towing with 1996 Buick Roadmaster

[lolalittle]

I bought a 96 Roadmaster believing I could tow up to 5000lbs. It does not have OEM towing installed I would have to have all that done. Has anyone ever towed with this car? I'd love to keep the car and use it as a tow vehicle but my mechanic says I'll burn up the transmission.

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

My background having bought over 300 plus Turbo Regals most of which I have trailered back to PA I can offer you some serious insight.

I am now on my second car trailer and gone through 3 sets of tires on the first trailer.

First, by law trailers have to have 4 wheel brakes. You want to get the lightest trailer available and one that the doors open when car is on the trailer. Look for a trailer that weights empty around 1,300 t 1,400 lbs.

Buicks weigh about 3,400 in round numbers. So right away you got a total of almost 5,000 pounds swaying behind your tow vehicle.

On a smooth flat road with no bridges no wind and no 80,000 lb tractor trailers passing you, you may never have a problem with your roadmaster or any othe rcomparable tow car.

However, it is by far a risky choice. It also may prove to be an excuse for your insurance company should you be involved in an accident to not cover you.

Your mechanic is correct trans heat up shocks are weak...car is just too small to pull that much weight safely.

I had two different 2500 HD trucks both with 494 gas engines and allison 5 speed transmissions....

The smallest truck I used which works ok was a 2000 Dodge Dakota. Extended cabs are more stable.

Now I do not tow as much so I have a 2001 Tahoe but I put all new bilsteins on it, near rear springs, bigger rear sway bar, and air bags. They can handle 5,000 lbs and it is stated on the back bumper area. Fortunately the buicks are fairly light.

I think most readers that respond to your question would agree especially if they have as much trailering experience as I have.

Don't do it.....

kirbanpeformance.com

denniskirban@yahoo.com

I did have one wreck that was my fault with the Dakota guy stopped real quick in front of me and I had no place to go except over his back end. Dakota crumbled even buckled the frame under the bed.....the Turbo regal did not move on the trailer.

 

[GNTIM]

I wouldn't tow anything heavy behind any car. I learned the hard way when I was towing my 4000 LB speedboat/ trailer behind a huge 73 Dodge. Same as above, car stopped fast but the Dodge didn't. Totalled my car, the one I hit and damaged 2 cars in front of him. Scary part was I expected the boat to go airborne. Good thing I had the bow chained to the trailer. Now I've towed Jet Ski trailers all around the country behind many different cars with no problem. But the package weighs less than 800 lbs. Can't really even tell it's there.

 

[Louie L.]

The trans in that car is the same that on my Suburban.. Those dont burn up towing unless you are abusing it.

I believe Red A used to tow his race car with such a car.. I dont see an issue if you can do it safely and take due precautions.

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

Most GM vehicles set up for towing have a tow/haul mode to hold sifts longer. You can take every precaution you want, but the first gust of wind or rain or a 80,000 l tractor trailer going by you are going to wish you are not towing a full size car on a trailer using a full size station wagon.

Once the load starts to sway its almost darn near impossible to gain control. If our plan is to stay under 40 mph and distance is less than 25 miles and its once every 6 months maybe...

Before I was in the parts business I was in the towing business for 20 plus years. A lot can go wrong with a car as the tow vehicle when you are towing something of equal weight or beyond.

kirbanperformance.com

denniskirban@yahoo.com

Like I said no wind no rain no trucks flat road your odds are better.

 

[79TurboCutlass]

As long as you use common sense I think you'll be fine. I would definately install an external trans cooler if you don't have one, and wire the car for trailer brakes. The Roadmaster is a lot like a 1500 truck- full frame, 350 V8, and 4L60E trans. People used to pull stuff all the time with their cars before trucks and SUVs got so popular. My uncle used to pull a '69 Road Runner with a '74 Lincoln Mark IV. Red pulls with a 9C1 Caprice.....

 

[DONNIE BROOKS]

ask youre self one question

CAN I AFFORD TO BE WRONG ABOUT THIS thats usually what i do when im not sure about something, good luck

 

[SPOOLN]

towing

If you decide to tow with the roadmaster, better beef up the suspension and add a big tranny cooler. The 350 and tranny are the same in the 1999 and under 1500 series trucks and suvs that have plenty of power. There is always risk when towing on the road whether its a truck/suv or roadmaster.

 

[WE2Regal]

Yes you can, but your at the limit towing 5,000 lbs. Everything better be right in the cooling system and brake system though. And you will probably need to add engine oil and trans oil coolers, cargo coils in the rear and better gas shocks all around. Look around for a set of Caprice cop car sway bars for a cheap upgrade. One of the best investments to make would be on good load leveling hitch equipment with a sway control. Do not tow that much weight without that type of hitch equipment. Good hitch equipment makes a huge difference! Your Roadmaster is one of the last full frame sedans made by GM and can handle alot with some upgrades.

 

[forcefed3.8's]

Roadmaster sedans have an external trans cooler. I would do sway bars, some kind of towing rear springs, new shocks, etc. My 95 only has 76,000 miles, and the tie rods, ball joints, and shocks were whooped. The car was scary going 60 on a highway and taking turn. I wouldn't worry about towing with one.

 

[wile87]

get rid of it and buy a truck that is meant to do just that. you are risking a very nice and VALUABLE car on what some numnuts on this board think. use common sense here, you don't tow with something that big with something that is not meant to tow large things. wave runners are fine. a full size car ,NO

 

[WE2Regal]

The question was about towing with a 96 Roadmaster. I think anyone who has towed very much would recommend a heavy duty truck over the Roadmaster, but nowhere in the original question did he ask for that opinion.

 

[TURBO 6]

No way in hell I would attempt to pull a TR with a roadmaster. 1/2 ton quad cab at minimum.

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

Good to see finally some people agreeing with my assessment on towing. Comes down to simple logic you want the tow vehicle to outweigh the towed vehicle to start with. To put it another way, you won't find me or some of the others wanting to "ride" with you on your first outing with the Roadmaster pulling a car trailer with a Turbo Regal on board.

kirbanpeformance.com

denniskirban@yahoo.com

Great advice showing up, I hope the person who posed the question takes it.

 

[TURBO 6]

I have a Silver Trailblazer SS that happens to match my TR's color but refuse to pull a heavier load than the weight of the vehichle I'm driving. Plus the wheelbase is short, which is another negative. The SS sure has enough power, it's rated for it and would look real cool doing it but I won't take any chances.

 

[lolalittle]

Thanks for all the help guys. I'll preserve the car, likely sell it and get a van or truck to pull the trailer. Funds are limited. If you would like to buy a 1996 Collectors Edition 65K all bells and whistles, $4500, give me a shout, I'm in Portland Oregon.

 

[turbofish38]

Don't listen to the people who have no experience towing with a Roadmaster. The RM is just a lower riding Suburban or Tahoe IMO. I have a RM Wagon and used to tow my stuff everywhere with it. Mine didn't have a towing package and quite frankly I don't think it needed it. The LT1 cars already come with a tranny cooler. My trailer combo with a GN sitting on it was just a tad under 6,000. GM rated the wagon at 6K. All I did was add some fresh Cargo Coils and away I went. My trailer also had those load leveling bars on the hitch and that was the key to towing safely IMO. If MPG wasn't my main concern I'd also load some steeper gears in there although the LT1 has plenty of torque to overcome the 2.56/2.93 gears in there. Just be carefull as I'd be worried about the transmission more than the motor if I was making a full throttle pass down the on-ramp to merge into traffic. Oh BTW my 4L60E tranny lasted 213,000 miles before it went and the motor lasted about 320K before the cast iron crank broke on it. In a month or two it will hit the 400K mark. Without the trailer it has no problem hitting 24MPG on the highway and averages about 16-17MPG with 6,000 pounds behind it. Heck I don't even think diesel trucks pull down those numbers. Just use some common sense when you have the trailer hooked up and you'll do fine, if you ask me.

 

[DIAZ 87]

In my opinion i would'nt pull it with your car maybe if your load was at 4500lb or less.For the most part you are max with the trailer and gn.I have a pickup truck that is capable of towing 6000lb and let me tell you the first time that i trailered my gn it was very scary on the expressway with the semi trucks passing me by and trying to keep it from swaying all over the place due to the wind.If you decide to use your car try and purchase a trailer that weighs 800lbor less.Theirs a company thats called Trailex that custom builds trailers that weighs close to 730 lb.If you like try to rent one from uhaul and i can bet you that they would not rent one to you due to safety issues.

 

[Dennis Kirban]

kirban 2 cents worth

I'd be almost willing to bet that from GM none of those station wagons are rated to tow 5,000 lbs or better. Forgetting about the motor/trans combination the issue lies with towing weight behind your tow vehicle.

I few short trips you may be fine, but you push the envelope if you think its a "safe" set up. While most are in agreement with my assessment I probably have many many more towing miles behind me than most readers on this forum have. My one truck the receiver was worn oval shaped from so much towing.

One mishap and you will wish you had a heavier tow vehicle to start with. You can quote all the specs on the wagons you want, but anyone that has done a lot of towing will not be "game" to do it with a car station wagon. One reason you see very smaller receivers on small SUVs....they don't even want owners to "think" they can tow heavy loads.

kirbanperformance.com

denniskirban@yahoo.com
Don't take my word for it, try it and see if you are comfortable pulling a car on a trailer behind a station wagon on a interstate at 65 mph......

 

[xcessiv6]

I have a Rm wagon and I would tow with it, I met a guy at the GSNATS who towes his 70 Skylark from Oklahoma every year and says it towes great. Yes a truck would be better,but if you can't afford one use what you got.