How much can I tow?
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Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Northern Indiana
How much can I tow?
I am in Georgia on vacation and there has been the a oppurtunity to bring back a Toyota camry for my mother. I will have a 12 foot trailer with brakes on one axle. It is 750 miles back home. I am guessing the the car is in the 3000 to 3500 range?? Do you think I will be okay for the trip or am I pushing my luck. I just want to be safe.
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I am curious to know how you will get it on a 12 foot trailer? My snowmobile barely fits on a 12 foot trailer.
Does your truck have a brake controller? You need one to run electric brakes.
I think, if you can fit the car on the trailer, that is well within the trucks towing capabilities.
I would consider renting a car hauler from u-haul. The will let you go one way, and it is typically pretty cheap. Their trailer will likely have hydraulic surge brakes.
The only trick to being safe while doing this is to take it slow and leave extra room for braking distances.
Does your truck have a brake controller? You need one to run electric brakes.
I think, if you can fit the car on the trailer, that is well within the trucks towing capabilities.
I would consider renting a car hauler from u-haul. The will let you go one way, and it is typically pretty cheap. Their trailer will likely have hydraulic surge brakes.
The only trick to being safe while doing this is to take it slow and leave extra room for braking distances.
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I towed a Chevy Impala with my Expedition using a U-Haul car carrier and half the time I forgot I was towing anything. The truck didn't give me one bit of trouble, other than the obvious lower gas mileage due to the extra weight.
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I don't think it is a lot cheaper because renting the trailer is really cheap.
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Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Northern Indiana
I already have the trailer because I was planning on taking a few things back. Just not a car. I will get a brake controller before we leave. Just want to make sure I am not over taxing the truck because there are a few mountain grades on the trip home.
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Fleet Owner
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Just make sure the OD is turned off unless you're doing a steady speed on a flat stretch of road.
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Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Mesa AZ
You'll be fine. We tow our 25' boat with my wife's Expy 5.4 all the time through mountain grades and it does a great job. I am not sure how heavy the boat is but is has a double axle trailer so it's probably 6-7k or so...
Too bad you didn't take your Super Duty on vacation...
Have a safe trip home.
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Joined: Sep 2007
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How much can you tow??? ALOT 
My '02 expo towed my 1948 chevy from NM to CA without a any problems. I had uhaul install the brake light connector and brake controller for about $250.
I believe the tow package on the expo is rated at roughly 8500 lbs. My 17' trailer is 3500 lbs and with the additional 3500 + lbs of load, I had the same concerns at first, too! But she pulled the 7k + lbs all 850 miles home with no problems!!! I see know problems pulling a little camry
My '02 expo towed my 1948 chevy from NM to CA without a any problems. I had uhaul install the brake light connector and brake controller for about $250.
I believe the tow package on the expo is rated at roughly 8500 lbs. My 17' trailer is 3500 lbs and with the additional 3500 + lbs of load, I had the same concerns at first, too! But she pulled the 7k + lbs all 850 miles home with no problems!!! I see know problems pulling a little camry
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One common mistake I see in the mountains is people not manually downshift the transmission to control their speed on downgrades. Let the engine do the braking. 2nd gear runs to well over the speed limit, I usually wait to drop into that gear at around 45-50mph. It will do a good job of holding the load back without burning up the brakes. That said, I'm not sure that the mountains you have to cross are quite as big as the ones I drive.
Going uphill, just keep an eye on the coolant temp. I doubt you will have any problems but that will give you the first sign.
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There is no reason to turn it off climbing steep hills, it will downshift all by itself based on the load. If you are towing on any sort of grade the "automatic" transmission will take care of this for you
You do realize the owners manual was written to accomodate the dumbest of the dumb right?
You do realize the owners manual was written to accomodate the dumbest of the dumb right?
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