How much have you towed?

I am trying to determine how much can be towed behind my '77 Pontiac Catalina Safari wagon. Has anyone had any experience with this size of GM SW. Would like to be able to tow a 5000-6000lbs trailer for short distances. I can't find any ratings for this size of wagon and was looking for advice on what type of modifications might be recommended.

 

Rated at 5K. I've towed with all my wagons. They're made to do it!







Just make sure you have the air shocks working!
Loading up the car after dragging the boat up the ramp:

And me pulling the boat the rest of the way off the ramp and into the parking lot.....! YIKES!


If set up right, they can tow BIG stuff. This one is not mine

 

Does anyone still make a class III or IV hitch for them? I was thinking of installing air bags inside the coil springs and brake controller along with a rear sway bar.

 

They are rated for 5,000 pounds ONLY when equipped with the factory tow package. Otherwise, they are rated for 2,000 pounds. I'll leave the suspension mods to someone with a lot more experience with these cars than I.

When it comes to the hitch, one thing: Find, or have made, a NO DRILL mount hitch. The Reese hitches now (no idea about then) mount to the bottom of the frame rails. They are Class II unless load equalizing is used. I lost my Grand Marquis to one when the car was rear-ended. The hitch mount tore the frame rails, and there was no proper way to fix the damage. Had it been a hitch that used the bumper mount bolts for a 'No Drill Install", the frame could have been straightened and reinforced. I have had good luck with Draw-Tite, Hidden Hitch (Both now owned by Reese) and E-Z-Lift. I would check with U-Haul. They may still have a no-drill hitch in stock. They have ONE left for my 78 Thunderbird. Have to get that soon!

 

Funny pic with t-rex

 

Have had bolt-on frame-mount Hidden Hitches on both my wagons. They've worked fine...even with big loads:


As for suspension mods, a set of Moog variable-rate springs and some good shocks will work for most loads. You can also put airbags inside the springs...but I'm not an air fan...they always seem to leak.

Check your cooling system well and make sure you engine, trans, and rear axle oil is all fresh and full. If the car has overdrive, tow in 3rd gear. Take your time, let the car do the work, don't rush it, and you'll do fine!

-Mike

 

Nice vintage Glastron boat.

 

Dito....and who else but Mike would have a cool boat.......with T-Tops?

As for towing though..... ratings ,smhatings.... where are you towing and what are you towing? Big difference towing on flat land comparied to hills and mountains..........5000lb is gona make a big difference when it comes to brakes and suspention, engine cooling, power, etc....

 

Thanks for all the imput. Not really sure what they all included in the "trailering packages" back in '77. I already installed the biggest radiator that was offered. The engine is a 400cu Pontiac with a turbo 350 trans. Will be installing a trans cooler and brake controller. Pretty much looking to pull a car trailer or dolly for nearby car purchases instead of having to pay a flatbed. I figured the wagon would be more fun than a big truck that wouldn't get much use. Glad to see your Olds was plenty capable with the dolly. Now the search will begin for the proper hitch, not to impressed with the ones that hang low and hit driveways. May have to look into a custom fabbed unit if nothing can be found.

 

HOLD IT !!!!!......MIke !!!!!!!you got a Tbird that floats ?????????mg:

you better tell us about it in another thread!!!!!!

sorry....we now return you to your regular programming

 

You have MORE than enough power with that Poncho engine and the 350 trans is tough!

My white 89 Custom Cruiser in the above pics had the gutless Olds 307 and 200R4 trans in it. It DID have a factory tow package, and while it did not like to be rushed, as long as I was in 3rd gear the 307 pulled the dolley with a car on it just fine...65mph with the cruise on. Even with the puny motor, the car was very stable and the suspension and brakes were more than up to the task.

Now my LT1 Roadmaster wagon was in an entire other league. You hardly knew anything was back there!

Have not put a hitch on the new '92 Custom Cruiser yet, but will soon. On both the 89 OCC and the 96 Roady I used frame-mount Hidden Hitches. You could hardly see them under the bumper. All you saw was the square receiver.

Good luck!

-Mike

 

I was talking about frome mounted hitches, but there are two different munting systems. The older Draw Tite and Hidden Hitch designs had flanges that went up the side of the frame rails and used the bumper mount bolts. The forward flange used other existing holes in the bottom of the frame rails. Install new bolts, and the hitch is in place in roughly 30 minutes. The Reese hitches, at least for the Fords, mount on the bottom of the rails, and you have to drill new holes and install captured nuts to mount them. Installation is a lot more of a hassle. I had one of these Reese hitches, albeit a Class II, on the 89 Grand Marquis when the car was rear ended. That hitch is the single reason I no longer HAVE my one of one 89 Grand Marquis. Had the frame bent, as designed, it could have been straightened. As it was, the frame rails were torn by the down-force of the hitch taking the hit on the bottoms of the rails, and the body mounts not bending as far on the tops of the rails. Great, gaping "V"s opened up in the sides of the frame, and no good way to fix that for anything approaching reasonable money.

 

I havent used our 78 Impala for towing, but I used to tow my 69 Firebird (3600 lbs) on a 1800 lb trailer behind out 71 Lemans Safari, it never had any issues, but I do have S-10 wheels on it, and I ubgraded the springs and sway bars, and put in Poly suspension bushings. The car has a 455, 200R4, and 3.55 gears and never had any issues pulling 5500lbs uphill. We used to travel every July from the Detroit area to Denver for the Inliners club anual grudge races with the Flat Head Ford club.

Word of caution though, I was stoped by a Kansas State trooper on one of those trips, and he tried for over an hour to give me a ticket for being overloaded, what saved me was the S-10 wheel, and light truck tires on the car. He could not beleive that the car was rated for 5000 lbs but I at least had the wheels and tires to handle the load, so eventually he let me go as he could not prove me wrong, and the car showed no signs of being overloaded.

 

Does any one know if there was ever a class III or IV hitch made for '77-90 GM box wagons or where I can get one? I can only find listings for a class II which I would be afraid to tow more than 3500lbs with. Not many shops want to take the chance of building one due to liability concerns.

 

Yes there was a Class III/IV hitch made for the box-wagons. With the factory tow package, they were rated for 5,000 lbs. You are right, a Class II is only rated for 3,500, although I have towed 4,800 with one. Reese, Draw-Tite, Hidden Hitch, and E-Z-Lift all made them. Check U-Haul. They have a surprisingly good supply of hitches for older cars. They still have ONE Class III for my 78 Thinderbird, and the one for the full sized G.M.s is more common since the frame was used longer.