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Old 02-26-2012, 10:51 PM   #181
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Trailer Life lists the tow ratings of more than 700 vehicles. And even if 30% can't tow much more than a jet ski, that still leaves about 500 choices for a TV. Take your pick.

But what I find entertaining is when the OP asks about towing a 25' or 27', we have the nine-teeners arguing with the 34 footers about the best tow vehicle.
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Old 02-26-2012, 10:52 PM   #182
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Not to mention the assumption that " American Standards" must be right...normally only seen assumed by Americans, funnily enough...
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Old 02-26-2012, 10:54 PM   #183
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But what I find entertaining is when the OP asks about towing a 25' or 27', we have the nine-teeners arguing with the 34 footers about the best tow vehicle.
Why not? They're telling me what they think is best, is that a one way street? I'm not telling them to tow a 34' with a Jetta.
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Old 02-26-2012, 11:06 PM   #184
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Zlee, not faulting you at all, in fact I totally agree with you. What's ironic is that most who say "you can't tow with that" have never driven said vehicle and vice versa.
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Old 02-26-2012, 11:17 PM   #185
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Zlee, not faulting you at all, in fact I totally agree with you. What's ironic is that most who say "you can't tow with that" have never driven said vehicle and vice versa.
Yeah, sorry, looking at that it came out sounding annoyed rather than amused!
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Old 02-27-2012, 12:32 AM   #186
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Ok well, I have a 96 Ford F250 5.8 - four speed automatic transmission, with overdrive and the tow package beneath.
I also have a reese straight hitch. Is this the hitch that distributes the weight? Anotherwords , once applied it will shift some of the weight to the front tires and axle.
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Old 02-27-2012, 10:34 AM   #187
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As I've written before, I don't know how CanAm does it, but usually Canada has stricter safety laws than the US. Airstreams shipped there have axles with higher weight ratings for example.

Not only do corporations have bean counters and lawyers passing on things, the marketing dep't also does and sometimes it seems they overrule everyone else.

Now that SAE is establishing towing ratings, it will be interesting to see how they change compared to previous ratings set by the manufacturers. Though they aren't mandatory yet, Toyota has adopted them and there isn't that much difference.

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Old 02-27-2012, 11:07 AM   #188
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So as far as CanAm remember they are an Canadian company and Canada laws are more liberal than here which is why CanAm does not want to venture across the boarder and open here, because what they are doing would not pass American Standards.
Everybody please remember 1 Thing?? just because it can = does not make it safe or right!
Just by reading some of the forum posts it's clear that many forum members from the USA are Can Am customers.

It appears that one of the attractions of having Can Am involved with their rigs (wherever you call home) is because of Can Am's reputation for overall excellence and safety. I have talked with a number of truck/SUV/car owners that benefited from Can Am's involvement with their rigs, (mods, adjustments, setup, etc).
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Old 02-28-2012, 09:18 PM   #189
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This thread has meandered around somewhat and is usual with this subject, achieved very little other than entrench the positions of the opposing camps. So be it; I promised not to scoff at your unhitched gas mileage if you promise to stop telling me my set up isn't safe (at least not without some real data).

I was still a little curious, though, to see if I could expand on the notion that manufacturers' tow ratings are/are not scientifically derived. You may be interested to read this article from "Truck Trend":

The Numbers Game: How Truck Makers Determine Towing Capacity - Consumer Feature - Truck Trend

The piece confirms what I'd heard, that tow ratings are initially derived from customer demand, marketing needs and what the competition's up to, rather than some serious scientific work. Sure, once the rating is set, manufacturers test and refine their product to make sure the rating will work, but that seems to me, and the SAE, to be the wrong way round, hence the drive for a standard method of calculation.

The piece also gives some insight as to why, for instance, the tow rating on a standard Minivan has not altered since Minivans were first conceived in the early eighties; not enough customers have demanded that the rating be reconsidered!

Choose to abide by the stated tow ratings or not, there are more important figures (GVWR, GAWR) and things like cooling, brakes, suspension and hitch structure to consider first.
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Old 03-01-2012, 05:51 PM   #190
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The expert of experts is Andy Thomson of CanAmRV.ca in Canada! I'm working with Andy and John right now and they are super helpful and knowledgable. No hard sell with these guys, just honesty and expertise! Good luck.
I just traded our 2001 Yukon for a 2011 Traverse and am taking it in to Can-Am next week to be set up to tow our 25SS Safari. I've been relying on Can-Am for 10 years and the only thing I will say is that you're in very good hands.

Good luck!
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Old 03-01-2012, 08:58 PM   #191
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. . New York state pulls it several times a year upstate, AZ, NM, NV, all have weight stations where they pull in all vehicles hauling trailers.. and yes they do check to see if you have overloaded your vehicle and trailer. I have seen TN & KY DOT pull over campers where they look unsafe and check them such as with a vehicle to small for the trailer.

And, as you know, about all they can check is the tire ratings. Maybe the axle rating, but that isn't clear. AAM builds the drive axles for both GM and Dodge -- both of whom rate the same axle differently -- and AAM rates it for higher use than either. The "rating" of a private party (manufacturer) does not equate -- not in any way -- to legal. Except with tires, sometimes axle, as the law spells out for commercial, not private, operators.

Oilfield hotshot uses a loaded 9k 1T pickup, often, for 9k trailers with 16k loaded aboard. 32-34,000-lb combination where the "rating" is at 21k GCWR. The single concern is tire/axle rating. For commercial operators this is a well-understood non-issue. The trucks tend to only be able to do this for about 300k miles due to rough roads. The on-road car haulers make many more than this with the same trucks.

And U-Haul would be out of business years ago were this contention otherwise true.

Besides, argue (those of you who wish) about CAN AM. They merely do what anyone did in the 1960's and into the 1970's. There were no pre-made hitches. The hitch installer welded together, according to plan, a travel trailer hitch to fit your car (rarely, a truck). Canadian and American law don't have nuttin' to do wit it.

How on earth, in other words, did my poor benighted father use his absurdly long rear overhang 1976 Cadillac for 187,000-miles to tow a trailer beyond the "rating" Cadillac assigned it? The right custom hitch with the right leverage (the old 1/3-1/3-1/3 formula) and respect for any extra load in the trunk. Five adults in the car. Trailer loaded for a 4-week vacation, in and out of the Rockies and High Plains. And so on.

Here's how to build one for a 1968 Plymouth full-size. CAN AM just adds some diagonal bracing to what you see on this rear subframe unibody car diagram (what the savvy installer knew to do way back when). Looks pretty much like I expected to see when a TV was on the service station lift.

So . . . in this dozenth or so year of RV forums online, where, where are the disaster stories about CAN AM (or others) who have a clue or two about hitch rigging? Where are the ripped body welds and melted wheel bearings?

The title of this thread asks the question of what is best:

"Best" is the choice that is otherwise economical to operate when not towing, and exhibits good manners when the trailer is correctly hitched.

No, the benighted arguments are those who "feel" that WDH is unnecessary, or for those who can't be bothered to spend an hour or two setting up their hitch even according to manufacturer instructions against a set of scale readings.

There is nothing, nothing new about any of this outside of the latest tweaks for stiffly sprung pickup trucks and WDH. The rest goes back nearly 50-years.

.
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Old 03-02-2012, 11:32 AM   #192
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I was sitting in a parking lot the other day waiting for my wife and across from me was an F150 flat bed. It looked to be around 1970, maybe earlier, maybe later. I guess it had 14" tires. It looked like 2WD because it was so low to the ground, but that would mean mid-'70's. It looked really small. That was a truck 40 or so years ago.

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Old 03-02-2012, 11:54 AM   #193
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Gene, my landlord's got a great old wreck of a Ford truck with a flathead V8, I think a '39, maybe a '38. It's really cool looking, too bad he couldn't get a hitch onto it, it'd be so much fun to pull up to a rally towing with that once he's fixed it up.
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Old 03-02-2012, 12:07 PM   #194
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Try this link for 1938-39 Ford trucks; great grille: PHOTO GALLERY OF OLD TRUCKS

It may look cool, but driving one would be a chore—crash gears, no power steering or brakes, etc. A lot of restorations aren't really because they put in new engines, transmissions, brakes, etc. That would be possible as a TV and I'm sure CanAm could put a hitch receiver in.

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Old 03-02-2012, 12:23 PM   #195
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Ooh, he's a real deal type of guy. Doubt I could get him to do that to it!
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Old 03-03-2012, 06:13 AM   #196
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I think my issue for towing - be it a 3.0 TDI or 6.7 V8 oil burner - I just love diesels, especially for towing...

Now get me that '39/'38 ford pickup, upgrade brakes and transplant a modern oil burner engine & tranny and that would be sweet to pull up to some events with Airstream in tow...
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Old 03-03-2012, 10:53 AM   #197
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You might have to rebuild the frame to deal with all that torque and weight. Might as well as add A/C, 24-way power seats, 10 speakers and satellite phone, big honkin' wheels and tires, and the list keeps going. Then it won't be a '38 Ford, but a shell of one. To each his own.

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Old 03-03-2012, 11:01 AM   #198
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Yeah, I think he's a but of a purist. it WOULD be fun to show up at a rally towing with one, though!
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Old 03-03-2012, 11:47 AM   #199
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So . . . in this dozenth or so year of RV forums online, where, where are the disaster stories about CAN AM (or others) who have a clue or two about hitch rigging? Where are the ripped body welds and melted wheel bearings?
I've read testimonials from many happy customers. But I'm still looking for the stories of law suits against Can-Am. Hmmm... The courts are mysteriously silent.

Hmmm...
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Old 03-03-2012, 12:20 PM   #200
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I've read testimonials from many happy customers. But I'm still looking for the stories of law suits against Can-Am. Hmmm... The courts are mysteriously silent.

Hmmm...
It's well known that Can-Am tends to ignore manufacturer's recommended tow ratings (taking appropriate measures of course) but from what I can see towing laws in North America only deal with GVWR and GAWR, and I could be wrong but don't think Can-Am ignores those rules. If they have I've never seen it. It appears to me that every rig that comes out of Can-Am would pass every towing law and road regulation in USA and Canada.

Of course, what raises eyebrows is the pre-conception that passenger cars can't be made safe to tow larger trailers, when in reality the answer is...it depends. I can tell you one thing...Andy is no dummy. He'll be the first to tell you that if you want to load a Jetta with four 200 lb passengers and toss a generator in the trunk but tow a 23 foot Flying Cloud, you're going to need a bigger vehicle. There's no black magic going on here.
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