Pulling a Trailer with an EC

drseth · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:28 am Post subject: Pulling a Trailer with an EC

Hey Fellows,

I have a 1985 El Camino SS Choo Choo 305 V8 with a TH200 Non Overdrive unit. I also have a 2003 GMC Sierra Ext Cab 4x4 that I am thinking about selling if the EC is capable of pulling my 22 Foot Grady White Seafarer with a tandem axle trailer. The boat/motor/trailer weighs around 4000 lbs. I live 5 miles from the boat ramp on level road and have towed it on the road, but have not tried to pull the boat and trailer out of the ramp because I am concerned that I may start spinning not be able to get the rig clear of the ramp, and I am also concerned of damaging the transmission and torque converter.

I am no speed demon. I trailer around 45-50 mph on level road. The time I did trailer the boat, the temp gauge still stayed below 200 degrees.

Any thoughts/ideas?

Seth Anderson
Moon, VA

1BadElky · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 10:38 am Post subject:

I doubt it with a th200, and stock brakes.

the car itself weighs about 3250ish, so pulling a 4k LB trailer would kill the trans. Plus, you'd need airlift bags just to handle the toungue weight.

and those small factory brakes will be hazardous, not to mention if they lockup, it's gonna jackknife.

basically, it's a malibu with the back cut off, and a midsize car is just not setup for towing. not to mention my 305 struggled to pull the jetskis in my sig up a grade.
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toms84ss · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 11:38 am Post subject:

You would need some upgrades if you want to tow. I would add an external tranny cooler and trans temp gauge, some sort of air lift system for the rear and make sure the brakes are in good condition. If you spin coming up out of the ramp, you may need to add a posi rear end to aid traction. The TH200 tranny is weak to begin with. Not sure how much towing it will take. A TH350 will bolt in and is much stronger. But it wont have a lock up convertor and you would loose a bit of mileage.

szonk · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 2:47 pm Post subject:

My '85 has the factory tow pkg. w/tranny cooler and heavy duty cooling syst. Its rated at 5000 lbs. I pull a 17' Boston Whaler. Total weight including trailer is aprox 2200 lbs and believe me, I would not want to tow anything over that no how no way with this vehicle. Keep the 4x4.
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87ElCamino · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 4:15 pm Post subject:

Don't do it for all of the above reasons.

You have a few weak links in your towing chain. The transmission and the brakes are the weakest links, not to mention that the tongue weight of the trailer would probably cause your front wheels to come off the ground.
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CoyoteOn2 · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:50 pm Post subject:

Yeh ~~~ Like the man said ~~~ NO !!!
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conquista90 · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 9:16 pm Post subject:

I would be most scared when trying to pull that boat up the ramp. You probably have like a peg leg 2.73 or something like that in the rear. You'd probably just spin out. Just getting the boat out of the water I would recommend a posi rear end with at least 3.23 rear end gears. And add in a TH350. But yeah, tranny cooler and better brakes.

Maybe even a 350...

rhimmel · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 10:29 pm Post subject:

Also, get a converter with a low stall speed so it doesn't sit "on the converter" while towing. The heat generated by that alone can kill any transmission, even the mighty TH400.

-Rob
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'81 El Camino

old_coot · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 8:16 am Post subject:

you might want to upgade the bushings on the rear suspension and use some light truck tires to keep the "tail from wagging the dog"....with good trailer brakes, a posi, not too much tongue weight with air bags it could do it but not in stock trim for sure...........Dan
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billk · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 12:26 am Post subject:

I'm new to the site, and so glad I found it. I too have had questions about pulling a trailer with my El Camino. I have an '86 with a 4 speed O/D transmission, and from somewhere I think I found that I had a 2.79 rear end, or a 2. something. My engine is a 305. I'm wanting to pull a trailer on which I haul my dune buggy. The gross towing weight is 3,000 lbs. I have the tongue weight well balanced and it pulls fine at 60 to 65 mph, except that it is obviously straining and after a while the engine starts overheating. Thus, it's not used to tow except for a very short distance.
I've been told that no matter what you do to an El Camino it will always overheat when trying to tow a distance at highway speed.
Is this correct?
Also, I'd appreciate some feedback on the idea of putting a lower rearend in the Camino, and also is the 4 speed O/D stout enough if I pull in "Drive", and of course will I still overheat? My usual trip with the buggy is about 250 miles, and I do that about 5 times a year.
If I could get the Camino to tow my dune buggy trailer, then I could sell my wife's SUV, and get her a high mileage car. But, I don't want to do so at the expense of constantly worrying about a breakdown with the El Camino.
I''ll appreciate any further advice you folks may have to offer.
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TheEmrys · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:47 am Post subject:

How fresh is your coolant? Have you adjusted your mix? Have you tried Wetter Water? Are you running the stock fan? Would you consider an electric fan? It'll free up hp and it can turn on at whatever temp you choose.
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toms84ss · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 6:46 pm Post subject:

billk. You should be able to overcome the overheating problem with little trouble. If you dont already have one, get an auxillary tranny cooler. You might want to consider adding a temp gauge to the tranny as well. Add a heavy duty radiator and a high flow water pump and maybe a cooler thermostat. Not sure if you have emissions to deal with or not. That may limit how cool a thermostat you can run. HD copper/brass or aluminum radiators are available to fit the Elky. If you can ditch the stock fan and add an electric fan. This will take some drag off the engine at highway speeds. Dont tow in O/D, use drive only. The gears in the tranny really aren't big enough to deal with the extra weight. They were designed to just cruise in and save some gas. You can also add a switch to lock up the convertor in drive. This will help take some heat out of the tranny while towing.

old_coot · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 8:13 pm Post subject:

I towed a Thunderbird Super Coupe that I had just bought from Florida to just north of Lexington, Ky with my El Camino---I did this with a tow bar rather than a trailer and it handled the job just fine....Since then I have added poly bushings to the rear suspension as well as having the upper and lower controll arms boxed. I changed to a 3.42 rear gear and with air bags in the springs and light truck tires I can now tow the same car (4100 lbs) and my trailer (1800 lbs) at 55-65 miles per hour with out too much trouble---make sure you have good trailer brakes though...Hills still give it fits with the 305 so I am in the process of installing a throttle body fuel injected small block 400 to get enough torque to climb without too much downshifting....I am grafting on a Buick T type nose so I can make a statement when towing my Buick Regal T-type to the race track or a car show...I love my Elcamino and will do whatever it takes to make it the vehicle I want it to be---I plan on boxing the whole rear frame next time I have the gas tank off---which is going to be fairly soon for adding the return line for the fuel injection...................Dan
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billk · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:08 pm Post subject:

I have a transmission cooler and I thought I had a HD radiator, but it sounds like the kind I need in not necessarily what you get at the normal parts store when you ask for a new radiator for an El Camino. Sounds like I also need an electric fan, and a high flow water pump for a cooler running engine. Since I have 3 more years to worry about passing emissions testing, I do have to watch what I do with the thermostat.
Dan: what kind of tranny are you running with the 3:42 rear end? Also, what cooling system modifications have you made, since I'm assuming you don't have an engine overheating problem?
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old_coot · Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 9:55 am Post subject:

I currently have a fresh th350 which was put in right before I got the truck. I had to put a new radiator in right after I got it but its a stock replacement, I do have a fairly large transmission cooler and I have a TH700R4 thats going in with the 406 soon,,,and no, I don't currently have an overheating problem anytime but we will see if its good enough with the 406----I will be going from about 50 horepower from the 305 to over 400 with the 406----I know the 305 had more than 50 hp but it didn;t seem like it at times---I've been spoiled by my other vehicles I guess on power but this truck not only had way less power than any other thig I own it also got the worse fuel economy----no more carbs for me and everything needs an overdrive tranny too....ok ok I'll gt down from the soap box now----I forgot I'm not running for office.................Dan
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I don't think I have ever had a car that was "FINISHED"........unless it was totaled.