Capacity for Towing with the VehiCross

[kpv]

I have a D Lan hitch installed on my VX. I have used it to tow my motorcycle trailer in the past without any problems at all.

I now have a need to tow a car on a trailer. The car weighs 3,400 pounds and the trailer I am assuming weighs 1,500 pounds. That makes my total load nearly 5,000 pounds.

Has anyone done this???

Can it be done???

What do I need to know or do??

[t2p]

Can it be done.
.
Yes.
.
Should it be done ?
.
? Probably No.
.
Should it be done on a continual/regular basis ?
.
No.
.

[kpv]

t2p,
Thanks for your response!
This will be a one time thing. I need to trailer my sports car up to Watkins Glen Racetrack for a track event. It is 230 miles each way.

I am looking to rent a UHaul trailer (2,000 pounds) to carry my car (3400 pounds).

I intend to take it easy and be very careful.

All of this considered, do you still think it is appropriate??

Have you personally done it?

What is the basis for your "Yes" answer in your previous post??

[psychos2]

one thing i would make sure the trailer has brakes and they are functioning. shawn

[Maugan_VX]

I wouldn't let it get into overdrive, your torque converter may never well lock up.

Heres the way I look at towing in the Vx:

The driveline is straight out of a trooper. On my old 93, the max allowable tow weight was 5000lbs. I tested this once, towing a Pb-keeled (Lead) sailboat from North Carolina to Key West and back. While accelerating slowly is managable, many people overlook the slowing down part of the equation. The brakes on the VX are more than adequate to stop IMO, but just be careful because of theshort wheelbase.

On a related note, I towed a ~5000lbs wooden shed on a 2500lbs flatbed trailer up a hill in the trooper once. Probably did some damage to it, but it made it up.

[Joe_Black]

Tow away, just follow towing guidelines as outlined for the 2001 Trooper: 5000lbs and 500lbs tongue. Be mindful of the short wheelbase, it turns quicker and gives you a great deal more maneuverability. I had a '93 Trooper RS, which has the same wheelbase as the VX, and there were some additional precautions for towing for that reason.

[Maugan_VX]

Quick question:

Does anyone know if towing voids your manufacturer warranty?

I'm sure they'd use it as an excuse.

[SlowPro48]

Originally posted by Maugan_VX
The brakes on the VX are more than adequate to stop IMO, but just be careful because of theshort wheelbase.

Good tow vehicle brakes don't mean a thing when the tow-ee outweighs the tow-er. There are two reasons for this and transio will be happy to draw you some diagrams! javascript:smilie('')
wink

kpv, I'm sure your VX pulls a m/c just fine but DO NOT rely on the VX brakes in this case. Somewhere in that 460 miles of driving, you will probably need to slow down quickly. If you have 5,400 lbs behind the VX and no trailer brakes you WILL jack that rig.

Even with a longer wheelbase towing that much mass is not safe without trailer brakes. You may get by with it but you'll be pushing your luck - which is fine if you're the only one to suffer the consequences but unfortunately sometimes when you push your luck other people pay for it. Against my better judgement a couple months ago I pulled a 1957 MGA on a tandem axle, steel deck trailer - without brakes. The gross weight was around what you're talking about. The tow vehicle was a longbed 3/4 ton pickup with close to 1,000 lbs of parts in the bed - as far back as possible to prevent brake induced jacking. Coming down off the Blue Ridge Parkway on those steep, winding little roads it was getting pushed all over the place. I could hear the inside rear tire skipping on the braking bumps. It wasn't even in contact with the pavement a lot of the time. What a hell-ride. The VX wouldn't have made it past the first off-camber downhill turn. I'm just thankful I didn't kill anybody...

Bottom line:

If the trailer has brakes, go for it. I'd also see if U-haul rents weight-distributing hitches too because with that kind of tongue weight, you'll need one on the VX.

If the trailer doesn't have brakes... uh... find one that does!

[SlowPro48]

Originally posted by Maugan_VX
Quick question:

Does anyone know if towing voids your manufacturer warranty?

I'm sure they'd use it as an excuse.

I'm sure they'd never find out. Nobody tows anything. Everybody's hitches are used for bike racks only - right?

[visconte]

on a VX in Torrance and the hitch had a SETA brand name on it. Unfortunately I can't find any info on the SETA hitch on the internet - anyone know anything about this make of hitch?

[SPAZZ]

I've towed a '68 Mustang over 200 miles up mountains.
No problems what soever.

[Maverick]

towed 2700 plus lb sports car several times now, no issues..
towed uhaul 6x8 van trailer fully loaded, no issues..

run in "3" , take it slow and easy, anticipate braking, everything will be ducky..and as mentioned above, beware of steep downhills, they can be tricky in any vehicle , but the vx will tow very nicely..maybe too nicely..its easy to forget theres a trailer back there on open roads...;eekp;

[SPAZZ]

at LEAST CLASS III hitch!!!

[xdfarrx]

I towed boats in tahoe albeit short distances. I also towed a 4 up trailer with snowmobiles frequently with no problem. The short wheel base can be sketchy but conversely makes maneuvering when backing up easier (and harder, you;ll see)....

[SlowPro48]

Originally posted by Maverick
towed 2700 plus lb sports car several times now, no issues..
towed uhaul 6x8 van trailer fully loaded, no issues..

Was this with or without trailer brakes?

Just wondering because I'm thinking of borrowing my brother's 7x10 enclosed trailer (don't know exact weight but it's fairly heavy) to haul some motorcycles to a DS ride and then sleep in it instead of using a lightweight three rail m/c trailer and tent camping.

Thanks