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Towing questions

April Thompson

April Thompson

New member
I was wondering if any helper springs or whatnot would be recommended for towing a small pop-up camper with my 04. I have seen other cars purport to tow up to 3500 lbs, and yet their tails are in the weeds with even 1/2 ton of weight on the hitch... and these are bog standard cars! Just want to make sure I don't end up like that!
 


I think the owners manual says it can tow a max of 1,000lbs.

No way in hell I'd try to tow anything that heavy or even 3,500 lbs. That just not safe in a car like these and so much stress on the transmission.
 
theres no way in hell a pop up weighs that much. i used to walk one around by hand, aka lift it up and move it alone.


my 24 foot boat was 4000 lb's. you just try to lift the tongue of that trailer lol
 
I've seen Buicks pull just fine. The problem is that they don't like to do it for long. Don't think I've ever seen a hitch on a GP.

A word of cation from personal experience: My car has less miles at 135k. Deviating from "normal" driving has shown me that there is a %100 chance my t465-e is in need of internal parts, and not just from me hammering on it half a dozen times.
 
I would double check the weights of the pop up and check your owners manual. Also keep in mind that the owners manual splits out towing weight and cargo. If you are hauling cargo and such, that reduces how much you can tow. I would certainly not tow in OD, but it could still be hard on your trans.
 


These cars weren't designed to tow and aren't that popular to tow with.

Pop-ups will be less than 2000lbs (200lb tongue).

Yes, you can tow with it.

Heavier coils would be your only option without something custom made. If you don't have a tranny cooler, get one, or don't tow.

Personally, I would not tow with my GP.
 
Pintle weight and towing load are definitely 2 different things. If a trailer is well balanced, you can lift the tongue with almost no effort.
 
should you go through with a hitch install. once you put the trailer on the car you want your hitch low or high enough to make the frame of the trailer level. if its low or high it will sway like a monster behind you, very unsafe and unstable.
 
No, pop-ups don't weigh that much, except for the larger 2-axle units; I just wanted to find out if my car could indeed tow that much, and the answer is it can barely pull its own weight! Disappointing, since the Gen 7s (88-96) could pull up to 3500 lbs all day long!
 


I used to tow motorcycles with my 2008 grand prix somewhat regularly. If we assume each moto is 430lbs, the open trailer at 400, and another 500 in gear we are talking over 1500 lbs. I towed thousands of miles this way although most of it was highway miles and I now have 132k miles without any known issues. Some of the towing I did without a transmission cooler nor shift kit and some of it was with both.

From the discussions I've had, some generations of the transmission do NOT have a hardened 4th gear hub and are more likely to fail (so tow in 3rd). I'd recommend checking that you have fresh fluid, a transmission cooler which helps the temps significantly, a shift kit, and driving without cruise control if you are in hilly areas or you find the trans shifting a lot (you can better keep the trans from shifting with your foot).

As others have said, watch your total weight, the tongue weight/balance of the trailer, and just take it easy. If you trans has any issues I'd stay away from towing.
 
Bronco Boy said:
You need weight for W/D systems. Tent trailers don't weigh enough for W/D to be effective.
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If there's enough tongue weight to sack the suspension, then W/D hitch will work... Pricey, but it'll do its job. Also helps with sway control, if it's set properly.
 
drperry said:
If there's enough tongue weight to sack the suspension, then W/D hitch will work... Pricey, but it'll do its job. Also helps with sway control, if it's set properly.
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Exactly. In this case, we have minimal tongue weight (150-200lb max).
 


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