trailer tongue wieght

[iggypops1]

I have a 1977 Compac 16. I recently sold my 4x4 truck and need to add a tow hitch to the 'new' tow vehicle (2003 Chevy Malibu).  Should I install a class I or II tow hitch?  The class one however, requires no drilling. 

What is the tongue weight of the boat and trailer?  And what is the overall weight of boat, motor and trailer?  Is the Chevy Malibu capable of towing the compac 16.  I reside Florida


Steve

[B.Hart]

   Hi Steve, a fully loaded 16 and trailer will  weigh 1600 to 1800 lbs, depending on what you consider necessary to take with you.   Tongue weight is very important, too much will overload your tow vehicle, and affect handling, not enough and the trailer will want to wander. Remember to check tongue weight with the boat fully loaded.   HAPPY TOWING  BILL

[Rick Klages]

Tung weight should not be more than 10% of gross weight.

[Brian 1851]

Steve,
     
     When I put my hitch on my van I put a class II on because it looked a lot sturdier and was about the same price.  Have to say I would be tempted to put a class I on if it was an issue of drilling and not drilling.  I guess it comes down to if you feel the class I hitch looks sturdy enough?
     For tongue weight, you might have a little label that gives you the recommended percentage of tongue weight based on your overall weight.  I have a magic tilt trailer that recommends 7%. 

                                      Safe trailering,
                                      Brian

[Steve Ullrich]

A class one hitch would be sufficient for hauling a Com-Pac 16 behind anything.  My Ranger was equipped with a towing package and a class II hitch when it was built.  Overkill with respect to the 16.  Out of curiosity, I went out in the garage and dropped the tongue on the bathroom scale.  My 1989 Com-Pac 16/3 has 138.5 lbs on the tongue with the mast, boom, battery, and everything but the kitchen sink in the cabin.  The only thing not on board is the motor and I keep that in the back of the truck when I'm hauling her anywhere.

Your real concern should be the Malibu.  A quick Google search shows the towing capacity of a 2010 Malibu to be 1000 lbs.  A 16 doesn't weigh much but you might find hauling her with a Malibu to be a little hard on the transmission.

[iggypops1]

Ouch!  I just read the owners manual and Steve is correct, it's only rated for 1000 lbs.  I don't get it.  How does a Ford Pinto tow the campac 16 meanwhile my V6 Malibu is too wimpy?

The Malibu is my only option because my other car is a 2009 1.5 liter Toyota Yaris and the Yaris is overloaded if I pack to many diapers in my sons diaper bag. 

Should I be concerned towing.  Florida is flat and the Gulf of Mexico is only 10 or 15 miles from the house.

Steve

[Steve Ullrich]

Flat land is a plus. Short distances are also a plus.  The rating is probably low anyhow, just to play it safe, but I wouldn't advise pulling 1800 lbs through the mountains with any vehicle rated at 1,000 lbs.  Bottom line: You can tow anything with anything.  It is just a matter of how long you can do it and at what speed.  Your engine is probably bigger than my Ranger's engine but my Ranger is geared a little different on the low end and it is equipped with a transmission fluid cooler as well as a radiator.  That's the real problem, heat.  Your engine more than likely has plenty of power but the tranny will run hot under a heavy load. Take it easy! There is a lot of difference between a 3.8 Buick and a 2.4 Malibu. 

[iggypops1]

The tow vehicle is a 3.1 Malibu LS w/th temp gauge.  I ordered the class-one due to the easy installation.  If the Malibu does have difficulty towing the 16, my backup plan is to park the boat and trailer at my local sailing squadron.  It will cost me a few hundred dollars a year to do this however, I only have to tow the boat 75ft to the water.

I purchased a 1977 compac 16 a few months ago and boy she is a beauty, love at first site.  The maiden voyage is in the near future so hopefully early next week I can get the tow hitch installed. Thanks for all the input.

Steve 
Sarasota, FL

[Craig Weis]

The more tounge weight the better.

That car has more then enough power to pull a 16. Heck wind resistance squares as speed doubles. And your going to need a lot more 'pull' at 80 mph then you'll ever use at 55 mph pulling the 16. And sandwitch some flatbar around the trailer hitch and trunk sheet steel. She'll pull drive train out of the bottom of the car before you pull the hitch out of the bottom of the trunk.

Ultimate strength of cheap-o-steel is 10,000 lbs x the thickness in inches divided by a safety factor of four.

You can tow it that far with a lawn 16 hp tractor. Anyway anytime a extra cooling package is offered on anything you might buy. Buy it! For towing move as much weight as possible at least try to get to 200 lb on the hitch. I had to move the winch/support and boat fwd on my trailer and readjust the hull bunks to have a little more weight on the hitch. Otherwise she'll fish tail like the devil. skip.

[B.Hart]

  Let's not forget that pulling the boat is only half the battle, you also have to STOP! Make sure to give yourself at least twice the distance to brake.   Also if you have a automatic you may need to keep it out of overdrive to stop it from shifting in and out and causing excessive heat build up. I tow with a JEEP wrangler 2.5 4 cyl 5speed and do not use 5th gear when towing my 16.   BILL

[Craig Weis]

If your towing with the correct and powerful enough vehicle she won't drop out of overdrive.
skip.

[Salty19]

Older vehicles like the pinto use square ladder frames, similar to today's SUV's (made for offroad, not the want-to-be SUVs) and trucks.  These are extremely sturdy designs.  Todays' cars use Unibody frames.  What a unibody frame means is the actual body and underbody, glued and welded together, form the frame to hold the car together.  There are structural members you can't see but they are normally there to interconnect and strenghten the body in key areas or for crash zones. The tow limits for unibody frames are much lower than standard ladder frames.   They do not distribute the weight evenly but instead concentrate the weight on the hitch to those body areas near the rear bumper.   They are designed as such for safety reasons foremost (ladder frames transfer shock to the occupants, unibodies absorb the impact), manufacturing cost reductions and reduction of metal/weight.  That explains why the towing limits are reduced in newer cars.  And why safety ratings have skyrocketed.

The V6 Malibu SHOULD be able to tow 2 or 3,000 pounds.  But it cannot.  The engine can surely tow it-plenty of power there.  The transmission should be able to handle it--it will explode on you at 100K regardless of how you treat it.  It's the frame and suspension components that are the weak links!    Also brakes get designed for the maximum expected load.   GM brakes frankly are horrible compared to others; your brakes will be overloaded and those caliper pins tend to seize up on these series of cars (been there on an Alero, same underbody as a malibu).  I know they feel strong!

Be cautious with regards to insurance and liability.  If you overload the vehicle and are in an accident, the insurance company will deny your claim.  If you're at fault (which is likely, you're brakes won't work well and your steering will be vague due to improper weight distribution), you're 100% financially responsible!  Depending on the damage to vehicle and persons, that could be a couple of hundred bucks or hundreds of thousands in medical bills.

A tow vehicle, IMHO needs to be able to tow, at a MINIMUM, the total tow weight (in this case about 1800lbs) plus 10% for a margin of safety.   

Now as you've already got the tow package you've probably already towed with it. Your probably going to say it tows fine.  And it probably does feel OK with speed under control and leaving room to brake.  But I guarantee you'll see more problems with your car in the final drive, suspension and braking areas.  U joints/CV joints will fail sooner, brakes will warp sooner (and will overheat if towing in teh mountains), suspension springs in the rear will fade earlier. And you could see possible separation of the unibody (doubtful with 2k lbs). 

Another check is this:   Look at the GVWR sticker on your driver door.  That's the total maximum weight of car, occupants, added accessories (like your tow hitch) , tow craft, trailer, etc  If you exceed that number, the vehicle is overloaded. Therefore the systems like brakes, suspension, frame, transmission etc are NOT designed for it.  You may be OK here?

Not posting this to be an ass or controversial..the opposite...really just looking out for your safety and those around you while you're towing. 

[Craig Weis]

The 50 year old Pinto has square ladder frames? The last car made with frame and unibody was the 1960 Ford Galaxy which was why these tubs were so sought after for demolishion Derbies. The Pinto has a uni-body floor pan with some sheet steel formed to act as anchor points for the suppension. No different construction then any other car built today. These things don't have frame any more.  Gotta build them light for the mandated Corporate Average Fuel Economy [CAFE] requirements. This even has the Japs and the Germans fretting! Were all going to be driving around in identical cars designed from wind tunnels and small gas/electric motors that will raise the CAFE number to the mandated requirement. If enough are built by each manufacturing concern then that concern can continue making trucks, and still keep the average going. Do you want to buy a SMART car for $25+K made by Mercedes Benz? I don't. skip.

[Bob23]

   The Smart Car is inappropriately named. Should be the dumb-ass car! Worst pos I've seen on the road in a long time. I'll take a Gremlin first!
   My dad's old 1987 Grand Marquis got 28 mpg...not bad for a primitive fuel injection motor in a heavy car.
   The Pinto was one of the scariest cars around. While working for a bit in a junk yard, we had 3 come in during my stint. All were hit from different positions yet all three had bent center tunnels. Real safe car, huh!
Bob23

[Bob Condon]

A couple things to consider:

1. Tongue weight should be 1/7 of you total weight. This may mean that you store stuff up in the bow.
If the weight is not enough, your trailer will wander on the highway and is not a comfortable thing. I am sure
the Malibu is enough for starting and stopping.

2. The "only" issue is that if you were ever in an accident, towing with a 1000 pound hitch will cause you
issues. I would go to a towing shop, have the hit inspected and ask what they can do to increase the weight...

I tow with a Sienna van without issue. The only scary incident was ma and pa Kettle decided to stop, in the road for
a yard (junk) sale. We were going downhill at 45 mph... I thank the good Lord that there was enough room for me to
get around them and not have a car coming against me. Leave plenty of room!

Bob