| michaelberry | -- 05-31-2016 @ 12:00 PM |
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Hello all: I'd like to know if someone has the specifications for towing capacity this car for say a 15 foot travel trailer. About how much weight was considered acceptable for the '49 Club Coupe. Thank you. I look forward to your reply. Michael
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| ford38v8 | -- 05-31-2016 @ 12:27 PM |
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Michael, If you saw the movie "The Long, Long Trailer", you'd have seen that the 1952 Mercury that Ricky and Lucy drove was replaced with a Lincoln of the same year to pull the trailer. That was a large trailer, and just a movie, but a Ford Flathead just doesn't have the oomph to tow anything more than a tiny teardrop trailer, and even then would not be safe in today's traffic. Alan
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| kubes40 | -- 05-31-2016 @ 5:23 PM |
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Alan is spot on!!!
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| TomO | -- 06-01-2016 @ 8:12 AM |
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Back in the day, we towed a tandem axle trailer loaded with a car (49 Olds 88, 48 Ford or a 50 Ford), tool box, spare wheels and 4 people in the car with a 50 Ford Fordor. This was in flat country of the Midwest, and the Ford did not have any problems pulling the load. I remember that stopping distances were quite long. The car had helper springs and a load leveler hitch. The trailer had electric brakes. The Long, Long Trailer was a 36 foot trailer and the Mercury had no trouble pulling it in the flatlands. I have no idea of the towing capacity of the 49 Ford, but a good rule of thumb is 75% of the gross weight of the tow vehicle. Tires and brakes on a 49 Ford along with today's traffic conditions would make me leery of towing even half of the vehicle's weight. Be sure to observe all safety and loading rules and practice stopping in an isolated area, so you know the combined stopping distance of the trailer and car. Tom
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