Can you tow this?

[thewheelman]

Father-in-law towed a massive Holiday Rambler, must have been 35 ft, with a 78 Mercury Marquis, 460, air shocks, heavy duty blinkers, alternator, cooling, and transmission cooler--all from the factory. No sweat. We bought wife's uncle's 25 foot Monitor (by Holiday Rambler) and I wished I had bought his 76 Lincoln Town Car to go with it. Unfortunately, land yachts like those don't exist any more......so the truck's the prime choice!

[IsleDog]

Originally Posted by benfox49

My Pacifica has the 3.8 v6 engine, if it has the factory towing package its able to tow 3500 lbs.

Ben

if you are talking about a 2004-2008 model, they ALL come equipped with a factory tow package (minus hitch and wiring). the aux coolers are factory installed. the main problem is the 250 hp and 250 torque for a car/van that weighs in at close to 4500lbs. I have a 2006 with the 3.5 v6 and it cant get out of its own way!

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by IsleDog

if you are talking about a 2004-2008 model, they ALL come equipped with a factory tow package (minus hitch and wiring). the aux coolers are factory installed. the main problem is the 250 hp and 250 torque for a car/van that weighs in at close to 4500lbs. I have a 2006 with the 3.5 v6 and it cant get out of its own way!

They also have a frontal area limitation amount, that is almost always exceeded by a typical travel trailer.

[ard58]

[QUOTE=thewheelman;2031301]Father-in-law towed a massive Holiday Rambler, must have been 35 ft, with a 78 Mercury Marquis, 460, air shocks, heavy duty blinkers, alternator, cooling, and transmission cooler--all from the factory. No sweat.
X2-- Had aunt and uncle in the mid 70's that lived in upstate New York and they belonged to a snowbird club that would drive down each winter and go deep into Mexico. Same set up. Had Lincoln Town Car pulling their camper. No weight police back then, and no worries.

[RACarvalho]

[QUOTE=ard58;2031379]

Originally Posted by thewheelman

No weight police back then, and no worries.

I really would love to see a testing and engineering evaluation on what Can Am does.
I'm yet to find a set up that they did that failed so just curious if you do a real world test and then simulate the stress and conditions on the computer where you would land in terms of safety margin, etc.
Someone mentioned the reason of the old cars used to tow with no problems was that they were body on chassis, etc but if you look today, in some trucks (almost all?) the chassis are made of stamped steel.... also, a unibody can be considered a big boxy beam (?)

In the past you had heavier campers, worst suspension, worst dynamic stability, worst breaks, etc...
And yet, people used to tow long distances with no problems...., why?

[B and B]

[QUOTE=RACarvalho;2031391]

Originally Posted by ard58

I really would love to see a testing and engineering evaluation on what Can Am does.
I'm yet to find a set up that they did that failed so just curious if you do a real world test and then simulate the stress and conditions on the computer where you would land in terms of safety margin, etc.
Someone mentioned the reason of the old cars used to tow with no problems was that they were body on chassis, etc but if you look today, in some trucks (almost all?) the chassis are made of stamped steel.... also, a unibody can be considered a big boxy beam (?)

In the past you had heavier campers, worst suspension, worst dynamic stability, worst breaks, etc...
And yet, people used to tow long distances with no problems...., why?

There is no engineering, or automotive engineer on staff. I was asked to leave their booth at an RV show several years ago as I asked the exact question.

[Comanchecreek]

I've seen a lot of attempts over the years. Some successful, some not. I push the limits, but with careful planning have been successful. Stopping is the first key, careful defensive driving is the second.

[ard58]

And yet, people used to tow long distances with no problems...., why?

Better drivers? Less distractions, example-no cell phones. Much less traffic, people trying to get from point A to point B in record time so they could check up on facebook! LMAO

[RACarvalho]

[QUOTE=B and B;2031414]

Originally Posted by RACarvalho

There is no engineering, or automotive engineer on staff.

Yes, from all I read about Can Am they are experimental, not theoretical and that is the reason I'd like to see someone make the calculations for their results challenge the common sense of many with success.
Theory is only good if validated by experimentation and besides the fact that more wheel base, more weight, etc will tend to improve stability, Can Am results challenges the "big / better" widely accepted concept with real world examples and results.
If you add to that that in the past cars where towing with no problem, then to me these things seems to indicate we are missing something there on the below-10000lbs camper field.
Sorry,
I'm just fascinated by experimentation challenging theory....
It's the old Tesla vs Einstein debate...

[RACarvalho]

Originally Posted by ard58

And yet, people used to tow long distances with no problems...., why?

Maybe it is just because they didn't have the power and torque to get themselves into trouble????

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by ard58

And yet, people used to tow long distances with no problems...., why?

Better drivers? Less distractions, example-no cell phones. Much less traffic, people trying to get from point A to point B in record time so they could check up on facebook! LMAO

Years ago, nobody was pulling at 65-70+ mph. 50 mph was about max.

It's a lot easier to stop from 50 than 70.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by RACarvalho

In the past you had heavier campers, worst suspension, worst dynamic stability, worst breaks, etc...

I don't know if I agree with that...

My old 1978 Coachman was 35 years old when I traded it in and I owned it for 15 years.

It had old tires on it when I bought it...and they were still on it when I traded it in back in 2012...and are probably still on it today!

Never worried about the wheel bearings...repacked them once about three years in to it...never ever thought about them ever again.

The axles and brakes were way better than are on trailers today.

I will say that the brake wiring on it was bad...had a short somewhere that we never did figure out where it was, but when they worked...they worked great!

But it was 35 years old!

While it was almost always the worst looking RV in the park...it was a beast!

Pulled that thing all over Colorado and New Mexico during those years...

Todays trailers...wheel bearings go out after 3000 miles...tires blow up when they see a bump in the road...brakes burn out if you touch them once going down a minor grade...the wiring fries if you turn on a TV and the coffee maker at the same time...

I checked the tire pressure on it maybe once or twice during the camping season...today we have to have a TPMS to make sure we still have tires between gas stops!

How many of today's new RV's does anyone think will still be around in the year 2054 (ie.- 35 years from now)?

I'm guessing that most of them will be in a junkyard or the county landfill after 15 years...

Last I heard my old Coachman was turned into someones hunting cabin somewhere in the Rocky Mountains west of Ft. Collins. Colorado...and still is today...41 years after it was built!

[RACarvalho]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

I don't know if I agree with that...

Sorry, I was not clear.
The only aspect that I mean campers was weight. All the others aspects I was ref. to towing vehicles...

[BigGuy87]

And the salesman said "Sure you can pull it" control it in an emergency, well......

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