Towing with the Cruiser

[jtdev]

I have an 05 GT 5-speed and i was thinking about towing a small tent trailer. Has anyone been towing with their cruiser? How does it fair?

Would be interested in some feedback on this.

Thanks

[shil]

Last summer I built a teardrop trailer and towed it from Toronto to the east coast, a 7000 km round trip.

Have a look: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/silder...ergu/my_photos

I've got a 2003 5-speed Classic. No worries at all towing, if things get sluggish I just downshift.

I've heard that Turbos are not the best choice for towing but have no first-hand experience to back that up.

[MichaelDay]

As long as you limit your towed weight to the maximum 1,000 pounds your GT will make a good tow vehicle. The turbo has good mid range torque and comes on smoothly so you should have no problems at all.

The brakes will take a beating since the PT hasn't got the best brakes around anyway. If you are loading the PT up, as well as adding close to a 1,000 pound trailer, your brakes will heat up pretty fast. Just go down hills in a lower gear than you normally would and don't ride the brakes.

[Capt Kidd]

[8)]I have been towing a 2000# tent trailer for the last 4 years, first with my '01 and lately with my new GT rag top. The '01 is equiped with electrical trailer brakes but the rag top is not. I have not noticed any real difference between the to as far as braking. The turbo definetly goes up hills better but the non turbo works OK.

The only real problem as far as I can see is being not able to see over or around the trailer so I have to be real careful changing lanes.

I had a pickup truck passenger mirror glass cut to size and glued it on the drivers side of both of my PTs what a big difference it made. I also did it for my '98 Durango.

Good luck towing you should have no problems. I wouldn't sweat the weight issue very much. When the PTs first came out the 5 speeds were rated to tow 1500# in Europe and the autos 1000#. I don't know why the US was different.

I would suggest though that electric trailer brakes are a good idea.

[westgate]

I have towed a 3 seater waverunner for about a year all over Florida (flat lands) never a problem.

[MichaelDay]

Capt, I am surprised that you didn't notice a braking difference towing a trailer without brakes. I notice a braking difference just loading about 600-800 pounds of "stuff" inside my GT. The brakes on most vehicles are designed to function "adequately" at the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) and even 1-ton vehicles such as pickups and vans rated to tow 10,000-14,000 pounds typically allow only 1,000 pounds as the maximum weight for a towed trailer without brakes. Brakes on a trailer do make a major difference. I have towed trailers (4,000 pounds to 10,000 pounds) behind one half ton to one ton trucks/vans for years and if the electric connector isn't making contact it was obvious in a hurry. One good stop without working trailer brakes on a multi-thousand pound trailer can warp a trucks rotors with a single application.

Terrain also makes a major difference. Brakes heat up quickly going down steep grades. Using the transmission's lower gears to help keep the speed from increasing is critical on steep grades, as is maintaining a MUCH slower speed than many think is necessary. A large number of people who tow small trailers aren't aware of the limitations of their brakes until they don't have any braking capacity left. That is a bad time to find out. I have been passed by folks towing small trailers at crazy speeds (70+ mph). I have, unfortunately, stopped to assist some of them after they left the road and turned over when their brakes failed or severe sway set in and pushed them off the road.

Trailers without brakes make me nervous. I have experienced sway on a 34' trailer when being passed by a semi-tractor/trailer in gusty high wind conditions. If you apply trailer brakes quickly, the sway stops. Without trailer brakes you have a more difficult time bringing your rig back under control. The worse thing you can do is hit the brakes in the tow vehicle if the trailer starts to sway and it doesn't have brakes. That will almost guaranty a jack-knife condition.

Please be careful out there towing. I have seen more destroyed small trailers on the side of the road than destroyed large trailers.

JT, if you can add brakes to your tent trailer, it would be well worth the cost if you plan to tow very far or in much terrain. Slow down when towing and enjoy your camping. A PT and a small tent trailer are a good combination for fun.

[jtdev]

Thanks for all the advise!

What i plan on doing is building a tear drop trailer (4'x8') made from aluminum square tubing (instead of wood for weight reasons) and skinning it all in aluminum and tig weld all the joints. This will create one of the strongest and lightest trailers I could imagine.

I got some great ideas for building this from:

http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.u...rop/tear00.htm

Check it out, you might find one you like.

As for brakes, I agree. I will use hydrolic brakes with the receiver brake. I had this on my last boat and it works great. No need for electrical wiring or anything like that.


In a few months, i'll post some pics of it while under contruction.

Thanks

[MichaelDay]

The teardrop with the retro PT will be a knock-out combination.

[shil]

jtdev, check out http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/index.php

Lots of info on teardrops.

Good Luck!