Towing capabilities of full size cars/wagons?

[Deaf Bob]

not with a crown vic, but yes to a caprice wagon....

That' discrimination. ;-)). Lol.
Why? Wagon vs sedan?

[DanStokes]

I've hauled many miles with a loaded two horse trailer (about 4K lbs) behind either of two Toronados and later my '78 Fleetwood. Notice that these are older cars with 455 or more CID. But I'd think the Crown Vic would be OK around town for short durations. I second the trans cooler. Probably need some air shocks and don't forget the trailer brakes. A load distributing hitch helps a LOT.

Dan

[bulletproof]

i think id have to go with a older truck..even if it has alot of miles,...my daily is a 3/4 ton chevy 4x4 454 ex-cab,,,178000 miles..it sucks gas bad,,,but when i need to tow/trailer something its well worth it....im sure a car could do the job but add the weight of the car being towed plus the trailer weight,thats alot to control and stop safely..

[Aircooled]

There was a 7000lb tow package available on the LT1 Fleetwoods. Rated tow capacity was 5000lb without the option.
Crown Vics with the Watts link rear suspension (post '97?) are only factory rated for 1000lb towing. Ford wanted you to buy a much more profitabe SUV.

[1badmonkey]

That' discrimination. ;-)). Lol.
Why? Wagon vs sedan?

honest answer... I was busy today, and clicked on wagon, and didnt have time to go back and check sedan!!

[SSChevyManiac]

DAMN REPLY TO THREAD BUTTON! ARGH!

Anyway, I was saying, my dad made a comment this weekend akin to the Lucy pic. He said that "back in the day" no one had 3/4 ton more door diesel fitter pickups to haul the family toys. It was always the family sedan or cruiser wagon doing the tow duty. That said, on the flip side, my $2000 170k mile pickemup has treated me well so far.

[Barry Donovan]

this towing subject. got me thinking of the jeep liberty.
little 3.7L with 6k pound tow setup.

they have been doing that a long time to the cj looking jeeps, most of us know better. Still limited to the dump trailer..about a ton loaded. Cars did that right into the 80s. sick joke on humanity.

always go less than the rating given. I m not sure who allows that stuff but it is dumb as freaking ever. just recently a full sized truck lost to a horsetrailer in tow locally flopped over.. I can see the mystery twisting fish tail and drivers pretending its just the wind before the loss..

even my tin can sube is supposed to haul 2k. yeah right. If I get 500 in a 500 pound trailer. that is a big trucking load.

get a truck.

[tedly]

Thanks guys.

Whatever I get will have to be reliable enough for daily driver duties for at least another year or 2. It HAS to make it to work and back - about 20 miles one way, that is the foremost consideration - and it will be my only source of transportation unless I pick up a cheap winter beater. If I can't get to work, game over. It needs to be big enough to haul parts and various other stuff up to and including a car, as well as whatever furniture and other crap I drag home while it's my primary transport. The TBird is still running so I have some leeway to get something that might need some minor work, but I'd prefer not to do that. There are quite a few Suburbans around in good shape, but it wouldn't be quite as useful as a pickup. I'm kinda leaning more towards them now though. What really kicked off the full size car idea was an 89 Caprice wagon, absolutely no rust or dents, great interior, and only 80,000 miles for $2700. If it's still there this weekend I might get it but it sounds like I would be pushing it's capabilities.

[SpiderGearsMan]

post 77 cars have flimsy overdrive transmissions

[tedly]

Chewing up a trans is one of the major drawbacks I was thinking of. You just helped confirm it. Oh well, it would have been cool if I could have made it work. Tint the windows, headers, Flowmasters, steel rallies...

[Beagle]

post 77 cars have flimsy overdrive transmissions

The 4r70w is not all that bad... the e40d in my 95 L has been shockingly good, over 150k and towed lots of stuff many miles. It does have a cooler on it though. Dad's 4l60e blew up behind a 4.3 around 100k - which surprised me. He drives like an 82 year old and the only trailer it ever pulled was a motorcycle trailer with a lawnmower on it.

I haven't been without a truck since 93 and that was two years in hell but you can always call UHaul. I'm on the fence, I see too much stuff on the side of the road that you can't just toss in a car. My garage would stay cleaner if I drove a car. lol.

[ChampTrucking]

How about this:http://kokomo.craigslist.org/cto/3015938952.html

[ChampTrucking]

Or this:http://kokomo.craigslist.org/cto/3035042988.html

[squirrel]

post 77 cars have flimsy overdrive transmissions

I think you mean post 81 cars

[SuperBuickGuy]

I think you mean post 81 cars

wasn't there a transmission pre-81 that had a lockup converter... th200 or such? they were the schnizzle (schnizzle meaning s***)