Re: Worst tow vehicle you have used !!!
Sounds like you are all set with your outfits.
My big beef with the Windstar is that it had all the towing bells and whistles from the factory, a 3,500 lb capacity (allegedly) I use a load levelling hitch and followed the recommendations of the manufacturer to a tee. It crapped out at 140,000 km. My last Windstar did the same thing around the same mileage and I had never towed a thing with it. Main problem was I had the minivan before I got the boat or I would without a doubt got a beefier tow vehicle from the get go. Did the research on the minivan and found that I would only be towing half it's rated capacity so figured all was well.
How wrong I was !!!!
The problem with the Windstar is that it uses the same trans as a Taurus/Sable. It's a light duty, front wheel drive trans. If properly maintained I would say live expectancy would be between 80 to 100,000 miles, that life span would be greatly shortened by towing. More weight equals more heat and more friction.
The greatest enemy of any automatic trans is heat, the cooler you can keep it, the longer it will last. The best transmissions when it comes to towing are the larger rear wheel drive units, Ford, E4OD, (4R100), older C6, GM 4L80E, Th400, Chrysler 727, (older). I can't say much for the newer Mopar transmissions, but the 46 and 47RE transmissions can be made to last for serious towing as well.
The smaller transmissions in the smaller trucks can hold up, but they are not designed with towing in mind. The 4L60E and TH700R4 in the smaller and mid sized GM trucks is 'OK' but not great, and the same with the Ford AOD, AOD-E, and 4R70W, and Mopar A500, and 42RE. The Ford would be my first choice in this class. The 4R70W has both a lower gear ratio in low and 4th and lock up is not in the torque converter.
The smaller Ranger/Explorer Auto trans, A4LD, 4R44, 5R55, etc is just too light and not recommended for towing. The later models can be made to survive better when coupled with lower rear axle gearing. (Lower rear axle ratios can help any automatic survive better). Most abuse or excess wear and tear on an auto trans happens on initial acceleration, once the trans is in gear and cruising down the road, the clutches are engaged and not slipping or creating friction. At that point the main sources of heat are from the torque converter and engine itself. An overheating engine will soon overheat the trans as well since most vehicles run the trans cooler inside or at least through the radiator. On my trucks, I remove the lines from the radiator and run a complete separate trans cooler totally independent of the radiator.
