more help anyone?!PLEASE

[cubajean10]

PLEASE I NEED TO KNOW THIS SOON :s

Can my 1996 lincoln towncar signature v8 tow my boat?

suposidly my boat (1985 bayliner 27') weights between 5000-6000 lbs and should be towed by at least a 1/2 ton vehicle recomended a 3/4 ton. can my lincoln town the boat to move it from dry storage to the launch deck(100 yards)? can it move it in the streets or freeway/highway? can it move it at all and if yes can it legally move it?

Can my 1996 lincoln towncar signature v8 tow my boat? - Yahoo! Answers

[knottybuoyz]

You can probably move the boat the 100 yrds with your Lincoln as long as it's a flat road. Your transmission and brakes aren't designed for towing that kind of weight. Personally I wouldn't go near the highway towing that kind of load with a passenger car.

[jrd22]

Ditto what Knotty said.

[stevensc]

The problem is not to tow the boat, it will be to stop it when a light turns yellow/red on you. Or some driver pulls out in front of you on the highway!
Maybe your Lincoln dealer can give you some advice.
Good luck and be careful
Steve

[cubajean10]

ok so about the flat thing well i'm not sure i have never done it last time i had to pay anchor way marina like 300$ for them to move for me :S, but let's make it easy and asume its flat (any anchor way resident please correct me if i'm wrong or if most of the time these areas aren't flat) , second i get it no freeway or even street i guess but when you say "transmission and brakes aren't designed for towing" i don't get it (sorry completly lost in mechanics, ask me abou c++ ) if i put the lincoln in first gear wouldn't that be all i need? and would replacing the brakes for heavy duty brakes work? i'm putting a budget of 500 to 1000$ to do all i need to do right of course my dad would greatly apreaciate it if it was less :P

any recomendations welcome, and thanks all for the help

[Minggat]

I'd go to Craigslist and look to either hire somebody with a truck, or for a beater truck to buy if you're going to be needing to move the boat a lot more. Should be enought in the budget to do that. I sold my seriously strong old Dodge truck for $900. All set up to tow and had a $1,000 leather seat in it. Broke my heart. But 4 vehicles for 1 driver was a bit much. Espically since I was leaving te country. Also sold my beater gas saver Honda cheap, gave my MG Midget to my buddy, and put the Benz in storage. Opps, got off topic. But Craiglist is great for such things.

[Wanderlust]

I had an old 22 foot cruiser that probably weighed close to that when fully loaded for going away. I had it in storage about 3km from the ramp - along a very quiet road. I managed to get it up the ramp with my 6 cylinder Falcon, but it was "pedal to the metal" all the way to get it to the storage - up some average hills. As it was so hard on the car I bought a special tow car - an old Ford Galaxie (400 cu) and it pulled it fine. I know it wasn't legal for either car.

In your case I would expect the rules would not legally support you towing it with a family car either. In Australia each state has different rules, and then you must not exceed manufacturers recommendations.

I don't know your engine size, but vehicle weight and low down engine torque is what you need for towing. At the ramp (is that the deck?) I would disconnect and use a rope to get it into the water, unless you want to give your car a saltwater bath.

As for moving it on the streets, I think that would be quite dangerous and beefed brakes would not solve it. The problem occurs when you hit the brakes, and the weight transfer pushes down on the towbar, lifting your front wheels. You lose steering and braking ability. Don't ask me how I know. When you hit a bump going around a bend you risk a jacknife for the same reasons. Wet weather would be deadly. I had 4 torsion bar "towing aids" that helped, but could not solve it.

And to add to the risks, the weight may cause the rear end of your car to flex, causing creases in the roof or other panels and maybe popping your back window.

If you are prepared to risk it for the 100 yard trips, and there are no bumps or hills, then maybe try just moving it a few yards and see how it feels.

And by the way, if you do come to grief and damage any property (let alone personal injuries), your insurer will probably reject any claim. The police infringement notices would probably have some high $ too.

[Eleven]

UK vehicle log book carries permitted trailer loads with and without trailer braking systems. Balance the trailer so it's hard to pick up, say 50 lbs. Reverse toward the slip, you'll be committed as soon as the trailer wheels start down the slope, most cars brakes don't work very well at all in reverse!
For easy boat handling put a tow hook on the front, amasing how easy it all becomes when launching from a slip but you'll lose traction getting back up the slip!

[cubajean10]

so most likely the lincoln wont doe it although in Can my 1996 lincoln towncar signature v8 tow my boat? - Yahoo! Answers 1 of 3 guys said i could :P

"you can easily tow it short distance without a problem and if it still has the air suspension on the rear you can drive on the road okay the engine will pull it and as far as the trans take it out of over drive don't use the over drive when pulling. Now don't go towing it across country but for short distance you can."

so i started looking at what other cars i have available, i have a nissan 350z, ford explorer, pt cruiser, and jeep liberty , the liberty i researched and found this article *2006 Jeep Liberty Diesel please someone enlighten me i found that my boat weights between 5000-6000lbs is that right? and the article confused me how much torque do i need?

thank you all for the help!

[ssullivan]

You may be having some trouble on this forum because this is an automotive question, rather than a boat question.

Although it has to do with boats, boating experts aren't always automotive experts.

Check automotive forums, trucking forums, etc...

It's almost like asking us how to run a crane that lifts boats out of the water. It has to do with boats, but is really more of a heavy equipment/construction question.

Originally Posted by cubajean10

so most likely the lincoln wont doe it although in Can my 1996 lincoln towncar signature v8 tow my boat? - Yahoo! Answers 1 of 3 guys said i could :P

"you can easily tow it short distance without a problem and if it still has the air suspension on the rear you can drive on the road okay the engine will pull it and as far as the trans take it out of over drive don't use the over drive when pulling. Now don't go towing it across country but for short distance you can."

so i started looking at what other cars i have available, i have a nissan 350z, ford explorer, pt cruiser, and jeep liberty , the liberty i researched and found this article *2006 Jeep Liberty Diesel please someone enlighten me i found that my boat weights between 5000-6000lbs is that right? and the article confused me how much torque do i need?

thank you all for the help!

On the Lincoln, the door sticker with the VIN should indicate the maximum axle weight. If your tongue weight causes this to be exceeded, you should not try it. Your owner's manual will address towing. It should list capacities. Or, it may note that you should not tow with this vehicle.
On the Lincoln, another issue is how you will attach the hitch. A class 2 hitch is the maximum you will be able to support on this car. If I recall, this puts the max towing capacity at about 2500 pounds, max tongue weight at 250 pounds.
Engine and trans can handle it, no problem. Cooling system might negate pulling any hills, but the real issue is can the structure of the vehicle and the suspension handle the load. If it were my car, I would pay a tow truck to launch my boat.

[sandy daugherty]

United Truck Rental, or Ryder. Cheaper than a brake job.

[usa-068]

What everybody else said!

Better safe than sorry. Hire someone with a truck to move it, and to launch/recover. Definitely you can pull the trailer without the boat. Logistically, if that helps, to move just the trailer to and from your place of storage, then plan on getting a hitch for the Lincoln. You should see what tiny cars pull enormous loads in Europe. The Lincoln would do it, but you're stretching safety and legal limits.

[David M]

I found the towing capacity for you car. It is 2000 pounds according to three different automotive websites. Although this information is not from the Ford website, I would exercise caution and assume that the chances are very high that it is true given the information is consistent.

For your own safety and the safety of others, I would not consider hitching your boat to your Lincoln under any circumstances.

1996 Lincoln Town Car Vehicle Review

[Cheechako]

In my young days I towed a 21 ft travel trailer with a 73 Mercury full size sedan. The engine towed it fairly well, but the suspension was up and down a lot even with the special equalizer hitch. It always scraped coming out of a parking lot. it was gutless even with the large engine as the car was really geared for hiway speeds. 100ft? no problem. 100 miles ? no way.