Towing Question... EMERGENCY!!
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Car: 1991 Pontiac Firebird
Engine: TBI 5.7L v8
Transmission: Modified T-5
Towing Question... EMERGENCY!!
Yeah, I know... towing isn't the best thing for our cars. BUT, I'm in Key West, my boyfriend and I have a 19' bay boat, which we keep in a wetslip. Wilma is projected to pass 45 miles north of us, but she's already the strongest hurricane ever recorded. Our other vehicle is a '99 Subaru Forester, and that can't tow the boat. So we're on our last wish her with towing her out of here with the Bird, which isn't what I want to do... Anyone can help it would be appreciated. And the faster the answer, the better, as we need to prep for this storm ASAP! Thanks!
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Car: 91 RS
Engine: 305 Tbi (L03)
Transmission: 700r4
Your probably better off using the forester. The suspepension is probably gonna handle the load better than an f-body suspension. Also have you thought about just filling that thing up with fuel and taking an ocean going road trip?
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Use the Subaru. Check the owners manual for the Forester. The current model has a towing capacity of 2400 lbs. Do you have a tow hitch attached to either vehcicle and trailer wiring installed? This isn't something you can decide to do at the last minute. The vehicle has to be set up to tow a trailer. There are tow hitches available specifically designed for Camaros and Firebirds. It won't be something you can rent and strap on to the bumper. You need to have it bolted on to the frame. I had to special order mine and that was back when the vehicle was still in production.
FYI, according to my 90 Camaro owners manual; max trailer weight you can tow is 1000 lbs. Tongue weight would be 10% of that or 100 lbs. The boat your describing would weight much more than that. Your BEST bet is to rent or borrow a truck to tow it. Your local U-haul dealer will be able to help you with installing a trailer hitch or renting the appropriate vehicle.
Good luck,
Lon
FYI, according to my 90 Camaro owners manual; max trailer weight you can tow is 1000 lbs. Tongue weight would be 10% of that or 100 lbs. The boat your describing would weight much more than that. Your BEST bet is to rent or borrow a truck to tow it. Your local U-haul dealer will be able to help you with installing a trailer hitch or renting the appropriate vehicle.
Good luck,
Lon
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Car: 1991 Pontiac Firebird
Engine: TBI 5.7L v8
Transmission: Modified T-5
Hey guys... thanks for the info. Looks like the Bird won't be an option either. Subaru can only pull 1500 lbs, according to the user manual. We decided to throw the boat up on a dry dock and just strap the crap out of it. Hopefully it'll be okay.
We thought about driving it up to dry land, but decided against it for several reasons. First of all, the water is choppy right now, meaning, we wouldn't be able to drive it very fast... so it'd take us a LONG time to get up to Miami (about a 2.5-3 hr trip going the speed limit). Plus, since everyone's evacuating, it might be hard to come across a hotel that's on the waterfront that has a slip available. So we're just hoping for the best... hopefully the dry dock doesn't tip over.
But thanks again guys for your help!
We thought about driving it up to dry land, but decided against it for several reasons. First of all, the water is choppy right now, meaning, we wouldn't be able to drive it very fast... so it'd take us a LONG time to get up to Miami (about a 2.5-3 hr trip going the speed limit). Plus, since everyone's evacuating, it might be hard to come across a hotel that's on the waterfront that has a slip available. So we're just hoping for the best... hopefully the dry dock doesn't tip over.
But thanks again guys for your help!
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