Topic: Towing Meh.

[Clark Kent]

I have a 98 olds intrigue, so I'm thinking "hey, it's got a 3.8 liter V6, it should be able to tow a pop up camper, right?"  Well, Finding such info sure is a PITA.  Near as I can tell, the car is only good enough to carry maybe 2 fat people, if you can fit them inside the car, never mind towing.

So now I'm stuck, the truck I was using to pull the trailer is not available, I'm going camping this weekend, and it doesn't sound like it's a good idea to strap a tow hitch to the car to take her off on my little trip.  I have heard of many people doing such a thing, but I remain unconviced that it's a good idea.  Meh.

Damn thing is almost paid off, and I don't like driving trucks/suvs.  If I did, I wouldn't have bought the Intrigue. 

Meh.  Meh I say.

[Dracho]

Look at a camper line called "Casita".  I've seen one towed by an RX-7.  Also, installing a tranmission cooler (about $100) and a transmission temp gauge will help you avoid damaging your vehicle.

[Clark Kent]

Hmmm, their smalles model weighs more than the pop up I already have, are these really meant to be towed by your average car?

[Dracho]

Hmmm, their smalles model weighs more than the pop up I already have, are these really meant to be towed by your average car?

Supposedly..  You could also look at the ones designed to be towed by big bikes like a Goldwing..

My first camper I towed a 3000lb ultralight with a Chevy Blazer with a V-6.  It towed it, but under protest.

[marstone]

Hmmm, their smalles model weighs more than the pop up I already have, are these really meant to be towed by your average car?

My parents towed a pop-up behind a car alot.  Can be done.  A V-6 should have the power to do it.  Adding the extra large trannie cooler would be good and the temp gauge.

But main thing is you have to feel comfortable doing it.  Maybe swing by a camper place and ask them.  They have nothing to gain telling you a lie, you already own the camper.  (although one might try and say that a new camper would be better, so watch for that).

Also, driving through mountains or flat ground/light rolling hills.

[Dracho]

The other requirements are a class-3 weight distributing hitch and a sway controller. 

[marstone]

The other requirements are a class-3 weight distributing hitch and a sway controller.

I'll second that get a really good hitch.  Not those cheap bumper ones, even if they look good. (to the frame, solid to the frame)

[Clark Kent]

It's a 3.8 liter v6, so I'm sure the engi e could do it, I know the frame could do it, but I question the tranny based on the manufacturers notes. I dunno.

[Dracho]

Tranny death is related to the build-up of heat.  A transmission oil cooler increases your towing capacity as it keeps the tranny cooler, and a temp gauge tells you when it's time to pull over and let it cool down.   If you never redline the heat the transmission will do the work.  If you grossly exceed the parameters of your transmission's capabilities, you'll start building heat immediately.

[Clark Kent]

Tranny death is related to the build-up of heat.  A transmission oil cooler increases your towing capacity as it keeps the tranny cooler, and a temp gauge tells you when it's time to pull over and let it cool down.   If you never redline the heat the transmission will do the work.  If you grossly exceed the parameters of your transmission's capabilities, you'll start building heat immediately.

Problem is that where do I draw the line and say I'm grossly exceeding the parameters?  The car has a 3.8 liter V6, which I assume has enough get up and go to haul a fairly heavy load, not work type of load, but heavy for a casual hauler like me, or so I assumed.  Yet, at the same time, my owner's manual is telling me that if I exceed a trailer weight of 1000 lbs, I am too heavy, and I look at the gross vehicle weight, which tells me that everything, passengers, cargo, etc, everything cannot exceed 952 lbs.  I don't know the weight of the camper, but it seems that it is above 1100 lbs.

At the same time, I know the previous owner of the camper towed it with a similar class car (a Buick Century I believe) with a similar sized engine (.7 liter less?).  I suppose if I thought the car (or any car for that matter ) was disposable I would just go for it, but I really don't want to be stuck out in the middle of rural MN with a burned out car.  Some concrete data that isn't always contradicting other data would be nice.

Meh.

Oh, i forget earlier- most of the trip should be highway on relatively flat roads, though the final part of the trip will be 25mph or less going through bluff territory.  Don't know how steep yet.

[Clark Kent]

Ah screw it. The engine big enough, the reviews I've read on the tranny are good, it's got a good brake system that was just checked and it's structurally sound. I don't see the weak link. I'm just gonna have the hitch installed and it it works, great, if not I'll keep the camper stored till I can tow it.

[Tus-XC]

Ah screw it. The engine big enough, the reviews I've read on the tranny are good, it's got a good brake system that was just checked and it's structurally sound. I don't see the weak link. I'm just gonna have the hitch installed and it it works, great, if not I'll keep the camper stored till I can tow it.

Well if it helps any... I towed a small u haul trailer w/ 600 lbs of crap in it in my dodge neon... cross country (NC to CA).

[Panzergranate]

I've seen a pop up camper towed by a Trike, also a Czechoslovakian  350cc JAWA motorcycle combination, though it was a 2- stroke and other bizare things.

It isn't so much the engine torque (ignore horsepower as high horsepower small engines can have naff all torque) that's the issue, it is the ability of the towing vehicle to cope with controlling the trailer and braking it down steep inclines or at speed.

So 3.8 Litre should be able to pull it but you need to look at if your car will be able to control and brake such a load. If the camper has trailer brakes it will help.