I have a problem with my 1993 Ford Aerostar, extended van, and I searched the web, but can't find the answer.

While I was in Oklahoma City in November, I rented a garage, and I bought new heads, gaskets, belts, water pump, etc. Over $990 in parts for the Aerostar, since I didn't wish to "crawl" back into the engine compartement to replace a "minor part' once the heads were re-installed.

Well, I got the heads and intake manifolds back on, and then had to fly back to my home in Reno, Nevada. I'll not really be back in Oklahoma for an extended amount of time, so I figured I'd tow the Aerostar out of Oklahoma, and back to Reno, Nevada and finish the job in my garage here.

I have a 96 F-150 Ford with a 4.9 and an heavy duty automatic transmission, and a class three towing setup by Ford.

But the Aerostar is still in Oklahoma City, along with my Chilton and Clymer shop manuals. The "spec" plate on the door jam is also there with the van.

My problem is that I do not know what the Aerostar weighs. That info is all on the door jam, but I can't read it from Reno. I need to know what the Aerostar weighs so I'll know what type of "towing rig" I have to take with me, back to Oklahoma, or if I leave it all in Reno and rent a trailer in Oklahoma City.

I have a RoadMaster towing bar, used on my motorhome, and rated at 7,000 lbs, and an older, heavy duty, U-Haul car dolley, rated at 3,500 lbs, but I may have to rent a car trailer there.

Can someone, with the same model of Aerostar, please step out to your driveway, look at your plate, and then please post those "specs" about its GTW, GVWR and GAWR front and back.

Thanks,

David L. Burrell

 

A year ago I was in a similar situation with my Cadillac (it blew a headgasket 250 miles from home 4 days before Christmas). I called U-Haul & they asked me all the details of the car. Their computer system spec'd what equipment was required to pull the car. A dolly wasn't adequate due to the width of the car and ground clearance, so I rented a truck and car hauler trailer.

I had to return the truck to a not-so-local U-Haul outlet (I got a special deal because somebody else one-wayed the truck & it had to be returned). I loaded my 95 Aerostar (shorty) & pulled it the 20 miles to return the truck & trailer. I had no trouble whatsoever (except I couldn't see the trailer behind the truck when driving in a straight line and you can't get a U-Haul going any faster than 55).

There are a few things you should consider:

1) If you use a dolly, you'll either need to pull the van backward or disconnect the driveshaft from the differential. If you remove the driveshaft you'll need to seal up the trans tail housing - you'll likely see some salty/sandy roads between Oklahoma & Reno this time of year - yechhh. You can also just disconnect it at the diff and tie it up securely out of the way (so you don't lose the ATF), but there aren't really very many tie-up places under there.

2) If you use a tow bar, the driveshaft still needs to be disconnected, but it'll likely take you a day or two to remove the bumper cover (and bumper?) and figure out some mounting brackets.

3) A shorty and extended Aerostar have the same wheelbase. The extra 14" or so of bodywork is only going to add a couple hundred pounds at most, which shouldn't really affect the towability on a trailer compared to my experience with a shorty. Unlatching the rear seats (and dropping the spare) and packing them forward will help offset any weight balance differences. If you're going to be in a hurry to get the van connected and get on the road, the trailer is the best option. IIRC, the U-Haul car hauler also has a surge brake coupler setup so you won't tax the F150's brakes in the hills. A couple of days rental shouldn't cost more than a hundred bucks or so.

Now that I think about it, the U-Haul wesite may have had a feature to specify the vehicle towing equipment required based on your inputs. It would be worth checking out.

Good luck with your adventure.

Cheers,
Eric

 

Well,

I've been to the U-Haul site on the web. The info I got there said that a "tow dolly" can transport 3,900 lbs, while their car transport trailer maximum is 4,000 lbs.

I still need to find out what a 1993, extended Ford Aerostar with a 3.0 engine weighs so that I may discover if it is even possible, and safe, to tow it 1,700 miles behind my truck.

My truck weighs, empty at the curb, 6,050 lbs. With the extra "Ford" towing package, larger 30 x 9.5/ R15 tires, and extra "beefy" bumpers and rack, it weighs in at around 6,600 lbs. Add me and my gear for the trip and its getting close to about 6,900 lbs.

The U-Haul site did stress that the "towing" vehicle be a minimum of 750 lbs. heavier than the vehicle being towed.

So, the main question still is, what does the 93 Aerostar weigh?

 

I have never weighed my extended length 4wd van before, so I can't tell you exactly what it weighs. The label on the door jam does not show curb weight, but GVWR, which on mine is 5300 pounds.

I have an old brochure which shows the short body to have a curb weight of 3500 pounds. Add a couple hundred pounds for the extended length. You can offset most of this by removing the rear bench seats (put them in the bed of your truck).

The Chilton manual cautions against towing the van by the front bumper only. (I think they're only rated for a 2.5 mph bump, and that's not jsut the covers.) They recommend using chains secured to structural members on the frame, and use a 4 by 4 fastened under the bumper to keep the chains away from under car components.

 

I have a 89 Aerostar XL that says 4920 lbs GVW. on the door panel.

Maybe this will help

 

Thanks fellows,

If I can be sure, by removing the seats and spare tire, to get the weight on the Aerostar down to about 3,500 to 3,700 lbs. "empty", not only will my "tow" vehicle be within safety margins as to its weight measured against the weight of the Aerostar, but I can use either the RoadMaster tow bar, with a new $300+ special Aerostar "base plate" and connectors, or the "ex" U-Haul two wheel dolly and have a safety factor with either.

I do plan to completely remove the Aerostar drive shaft and put that in the bed of my truck, along with the seats and spare from the Aerostar.

And when I was much younger, and not very bright, I hooked two chains around the front bumper of a 1955 Ford convertible and wrapped them around the rear bumper mounts of a 1961 Chevy and proceeded to try to go four miles "jerking" the Ford along.

I wrecked both bumpers, and the Ford smacked into the Chevy and bashed in the trunk. I guessed then that the Ford didn't like being dragged alone by a Chevy.

 

I believe you should be fine with the tow dolly. Using my 89 F150 4.9(without Ford's "towing package"), I dollied my Aerostar from Nashville TN to South Carolina over the Blue Ridge mountains. No problems at all, it towed just fine. I wouldn't have a problem at all doing it again.
I took the driveshaft out first. Forgot my output shaft plug and lost about a quart of fluid. Taped some plastic over the tailshaft and apparently lost no more fluid. Upon arrival a quart of ATF brought it back up to full.