hi all,

i'd like to tow a 7,500 pound horse trailer on my '68 Dart with drum brakes on front and rear. wondering what kind of advice you all could give me for going down a steep mountain road

JUST KIDDING haha

well.. actually, i am wanting to tow one of those pop-up tent trailers.. i see on the web that they are 1,000 pounds. on my '68 with the drum brakes, do you think this is doable? not planning on doing much mountain driving but there could certainly be some through the course of the road trip i am planning.

thanks for the advice folks!
~reuben

ps-- if anyone has a pop-up tent trailer and lives in the san francisco bay area and would like to consider renting it for a few weeks come late april, please drop me a line!

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1968 Dodge Dart 270 "Betsy"

I don't think you'll have a problem, watch your speed and try and anticipate stops when possible. Make sure your brakes have plenty of lining left. Also make sure your cooling system is working well. Those tent trailers are so light you'll barely notice it.

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1963 4dr Dart 270 225 six w/3speed column shift

Ever see "The Long, Long Trailer" with Lucy and Desi?

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"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it." - Pointy-haired Boss

1964 Valiant V200, 225/Pushbutton 904
BBD, CAI, HEI, LBP, AC, AM/FM/USB, EIEIO

I would not think about towing without a trans cooler. Also make sure your U joints are good as you may need them for engine braking. It really won't stop that great with drums, so take it easy. Downshift early to control your speed rather than trying to slow down after you are going too fast. Make your time on level ground. You probably need a heavy duty flasher can too.

I'll second that on the transmission cooler! $50 is cheap insurance.

But I'm not so convinced that the drum brakes are a good idea for towing, especially if you have a camper without electric brakes. I have the 9" drums on my 68 Dart (soon to be discs), and I wouldn't want to add the extra weight into the equation. This spring may be a good time to do the conversion to discs.

Keep in mind that by the time you add propane, food, camping gear, etc, you'll probably be closer to 1500 lbs. To tow that much weight with a '68 you had to order the towing package option, which included a bigger radiator, 6 blade fan, front and rear sway bars, etc.

Lastly, load the weight into the front of the camper... not the back. Weight on the back half of the camper will make it sway pretty strongly.

See if you can get a chance to do a test pull a few weeks before you actually take it on vacation. Then you can find out how well it's going act before you leave on a big vacation.

thanks for the advice folks

well, hmm.. the way i figger it, 1500 pounds is essentially the same as a car full of average fat american fleshbags. and my car handles that just fine, so why worry?

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1968 Dodge Dart 270 "Betsy"

Watch this video all the way through:

http://www.computerpranks.com/download/ ... battle.wmv