Does anyone tow a 16' or 17' with a car?

[AlBarnes]

They did it all the time years ago. I remember my uncle towing a 24' Avion with a 73 Cadillac.

[Brian B-P]

A 1973 Cadillac sedan had roughly the design and construction of a pickup truck. Lots of people still tow trailers with cars like this, but they call them "SUVs".

I'm serious... general frame configuration, body-on-frame construction, engines and transmissions, front and rear suspension designs and even specific suspension components were all shared between light trucks and passenger vehicles. There are still shared components between passenger cars and pickup trucks (and the SUV derivatives of pickups), but they are mostly just engines now.

[Gina D.]

There is a big old honkin v8 late 60s Impala station wagon up the street that is sometimes for sale.. then he takes the sign off.

It isn't a collectors version, but I have tried to contact him.. I'd tow with it!

[AlBarnes]

There is a big old honkin v8 late 60s Impala station wagon up the street that is sometimes for sale.. then he takes the sign off.

It isn't a collectors version, but I have tried to contact him.. I'd tow with it!

Yes, I've seen those pull 6000lb trailers when I was a kid. Hell, only farmers had pickup trucks in the late 60;s early 70's.

My 92 Crown Vic is only rated at 2000 lbs and it's fairly big and honkin'.
I think auto companies are wisely giving low-ball weight recommendations, to avoid legal consequences. And I don't blame them.

[MyronL]

I bought an old (1990) Cadillac deVille 2-door sedan with a very muscular 8 cylinder engine and planned to use it as my tow vehicle. Then I found out there was no full frame underneath. They call it "unibody" construction. No way I was going to attach a hitch to that lightly constructed undercarriage. Beware of unibody construction.

I got an Explorer.

[CD Smith]

I pulled our 17' SD with a 2001 Cadillac DeVille for a year before concluding that its suspension was not robust enough. We then traded for our 2004 Cadillac Escalade. It is an excellent tow vehicle.

[Brian B-P]

...They call it "unibody" construction. No way I was going to attach a hitch to that lightly constructed undercarriage. Beware of unibody construction.

A go-kart has a tubular frame... but I wouldn't tow a trailer with it. The Mercedes/Dodge Sprinter 3500 is a commercial truck with a 7500 lb towing capacity... and unibody construction.

I would not judge a vehicle by a single construction feature, without examining how that feature was implemented. When the manufacturer issues a trailer weight rating, it reflects (among other factors) the strength of the structure and provision of hitch mounting points. Perhaps the Cadillac would be unsuitable for towing, but not simply because it has unibody (a.k.a. unitized) construction.

[Doug Mager]

what about this....

[Carol H]

Yup! We tow a 16' Scamp with a 07 Subaru Outback.

[AlBarnes]

Yup! We tow a 16' Scamp with a 07 Subaru Outback.

Do you tow it far? What are the stats on the Outback?

[MyronL]

Unibody is a related construction technique for automobiles in which the body is integrated into a single unit with the chassis rather than having a separate body-on-frame. The welded "Unit Body" is the predominant automobile construction technology today.

So naturally, any tow capacity depends on design intent.

Regardless, before you buy a used car you want to tow your trailer I have found it pays to look carefully underneath the thing before you lay down the bucks.

[Pete Dumbleton]

I'm not dead sure about this, but I suspect that the Abrams Tank has unibody construction rather than body-on-frame. Of course, I also don't know its GCWR...

[Brian B-P]

I'm not dead sure about this, but I suspect that the Abrams Tank has unibody construction rather than body-on-frame. Of course, I also don't know its GCWR...

Depending on version, the M1 Abrams curb weight appears to up to 69.54 tons (139,080 lb), so the GCWR must be at least that, but I couldn't find a better answer. A "lighter" 61.4 ton version could then presumably tow about 8 tons; however, the since the intent of the vehicle is not towing, care would need to be taken to distribute the hitch load to appropriate points on its unibody shell to avoid damage.

Our army's General Dynamics LAV-II Coyote is based on a unibody shell (or "hull"), and I believe that most other similar designs are as well. That one says it is okay to use it to tow another "similar vehicle" (13,400 kg loaded for combat), so they must have found a way to mount that hitch.

Good one, Pete

Myron, I do understand your point: the tug should be structurally designed for towing stress.

[MyronL]

Right. To further define "design intent" the following personal opinions may apply:

1. M1 Abrams battle tank with unibody construction: primary use meant for Rambo type persons.
2. Cadillac deVille with cabriolet roof, unibody construction: primary use Sunday driving for well-off grandmas or girly-boy insurance salesmen.

Stress requirements? It all depends.

[Gina D.]

I towed my 13 with a unibody Element.

Honda Ridgeline is Unibody I believe (Which, for some reason or other.. probably stubborn tradition..folks think that doesn't make it a "real" truck) 5k tow rating.

For our little rigs.. is it really an issue?

[Pete Dumbleton]

I towed my 13 with a unibody Element.

Honda Ridgeline is Unibody I believe (Which, for some reason or other.. probably stubborn tradition..folks think that doesn't make it a "real" truck) 5k tow rating.

For our little rigs.. is it really an issue?

Actually, it isn't -- The issues were decided by the vehicle maker's engineers (wih input from the marketeers, no doubt) and the results are published in the Owner's Manual.

Second guessing the engineers with thoughts on number of engine cylinders, transmission types, tow geometry and frame construction are things some of us like to do, but that doesn't change the set limits, just may serve to explain them.

[Brian B-P]

Right. To further define "design intent" the following personal opinions may apply:...

[b]Sport Utility Vehicle or Van, unibody construction: passenger and cargo transport, moderate trailer towing?
[b]C1 through C3, first three generations of Corvette, body on ladder frame construction (plus big V8, rear drive): impressing members of the opposite gender

I agree that a Cadillac convertible is not likely designed with the intent to tow, but neither is a Corvette... the construction method (unibody or body-on-frame) isn't a great single indicator of capability, but a look under the back at specific structural details may provide some indication.

One hint would be the availability of hitches. 2" hitch receivers with capacity well beyond the vehicles rating are readily available for common front-drive unibody minivans, and simply bolt into the six provided threaded mounting points; on the other hand, I can't find a hitch anymore for our Honda CRX, and even when they were made their attachment system included some sort of clamp onto what was supposed to be a tie-down point.

[remington850]

I tow our 17' Burro with our 98 Bonnie. I did add a tranny cooler. Haven't been out of state (FL) with it yet but plan on going to the Keys this summer (600 miles one way) which will be the longest distance it has been towed todate.