I believe that would go to the Bank's Dodge Dakota Pick up with a 5.9 Cummins Turbo Diesel at over 222 miles per hour. They drove the truck "towing" a trailer to Bonneville Salt Flats, raced it and drove home in the same truck.
2005 Dodge 3500 Quad cab CTD Dually, Laramie, G56 sbc con-ofe, GPS-NAV, Sirius, intake and exhaust, Gauges, 100 gal aux fuel tank, Rokktech, Quad box, Pacbrake, 85,000mi
2000 Gulfstream Seahawk, Sat TV, Solar, 6.5kw gen, Washer/Dryer
8.1 Van wrote: I bet my 8.1 van could tow that trailer just as fast and alot safer.
Just as fast? Oh really? What's the 1/4 mile time of the van empty?
A lot safer? Oh really? Try an emergency avoidance manuever back to back in both vehicles at freeway speeds and see which one is safer.
I will assume that this original post is not a troll. This whole setup is very reasonable. A modern car with a proper setup can easily handle this trailer in a very safe way. But, I think I'll avoid saying too much more since I expect this to be shut down pretty soon anyway. Too many here think the only thing in the whole world that matters is the scale weight. Weight is one factor, but it is not the only factor.
Nice Charger, by the way.
2004 Ford Freestar 4.2 liter
2003 Jayco Qwest 12A
preserve the Second Amendment
Power Wagon... Nice looking rig. My buddy here in town is using a Hemi Charger to tow his 25' Airstream and he just luvs it. Handling, braking, power....it just doesn't get much better. He is using a pro set up which includes custom built receiver that looks something like this.....
* This post was
edited 05/08/08 10:37am by Road Ruler *
lesmore49 wrote: I recall back around '69 the world land speed record for towing was established by a '69 Impala, with a 427 big block Chevy (Rat Motor), 4 speed...towing a significantly large trailer...a 28 footer Airstream (something like that).
I can't remember the speed, but I believe it was over 100 mph, timed at Bonneville speed weeks.
What modifications have you done to your Charger to get low 12's in the 1/4 mile?
You are correct Les but I'm not sure what the TV was. The record was over 120MPH on a closed circuit of course.
It has been said and explained many times before that cars have the "physics" that potentially make many of them stellar TV's.
This was all covered before. You aren't the only one, nor even the first one to discover the hidden towing ability of the newer model performance sedans.
But there is a huge group of die-hard truck guys that can't swallow their ego enough to even consider what they may be missing. Their worlds revolve around ridiculous "tow ratings" that have no basis in fact or consistent testing methods.
These days the term "tow rating" is used as a bragging point to sell the trucks and SUVs car makers want to move the most. Lesser vehicles are rarely tested at all, most of the time just getting a rubber stamp rating well enough under the real ability of the vehicle to assure nobody could ever complain or break something.
I think you have a great looking and reasonably well thought-out rig. If the hitch and sway control are correctly adjusted for your combo, it would probably handle very safe and control the trailer much better than many full size trucks would (and BenK that includes 'rainy days').
Thanks for sharing.
-Jimmy
'04 Ford Freestar (Primary tow vehicle) '05 Subaru Forester (Backup tow vehicle) '65 Bethany popup (best popups ever made!) Looking for a tow vehicle Minivan towing
Damn.. its the hitch.. probably is better then the OEM I got though..
I dont understand for the life of me why this brilliant guy would have just been so stupid to not consider his hitch set up. something he over looked.. LMAO
"Thanks for the insight on setting up the torsion bars on the hitch - this is probably one of the most important adjustments that can be made. I followed your instructions and added a few bolts about 100 miles into our trip. This is definitely something I used to overlook, (simply because I didn't know any better), but it has a profound effect on handling. When I have it set just right, the trailer and car feel like one unit (does that make any sense? It is kind of hard to describe)."
With fuel prices continuing to go up, pretty soon it won't be which tow vehicle can tow the fastest, or the heaviest, it will be which tow vehicle can tow a reasonably sized trailer, while being the most economical of fuel.
To get to that point a number of things have to happen:
Trailers will have to be redesigned...more aerodynamic, lighter, less options=less weight
tow vehicles will have to be redesigned more aerodynamic, lighter, less options=less weight
Current vehicles, whether they be minivans, awd subarus just won't cut it, nor will the large pickups.
Possibly beefier built (AWD) minivans with 2 liter plus (but not much more) turbo diesels, more speeds in the transmission, wider track, beefier suspension components.
I think the coming soon, to North America Subaru 2.5 liter turbo diesel is a step in the right direction...but the car (Forester) itself needs to be larger, more seat room, more leg room, more cargo area. I realize the 2009 is larger, I will have to try one out, because the previous (2008 back) was not big enough to accommodate me comfortably.
I think we will see redesigned tow vehicles and redesigned trailers within 5-10 years...we'll have to, if RVing is to continue to be as popular as it is now.
While it does have really good low end torque for a small 4 banger, I don't think I would be towing much with my Jetta TDI. On the other hand the Tiguan, VW's new compact SUV due this year is supposed to be available at some time in the future with a 2L diesel putting out 168 HP/258 LbFt in Canada at least. Tow rating 5500 Lbs.
"Never trust a man who has not a single redeeming vice" WSC
lesmore49 wrote: With fuel prices continuing to go up, pretty soon it won't be which tow vehicle can tow the fastest, or the heaviest, it will be which tow vehicle can tow a reasonably sized trailer, while being the most economical of fuel.
To get to that point a number of things have to happen:
Trailers will have to be redesigned...more aerodynamic, lighter, less options=less weight
tow vehicles will have to be redesigned more aerodynamic, lighter, less options=less weight
Offline
