Towing a car trailer

[lukevnls]

So, my project car, which is stored in Brisbane, got flooded last week. It is a Hq windowless panel van, Luckily i went up before christmas and removed the front end,doors and motor and brought them home with me but now i need to get the rest of the car out of the way of the cleanup effort.
I have a car trailer and am planning to go up this weekend to tow it home. The only car i have available to tow it is a Vr, its in good nick,serviced regularily but the tow home is 400k's.
I cant establish if the tow pack on the vr is just standard issue or not and am in two minds as to the capability of it to tow the old girl home. So i am after some unbiased outside input in regards to pros and cons of undertaking this trip????? Any advice appreciated.
Luke

 

[db_notso]

with no engine in towed car probably ok
just drive slow and watch your temp gauges etc

there should be a sticker in your drivers door jam area saying load rating of trailer

 

[Reaper]

Should be fine. Change the auto fluid before the trip if you are concerned and don't drive too fast. Take it easy if you have to go over any mountains or big hills. The rest of the car should handle it fine. Be careful, make sure the trailer is loaded correctly (approx 25 - 35kg of downward pressure on the tow hitch - no more, no less!!) and be careful not to run over gutters/signs/little old ladies when you go around corners.

Reaper

 

[Clutchy]

Dont tow in overdrive and it should be fine.

 

[Adds_05]

just drive slow

i cant stress that enough,i've been in a car that has gotten the death wobbles on the hwy and spun out,scares the absolute **** out of you.
unfortunatly,It was my ss on the trailer and the thing that stopped us was going into the guard rail trailer first but thankfully,the straps holding the car on did their job well,trailer didnt come off so well though,was bent all out of shape...

 

[FusionX]

Be careful, make sure the trailer is loaded correctly (approx 25 - 35kg of downward pressure on the tow hitch - no more, no less!!)

I would not follow this advice and aim for about 10% of the total weight to be pressing downward from the hitch instead. So if trailer and car weigh 1500kg, aim for 150kg on the tongue. Improper balance can cause the trailer to fishtail. If in doubt, load further forward. Too little weight on the hitch will increase the chances of fishtailing. Having towed boats and race cars between Perth and the east coast, 10% has always worked well with us, sometime we go a bit more, but never less (have had a few close calls when the car hasn't been far enough forward getting up a big sway).

Towing with a VR should be no issues. Have towed a boat and trailer that weigh 1900kg with a VS V6 no worries over a few hundred km's. Just have to watch engine temp. if you are towing up a few decent hills going downwind, as you can get little air flow going through the radiator.

 

[Coast_Calais]

pretty sure max load on std tow kit is 150kg anyways (should be printed on your ball head or tongue).... and i think that's waaaaay too much weight on the ball... car trailers are dual axel, and the weight should be displaced over these axels and NOT on the towing car.

As long as the car & trailer sit level (yes with slight bias to the front) your going great. yes, too far forward or rear will F*** the towing cars ability to maintain control and the trailer will drive you...

If the trailer starts swinging, DO NOT BRAKE. power out gently, and begin to lower speed when under control in a gradual manner....

 

[Deltak]

A couple of suggestions: -

If you can, choose a car trailer that does not have any suspension. This stops the axles on the trailer changing alignment when they hit a bump and causing the wobbles. Tie the HQ to the trailer via its suspension / wheels to allow the suspension on the car on the trailer cushion any bumps.

Keep your speed down and keep the transmission temp as low as practical (ie change down and limit full throttle as much as possible).

An old rule of thumb was for every 10 degrees increse in transmission temp, halves the life of the gearbox.

Anything that can be moved into the tow car. You should try to keep the trailer and HQ load as light as possible.

Have a good trip.

 

[lukevnls]

Thanks for the replies and advice guys. Am off tomorrow, hoping to return with my baby in tow on Sunday.
Thanks again
Luke