I have a random question about moving some cars across the country related to the towing capacity of our old muscle cars.

Who here has hauled a classic mopar with another classic mopar?

I have a 71 roadrunner (383 auto) and a 69 coronet (318 auto).

Why couldn’t I drive one and pull the other one on a trailer?

I am in the planning mode and this will not happen anytime soon, but the “trip” would be 2400 miles.

Any other ideas about moving these two cars across the states?

I could get a 40’ trailer and haul them both at the same time with a truck, but that sounds risky too.

Your thoughts?

Eightlitermopar

i wouldnt hesitate for a second to haul that coronet 2400 mi. with my 69 GTX 440.it aint never gunna happen,just sayin.

Its not a lack of power thats the problem here, its the lack of brakes and hitch mount. How are you going to mount the hitch and ball setup? Your talking about a 4,000lb car and a 1,500lb trailer being pulled by a 4,000lb car that wasn't designed for it. I do a lot of hauling, but I have the appropriate TRUCK. I also have at my disposal a 3 car trailer, so for me, not an issue. Its just not worth the risk of losing both cars because it "sounded like a good idea at the time". Like Jeff Foxworhty says, "Y'all wanna see this?"

A hitch going to the unibody frame should be able to handle it. Tongue weight is supposed to be 10% of trailer weight I think. So 10% of 5500lbs being 550... It would probably work but I personally wouldn't try it. Stability during braking while at speed would be questionable IMO.

I would not want 550 pounds hanging off the absolute ass end of an old passenger car unless there were some very stout and new springs under the axle.

derf.... double post

I sometimes forget the soggy springs a lot of guys have in their old cars. I have real stout springs in the back of mine. My frame (as skrawny as I am) barely can move my rear bumped up and down when pushing with all my weight on the trunk lid.

I guess another thing to consider as well is back in the day everyone used their cars for hauling. Plenty of old mopars had hitches and towed trailers. Maybe not 5500 pounds but they did tow.

Do they even make a hitch for that car that is up to the class rating?

Hitch Measurements

Class 1 (Class I) trailer hitch Trailer hitch with capacity of up to 2,000 lbs gross trailer weight and 200 lbs tongue weight.

Class 2 (Class II) trailer hitch Trailer hitch with weight-carrying rating of up to 3,500 lbs gross trailer weight and 300/350 lbs tongue weight.

Class 3 (Class III) trailer hitch Trailer hitch with weight carrying rating of up to 5,000 lbs gross trailer weight and 500 lbs tongue weight. Also sometimes used to refer to a hitch with any 2" receiver, regardless of rating.

Class 4 (Class IV) trailer hitch Trailer hitch with weight carrying rating of up to 10,000 lbs gross trailer weight and 1,000 - 1,200 lbs tongue weight. Although many times any hitch with a capacity greater than 5,000 lbs gross weight is referred to as a Class 4.

Rent or borrow a truck. No worries or headaches that way

Heck back in the day you towed with what you had. You didn't own a vehicle for every occasion. Big air stream campers were pulled by cars with the family riding in the car. A lot of cars were towed to races with tow bars not trailers.
Horses and cattle were hauled in the back of pick ups, not in trailers like today and likely those pick ups were 1/2 tons not big a$$ed dualies.
Drive accordingly.

As long as the frame rails aren't rusty and the disc brake system is in good order I don't see a problem along with good tires. I don't know if you can find a proper rated hitch these days though.
My Dad pull his Airstream with his 68 318 Fury, 71 383 Newport and 73 400 Charger all over hecks half acre.
Course Dad isn't a 2000 era girl in a boys body either.

Sheldon

The only time I towed cross country, I used a tow dolly, and it was 'only' 800 miles (roughly).



The biggest issue wasn't the car, it was the other idiots on the road. People gawking at two old cars going down the highway, and the usual idiots cutting us off (I could never be a Trucker ). And I did this almost 14 yrs ago, BEFORE we had the texting and cell phone idiots we do now.

Would I do it again? HELL NO! Across town, sure. But, cross country? NO.

Pick a car to drive, and ship the other. You'll be glad you did.

I used to tow my 71 RR to the drags all the time with my 76 GMC Sprint. The trailer weighted 1600 LBS and the Sprint was powered with a 250 CID 6 cylinder.. 50 miles round trip every weekend with 1 big azz hill in the way..

My buddy Rich used to tow his A12 Road Runner with a 77 Newport. This would have been around 1990.

Hey pinkduster! those are the kind of ads that got me thinking!

We used to have a mowing business and pulled our big trailer with our 67 dodge coronet.

However, I do agree that I would be a nervous wreck and the proud new owner of an ulcer after pulling like that across country.

I'll scrap that idea...I have a few years to figure it out.

Maybe I'll take two road trips...one car at a time.

thanks for the input guys...I really am not suicidal

eightlitermopar