no brakes, and I wouldn't trust that car to be able to overcome trailer sway if it happened. Do yourself and everyone else a favor and buy a 1500 series pickup to pull that boat with. Let the car pull jetskis.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

Did you "just fine" guys note that the trailer has no brakes??

My body on frame car still has excellent stopping capability when towing my Capri, plus I believe the Grand Marquis has rear discs

 

[JimS123]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

I wouldn't pull with it....I wouldn't trust that car to be able to overcome trailer sway if it happened. Do yourself and everyone else a favor and buy a 1500 series pickup to pull that boat with.

What does the truck have that the car doesn't that will overcome trailer sway?

 

[v8power]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

I pull a 19 ft cobalt w/350 v8 mercruiser with a 2001 ford crown vic. It has airride which is awesome, the car is always level no matter what. It has 4whl disc brakes. And a full frame. Ive pulled this boat with a full size pickup and the crown vic pulls and stops better than the truck. Especially pulling up the ramps, the trucks dont weigh enough in the rear and seem to spin the tires coming up the ramps. As long as you remember that your pulling a trailer and drive accordingly you should be fine. Plus towing with a car, you can haul the whole family to the lake without driving two vehicles.


Happy boating, spring is almost here, YEE HAW.

 

[lrdchaos]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

What does the truck have that the car doesn't that will overcome trailer sway?

Weight....If you have to get on the brakes or the trailer does something funny, you have the weight of the vehicle to overcome it. If something happend and you had to slam on the brakes you don't want a boat to shove you into the traffic infront of you. I never have understood the...Do you think I can tow it mentality. If your worried about it, buy something that will do it right. My 2500 ram, pulls and stops trailers better than my old 1500 chevy in every single aspect, due to the weight and size.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

A Grand Marquis probably weighs more than a V6 shortbox 4x2 half ton

 

[Bronc Rider]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

If the trailer and boat indeed fall under the vehicles towing capacity, sure. As pointed out by others, that is a body on frame car. Its rear wheel drive, v8 equipped and heavy.
It used to be pretty normal for people to tow with cars when they were all built like the marquis. One common thing was to just do a ""add a leaf" if they were going to tow with it regularly. They were all doing this safely with crappy non ABS drum brakes too.
One of the cars disadvantage on a truck is ground clearance. If the launch ramp is one of the better built ones it wont even be an issue. A limited slip diff is always nice to have but full size cars usually get better traction than 2wd trucks. Trucks are way more capable but, the big rear wheel drive cars handle very similar to trucks when towing. They just cant tow as much.

 

[bigskiohio]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

some will have auto level air bags, If you say no towing with cv/gm you dont know a thing about them you are saying that because it is a car. just as goog as a 2wd pickup plus the trunk will hold alot.

 

[drrpm]

Re: Towing with a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis

I believe that a Grand Marquis would tow just as well as an F-150. The frame, engine, transmission, etc are all the same or at least very similar. Up till the 80's pickups were farm vehicles, hardly anyone drove them for personal use untill after Urban Cowboy came out. If you had something to tow you did it with a station wagon or full sized sedan and it worked fine.