Towing a boat with a Cadillac........

[OVERKILL]

Coming back from Muskoka today, just outside of Bracebridge was a guy in an off-white Cadillac pulled over to the side with the hood up. He was towing a decent sized Charger with a 200 on it.

I was going to stop, but the owner of the car was already out talking to somebody on the highway (we were bumper-to-bumper, nothing was moving due to an accident further ahead) and seemed to have things sorted out.

Once beside the car, it was a Northstar-powered Seville and it was belching coolant out the one side (passenger) of the engine. The owner was sitting there with a rag seemingly just trying to mop up the pooling coolant. I assumed he had arranged for a tow, given the circumstances.

Would this be the "Northstar head gasket" failure I hear about on here? Or something else?

And anybody know off-hand what these cars are rated to tow? I mean this wasn't a huge boat, but it SEEMED like a big load for a luxury Sedan.

A few minutes later, a HUGE F-350 Lariat comes creeping up in the fast lane towing a 16ft aluminum boat with a 15HP Merc on it...... Talk about overkill.


Oh, and the accident? Well, a Chevy truck rear-ended a Focus hatchback, that piled into the back of somebody's boat and smashed the lower unit into the transom. The OPP had the one lane closed off. Not a great end to the weekend for a few people it seems.

And the Cadillac was not the only victim of vehicular break-down. There was a Sebring pulled over with the hood up as well

It was only about 13 degrees out too, so I'd be surprised if heat was a factor for both situations. But of course you often see this kind of thing in traffic jams. Seems they make a task out of finding the weakest link.

 

[HTSS_TR]

My Family was in the E430 to Vegas on July-04-2008 weekend, there was an accident on north bound hwy 15 near Death Valley the ambient temperature was 125-128F, we stuck in traffic going up hill just pass Barstow about 15-20 miles, it took us 3 hours to go 3-4 miles, the car moved about 10-20 feet then stopped for 2-3 minutes, then moved another 10-20 feet again ...

What I worried then about was I just changed to Pennzoil Platinum 5w20 which is 2 grades thinner than the spec'ed. I watched the coolant temperature like a hawk, but it never went above 99-100C even with A/C at full blast. As soon as we passed the accident with the car at speed above 80 MPH, the coolant temperature dropped to 90-92C even as we continued to climb the steep hill, and it dropped to 85-86C when we were at flat level and dropped to 80-82C down hill.

Along that 3-4 miles stretch I saw several cars/minivans/SUV's stop on the emergency side with hood opened.

Few months later I changed the oil to Mobil 1 0W20, even it was only 5-6k miles on the Pennzoil Platinum 5w20. My reason was the 3 hours stuck on traffic with very hot ambient temperature is not good for the extreme thin oil.

 

[Chris142]

The electric radiator fans on the Caddy probly don't work and it overheated in the stop and go traffic.

Those Northstars run hot and if the Radiator cap on the bottle is bad they will puke. Low fans come on @ 226 and high fans @ 235. If the cap wont hold pressure they will boil.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
My Family was in the E430 to Vegas on July-04-2008 weekend, there was an accident on north bound hwy 15 near Death Valley the ambient temperature was 125-128F, we stuck in traffic going up hill just pass Barstow about 15-20 miles, it took us 3 hours to go 3-4 miles, the car moved about 10-20 feet then stopped for 2-3 minutes, then moved another 10-20 feet again ...

Next time grab Calico rd go south to 40 or Minneola or Harvard rd. All those go to 40. Take 40 to Kelbaker go north. This is a beautiful drive. You can take Kelbaker all the way to Baker or turn @ kelso depot. (There is a neet desert museum as well as a train museum here.

http://www.nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm )

and go up through Cima to Morning star mine rd that will dump you off on Nipton rd go west 7 miles and your back on 15 just a few miles South of stateline.

 

[The_Jeff]

I thought those northstars had a "no coolant" limp mode where they shut off cylinders and pumped air through them.

Guess everything else has to be up to par though.

Watch a police chase tape on tv, 25-50% of the time the crook car has some sort of tire/engine problem that probably could have been prevented with the slightest care.

 

[hemitom]

Front drive caddy not your typical tow vehicle.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
My Family was in the E430 to Vegas on July-04-2008 weekend, there was an accident on north bound hwy 15 near Death Valley the ambient temperature was 125-128F, we stuck in traffic going up hill just pass Barstow about 15-20 miles, it took us 3 hours to go 3-4 miles, the car moved about 10-20 feet then stopped for 2-3 minutes, then moved another 10-20 feet again ...

Next time grab Calico rd go south to 40 or Minneola or Harvard rd. All those go to 40. Take 40 to Kelbaker go north. This is a beautiful drive. You can take Kelbaker all the way to Baker or turn @ kelso depot. (There is a neet desert museum as well as a train museum here.

http://www.nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm )

and go up through Cima to Morning star mine rd that will dump you off on Nipton rd go west 7 miles and your back on 15 just a few miles South of stateline.

Thanks, I will try this road next time. We usually go to Vegas few times a year, especially my brother in-laws bought a vacation house couple years ago in Henderson about 10-12 miles south of Vegas. I had been driving on I-15 so may times, but didn't know that I-40 is a more beautiful drive and only 40-45 miles longer.

According to Google maps, take I-40 East(Needles) instead of I-15 North from Barstow station, where we usually rest for 10-15 minutes, then take Kelbaker Road North 22 mi, Kelso Cima Rd North 19 mi, Morning Star Mine Rd North 15 mi, Ivanpah Rd North 3 mi then Nipton Rd West 3 mi and back to I-15.

 

[JHZR2]

What is the rating on a caddy? I know my saab 9-3 is rated for 3500 lb towing. Im a bit surprised at this, but it is what the manual specs.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
My Family was in the E430 to Vegas on July-04-2008 weekend, there was an accident on north bound hwy 15 near Death Valley the ambient temperature was 125-128F, we stuck in traffic going up hill just pass Barstow about 15-20 miles, it took us 3 hours to go 3-4 miles, the car moved about 10-20 feet then stopped for 2-3 minutes, then moved another 10-20 feet again ...

Next time grab Calico rd go south to 40 or Minneola or Harvard rd. All those go to 40. Take 40 to Kelbaker go north. This is a beautiful drive. You can take Kelbaker all the way to Baker or turn @ kelso depot. (There is a neet desert museum as well as a train museum here.

http://www.nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm )

and go up through Cima to Morning star mine rd that will dump you off on Nipton rd go west 7 miles and your back on 15 just a few miles South of stateline.

Thanks, I will try this road next time. We usually go to Vegas few times a year, especially my brother in-laws bought a vacation house couple years ago in Henderson about 10-12 miles south of Vegas. I had been driving on I-15 so may times, but didn't know that I-40 is a more beautiful drive and only 40-45 miles longer.

According to Google maps, take I-40 East(Needles) instead of I-15 North from Barstow station, where we usually rest for 10-15 minutes, then take Kelbaker Road North 22 mi, Kelso Cima Rd North 19 mi, Morning Star Mine Rd North 15 mi, Ivanpah Rd North 3 mi then Nipton Rd West 3 mi and back to I-15.


Cant you use old US66?

 

[Hokiefyd]

The Cadillac does have the limp home feature. The guy could keep driving it (without the trailer obviously), but most are trained to stop when they see steam. It could be a head gasket failure. Who knows what the coolant level was before the overheat. Could be as simple as a busted hose.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
My Family was in the E430 to Vegas on July-04-2008 weekend, there was an accident on north bound hwy 15 near Death Valley the ambient temperature was 125-128F, we stuck in traffic going up hill just pass Barstow about 15-20 miles, it took us 3 hours to go 3-4 miles, the car moved about 10-20 feet then stopped for 2-3 minutes, then moved another 10-20 feet again ...

Next time grab Calico rd go south to 40 or Minneola or Harvard rd. All those go to 40. Take 40 to Kelbaker go north. This is a beautiful drive. You can take Kelbaker all the way to Baker or turn @ kelso depot. (There is a neet desert museum as well as a train museum here.

http://www.nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm )

and go up through Cima to Morning star mine rd that will dump you off on Nipton rd go west 7 miles and your back on 15 just a few miles South of stateline.

Thanks, I will try this road next time. We usually go to Vegas few times a year, especially my brother in-laws bought a vacation house couple years ago in Henderson about 10-12 miles south of Vegas. I had been driving on I-15 so may times, but didn't know that I-40 is a more beautiful drive and only 40-45 miles longer.

According to Google maps, take I-40 East(Needles) instead of I-15 North from Barstow station, where we usually rest for 10-15 minutes, then take Kelbaker Road North 22 mi, Kelso Cima Rd North 19 mi, Morning Star Mine Rd North 15 mi, Ivanpah Rd North 3 mi then Nipton Rd West 3 mi and back to I-15.


Cant you use old US66?
Yes you can. But the section of 66 between Barstow and Kelbaker rd doesn't have much. You can see the Amboy crater and thats about it.

 

[CBR.worm]

I have seen a lot of unlikely cars pulling boats. My G35 for one. I wouldn't try putting it in or pulling out of the water with it...

I saw a new V6 mustang pulling what looked like a 17 foot aquasport the other day. Had to be over the limit.

 

[hattaresguy]

It depends on how big the boat its, its very common in Europe.

I had a hitch on one of the S class and used to tow our small aluminum boat around. My friend has a hitch on his E and uses it to tow his ATV and a sled trailer.


2,500 pounds is about the limit, but most Mercedes and BMW's handle the weight just fine. One of the side benefits of being built to run at high speeds is they have a lot of excess cooling capacity so nothing ever gets really hot.

 

[rslifkin]

Keep in mind, some cars can tow more than you'd expect. An early/mid 90s Cadillac Fleetwood with an LT1 is rated to tow 7500lbs (1k lbs more than my Jeep), due to its size, weight, etc.

If the car is long/wide/heavy enough to control the trailer, the body/frame is strong enough to pull it, and the drivetrain will handle it, you're good to go. Most modern cars are limited by either a wimpy transmission, being FWD (terrible for towing), or a weak body. A full size sedan should be capable of at least a few thousand pounds if the drivetrain and body are up to the task.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
My Family was in the E430 to Vegas on July-04-2008 weekend, there was an accident on north bound hwy 15 near Death Valley the ambient temperature was 125-128F, we stuck in traffic going up hill just pass Barstow about 15-20 miles, it took us 3 hours to go 3-4 miles, the car moved about 10-20 feet then stopped for 2-3 minutes, then moved another 10-20 feet again ...

What I worried then about was I just changed to Pennzoil Platinum 5w20 which is 2 grades thinner than the spec'ed. I watched the coolant temperature like a hawk, but it never went above 99-100C even with A/C at full blast. As soon as we passed the accident with the car at speed above 80 MPH, the coolant temperature dropped to 90-92C even as we continued to climb the steep hill, and it dropped to 85-86C when we were at flat level and dropped to 80-82C down hill.

Along that 3-4 miles stretch I saw several cars/minivans/SUV's stop on the emergency side with hood opened.

Few months later I changed the oil to Mobil 1 0W20, even it was only 5-6k miles on the Pennzoil Platinum 5w20. My reason was the 3 hours stuck on traffic with very hot ambient temperature is not good for the extreme thin oil.

 

[dnastrau]

FWD as a tow vehicle? No problem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsjw1yc6q4w

 

[E365]

Here's what I own/tow. A 5'x8' Aluma AE58 @ 790 lbs. empty. (112 lbs. empty tounge). I've towed many other trailers for many years, but this is my new, primary trailer.

The car is good for a 1,400 lb. unbraked trailer (3,000-ish lbs. with a braked trailer). I keep it to no more than the 1,400lb. max (and the 165 lb. tounge limit) and it's a breeze. Under acceleration it's nearly imperceptible. You do need to slip the clutch for maybe like an extra half-second from a dead-stop, but beyond that it's nothing.

I've done 4 loads this year already that would not fit in my parents Suburban

 

[wander2039]

FWD's not good for towing? Guess I'll go tell my Escape that. Never had any problems even towing 1.5K more than it's supposed to. Temp gauge never goes up even towing said load in 100 degree heat. I'd say the Escape tows just as good as the old F150 5.4L.. but it had the 3.55 gears with oversize tires really stuck a sock in it.

 

[rslifkin]

^ With FWD, it's not power, but traction that's the issue. When you add a trailer, you add weight in back, so that's where your drive wheels should be. FWD + heavy trailer + rain = lots of wheelspin to get moving uphill.

 

[wander2039]

If you know how to level your load it's not a extreme issue. A tad over 10 percent is needed on the tongue anymore is just stressing the vehicle. Rain has never been a issue but gravel can be. But gravel can be a issue even unloaded. The Escape does have almost bald tires that probably didn't help.