Towing with a Lumina...can it be done safely?

[96lumina]

Got a 96 Lumina with a 3.1 and was wandering if I can tow a 16 ft fishing boat...the boat's badge says it weighs 1000 lbs plus the weight of the trailer which is probably another 7-800 lbs...I am sure towing down the road would be fine, but do have concerns with getting the boat out of the water and doing that with trying to go uphill at the same time...I've never been to the lake here in NM which is a 1 1/2 hour drive...so I am not sure how steep the loading ramp is...do you advise this or not?...any advise on towing would be appreciated...I see a lot of Chevy mini vans towing small trailers and boats all the time and they probably have the same engine as me.

Thanks

[86FieroSEv6]

It's a little bit about the "going", but it's a whole lot more about the "stopping". Somewhere in the cars nomenclature there should be a mention of it's towing limits. If it's still visible, on the door jamb there should be a vehicle information decal or decals. One of them gives the gross axle weight limits. The weight limit for the rear axle must take into consideration the weight of a full tank of fuel. The weight of items in the trunk as well as passengers in the rear seat area. With all of that added up, you put in the tongue weight of your rig and make sure that it does not go over the rear axle weight limit. If that is all good, then you double check that you are still within the gross vehicle weight limit which is the curb weight of the vehicle plus any loads and passengers. That's only half the battle, if the weight of your rig violates the cars tow limit then your trailer will need some sort of auxiliary braking for best safety. Getting up most ramps shouldn't be a problem if you have good tires and avoid spinning. My buddy keeps a pail of sand handy to throw on the ramp when he does his thang.

[pocket-rocket]

I'll back up 86's comment. I pull cars with my little pickup all the time it seems like. It does struggle a little to get going, but it's fine. Stopping is when you really have to remember you have a load on the back. I upgraded my rear axle to one with better gears, posi and larger brakes, but I still allow a lot of room to stop. Eventually I want to rewire my dolly since it has no lights of its own right now, and I want to wire in a brake controller in my truck since my dolly has brakes. Then it will be even better/safer for me to pull stuff. Just remember the definition of inertia.

[talon2swords]

I have a 99 Lumina with the 3.1l. I just installed a hitch receiver on it. I plan on towing a smalle 6 foot trailer w/ camping stuff, so hopefully near 1000 lbs. I have yet to test it fully, except with the trailer empty, and towing an 200 lb. empty trailer seems to put some strain on it.

The manual clearly states do not exceed 1000 lbs. I would be weary to exceed the 1000 lb limit on a Lumina. Maybe 1200 lbs max. I also have a tranny cooler I need to install. I would not tow on that car w/o one installed.