Towing a Burro with a Chevrolet Impala - Fiberglass RV
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Old 07-30-2018, 12:30 PM   #1
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Towing a Burro with a Chevrolet Impala

I'm buying a 1978 Burro. I have a 2012 Impala with towing capacity of 1000lbs. Do you think it will be OK?
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Old 07-30-2018, 12:47 PM   #2
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what does the loaded burro weigh?
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Old 07-30-2018, 12:59 PM   #3
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Welcome to the forum, Christy!

Your Burro won't be under 1000 pounds, of that I am sure. In terms of packed and provisioned, on-the-road weights, the lightest 13'ers typically weigh in around 1300-1400 pounds. Heavily optioned and/or modified units can pass the 2000 pound mark, but somewhere around 1500-1700 pounds is more typical for non-bath units. Stock Burros do tend to be on the light end.

It's hard to say why a fairly robust sedan with a strong drivetrain (especially the newer Impalas) is not rated to tow more, but the rating is what it is. Possible weak points include the rear sub-frame, suspension, brakes, or transmission gearing. There are very few sedans with any kind of decent tow rating, sadly.

Some call it a conspiracy to sell expensive trucks and SUV's. That's more than I can say...
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Old 07-30-2018, 01:12 PM   #4
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If you had a b-body caprice/impala which came in the 1992-1998 model years, I would say no problem. Those cars were body on frame and rated to tow 5000 lbs. All newer sedans are unibody designs and not rated to tow near what the old ones were. The impala has plenty of power but i have noticed a lot of your model year impalas with sagging rear suspensions. I am willing to be the rear suspension is your limitation. I tow a scamp 13 no bath, with a decent amount of options, and my car is rated at 2,000 lbs. I'm sure it could tow a lot more, but the weakest link for me as well is the rear suspension. The rear of the car drops over an 1" when towing the scamp at close to 200 lbs tongue weight, any more weight and I would not be comfortable towing.
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Old 07-30-2018, 02:17 PM   #5
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I don't think any Burro will be under 1000 lbs when loaded for camping. Check out this thread on this site Take and average of all burrors of you size the get a pretty good idea what you expect.
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Old 07-30-2018, 02:18 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by burrogirl View Post
I'm buying a 1978 Burro. I have a 2012 Impala with towing capacity of 1000lbs. Do you think it will be OK?
NO NO NO
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Old 07-30-2018, 02:32 PM   #7
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the post 2000 impalas are built on the same flimsy FWD platform as the chevy luminas. ride is tuned for comfort with 1-2 passengers and maybe a couple kids and groceries, not much more. the old B body were full frame, rear wheel drive, which is the strongest platform for towing.
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Old 07-31-2018, 07:08 AM   #8
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Not all body-on-frame vehicles are strong and not all unibody vehicles are weak. It's one of those generalities that can be over-applied.

For really heavy towing and hauling, yes, you want a body-on-frame, truck-based vehicle.

For a 1500 pound egg trailer, a well-designed, unibody, reinforced-for-towing, front or all-wheel drive passenger vehicle is more than adequate.

For towing the Burro, look for a vehicle with a minimum 2000 pound tow rating, more if you plan to carry extra passengers or gear. If you're not into SUV's, minivans can make good tow vehicles as they're built to carry a fairly high payload in passengers. A used one can be had fairly reasonably. Properly equipped, most can tow up to around 3500 pounds. You will need electric brakes on the Burro.

Just be careful not to load too much in the vehicle when towing- with all that space, you can easily overload the rear suspension. But then, it's not hard to overload some trucks, either. [emoji6]
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