The previous owner before my uncle used to tow a 25 foot camper from Pennsylvania to Florida frequently with no problems.(Thats pretty much all the car did for the first 30k miles of its life). The car has all the additional coolers and such that should be mandatory for such a tow. What I am getting at here is do you all think this old girl would safely and easily tow a 28 footer? We are planning a 3 week trip to Florida this December with 4 kids. I figure by the time we pay for lodging it "may?" be cheaper to buy a pop-up or travel trailer. I figure use it for the trip then sell it after the trip and "try" to have room and board pretty much for free or at least at a minimal cost. As you can see by the pictures I posted she has quite the trailer hitch. I am sure she can do it but I dont want to induce 30k miles worth of wear in 3 weeks. I just dont want to put to much of a strain on the old girl. Know what I mean? Any and all opinions are welcomed. Thanks in advance...
Give it a good once over before you deploy on your adventure - before I started pulling with mine, I found a mine leaf broken, and on further inspection atleast 4 fractured leaves in addition. My '73 Estate tows small trailers without notice. I haven't tried anything bigger yet, as I don't have a brake controller, but it's only a matter of time.
Wow.. a 28ft'er... thats a lot of trailor. Very Cool.. before SUV's it was our wagons that did all that hauling. Mine had a previous life doing that as well... massive hitch tied into the frame and a trailor brake in the car... HD everything in the engine compartment... coolers everywhere! LOL.
1. What is the Buick's rated towing capacity? 2. What is the wet weight of the trailer? 3. You MUST use a trailer brake controller. If #1 and #2 fall in line, then I would say you're OK. Be very easy on the driving, though.
MMMMM, good question. However, I have a few of my own. Has the engine or trans been rebuilt? What about the universal joints, any play or noises? What about the rear axle, noises, leaks? These where built like small tanks and if you have a 350 and 350 trans, hell, I know some where used in HD RV duty. So if your up on your to par on your engine, drive line, and brakes......she would be more than happy to pull pretty much what ever you need. You might also want to get a set of gauges for engine temp, alt, trans temp, etc for a "live feed", not wanting to rely on a row of "idiot lamps". On my '78 LTD Country Squire, the org owner custom orderd the wagon with the tow package. This has the 400 cid, FMX trans, HD cooling, HD alt & battery, 9' rear axle, P/S cooler, and he added another external trans cooler. But whats werid, he never used the wagon to tow. It has a FoMoCo wiring harness behind the left or right rear trail lamp (zipp tied to a braket) and no one ever put a trailer hitch on (from the under coating that was applyed in Sept 1978). I cant wait to find my mid 70s Glastron boat (Think James Bond Live and Let Die 1973) and start towing with the '78! Jonny
A 28' trailer is a lot for a car to pull. By the time you figure the extra gas and lot rent for 3 weeks (lot rent is usually about half a motel room), you won't save much. If you sell the trailer for a profit, you might come out better. I would opt for the motel/hotel. Good luck!
AND 4. Some of the Factory options included a special clutch pack for the automatic transmissions as well as shocks and beefier stabilizer swaybars.
I bought a pop up camper yesterday so I know the wagon will pull that with zero problems. Thanks for the input.
Factory tow package on the 70 Estate wagon 455-4? You should have no problems with the "go" part, if she's solid. Double check everything from the mounts to the hitch and you're good to go. Stopping on the other hand.. you will want the trailer brake.
I just bought a 1973 glastron v173 boat that I plan to pull with my 1980 malibu wagon i hope.Its a 16 footer with an outboard and closed bow.Im not sure what it weighs (boat and trailer) I will have to take it to a public scale to see if i need to by a truck.I also plan on buying a pop up tent trailer.
