Visit our Popular Forums

Alumatube · 11-12-2007, 11:37 AM

DON'T DO IT!

Susan

PS - We have a beret smiley!! Yahoo!!! w) w) w)

LJH · 11-12-2007, 01:38 PM

Well put.

Fyrzowt · 11-12-2007, 02:09 PM

I see your point, but that car was more than a little undersized.

I saw that video a few months ago and wondered if it was staged. Anyone know the history?

bryanl · 11-12-2007, 04:10 PM

Quote:

I saw that video a few months ago and wondered if it was staged. Anyone know the history?

Whether or not is hard to tell - what we can tell, though, is what we can observe here. Why is it that someone will take an exception that is so far from the norm as to cause skepticism by anyone with a modicum of experience and an open mind and then try to use that to support a generality?

Just what is an "undersized vehicle" - that has to be defined before any conclusions can be drawn. That definition needs to be one that does not insult my grandparents if I am going to give it much attention, too.

pauly g · 12-13-2007, 11:10 PM

I think it's fake. The smoke, and the sound of the starter motor both seem fake to me.

dmreilly10000 · 12-14-2007, 08:19 AM

Here are a couple of pictues I saved on my hard drive. One is a joke, the other isn't.

Road Ruler · 12-14-2007, 08:30 AM

For those who say it's all in the wheel base, and 4 tire tv are too whimpy here you go. The short rear over hang is just icing on the cake.

Globie64 · 01-28-2008, 04:41 PM

What is scarier is reading the comments after the video. BTW, check out my Avatar, identical to my '65 Citroen Ami6 wagon, 27hp flat twin!

Kajtek1 · 01-28-2008, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fyrzowt

I see your point, but that car was more than a little undersized.

I saw that video a few months ago and wondered if it was staged. Anyone know the history?

That car look like Fiat Punto, but from the poor pictures can't be sure.
Couple decades ago, when I was traveling thru the Alps, I've seen 1300 lb trailers, no brakes towed by Fiat126.
Those 2-cylinders 21 HP cars struggled on first, or second gear to reach the top, but they usually made it. Different times, different country, different expectation. It is doable, but in America "bigger is better" is prevailing.
Let me repost picture of my setup.

Globie64 · 01-28-2008, 04:58 PM

It was a first series Renault 5. I've pulled my Globetrotter with my 4 liter Ranger, with a stick and 4wd, and it's got plenty of power. I can't imagine towing anything over some of those passes in the Alps- no shoulder on the downhill side, just some stone bollards and then open space and the valley below.

Rick Gillis · 01-28-2008, 05:44 PM

A few years ago I met up with a Canadian gentleman in the Smokey Mountains who was towing his new Safari 28 with a front wheel drive Ford Windstar minivan. We discussed his choice of a TV and he showed me an article from a RV magazine that discussed the weight to power attributes of a smaller TV. Basically it said that with a lighter TV, you have more HP to pull a trailer with.

I can agree with that logic however I have to admit that I like my bigger brakes, V8 HP and torque, and body on frame construction for towing my Safari. BTW, his towing MPG was about the same as my 1500 Suburban I had at the time.

safari57 · 01-28-2008, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick Gillis

A few years ago I met up with a Canadian gentleman in the Smokey Mountains who was towing his new Safari 28 with a front wheel drive Ford Windstar minivan. We discussed his choice of a TV and he showed me an article from a RV magazine that discussed the weight to power attributes of a smaller TV. Basically it said that with a lighter TV, you have more HP to pull a trailer with.

I can agree with that logic however I have to admit that I like my bigger brakes, V8 HP and torque, and body on frame construction for towing my Safari. BTW, his towing MPG was about the same as my 1500 Suburban I had at the time.

Rick

He was only PRETENDING to be from Canada

. He must of swiped the plates to put on his van so no one would know what State he was out of. We know better than that. Unless, of course, he was from the prairies where they have no hills to worry about. Then I could maybe see it

.

Barry

Globie64 · 01-28-2008, 07:39 PM

Barry, have you done anything to the brakes on your car, or are they stock? I was thinking that whatever kind of older tow car we got, if it was pre dual master cylinder and discs, we convert it. It's so hilly here, and memories of shooting through a stop sign with faded brakes are seared into my memory.

safari57 · 01-28-2008, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Globie64

Barry, have you done anything to the brakes on your car, or are they stock? I was thinking that whatever kind of older tow car we got, if it was pre dual master cylinder and discs, we convert it. It's so hilly here, and memories of shooting through a stop sign with faded brakes are seared into my memory.

Actually I replaced the entire front clip of the frame. 1957 Pontiac still had king pins and the first year for smaller wheeels/brakes (14" versus 15" previously) and brake fade was an issue from brand new. We grafted on a 1977 Trans Am clip (keeping with the Pontiac theme) which gave me big discs, dual master cylinder, large sway bar, and great steering and handling. I also upgraded the power train with a Pontiac 455 - lots of torque for towing. I towed for years without disc brakes but wouldn't do it with todays traffic, and now that disc brake conversions are relatively inexpensive. Also put new rear leaf springs (they are cheap) and will probably put rear disc brakes on it sometime, but so far the rear drums work just fine. The car is just over 4,000 lbs so it handles a trailer very well. There are times, though, when we use the truck, as when we are intending to go to areas where there is gravel, off road requirements, etc.

Globie64 · 01-28-2008, 08:35 PM

Wow, that's interesting. Bet you had to do a lot to get the sheet metal to attach? I'm thinking of a Mopar, but have heard things about the unibody and distributing the weight from the hitch properly. I was thinking of a 63- 68 Chrysler, or maybe a 67 or later Dart convertible or Coronet.

Love the Pontiac wagon

P

safari57 · 01-28-2008, 09:49 PM

Actually the sheet metal wasn't that big a deal. Lobbed the frame horns off the old frame and re-attached them to the new one so the bumper mounts were correct and a bit of trimming of the inner fender housings to fit the A-arms, new motor mounts and that was it.

I saw a lot of sixties Mopar products pulling big trailers, including Airstreams, all through the sixties, seventies and into the eighties when trucks really got up to speed with luxury items, and people were more willing to use a truck as a primary vehicle. Convertibles do have a stronger frame to accommodate the flex with the roof and lots of folks continue to use them for towing. I don't have any knowledge about unibody construction and towing but I do know there are lots of folks both pro and against it for various reasons. I had a custom built hitch done for my Pontiac to make sure the weight was evenly distributed and it has worked extremely well.

Good luck with your pursuit of a vintage TV.

Barry

casarodante · 01-28-2008, 10:56 PM

I remember seeing the cover of one of the past WBCII directories. They had a 34' triple being towed by a Ford Expedition. That is a bit too little of a tow vehicle for me. We had an Expedition that had a 4.6L engine and towing a 25' SOB scared me. I know that the biggest engine in that year was a 5.4L.

For our TV, overkill suits me just fine.

Globie64 · 03-26-2008, 02:53 PM

I'm revisiting this since I bought a vintage car,not necessarily for towing. The picture with the Nissan SUV and the big trailer- I wonder about towing with an SUV because of the high center of gravity. If you have to maneuver quickly, they can be really tippy, I know, we have an old Jeep and Explorer. So, you have the road hugging weight, but the deficient handling is a tradeoff?

Peter

Garfield · 03-26-2008, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Globie64

I'm revisiting this since I bought a vintage car,not necessarily for towing. The picture with the Nissan SUV and the big trailer- I wonder about towing with an SUV because of the high center of gravity. If you have to maneuver quickly, they can be really tippy, I know, we have an old Jeep and Explorer. So, you have the road hugging weight, but the deficient handling is a tradeoff?

Well, here's a shot of our previous rig...

Frankly, I don't like driving my Yukon on the highway when empty -- high centre of gravity and short wheelbase does make it a little too squirrely for my taste. But when hitch up to a TT, it behaves much more sure-footedly -- probably has something to do with towing 100% of its GVWR! I knew SUV's don't make the best tow vehicles, but they do have their benefits -- like 7 passenger seating, nice ride and they look cool (much better than a PU truck!)