Towing with a B-Body

[BattleWagon]

Am I off my rocker here? I did some searching around but didn't find much info.

I have a 16' enclosed trailer that weights about 2k #'s I'd like to pull with a 73 Satellite wagon. Naturally I want to set the car up to do so, bigger radiator, trans cooler, 8 3/4 or 9 1/4 rear with lower gears, 3:55 or 3:91. Police T-bars and leaf springs. Maybe air shocks too? Upgrade the front to 11.75 brakes.

I can get a class 2 or possibly class 3 receiver made.. With 2 dirt bikes and camping gear, should be under 3k. What I can't find is rated towing capacity for the car. Is it doable? Is it even safe? Perhaps I should be patient until I get a truck next year?

 

[MarPar]

bout as close as I can find...

http://www.allpar.com/history/dodge/1973.html

 

[bigaadams]

I am not so sure I would bet the farm on that article...to me, it seems misleading...am sure the very towing limit mentioned is combined vehicle and towed array as attached...the DOT sets limits on tow vehicle combined weight and is usually at X percent and only increased if the added trailer is complete with its own activated braking system...AND the biggest killer here is that many folks have collector car insurance and to tow a trailer will void your coverage...only in very limited capacity where the towed trailer is that of the static display with no tool, parts or personal belonging inside is it considered covered by most underwriters. Consider a panhard rod if you choose to go forward with this idea and as you mentioned..do get a receiver hitch made and ensure the guy making it has forward mounting points to the frame for tongue weight considerations..

 

[67 coronet]

my dad used to tow a big *** camper,way back when,with a 68 rt charger.that thing had to be pushing 4k easy.only problems I ever saw was breaking the upper shock mount crossmember.you don't have that in a wagon.ya,I know,most of us would kill our selves before we towed with a 68 charger rt.but that was then,this is now.

 

[Daves69]

my dad used to tow a big *** camper,way back when,with a 68 rt charger.that thing had to be pushing 4k easy.only problems I ever saw was breaking the upper shock mount crossmember.you don't have that in a wagon.ya,I know,most of us would kill our selves before we towed with a 68 charger rt.but that was then,this is now.

^^This^^ They even sold fender mount tow mirrors. Look at some in the link.....................

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...tion wagons hauling campers&sc=0-15&sp=-1&sk=

 

[Ranidart70]

- - - Updated - - -

I am going to tow with my 68 wagon. I have smaller trailers ....16' would probably be the very max I would go with it.

but for a flea market or lawn tractor trailer a good ol wagon can handle it like the ol days.

Another wagon owner on here found that a hitch from a Dakota will fit with minor mod.

 

[patrick66]

People towed with what you are wanting to do, all the time back in the day. I pulled a 6x10 U-Haul single axle trailer loaded down with stuff with my 361-powered '66 Coronet 500, from Tacoma to OKC in 1981. That was over the mountains in WA, MT, WY, and CO. That was with 2.94 gears, automatic with NO trans cooler, stock 10" drums all around, and driving sensibly (60 - 70 mph). All my Coronet had as far as "tow gear" was air shocks.

 

[Bb70charger500]

I read in a few places that these cars with 318's could tow 5000 lbs all you need is the hitch and a bigger rad that's it

 

[streetwedg]

I had a 68 coronet 318 with the only option being tow package. That included, heavy duty cooling,sure grip, and power brakes with 11" drums all around

 

[HawkRod]

IMHO, the biggest issue with towing isn't the engine size, but the ability of the suspension to handle the load. The tongue weight of the trailer is the biggest issue. If the tongue weight is ~ 200 pounds I'd think you would be OK with some HD shocks and a cooling system for engine and maybe trans.

 

[monaco66coupe]

Be sure the hitch is attached to the frame rails, and no air shocks! Use Overloads, super heavy leaf springs. That frame holding the shocks on the upper floor is flimsy, and the whole shock frame will eventually rip from the floor if you use air shocks for height(all the bouncing). A load leveler system would be the best. Your brake plans are also Imprtant. an 8 3/4 is fine, 3:23 ratios are good and I assume a 727 transmission is already in the car. I used a 69' Satellite wagon to do the same thing, hence all the advice of what NOT to do.

 

[Deleted member 214]

I had a 66 Satellite, 383 4bbl, Torqueflite, 3.23 rear. I flat towed a 2,700 pound 64 Dart GT 273 from Texas to Indiana. All I did was have a hitch put on it and added a tranny cooler. It already had a rebuilt suspension and XHD back springs.

 

[patrick66]

You might also consider air bags on the rear. Far better than air shocks, and less expensive than a new set of springs; yet they are very dependable and don't detract from normal drivability.

 

[kiwigtx]

Towing is easy as....stopping...that's something else. Back in around 1987, I towed this big-assed '48 or '49 Chrysler 9-passenger whale approx 300 miles. We hitched an additional trailer on for about another 20 or so miles from a swap-meet the next day. The Charger towed fine, just had a few hair-raising moments coming down the icy slopes of a gorge road around 10:00pm during the trip. Held the wheel, held the line, and steered out of trouble without too much of a sweat. :icon_thumright:

 

[rlem1977]

Here's a Challenger towing a boat:

 

[bm02tj]

Put on a proper equalizer hitch and brakes on the trailer and you are good to go
If you are poor at backing the trailer add a trany cooler
You need 10% of the trailer weight on the hitch