Theoretical Towing Capacity

RandomSlacker

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Nov 3, 2015
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Ok ive got an odd theoretical quesrion. Well sort of serious....

How much weight could a sn95 mustang be made to pull?
Factoring...
302 and trans built for pulling.
More than adiquate brakes.
And the most important factkr... The load has zero tounge weight.

Thanks to my crazy pondering of pulling a header trailer with the car instead of the semi.
 
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Not much.

Even with zero tongue weight, an SN95 mustang is still a fairly flimsy unibody car. Adding subframe connectors and bracing the floorpan and body in other ways would help slightly, but your suspension mounting points would still be subject to excess stress when pulling any significant amount of weight.

If you're wanting a car that can pull, you need any full-frame Ford Panther-platform car (1979+ LTD Crown Victoria, Crown Victoria, Marquis, Grand Marquis, or Town Car), or any of the full-size '70s Ford with a full frame. My '75 Thunderbird, for instance, was factory rated to tow 5000lbs, and would've been rated for 6,000 had it been optioned with the rear disc brakes if I recall correctly. (I only pulled with it once, yanked a 4x4 Ram out of a ditch with a tow strap. 460ci V8, C6 trans, 9" rear... piece of cake.)

Uni-body cars just aren't meant to pull significant loads in general, that's why most have ratings of 1500lbs or less, or specifically state in the owners manual not to tow. There are exceptions, and the whole segments of uni-body SUVs and CUVs that can tow a bit more (usually around 3500-4000lbs).
 
Check out some of the drag week guys. They pull very small trailers with drag slicks and tools on them. I would guess less than 1000lbs.

Joe
 
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Check out some of the drag week guys. They pull very small trailers with SD lucks and tools on them. I would guess less than 1000lbs.

Joe
Some of those guys are even running back-halves and cages, and they still tow less than 2000lbs in equipment, tools, spare parts, etc.
 
I towed a 22 foot bow rider with a 350 mercruiser in it with my vert , 100's of miles for several years, it was dual axle and had surge brakes, car was bone stock.

iirc dry weight was over 2800lbs tongue by scale was around 500

I had no frame or body twist at all, I did however roast the stock flywheel I discovered when I had the clutch replaced. My guess is from pulling up steep boat ramps...

Still own it and even on full panel tear down during a recent refresh we could find no evidence of any issues.

Frame twist comes from heavy torque applied by drag racing, heck its a 302 truck motor it'll pull whatever you want within reason..
 
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you could probably pull up to about 10,000lbs, given an upgrade in brakes, cooling system, etc. and using a stinger to eliminate the tongue weight. that said however why would you want to pull more than a couple thousand pounds at most?
 
you could probably pull up to about 10,000lbs, given an upgrade in brakes, cooling system, etc. and using a stinger to eliminate the tongue weight. that said however why would you want to pull more than a couple thousand pounds at most?
I would like to see that. A 10,000 lb trailer being pulled by a 3,500 lb car. No worries..Lol. The 10,000 lb trailer would make that car it's B**ch.
 
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I would like to see that. A 10,000 lb trailer being pulled by a 3,500 lb car. No worries..Lol. The 10,000 lb trailer would make that car it's B**ch.


10000 lbs on my fx4 f150 makes it the same thing.. lol. People who don't pull trailers regularly don't understand getting it rolling is only part of the equation. Handling it and braking are what you need to be concerned with. I know a man who is crippled and lost his whole family when an 18 wheeler pulled out in front of his powerstroke and 5th wheel camper. He couldn't stop it in time and the truck was crushed. NO WAY IN HELL I'd pull a boat with a mustang unless it was a little john boat.. and then I'd still feel silly.
 
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Biggest reason this became a thought is because i hate driving 30minites south to get a semi to haul a header trailer there from an hour north, that the 302 and trans i am getting ready for mycar are more than capa le of pulling.

Unlike the camper scenario... Our header trailer has its own brakes, that WORK, so all your doing is providing pulling and control. It falls under the discriotion of a 'stinger'.
 
Biggest reason this became a thought is because i hate driving 30minites south to get a semi to haul a header trailer there from an hour north, that the 302 and trans i am getting ready for mycar are more than capa le of pulling.

Unlike the camper scenario... Our header trailer has its own brakes, that WORK, so all your doing is providing pulling and control. It falls under the discriotion of a 'stinger'.

FYI: The camper had brakes that worked. Highway speed with no lane to change into, and the genius in the 18 wheeler merged in at 5 mph. The camper, brakes locked up, drove the pickup under the semi trailer. Inertia and a trucker's stupidity killed several people, and left a man without his family. I see that kind of thing way too often with truckers come to think of it...
 
I would like to see that. A 10,000 lb trailer being pulled by a 3,500 lb car. No worries..Lol. The 10,000 lb trailer would make that car it's B**ch.

well i never said that it would be in any way easy, just that it could be done. i would seriously doubt the sanity of ANYONE that would try such a thing. i was merely observing that it could be done, not that it should be done.:D:D:D:D

Biggest reason this became a thought is because i hate driving 30minites south to get a semi to haul a header trailer there from an hour north, that the 302 and trans i am getting ready for mycar are more than capa le of pulling.

Unlike the camper scenario... Our header trailer has its own brakes, that WORK, so all your doing is providing pulling and control. It falls under the discriotion of a 'stinger'.

so ths would be for pulling the stinger that sets up semis to run doubles? as i recall those things weigh in at about 3000lbs or so, am i right?

if so then perhaps your mustang could pull one, however i would not recommend such an endeavor.
 
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