Fred,
I think the trailer
rental companies intentionally underrate their trailer capacities. This
is probably to keep inexperienced people from getting in over their heads when
towing. If it is a tandem axle trailer with a 16? to 18? deck it should
be rated by the manufacturer around 7000 lbs.
Personally, I would
prefer the car be on a trailer for that many
miles.
If you go the trailer
route, always make sure you collapse the vehicle suspension as much as
possible when chaining it down. Don?t chain to the axle, chain to the
frame. This will help keep the cargo and trailer as one. If you
have the vehicle suspension and the trailer suspension working at the same
time it can feel like you?re towing a 5000 lb water
bed.
Just my .02 on the
subject.
Ken
From:
mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Frederick Joslin
Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 9:56
AM
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: IML: Towing a 69
LeBaron
I wish to consult the enormous wisdom of this mailing
list about towing a 1969 Lebaron.
I may need to move my cars across country and towing
the vehicle behind a large moving truck seems to be the most feasible method
at this time.
The tow trailers available top out at about 4000 lbs
weight limit.
I used one of these trailers very successfully with a
66 Newport at
about 4500 lbs, but even with the generous allowances due to the
litigious nature of our society, I think a 5000 lb car is pushing the limit.
Also, the Newport was almost too long for the trailer
and the LeBaron certainly would be!
Tow bars are available for towing vehicles behind
motor homes. U-Haul has a generic version rated at 5000 lbs in which two
brackets bolt to the vehicle by some means. They suggested bolting these
brackets to the bumper.
I do not like this approach for two reasons. First I
do not want to drill holes in the bumper and secondly I am not sure that the
bumper is the best (strongest/safest) way to tow a vehicle. I could certainly
very easily mount the brackets to the bumper low and then put nice chrome
plated bolts in the resultant holes afterwards which would cosmetically hide
the holes very well.
Has anyone towed a similar car using brackets bolted
to the bumper?
I am interested in mounting some form of an adaptor
plate(s) to the "frame" and then mounting the tow bar brackets to
the adaptor plates(s). I was looking at the vehicle and there are two very
sturdy bumper mounting points more or less at each end of the radiator. The
mounting face is verticle and runs across the width of the car. There appear
to be 2 x 1/2" (or bigger) bolts at each location. Directly below this there
is a slot in the bumper on each side. I was thinking of fabricating a piece of
1/2" steel plate probably about 4" wide which would attach to the car by
the two bolts and then come down through the slot in the bumper where I could
attach the brackets from the tow dolly. I believe that the steel plates would
require a slight bend forward to actually go through the
slots.
Other options are larger plates which attach to the
"frame" farther back from the
bumper.
Also, there are modifications to the
vehicle.
1) I would have to remove the drive shaft.
What do I need to do to the end of the transmission to protect
it?
2) I assume that I need to lock the steering wheel. I
was thinking of fabricating an A-frame out of 2x2 wood which would clamp to
the steering wheel and rest against the floor. Does this sound
adequate?
I do not know if this will happen yet, but it
certainly does not hurt to be
prepared.
Thanks in advance for all of the
help.
