hello guys and dolls

My family and I are moving from northern ontario to Calgary and I was wandering what size of U haul trailler i could tow with my 6 cyl 3 l aerostar. 4x 8 or 5x 10 any ideas??

thanks Dan

 

Hi Dan:

I wouldn't tow anything with a 3.0L. The thing has enough trouble hauling itself, let alone another trailer. But then, from Northern Ontario to Calgary is not such a long distance (I may be wrong but you'll have to forgive this ignorant American ) you might be OK if you don't use OD and keep the speed to a reasonable level. I wouldn't go with a big trailer though.

 

Interesting views on towing. In the 70s, I towed a race car on a trailer all over Europe behind a 1963 VW Bug 1200 cc and 34 HP! Hills were always tough, but we made it! 3.0 L seems like enough if it's flat and easy acceleration.

John
94 4.0 Ext 154K miles

 

[I]We are not taking any heavy stuff with us only boxes and matresses adn essentials. No fridge and stove etc. I think we will be fine.

 

Check what gears you have. I had a 3LT and towed a 10X12 sled ( Ski Doo)trailor and 4 sleds from Windsor Ont to Petawawa Ont. at 120 KPH. With no problems, but had a 4.10 gears. You could pull a trailer up to 2000lbs.
As for distance Copper, Its like driving from Detroit Mich to Grand Fals ND.

 

The 3L aerostar didn't have a lot of HP but it had a fair amount of torque. I know we owned one... I would get the 4x8 and be choosey about what you take. You should be fine.. Keep in out of OD and around 55MPH (not sure of the metric equivalency).

 

[chuckle]



I've done this twice: the red one above was a parts rig from which I kept the engine/trans and a very few other parts, and I only hauled it about 100 miles. The 2nd one was a blue long one that I towed home from 300 miles away, and to pay for that trip I towed a BMW 328i to where that blue 'star was -- my fee for that paid for the gas round-trip. Gotta love CraigsList.

Did that trip all in one day, so I towed two cars a total of 600 miles.

The grey tow rig, that's my daily driver, '89 3.0l A4LD, 200k miles. But I have the 4.10 Trak-Lok rear end, which makes a big difference. My blue '91 with a taller rear doesn't have nearly the tow capacity in the pure acceration department.

Oh, and yes, I towed both the red and blue Aerostars in overdrive nearly the entire way -- it was a mostly flat drive, and there was NO hunting between 3rd & 4th, but you can bet I proactively shifted out of OD on any hill, the programmed downshift would be too late and momentum lost.

Power is low, of course, with the 3.0l. But it's not dangerous. I scared myself badly one day when towing in heavy rain on I-5 and traffic braked suddenly ahead of me. I didn't have enough traction to slow adequately, I could lock all four wheels but was still being pushed fast, so I pumped the pedal (to let me steer) and headed for the shoulder. Which worked out fine, but it was a near thing, and I was cleaning out sod from the load when I stopped, due to the locking wheels throwing up great strips of it from the shoulder.

U-Haul trailers mostly have surge brakes, so that wouldn't have been a problem if I'd been dragging one of those . . . but I wasn't.

I also drag this rig around occasionally . . .


That's a inline Six diesel in the trailer (LD28).

To the OP: Unless you have a extended body or the 4WD, U-Haul (in the US) will no longer rent you the 6x12; they check the tow vehicle into their computer, and it rejects the combo due to the supposed weight ratio of tow vehicle to possible trailer weight. I used to rent the covered 6x12 all the time, but a few years ago my U-Haul agency began to decline. They'll rent you the 5x10 though, and that works fine for many moves.

Now, when I want to rent the 6x12, I just tell them it's 4WD -- they don't ask any more and I don't tell.

Regards,
Al S.

 

Asavage:

Nice house

 

Copper:

Isn't it though?

Wish it were mine, but I merely found a place two miles from where I loaded up the red van, stopped, walked across the street, and took a pic. They wouldn't let me in a neighborhood with landscaping like that! Heck, they barely let me drive through neighborhoods like that!

I have a great view from my place, but I live in a very spartan, rural setting, not suburbia. In fact . . . yup, the doe and her two fawns are munching grass out in the yard, 15 feet in front of my monitor as I type this. They're welcome to it, less to mow

Regards,
Al S.

 

Now I am really envious Anyway, Asavage, somehow my 3.0L never seems to have enough power, and that has always been the case since the van was new. Loaded up with two adults, 4 kids and luggages, it'll take us where we want to go, but only at a leisurely pace. Uphill, we'd be lucky if we can do 55 mph. That's why I said I wouldn't tow anything heavy with it. Maybe it's particular to only California cars? Maybe it's because we bought the cheapest version?

 

Not so much a California car, as a California mindset, probably I hope I didn't just offend you . . .

I was born in SoCal, I have relatives there (my father lives in SoPas) and I visit every so often. When driving in the Greater LA area (that is, from Grapevine to roughly Riverside to Irvine) at least once/day, I get into a situation where I KNOW I'm going to die. The traffic aggressiveness there is that bad, IMO.

I'm probably the third-slowest driver you know. I never speed. I drive AT the speed limit, and I use the cruise control aggressively to control what in my youth cost me a lot of money and nearly killed some folks. It was very hard to learn to slow down; it took two years of rigorously monitoring myself. So now I probably hold up traffic for 85% of the rest of you. That also means that people are usually passing me, waving without using all their fingers, etc. I'm used to it, but in SoCal even in the right lane, it's pretty disconcerting to try and hold 55 or 60 on any freeway.

Where I live, two-lane country roads, here the speed limit isn't above 50 unless I drive 30 miles away to Hwy 3 (which I do twice a month) and even then it's just 60 -- but with four lanes. So for most of the 1100 miles/month I drive, I'm not really in a hurry and I don't need a lot of acceleration, and after a while you get used to a more . . . relaxed driving state.

Not being able to do 65 up a 5% grade with the family and luggage doesn't bother me, because I'm probably stuck behind an RV or a freight truck, and we're just enjoying the scenery anyway. Wherever I'm going, it'll still be there if it takes me ten more minutes.

That's not to say I don't grit my teeth when some ijit passes me and then slows down, and don't even get me *started* about mis-aimed headlights or those damned blue things in small pickups with a load in the back . . . but after driving slowly for a few years, you just don't need a lot of power day-to-day.

[Throwing away the TV was a big benefit, too. Haven't watched TV in about three years.]

So maybe your little 3.0l really IS underpowered. My point is that I do a good bit of "heavy" towing and though it's always nice to have more, the little 3.0l does what I want pretty much when I want it to. I didn't buy my '89 for me, I bought it for someone else who changed their mind and I was stuck with it, but darned if nearly seven years later I still like it, warts and all. It's a compromise vechicle, but I haven't found anything to replace it yet, so I just keep sprinkling dollars across the hood every couple of months, repairing whatever seems to need attention, and driving it.

Regards,
Al S.

 

-------------------
Copper, I have a California Aerostar. I don't know about you, but my Aerostar has run the quarter mile in 10.22 seconds (ET) at over 133 MPH through the traps, on the dragstrip!! The only modifications on my Aerostar: Both rows of seats are removed. Factory "spoke" XLT hubcaps, removed. (4). Air pressure adjustments in all four tires (sorry. personal data, which are my own trade secrets) a K&N air filter (33-2024), and a 1/4 tank of Chevron gasoline, running the premium unleaded with "Techron" I might add. <91 octane> Oh, and my own power shifting, through the floor mounted shifter (1987 'Star) getting the 3.0's power, hooked up through the A4LD trans, as my rear tires (P215 75 R14) barely provide adequate traction for my Aerostar. I have to "pedal it", on occasion, as to keep the 14" rubber, from going up in a haze of white burning tire smoke. Copper, I thought at least 99% of Aerostar's run like mine? Well??! Ed

 

Add an aftermarket auto transmission cooler, the largest that will fit in front of the radiator. Change the air cleaner, coolant and engine oil. Make sure the engine is running at peak performance with no miss firing. Change the transmission fluid before and after the tow.

 

AHAHAHAHAHA!

I bought my '89 with A4LD in the back seat seven years ago, had one rebuilt, put AMSOil synthetic oil in it at that time with a third oil cooler in front, added an inline filter on the cooler line (with magnets) and have changed that inline filter every January, for 60k miles.

However, I had a drain bung machined and welded to a spare pan last month, and I went and swapped pans and changed the filter, topped up with 2.5 qts of fresh synth. I figure I'll drain and refill the pan only every two or three engine oil changes from now on -- I'm not going to do a flush with $7/qt oil!

The ATF oil still looks good at 60k, but I like to replenish the additives.

 

We have a 95 shorty with a 3.0 and used to pull a 2000lbs. pop up camper with ours. It pulled it along pretty well, about the same as my 3/4 ton Suburban pulling our 21' travel trailer, weight about 3500lbs. If I remember right, our Aerostar is rated to pull 3900 lbs. It always seems like the 3.0 is working hard but I think its just the nature of the beast because if was working as hard as it feels like it is, it never would have lasted this long. Although I don't think I would hook the big travel trailer to ours, there is a family that frequents the campground we do that pulls a 30' bunkhouse with their Aerostar, and that camper has got to weigh about 4000lbs!! And Ed, my wife saw your post and thinks your serious, now I can't build a race car because she says I got one in the driveway