towing question

[Hogweed]

i recently sold my rollback truck and i'm contemplating the purchase of a car trailer. my question is this: what do you guys recommend for a tow vehicle?
trailer will be you average car trailer, 16-18' and weigh 1700-1850 lbs unladen. i generally tow mercedes (go figure) cars and the occasional volvo, subaru, toyota.....

i had a buddy who used to tow an 18' trailer with a bmw e30 and never had an issue(but he was a lucky bastage!).

since i have plenty of cars i've been thinking whether or not this might be ok. for example my w124 300e is bigger than the e30 but i don't see too many people towing cars with them!
alternatively, i have a gmc full size van that could be outfitted w/ a class III hitch or i could buy a pick up truck, etc.

thanks in advance for any input and merry Christmas!
gregg

[oldsinner111]

unitized vehicles don't make good tow vehicles.You really need something with a frame.

[tbomachines]

I think this is the best excuse I've seen to get a Porsche 928...7500lb towing capacity!


Sent from an abacus

[P.C.]

Is your van a 1500, or is it a 2500?

[Hogweed]

Originally Posted by P.C.

Is your van a 1500, or is it a 2500?

1500

[Hogweed]

Originally Posted by tbomachines

I think this is the best excuse I've seen to get a Porsche 928...7500lb towing capacity!


Sent from an abacus

[97 SL320]

Originally Posted by oldsinner111

unitized vehicles don't make good tow vehicles.You really need something with a frame.

Not true. As long as hitch mounting points are designed to distribute the load, a unit body is just fine.

As for what kind of car to get, since you have a van use that but put a bit of weight in the back so the trailer doesn't push the rear around. A heavy longer wheelbase car would be OK for towing though the use of equalizer bars would be a must to get some weight on the front wheels

However, the towing parameters need to be better defined. How far will a typical trip be? What type of roads? Towing in rain , snow and / or ice? Are you Ok with having to drive a little slow?

Nearly anything can tow anything else it just depends on how far and how fast you want to go.

The ratio between trailer wheels to hitch length and towing unit wheelbase matters. A long trailer needs a tow unit with a long wheelbase and / or higher weight otherwise the trailer can push the rear of the tow unit around. A particular edgy combination might be stable when going straight but unstable over bumps in a corner or evasive maneuvers.

Car / flat trailers are measured many ways, I don't consider overall length of any value though some are marketed that way. I only consider deck length of value.

My car trailer has a 14 ft deck with wheels a bit farther forward than normal. This leads to a light tongue weight when empty but great balance when a front engine car is loaded. It will carry a late 70's full sized Buick just fine though the back hangs out over the trailer edge. Anything else fits in the trailer fine. Having a short trailer makes for easier storage and backing up.

[Hogweed]

i would generally avoid towing in bad weather and would go as far away as i needed to (usually less than 3 hrs one way). i have an f250 pick up that i might be able to revive for this task of tow vehicle.
most trailers i've seen have the overall length listed. some have the deck length included.
what about brakes? i would need a brake controller installed in order to use the trailer brakes but is it necessary?

Originally Posted by 97 SL320

Not true. As long as hitch mounting points are designed to distribute the load, a unit body is just fine.

As for what kind of car to get, since you have a van use that but put a bit of weight in the back so the trailer doesn't push the rear around. A heavy longer wheelbase car would be OK for towing though the use of equalizer bars would be a must to get some weight on the front wheels

However, the towing parameters need to be better defined. How far will a typical trip be? What type of roads? Towing in rain , snow and / or ice? Are you Ok with having to drive a little slow?

Nearly anything can tow anything else it just depends on how far and how fast you want to go.

The ratio between trailer wheels to hitch length and towing unit wheelbase matters. A long trailer needs a tow unit with a long wheelbase and / or higher weight otherwise the trailer can push the rear of the tow unit around. A particular edgy combination might be stable when going straight but unstable over bumps in a corner or evasive maneuvers.

Car / flat trailers are measured many ways, I don't consider overall length of any value though some are marketed that way. I only consider deck length of value.

My car trailer has a 14 ft deck with wheels a bit farther forward than normal. This leads to a light tongue weight when empty but great balance when a front engine car is loaded. It will carry a late 70's full sized Buick just fine though the back hangs out over the trailer edge. Anything else fits in the trailer fine. Having a short trailer makes for easier storage and backing up.

[tbomachines]

Id consider a brake controller as necessary. I would not tow more than 2500 lbs without one, even with a solid pickup. The other option would be a tongue mounted master cylinder (an analog brake controller if you will) like they do on bigger uhauls. They are not expensive and easy to install, well within your reach.


Sent from an abacus

[Skippy]

Most of my towing has been done with an International Paystar 5000 (normally pulling a 32 cubic meter end dump trailer full of gravel) or a Mk 31 MTVR tractor pulling a 53' equipment trailer with a dozer or excavator on it. Your trailer won't need that much truck. That F250 sounds like it should do the job for the load you're talking about. Do ensure that you have working trailer brakes. A brake controller to tune the brake response between truck and trailer is a good idea.

[97 SL320]

Since the van is up and running I'd try that first. Given it is a 1/2 t van, trailer brakes are a must. You will probably have to tow in 3 rd gear ( assuming a 700r4 4 speed auto ) unless it has a really deep rear gear. I'd also put maybe 400 lb solidly attached weight in the back of the van as vans tend to be pretty light in the rear.

The F250 would be slightly better however I've seen 2 versions, a light and a heavy. If you have full floating axles in the rear you likely have the heavy one with bigger brakes.

My 14 ' deck flat trailer has hydraulic surge brakes so I can attach it to anything and have brakes. My 20 ft box trailer ( box size not overall ) has electric brakes. When I towed it with my 77 Chevy 3/4 T I used a old school tap into the brake line controller. My 80 Chevy single wheel 1 ton will tow the box trailer without brakes just fine though I really should add a controller for added stability. ( The 80 has 13" x 3 1/2" rear drums and huge front discs. )

To get some sense of what will tow what, look on the u haul site for truck / trailer rental. They have a configurator that is very conservative.

[cornemuse]

I had a tennant one time who, when he moved, loaded a (1/2 ton) Chevy PU on a trailer and towed it away behind a Camaro. Honest.

[Hogweed]

Originally Posted by cornemuse

I had a tennant one time who, when he moved, loaded a (1/2 ton) Chevy PU on a trailer and towed it away behind a Camaro. Honest.

yes, to paraphrase 97sl320 "you can tow anything with with anything" but to quote richard pryor "...i don't wanna be no muther(frank)ing accident"
i.e. i do not want to end up on the news with my latest acquisition wrapped around my coconut!

there is a 99 tahoe that is set up with brake controller, etc for towing but now, with buying a trailer, i'm starting to approach the $$ figure i got for the rollback (which shouldn't matter as long as i can move stuff).....

merry Christmas to all and thanks for the replies! i would find it difficult to believe there is a better, more helpful forum on the interwebs

[97 SL320]

Don't let the existence of a trailer brake control drive the decision.

Modern controllers are easy to install as they use a pendulum and hall effect ( magnet ) sensor. You need one wire to the battery , one to the trailer brakes, one to the light bulb side of the brake light switch and one to ground. Also, the trailer must have a good ( 14 G min ) ground wire as everything electrical must feed through that wire.

[Hogweed]

yes it seems they are only about $70 and the wiring seems simple enough. i will likely try to use something i already own to cut costs. this guy around me is renting a trailer out for $50/day so i might use that one in the interim

Originally Posted by 97 SL320

Don't let the existence of a trailer brake control drive the decision.

Modern controllers are easy to install as they use a pendulum and hall effect ( magnet ) sensor. You need one wire to the battery , one to the trailer brakes, one to the light bulb side of the brake light switch and one to ground. Also, the trailer must have a good ( 14 G min ) ground wire as everything electrical must feed through that wire.