Towing capacilty

[charlie barton]

Hello all,
I'm enquiring about towing capacities.
I'm a big water skiier and would dearly love to own an FC wagon, but I'm unsure as to whether I could modify an FC to take a 2000kg tow rating.
I'm not worried about engine, transmission, brakes etc, it's from a chassis point of view.

Any thought?

Charlie

[Ed]

Charlie,
I think in stock form, with an original type hitch the FC in general would fail when towing 2 ton of weight.

In my humble opinion, probably a 3/4 chassis would be required for added strength and reduction of torsional twist.

In addition to this a sturdier mounting system for the towbar would have to be made, as the original uses the bumper mounts which are basically just nutserts.

Probably bolting through the rear subrame using anti crush tubes and much larger spreader plates would be better (im still unsure if it could take 2000kg down a bumpy winding road under brakes). If you could successfully spread the weight over a larger part of the rear subframe, that would be a step in the right direction I guess...

perhaps a wagon body on 4WD chassis ala Overlander?



Cheers

Ed

[mcl1959]

Actually I think the chassis kit is an excellent idea, as I agree that the FC's atandard towbar mount is inadequate for 2t.
If you fitted an off the shelf chassis kit and extended it down the rear frame, and then mounted the towbar to the chassis kit.
Obviously this would involve a custom made towbar by  a competent tow bar company, but I think in this form you would be OK.
Best to consult a tow bar manufacturer as I am certainly no expert in this area, but generally we are looking at the same sort of reinforcement as required to fit a V8.

Ken

[HARKO]

just keep in mind the law's reguarding towing,I'm sure I have read some where that its illeagal to tow more than the towcar weigh's ,,

[normd]

Hi Charlie & All
     Better check with RTA or what ever in your state, but I think in NSW , the load can only be 3/4 of the towing car weight   eg. towing car 1470 kg = load 1102 kg .  Thats why I can't tow my FC on a trailer behind an XF falcon wagon. ?? :-/

  Norm

[chesy]

Best check the towing laws in NSW guys. Things have changed recently and I'm led to believe that you can now exceed the vehicles weight by 25% with a laden trailer providing you play by all the rules eg brakes, towhitch capacities etc

[gp]

Hi Guys,
The law states that you can either tow the manufacturers recommended maximum, OR, up to 1.5 times the tow vehicle's unladen weight (as long as the trailer is fitted with brakes). Whichever is the LEAST of those two.

I think you'll be in trouble on either of those counts. But, check with your local RTA.

Regards,

Graham.