The banner above is an advertisment - if it asks you to download software, please ignore.
Site News - 4/9 Saab Owners' Convention Day Pass Raffle | 3/26 M Car Covers (by State of Nine)

The Saab Network Mailing List FAQ
Search:

Main Index
[ Prev by Date ] [ Next by Date ] Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
Re: Towing
Posted by David Prantl (more from David Prantl) on Tue, 11 Jun 2002 13:01:25
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00 

>  Am considering trailering (U-haul two wheel trailer) a
>  1988 Saab 900 or 9000 from Oregon to Tennessee.

The smallest U-Haul product that you can put a car on top of weighs about as 
much (unloaded) as the car you're planning to tow !

>  The towing car would be a 1986 Saab 9000, 16V turbo,  manual 
>transmission.  Is this a harebrained idea?

On a car trailer, YES !  No SAAB ever made can handle that much 
tongue-weight, and a loaded-trailer weight of close to 6000lb.

I use the same exact vehicle for towing ('86 9kT).  The most comfortable way 
I have gone out to retrieve dead 900 and 9000 cars has been with the use of 
a U-Haul tow dolly.  Pulled a '90 9kS automatic back to Memphis from 
Lawrence, Kansas a couple of years ago.

On another occasion, I tried to use a tow-bar (on an '89 900), because it 
eliminates any U-Haul hassles, and there's no need to drag an empty dolly to 
your destination.  This proved to be extremely stressful and difficult 
without a custom-made heavy-duty base-plate, because none of the logical 
attachment points on the front of a 900 are anywhere near strong enough.

So, cut/weld up a base plate for the car you're planning to tow, and use a 
tow-bar (like those retired cross-country RV-driving folks do).

Otherwise, rent a dolly.  The easiest way to get the U-Haul counter person 
to *allow* you to rent one is if you lie and say that you're planning to tow 
a '68 VW Beetle.  According to their *book*, this is a *permitted* 
combination behind an '86 9kT.  Also lie and say your hitch is rated for 
3500lb.  The toughest hitch SAAB ever sold was probably rated for 2000lb, 
and the popular aftermarket Da'Lan-brand units are rated for 2500lb.

Actually, there is a third option:
http://personal.atl.bellsouth.net/mem/d/a/dae7/images/SAABstuff/9k97tow.jpg


David Prantl
david_prantlno39sdcx6spamx782hotmail.com
'84 900S, 5M, 210kMi, RIP as of 2/98
'89 900, 3A, 116kMi, restored and SOLD on 3/24/01
'86 9000T, 5M, 200kMi
'88 9000S, 5M, 142kMi
'90 9000S, 4A, 140kMi
'93 9000CSET, 5M, 75kMi  -- FOR SALE in the TSN Classifieds --
'97 9000CSET, 5M, 60kMi
'68 97 Sonett V4, 4M, 76kMi, #000467
==================
The Saab Network
http://www.saabnet.com/
saabno39sdcx6spamx782saabnet.com

Posts in this Thread:
StateOfNine.com
SaabClub.com
Jak Stoll Performance
M Car Covers
Ad Available

The content on this site may not be republished without permission. Copyright © 1988-2024 - The Saab Network - saabnet.com.
For usage guidelines, see the Mission & Privacy Notice.
[Contact | Site Map | Saabnet.com on Facebook | Saabnet.com on Twitter | Shop Amazon via TSN | Site Donations]

This is a moderated FAQ - Posting is a privilege, not a right. Unsolicited commercial postings are not allowed (no Spam). Please, no For Sale or Wanted postings, SERIOUSLY. Classifieds are to be listed in The Saab Network Classifieds pages. This is a problem solving forum for over 250,000 Saab owners, so expect to see problems discussed here even though our cars are generally very reliable. This is not an anything goes type of forum. TSN has been a moderated forum since 1988. For usage guidelines, see the TSN Mission and Purpose Page. Please remember that you are not anonymous
Your address is: 3.145.17.46 - Using Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com) - Logged.
Site Members do not see red text instructions, green links, and bottom of the page banners.
Click here to see all the Site Membership Benefits!