Have any of you ever towed a boat with you FOX?

[PonyFiveO]

Im planning on getting another jet boat and rather than buying a new vehicle just tow it, I am haveing serious thoughts of towing it with my 91 GT. If I go this route, I will prepare it with a Griffin radiator, Summit oil cooler, and Police fan clutch. It already has a big B&M tranny cooler, 3:55s, mild shift kit, and higher stall converter (1500 - 1800).

I am thinking the boat and trailer should weigh right around 2000 - 2500 lbs. I have done something similar when I had my last Jet Boat. I towed it with a V8 Thunderbird without any problems. The farthest I towed with that setup was 500 mi round trip.

My questions are...

1. Have any of you successfully towed a boat with your FOX?

2. Is there anything else I may need to add to the car before I tow with it?

3. Will I encounter any problems with this setup?

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!

 

[91_4ourBanger]

ive never towed anything wtih my car, but the funny thing is, i have a tow hitch on my 2.3L. Now really...who the hell puts a tow hitch on a 105hp 130ftlb torque car???? please tell me this didnt come from the factory?

 

[HISSIN50]

someone posted a pic of what happened to a guy towing a boat in here a long time ago. dont let that happen to you (IIRC, it went off a cliff).

i dont know much about slushboxes, and it sounds like you do. dont want to burn it up.
good luck, i think. LOL J/K.

 

[dastang2]

if you got a gt then how the heck are you going to get a tow hitch on there with that gt body kit without cutting a hole in it. BAD IDEA

 

[Michael Yount]

Pony5.0 - with the changes you're contemplating, your car should have no problem managing the power/torque/cooling aspects of towing 2500 lbs. The only other thing I think I might add is a tranny fluid temp gauge. I'd like to know how that looser stall is heating up things at low rpm with the additional load. Also, I think I'd want to place the tranny cooler coil where it doesn't route it's hot air exiting right back over the radiator. So if it's mounted in front of the radiator, I'd want to relocate it below the car where it won't increase the air temp hitting the radiator. The original owner of my car converted it in order to tow his 3500 lb. fishing boat which he did for 3 years with no problems - engine/tranny all stock 92HO. However, there is more to consider. Namely, suspension, tires and brakes. People most often overlook these aspects of a tow vehicle. You've now got to stop a package that, with 2 adults and coolers/etc. in the car, weighs something close to 6500 lbs. Are your stock brakes and tires up to that? Is the rear suspension up to the tongue weight? Is the overall suspension up to the task a managing under the additional load? We'll let you sort that out.

 

[NKau]

I think the AOD should hold up fine; just be sure the trans isn't shifting in and out of OD a lot.......best if you can avoid using OD while towing if at all possible. I wouldn't be rolling any faster than I had to while pulling the boat either; fox mustangs are relatively light cars to be pulling trailers with. Like Mr. Yount said, stopping your car with a trailer on it will be a lot different than stopping say a Blazer or Explorer with the trailer behind it. It can definitely be done, there is just more you have to take into consideration. Good luck.

 

[ram360]

IMO buy a beater truck and tow it with that. IMO even that 2500# trailer will really bitch that car around. It's really not too good when the trailer ends up steering the car for you. Stopping is another story too. Sounds too dangerous to me.

 

[blkstangman88]

Ive towed many diff cars with my 88 gt mustang (using a tow rope) the car has plenty of power for that, but make sure u have good brakes other wise the boat will just push the car. Dont be to hard on ur car when doing so, dont want to put to much pressure on the engine since they were ment for speed not towing boats around.

 

[Michael Yount]

The engine will be fine - seems we're forgetting the same basic block was put in MANY more F150 pickups, Explorers, and Vans over the years. Granted, they're set to put out a bit more bottom end torque, but his gears will compensate for that.

I towed a small race car/trailer (about 3200 lbs.) with a BroncoII (3600 lbs.) for about 6 years. Was careful to be sure suspension/brakes were all in good order, and had the tow package gears/heavier duty cooling, etc. You do have to be careful when what you're pulling weighs as much as what you're pulling it with. THings are more stable when the tow vehicle is a bit heavier. But it's not the end of the world - after all, many people pull 6000-9000 lb. trailers with pickups that weigh 6000 lbs. You just need to completely alter your driving style - everything slower, more room around you, MUCH more conservative in your driving style. Problems come when people drive them like they would if they weren't towing anything.

 

[PonyFiveO]

Thanks for all the replies! You have all been very infomative and I appreciate all of your help!

It is sounding like it may not be a good idea, as searches for a hitch only came up with a class 1 hitch, which would actually clear the ground effects but is only good for 200/2000lbs. The one I had on the Bird was a class 2, which was rated at 350/3500.

I guess I will have to get rid of a couple of stangs and get something that will be more versatile to tow and commute with.

Thanks again all!

 

[TheUser]

tow it w/ the viper! If you can afford a jet boat, can't you throw a couple more grand in an older truck to pull the boat with? I think you're making a wise decision by not using the stang to tow the boat...at least I wouldn't do that.

 

[dastang2]

besides your car would sag and probably drag the ground

 

[hemi_fan]

There will be no problem with the hitch. My GT has a hitch, and it fit underneath the skirt without any mods. I might use it in the summer to tow a foldaway camper trailer, but my dad wanted to buy a jetski. Im sure the jetski would be no problem, but the camper might be a bit much. o well, we'll see when the summer comes

 

[enyawix]

I pulled my 1980 f100

I moved 6mo ago and my 1980 f100 is not running so i pulled it 4 miles to where is live now. traction was the only issue.

 

[AZNEAL311]

Ive never tried to tow any thing with either of my Fox bodies but i did work at a U-haul as a hitch & Wiring Specialist. I got a lot of Fox's in there for a hitch. I never asked what people were trying to tow or why they would do it. I was surprised at how many people wanted a hitch on there Fox's. For what your going to spend on tranny, suspension , brakes, tires ect.. I would say buy a beater truck. If your friends want to go to the lake use there truck. Just my thoughts.

 

[mob]

Talk about back from the dead.

 

[Sicarius428]

Forget about getting it goin... how about stopping that thing. Fox brakes suck enough for its own weight... now getting a boat kicking it in the butt is just nuts. hehe
Kevin

 

[bubba-dough]

Yeah I already typed this when I seen how old the thread was.

Ive never tried to tow any thing with either of my Fox bodies but i did work at a U-haul as a hitch & Wiring Specialist. I got a lot of Fox's in there for a hitch. I never asked what people were trying to tow or why they would do it. I was surprised at how many people wanted a hitch on there Fox's. For what your going to spend on tranny, suspension , brakes, tires ect.. I would say buy a beater truck. If your friends want to go to the lake use there truck. Just my thoughts.

Sometimes guys just wanna tow a shell type trailer to hold a few tools and tires for track use. That way you don't have the expense of another vehicle and big trailer.

I see nothing wrong with hauling something small. I seen the most hilarious thing this past summer. It was a 99-04 GT pullin this huge ass speed boat thing (it was the size of a house). I wish I had my camera with me. So, if you can afford a boat of that cost buy a truck to haul it with