Rent a U-Haul car hauler trailer and tow the Sable
Question:
Any comments/suggestions? The truck has the towing package with the class III hitch and tranny cooler.
Answer:
I think you would be best off having the wife drive the car. The second
choice would be the complete trailer - if your truck can handle the
load. I think your truck is rated to tow either 4500 lb or 5500 lb
depending on the rear axle ratio (4500 for a 3.31:1 and 5500 for a
3.55:1 rear axle). A Sable on the trailer is going to be very close to
the 5500 lb limit (if not over - Sable is around 3336 lb, U-Haul 4 wheel
trailer is 2000 lb). So, unless you have the 3.55:1 rear gears, I'd
probably not tow the car at all. U-Haul claims their 4 wheel trailer has
surge brakes. This would help some. Are you towing over any significant
hills? I'd guess if the ground is flat, the trailer has surge brakes,
and you are careful you could make it with the 3.55:1 rear gears. If you
only have the 3.31:1 gears, and you must tow, the dolly is the only
alternative. U-Haul claims the tow dolly weighs around 650 lb and can
handle a 3450 lb front wheel drive vehicle. So, the Sable plus trailer
will weigh 4100 lb. This is under the limit for the 3.31:1 rear gears,
but it is awfully close. Towing something this close to the limit
without trailer brakes will require a lot of patience and care on your
part. I would not want to tow this combination over any real hills. Will
you be loading the pick-up truck with stuff as well? This affects the
total weight you can tow (consult your owners guide).
I once flat towed a Jensen Healey behind a Ford Courier - that was
stupid. I only had to go about 150 miles, but if I had to have made an
emergency stop, the combination would have certainly jack knifed. As it
was, the car almost spun me out taking a tight expressway ramp (car
wanted to go straight and tried to push the rear end of the Courier
around). I also helped a friend tow a BMW from Connecticut to NC on a 4
wheel U-Haul trailer using a Lincoln Mark III (460 V-8). This worked OK.
The surge brakes were a little un-nerving at times, but we had no real
problems. Still, I think an emergency stop could have been exciting.
Finally I have towed a Mazda 626 on a dolly behind an early 80's Ford
full sized wagon (302 V-8). This was no problem as long as you did not
have to back up. The tow dolly combination was not a good thing to back.
Given the proper tow vehicle, the four wheel trailer is the way to go. I
am just not sure you have enough tow capacity to handle the car plus
trailer.
The truck has the 3.55:1 rear axle, so I'll be really close to the limit. I
was considering the full trailer because of the surge brakes. I have towed
(using other people's trucks) before and I prefer electric brakes over surge
brakes. However, surge brakes would be better than no brakes. I'm going to
be going from Southern California to Minnesota (with stops in Las Vegas,
Colorado and South Dakota to visit fanily along the way), so i will be
seeing some fairly hilly terrain. I think the truck can do it, but I don't
want to find out it can't the hard way. If I had a V8 I wouldn't worry
about it, but with the V6 there isn't that large reserve of power that there
is with the V8. Anyway, thanks for the advice. I'm going to have to think
abut this some more.
I assume you will be taking the 15 to Vegas. That means the Baker grade. if
you do this, do it at night or very early in the AM. After the Baker grade
you will have the long slow climb to St. George UT and the twisty and steep
down hill into town. Again, you need to be careful. Would you then be going
up to Salt lake City and over through Wyoming and the Dakotas? If so, you've
got a couple of real long slow hauls up grade as you come out of Cedar City
and travel to Beaver. From there it's pretty even. From Salt lake City into
WY it's very mountainous and twisty.
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