Towing Capacity (1 Viewer)

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blan09

blan09

Joined
Aug 22, 2021
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Location
Cleveland, OH
So I recently purchased an old Mustang, 1970 model that weights around 3K. Anyone have any thoughts on using my LC to tow it home? I’m considering renting a dual axle car trailer. The spec I found days 5k limit for the 80series so I’m well under the restriction. Thoughts? Anyone towed something like a Mustang for an extended trip? 14 hours?
 
On flat land with trailer brakes, sounds doable. I wouldn't try any mountain passes and I wouldn't even attempt without trailer brakes if highways are involved.

I've taken loads to the dump on a dual axle utility trailer that were up there around 5k. Tows surprisingly well at around-town speeds up to 45mph or so. One big hill (60mph speed limit) it was about 35mph tops.
 
The trailer in renting has surge brakes, which work well if they adjusted correctly. The cost to ship right now is outrageous, that’s why I’m considering it.
 
I agree with @Heckraiser and I would definitely want trailer brakes. Moderate terrain (minimal hills) and a schedule that allows slow travel are also pretty important.

I've towed a 3kish lb popup camper plus family and gear thousands of miles with the 80 and also suggest the following. A lot of this is general and not 80 specific:

-keep an eye on torque converter unlocking on hills. If it unlocks while you are in OD (rpms start to drift up/increase) you will want to turn off OD so that the trans shifts down to third and helps you avoid prolonged converter slip which will heat up the trans. I'm regularly off and on w the OD button while towing to help on hills and also to help with coasting/slowdown so that I don't overuse the brakes.
-keep the trans "pwr" button engaged if you have one
-once hooked up test your brakes, carefully, so that you have a sense of your stopping distance. Adjust your driving and give folks room to accommodate for your new stopping distances
-slow down before corners, depending on trailer balance the 80 may not corner as well as normal (front end weight reduced) and if you add braking on top of that it can cause you to straighten out a corner. Basically you can have less grip up front than normal and then you are adding more turning and stopping demands which can exceed traction pretty quickly at the wrong time...
-balance the trailer with some weight on tongue. If you run the trailer with the weight too far back you could get into a dangerous trailer sway situation. Typically you'll notice sway soon after hitting HWY speeds when you make any subtle steering inputs. Sway tendencies can increase going downhill. If you are having sway issues at all on the HWY they may possibly be improved by shifting the weight on the trailer forward a little. As you consider trailer balance the direction the car is loaded can be a big factor (engine weight front or back) as well as how far forward/aft the car is on the trailer.
-air bags in the rear of the 80 are an asset for towing in my experience
-check and monitor fluids, you may eject trans fluid if you overheat it for instance so it's worth keeping an eye on (and you can watch for oil splatter on the rear window/hatch when you stop)
-keep an eye on trailer tire pressures and tire/bearing temps when you stop as things will typically heat up before they fail. Close attention can allow you to deal with issues off of the highway vs. experiencing on-hwy drama.
 
Which dual axle car trailer? The Uhaul ones weigh quite a bit and would put you over weight…
 
Why not rent a new pickup and a trailer.....
 
I second that, I looked into renting a capable pickup from Enterprise and their rates were surprisingly affordable.

I routinely tow a ~4000lb hard-sided popup I built on an M101A trailer without brakes, but I also have an HDJ81. Trailer brakes are on the list for sure.
 
blan09 said:
So I recently purchased an old Mustang, 1970 model that weights around 3K. Anyone have any thoughts on using my LC to tow it home? I’m considering renting a dual axle car trailer. The spec I found days 5k limit for the 80series so I’m well under the restriction. Thoughts? Anyone towed something like a Mustang for an extended trip? 14 hours?
Click to expand...
A trailer rated for that will; be about 2500 LB. Your total will then be about 5500 LB. Can you do it? Yes. Can you do it at 70 MPH? No.

Plan on 45 MPH (Not kidding) so double your time. I occasionally drag a car trailer for work and when empty, it tows great and I can do 65 MPH.

As soon as I put a 500 LB skid on it that was wider than my truck (air resistance) it was like the trailer was dragging the brakes the entire time (brakes were not engaged, as my trailer wiring harness did NOT mate well with the trailer harness.)

I would overheat at every small hill to the point the AC would shut off (226°F) and would cone back down to 201°F when I came down the other side of the hill.

I have since then figured out my T-Stat was not opening all the way and was not cooling well enough. I have not towed since replacing this, so I have no comparison.

You will be in the right lane with the JB Hunt trucks. You will not pass anyone, not even a gas station. Expect about 6 MPG. Drive with your eyes down the road 3/4 mile.

Make sure your trailer tires are even and about 45 PSI as well as your truck tires.

I have towed a LOT and some of it sketchy as hell, but I would take back-roads and not main highways or interstates so my speeds and traffic were both kept low.

It would be an advantage to rent both a pickup and a trailer to tow, but I'm assuming you don't want to spend the coin, much like the cheap bastid I am.

Don't be stupid.
Make sure you have the car tied on WELL. Tie to the axles and below the springs, NOT the frame or upper suspension.
Make sure it is loaded with about 300 LB on the tail of hitch (do this by measuring the height of the hitch PRIOR to loading, then about 2" of sag in the rear of the truck from the previous dimension.
Load the car engine forward and the car's weight must be slightly AHEAD of the center of the two axles on the trailer. If loaded too tail heavy, it will wag and you will crash.
If your tire pressures are off one side to the other, the trailer will wag and you will crash.
Make sure you have lights on the back of the trailer, even if you have to buy a set of Harbor Freight Trailering lights that magnetically stick to it.
 
Here is another vote to rent a truck from U-Haul. You will be over 5,000 pounds with the mustang and any decent car hauler. I'm all about saving a couple hundred bucks but It's not worth the wear and tear on your 80. And your 14 hour drive turns in to a 20 hour drive because you are going 45 MPH.
 
BILT4ME said:
A trailer rated for that will; be about 2500 LB. Your total will then be about 5500 LB. Can you do it? Yes. Can you do it at 70 MPH? No.

Plan on 45 MPH (Not kidding) so double your time. I occasionally drag a car trailer for work and when empty, it tows great and I can do 65 MPH.

As soon as I put a 500 LB skid on it that was wider than my truck (air resistance) it was like the trailer was dragging the brakes the entire time (brakes were not engaged, as my trailer wiring harness did NOT mate well with the trailer harness.)

I would overheat at every small hill to the point the AC would shut off (226°F) and would cone back down to 201°F when I came down the other side of the hill.

I have since then figured out my T-Stat was not opening all the way and was not cooling well enough. I have not towed since replacing this, so I have no comparison.

You will be in the right lane with the JB Hunt trucks. You will not pass anyone, not even a gas station. Expect about 6 MPG. Drive with your eyes down the road 3/4 mile.

Make sure your trailer tires are even and about 45 PSI as well as your truck tires.

I have towed a LOT and some of it sketchy as hell, but I would take back-roads and not main highways or interstates so my speeds and traffic were both kept low.

It would be an advantage to rent both a pickup and a trailer to tow, but I'm assuming you don't want to spend the coin, much like the cheap bastid I am.

Don't be stupid.
Make sure you have the car tied on WELL. Tie to the axles and below the springs, NOT the frame or upper suspension.
Make sure it is loaded with about 300 LB on the tail of hitch (do this by measuring the height of the hitch PRIOR to loading, then about 2" of sag in the rear of the truck from the previous dimension.
Load the car engine forward and the car's weight must be slightly AHEAD of the center of the two axles on the trailer. If loaded too tail heavy, it will wag and you will crash.
If your tire pressures are off one side to the other, the trailer will wag and you will crash.
Make sure you have lights on the back of the trailer, even if you have to buy a set of Harbor Freight Trailering lights that magnetically stick to it.
Click to expand...

Agree with a lot of this but, you cannot gauge measure 300 LB on the tail of the hitch, 2" of sag will not work simply because or spring rate/age of springs blah blah, use a piece of ply on a fat man set of scales to get it right. flintec.es/accurex-pcx.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8qnWnP3I9wIV_pBoCR0W2Q2_EAQYASABEgLaWPD_BwE

I am not too worried about that hitch weight assuming you don't have a full family and dog on board along with essential supplies in the estate area, or it will be dragging it's arse.

As an aside, the 80 is capable of towing that weight and a lot more, are the maximum figures I am reading state law?

Stay really safe.

Regards

Dave
 
Dave 2000 said:
Agree with a lot of this but, you cannot gauge measure 300 LB on the tail of the hitch, 2" of sag will not work simply because or spring rate/age of springs blah blah, use a piece of ply on a fat man set of scales to get it right. flintec.es/accurex-pcx.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8qnWnP3I9wIV_pBoCR0W2Q2_EAQYASABEgLaWPD_BwE

I am not too worried about that weight assuming you don't have a full family and dog on board along with essential supplies in the estate area, or it will be draggin git's arse.

As an aside, the 80 is capable of towing that weight and a lot more, are the maximum figures I am reading state law?

Stay really safe.

Regards

Dave
Click to expand...
I agree that you cannot measure weight with a tape measure.

HOWEVER, it's pretty damn close.

If the trailer is loaded perfectly with the weight distributed front to rear, it will settle evenly.

If loaded too much to the rear, it will lift the front, thus, raising the hitch.
If loaded too much to the front, the hitch will sag and can go to the point of resting on the bump stops.

Since I happen to carry a 525 LB power wheelchair on the rear of my truck a LOT, I have a VERY good idea what it looks like on the rear and how it behaves. I also have heavy springs AND air bags to control that weight.

This is different because the trailer has axles and the weight is to be borne by the trailer, except for the tongue weight. Just the weight of the 'Stang will lower the trailer about 1" (because that's about what a tandem axle trailer will do) and an extra inch to prove that the weight has shifted to the truck and not the tail.

I have used this method a number of times and it's pretty reliable without overloading the rear of the truck. If you overload the rear of the truck, then you will start to wag and could lose control.

Measure the deck height of the trailer before loading as well and you can use that after loading to determine how much more to load the hitch of the truck to get proper weight transfer.
 
I too towed a lot, I drag raced a XJ12 C weighing in at 4,000 LB, I did this with a Range Rover using a 4 wheel trailer.

The point I was making is as you say you cannot use a tape measure, and you cannot get close either, if....and I mean IF you have all the mods as you seem to have, and have perfected your setup then fine, but this sounds like a 'one off' job, so whilst you and I have experience I was erring on the safety side and recommended he do it right, weigh the trailer hitch and get it right first time. Driving down the road and finding you suddenly have a 5,000+ snake and not understanding that you may need to accelerate to get out of it is not for the faint hearted, or having to keep stopping and moving the Pony Car back and forth on the trailer (unstrapping/strapping) and trying again is not the way I would go, check the tow hitch max weight and get a set of scales, do it once and do it right.

I have made just two mistakes in all my years of towing, one was not getting a 2 wheel trailer loaded with rubble correctly, which manage to start throw the arse of a Volvo estate all over the place (tail wagging the dog), got out of that one, and not checking the tyres on a trailer that had been standing for awhile, one blew out when towing the Jaguar to Santa Pod 'run what you brung' drag meet. The metal of the tyre flailed about sanding the door of a new £3,000 paint job back in 2002, so I got punished for that one, so again, get a set of scales and bring the Mustang into place nice and slow, get the weight right and strap it down, oh and close all the windows on both cars.

FWIW, I prefer motorway towing, towing off motorways means lots of stop starts, perhaps more hills than you would like and accidents more likely, motorways will be easier on your car and your pocket.

Regards

Dave
 
Towed a buddies m170 jeep carcasses for a 100 plus miles
He rented a U-haul car hauler (2200#) and we loaded the jeeps and towed them home (one at a time). The Old M170's weigh around 2900#. Round trip per jeep was 2.5-3 hours.
Mostly flat, but there are some rolling hills and the truck handled them well with OD off, a couple of them forced a shift down to 2nd to maintain 55.
 
White Stripe said:
Interestingly the 4th gen 4.7 4runner has a towing capacity of 7000lbs. It's very very similar in size to a 80 series and has weaker axles. A 4.0 4th gen is rated for 5k lbs. It would seem much of the weight designation is rated to capability of the power plant.
Click to expand...

This is why I added the line in my post a little further back, in the UK 3500kg (well over 7,000 LB) is the maximum tow weight, this is why I wondered if it is where the OP is the maximum weight is state regulated? In the UK the only legal difference is if you use the 80 for commercial purposes, in that case you must hold a Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) licence and fit a tachograph, as the gross train weight would be 16,500 LB, I do hold this and the higher level HGV 2 32 tons (or if you like 70,500+ LB) but I still don't get the miserable 5.500 GVW limit. Perhaps it is to do with the gasoline engine as opposed to the diesel with more torque available lower down the rev range?

Stay safe.

Regards

Dave
 
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