towing an escort with an escort

[therieldeal]

alright... i'm sure some of you guys have tow hitches on your BG's.

what i'm wondering is, how much weight have you towed, and how well did the car handle it? the hitches ive looked at are "class 1", and rated for 2000 pounds total trailer weight.

i'm thinking about towing my GTR with my stock beater EGT, so that if i blow something up at the track i can get home. the thing is, the GTR weighs roughly 2300 pounds, and a dolly would be maybe another 200... putting me 500 pounds over the hitch's weight limit. i have no idea what the car itself is actually rated to tow... anyone know?

also, would it be illegal to exceed the weight limit of the hitch?

-jon

[Lex]

I'm just thinking about the brakes and suspension here .... plus how much the frame can handle. Otherwise I don't have much insight on towing with a BG.

[MD323]

its far from a good idea, the trailer would be longer than your car for starters(think of the tail wagging the dog, you could easily jacknife)

2nd the amount of weight your stopping is double that of what the cars designed to do

[therieldeal]

ive been trying to come up with a safe/reliable way to actuate the brakes on the tow car, like a trailer with brakes. would make it a little safer...

[MD323]

medical bills > cost of a tow

sorry dude i take a hard stance here, ive seen too many F*cked up cars from improper towing. im sure chris would agree with me about towing safety

[inferno94]

My owners manual says don't ever tow, same with most small cars eg miata's but hitches are still made for them.

I bought a truck as a dd for reasons like this (and because I loves my seadoo). I have a vehicle that can stop a 6000lb trailer w/out elec brakes but can only tow 4000lbs so if I over load it a bit it can still stop, acceleration that over loaded is a bitch though.

That's my stance on it, better to over do the safety aspect than kill yourself and a bus full of kids when you cant stop. That can't be good for the tow cars trans either.

[therieldeal]

alright hmmm

so what would be the smallest/cheapest vehicle you'd consider towing a BG with? ive wanted a b2200 for a while, but finding one has been impossible. would that be sufficient, or still too small?

[MD323]

alright hmmm

so what would be the smallest/cheapest vehicle you'd consider towing a BG with? ive wanted a b2200 for a while, but finding one has been impossible. would that be sufficient, or still too small?

i towed my BG all the time with my 84 s-10 even with the ****ty 2.8L V6 in there at the time. i would recommend an auto if your buying just for towing, unless you want to replace the clutch before using it.

S-10's are cheap and reliable (generally) and easy to find, and find parts for.

[therieldeal]

ok, so a mini truck would be sufficient? did you use a dolly or a flatbed trailer? my dad has a flatbed trailer but its pretty beefy/heavy.

[inferno94]

I currently have an 07 b3000 but prior to that I had a 90 b2200 dd. The 2200 is an awesome truck and very useful for hauling (bought mine from an engine builder who hauled big blocks in it), has a tow rating of 2000lbs, very close to your #.

If you can find a fi truck you get 90-100hp rather than 80 so thats a good start make sure it has a good rear and trans spice up the motor a bit to get more power or f2t it . As long as you have really good brakes on it it should be ok-ish. That said a buddy of mine thought he was overdoing it on his with 2 seadoos but he was hauling them up a ramp out of the water.

A b2600 has more power (similar to a newer dohc b2300) and can be had in 2wd to get 25mpg.

It was this kinda guessing that led me to buy my new truck (and it's a real purdy blue) an older ranger 3l or b3000 would be better choices (than a 4cyl truck) for your application. The 3l vulcan is a really good motor (except for power) they last forever and mine gets 30mpg hwy with 5sp ex cab on 235/75/15's and a "lifted" prerunner chassis. You can up the power on them easy with jy parts from newer motors.

[therieldeal]

actually, i wouldnt mind a 4wd b2600 as long as they are switchable to 2wd (hub locks or something). i do live in new england after all.

dont those use a mitsubishi 2.6, like the one in the starion?

[inferno94]

The 2600's use a starion mitsu CARBED engine, the newer b2600i's use a mazda 2.6L 12v mpi engine and yes they are switchable, mazda powered drove one until recently.

As far as needing a 4x4, a 2wd with posi/torsen, 300lbs of bed weight and a bag of sand for putting under the tires was all I needed and never got stuck so that I couldn't get myself out in under 5min in 2' deep roads. I got up the windy hill that leads down my fiancees parents street when all the fwd's and a select few low riding 4wd's couldn't.

And with a flatbed I'd say a v6 is a must and I'd be thinking about a big 6 if your going up steep hills.

You'd love a v6 truck, there's nothing like beating a riced out neon in an uphill race towing a boat.

[therieldeal]

hmm ive never been a chevy guy but i just found a couple cheap ass rwd s10's for sale near me

[MD323]

2 notes on s-10's

if you can avoid the 2.8L and get the 4.3 worlds of difference.

EFI is preferable as the Rochester carbys are junk if not taken care of (they never are)

[therieldeal]

how is fuel economy with the 4.3 vs the 2.8? one of them is a 4 cyl i think, and one is a 2.8. calling on them later this evening