Re: IML: Towing travel trailer with 1968 Crown Convertible...

["Scott & Lise Scheuermann" <SLScheuermann@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Does anyone know if the max allowable trailer weight is different for a 
convertible vs a hardtop? If it is not, I would say that Javier should be 
able to do what he proposes. I have a '65 4 door Imperial that I use to pull 
a 26 foot, 5000# (loaded weight) Airstream trailer. In the 60's and 70's my 
family towed this same trailer with various mopars from the 60's and 70's. 
Never with an Imperial, but usually one of the lesser Newports or an 
occasional New Yorker. They were all up to the job, but I don't know enough 
about them to say that the frame is the same on these different cars, nor do 
I know how throwing a convertable into the mix changes things. If you tow 
with this car you will want to add the towing package components, usually 
things such as a tranny cooler and a larger cooling fan, perhaps add helper 
springs for the rear of the car. And yes, you want a class 3 (weight 
distributing) hitch. Towing, especially through the mountains will put a 
great deal of stress on the tow vehicle. You might wish to consider a rear 
end gear ratio change to help through the mountain passes. The weight of 
your trailer when travelling will probably be close to 4500#...keep that in 
mind.

Scott Scheuermann
1965 Crown
1960 Airstream

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Javier, Bay Adventures" <javier@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> The situation:
>
> The 1968 owner's manual says *loaded trailer weight must not exceed
> 4,000 lbs* and that just feels way too low to me.  Is that tow weight
> rating because of the unit body construction?
>
> My initial thought is to pull an Airstream travel trailer and the one I
> am considering is 19' with a *dry* weight of 3,575lbs+/- including a
> *hitch* weight of 510lbs.  If the 4,000lbs is a hard limit, I would have
> to completely empty holding tanks, etc. every time I moved the rig or
> consider going the tent route.  Or worse yet, I'd have to consider
> changing tow vehicles.
>
> Has anyone with a 67-68 set it up to pull a travel trailer of any size?
> If so, to what result?  I'm afraid of putting too much stress on the
> unit body and don't want to do something inherently unsafe on mountain
> roads.
>
> Are there viable alternatives/adjustments I can make to either vehicle
> (without damaging the Imperial's collectibility) or the trailer (weight
> distribution hitches) that would make pulling a small travel trailer
> safe?
>
> I just find it odd that a six cylinder suv can pull a 6,000 trailer but
> my Imperial can't.
>
> Warm regards,
>
> (A very perplexed) Javier Reynaldos, Miami Shores, FL.



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