Towing a 74 Sovereign with an 89 Crown Vic LTD Wagon?

[paulnist]

Hey fellow Airheads-

What does the voice of experience suggest about the idea of towing a 74 Sovereign with rear bedroom with an 89 Ford Crown Vic LTD Wagon with a factory tow package?

My Sovereign is currently gutted, so weight reduction is a possibility...

The drivetrain specs for the wagon are...

V-8 4942 cm3 / 301.6 cui engine size, 119 kW / 162 PS / 160 hp (SAE net) of power, 380 Nm / 280 lb-ft of torque, 4-speed automatic powertrain matched to a rear diff ratio of 3.73:1.

Attached are the options included with the factory tow package...

[InsideOut]

First off, welcome to AirForums!

I'm pretty certain a '74 Sovereign's loaded weight is going to be well over the 5,000lb maximum towing capacity of your Crown Vic, even with weight reducing measures taken.

Check out page four in this Floor Plans Sheet. Depending on the interior layout - the original weight ranges from 4,970-5,065lbs dry weight. The "dry weight" doesn't include added features like an awning, water or anything you put in the trailer or car.

Could it "move it"? Yeah.

Is it going to be an enjoyable road trip? No.

Generally, when everything is tuned up and running perfectly, you should leave a 5-10% buffer minimum in the "actual towing weight" of your trailer versus the "maximum towing capacity" of your tow vehicle. A Sovereign is a big trailer. Additional modifications would probably have to be made to your CV.

Shari

[out of sight]

My guess is that the most vulnerable part of your rig will be the car's transmission. Even though you have an auxiliary oil cooler you should consider changing out the oil and replacing it with a synthetic such as Mobil 1 ATF. Even then, if you come up on a long hill keep your nose open for burning transmission fluid.