Towing with a car

[mcgill]

Hello



If you see me on the water. I am not hard to find ... I am the only person towing with a car ,,,,,A 93 town car and 18.6 foot winner bass boat.

 

[98Shabah]

Re: Towing with a car

I'm there with ya, I tow an 18' fiberglass bowrider with an '05 crown vic... the comments at the ramp are pretty amusing. It seems that today many people think that all cars are unibody and fwd, they seem quite surprised when they hear otherwise.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Towing with a car

I'm there with ya, I tow an 18' fiberglass bowrider with an '05 crown vic... the comments at the ramp are pretty amusing. It seems that today many people think that all cars are unibody and fwd, they seem quite surprised when they hear otherwise.

I've heard two particular comments more than I can count. 'can you actually tow that', usually heard as I'm winching the boat up. Yes, I can tow that, even when i'm pulling it out with all four tires on sand. The other is that my car is going to die a very short death. Been hearing that one since I got it at 20k. I'm over 100k now with zero shop time other than scheduled maintenance, not even a clutch. (100k on a turbocharged sports car with a manual transmission, with hundreds of boat launchings and many thousands of pulling miles, yeah i might know what i'm doing!)


and the boating crowd is NOTHING like the snowmobile group! I've literally been the only car with a snowmobile trailer behind in a parking lot with hundreds of pickups. At least with boat trailers you get a random car with a jetski every so often at least.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Towing with a car

I have a 1980 Bonneville with the factory towing package and pull a 19' bowrider on a tandem trailer. Been doing it since the car was new. I also get comments from people who can't believe a car can tow. Its usually a younger guy that wasn't around when everybody used cars and they were built to handle it.

Last year one day when I returned to the launch ramp I was met by a 20 something guy and his girlfriend. When he saw me jump in the car he came over and said they had been waiting to see what the old car was going to try to pull. He knew the trailer was quite large, but couldn't believe it when he saw my boat. He said Boy was I going to have trouble! Watching the look on his face when I pulled up the fairly steep ramp was quite amusing....LOL

 

[98Shabah]

Re: Towing with a car

When I was a kid it was just as common to see a car pulling a boat as it was to see a truck pulling a boat... Then again trucks were pretty ugly/basic back then with little room for more than 3 people. I am suprised at what people tow with crossover suvs today though, yesterday I saw a saturn vue with about a 20' bowrider on a tandem trailer. I guess the fwd transaxle in those is up to the task??

 

[robert graham]

Re: Towing with a car

Yep, same here, tow with '96 Roadmaster with 350V8,towing package, air shocks, positraction, no problem at all, usually only car at the ramp. Young folks think all cars are wimpy FWD types.

 

[dirtyoldman]

Re: Towing with a car

Yep, same here, tow with '96 Roadmaster with 350V8,towing package, air shocks, positraction, no problem at all, usually only car at the ramp. Young folks think all cars are wimpy FWD types.

That's right. This town car chassis is pretty well set up. He's got air suspension to level it out, and a full frame to attach to. Some of them were set up as high as 5000lbs tow rating with 3.55 gears. But he's got the same engine, transmission, and axle as a half ton pickup. His frame and suspension are a little lighter, but plenty capable for a small boat.

 

[EricR]

Re: Towing with a car

I tow my '69 Glasspar with a '99 Grand Prix GT, and I will tell you that front wheel drive with traction control does not slip EVER even on a slippery, wet ramp at low tide. Yes I get the "Can you tow that boat with that car?" a lot. Also, the car has four wheel anti lock disc brakes. I am sure I am over the official tow rating, but my s10 that IS rated for the load has nothing but wheel spin on the wet ramp unless I have a buddy sit in the back and the brakes are not NEARLY as good as the Pontiacs!

 

[Force 120]

Re: Towing with a car

I used to tow my 16' northcraft fiber glass boat with 1990 Toyota Corolla. I got a lot of strange looks a the ram. But it pulled the boat out of the steep ram no problem. Later I got a 4 cyl. Toyota camry and it towed very well for 3 years.

 

[convergent]

Re: Towing with a car

Years ago I pulled a 17' bowrider with an '83 Trans Am with a 5 speed. I was young and stupid and wanted a boat, and it never occurred to me that driving a Trans Am should stand in my way. I eventually traded the Trans Am for a Chevy Blazer but not for about 9 months of towing. I remember smoking the clutch a few times trying to get it up some difficult ramps.

 

[Triton II]

Re: Towing with a car

I used to tow my 2500lb (all up) 16ft cuddy with my Holden Commodore station wagon all the time. Never had an issue apart from dreadful fuel consumption on highway hauls.

TII

 

[Bowser4x4]

Re: Towing with a car

Growing up, we towed our 14' fiberglass fishing boat with the 73 VW bug.... It worked fine. The rear wheel drive and rear engine helped us climb some pretty bad ramps. About the only time we ever had a problem is when the ramp would get icy....{Same boat for fishing and duck hunting....}

Man, I do miss that Bug....it was our hunting, fishing and general purpose hauler. Even had it thru the first two years of college...with boat attached.

Woof
Bowser

 

[nowback]

Re: Towing with a car

I have you all beat.
My first car was a 1972 mazda rx2 4spd 4 door, for everyone who doesnt know anything
about the car it was the 2nd mazda production car to be powered with a
rotary motor, it turned out all of 120 hp and i used it to pull a 15 ft anchor craft
with a 75 stinger on the back. never went to far with it but it did quite well.
later on i got a 1976 mazda cosmo ( luxury 2 door 2+2) it had a bigger
engine turning out about 150hp 4 wheel disk brakes were a big help.
I used this car to pull the same boat through the mountains,
it worked really well, i remember the worst hill on my way west was the
rogers pass it managed to maintain the speed limit over the top
all the old cars were rear wheel drive and worked quite well.
not sure if i would have used any of them on the ramps into the salt water
they sure get slick at low tide. lol
later on i used a 1989 mazda B2600i 4x4 to pull the newer bayliner 2050
20' was more than i would have tried to pull with the rotarys but the mazda
truck had no problem but was way under powered.
the new canyon is much better with its 242hp it works really well
but i still turn to the 97 chev one ton 4x4 454 crew cab its so effortless.
ok enough of my rambling.
matt

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Towing with a car

I've been towing with a full size car now for many years, I have two trucks, but when there's more than two people going, I take the car. My first car with a receiver hitch was a 1977 Lincoln Continental, then a 1986 Town car, then a 1989 Crown Victoria Wagon, then a 1988 Mercury, and now a 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis. The latest car is by far the best out of all of the cars I've had for towing. It amazes me how well it hauls a boat or any trailer, better than my Ranger pickup. It came factory with a hitch and trailer wiring, as did most of my other cars I bought new. I'll take it to most ramps without much worry but won't go back into the woods or down some sugar sand roads with it, both since I won't chance scratching it up and I doubt it'll do well in loose sand. It's fine on the ramps though, even gravel ramps seem fine so far.

The comment I get most often is that I should buy something newer, they don't realize that they still make such a car and think it's really old or something.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Towing with a car

I grew up towing with stawags, before they invented SUV's and you seldom saw a PU in town. Also those big V8 sedans--Buick skylark, LeSabre, etc.

When a neighbot got a bigger baot and needed the occassional short-haul tow, he went and got the cheapest oldest beat up $500 sedan with the big V8 for a "yard car" and towing it

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Towing with a car

Pretty sure Ford has killed the Panther Platform on which the Crown Vic / Town Car / Grand Marquis are built on and while RWD has made a bit of a come back in recent times I've got to say the death of the fullsize Ford cars "It's the end of an era" in American car history.

Guy down the road from me pulls a big 22' Larson cuddy with the a LT1 Caddy Fleetwood, another cool old dinosaur.

To me, those full framed V8 RWD cars are pick up trucks with a different bodycan.

 

[AlmostFamous]

Re: Towing with a car

Pretty sure Ford has killed the Panther Platform on which the Crown Vic / Town Car / Grand Marquis are built on and while RWD has made a bit of a come back in recent times I've got to say the death of the fullsize Ford cars "It's the end of an era" in American car history.

Guy down the road from me pulls a big 22' Larson cuddy with the a LT1 Caddy Fleetwood, another cool old dinosaur.

To me, those full framed V8 RWD cars are pick up trucks with a different bodycan.

+1. I've pulled many different size trailers with my '95 Town Car. Pulled a 17' Checkmate on a 400 mile trip with no problems. The only mods I ever made were a hitch and a tranny cooler.

IMO, any of the Panther platform cars make excellent tow vehicles, and best of all they are CHEAP! Since 2008 the Crown Vic was only available through Ford Fleet, but they are plentiful as low mileage lease returns. You can still buy a Town Car or Grand Marquis brand new today. Every year Ford tells us this is it for the Panthers but they're still cranking them out at least til the end of 2010.

 

[98Shabah]

Re: Towing with a car

I've had many different cars, trucks, and suvs, and by far my crown vic is my favorite/most versatile. It'll indeed be a sad day when the last panther rolls off the production line.

 

[dirtyoldman]

Re: Towing with a car

I've had many different cars, trucks, and suvs, and by far my crown vic is my favorite/most versatile. It'll indeed be a sad day when the last panther rolls off the production line.

It makes me wonder what a new one costs. Does anyone know what it costs through fleet sales?

 

[timdan94]

Re: Towing with a car

here is my tow set up...

its a 2008 subaru legacy