Tow Hitch Weight Rating

Hello all,

I am thinking of buying a boat and plan to tow it with my '94 Cadillac
Fleetwood. This is the fullsize RWD model, brother to the Chevy
Caprice. The Fleetwood was available with a factory tow package rated
for 7500 pounds. Mine didn't come with that but I am in the process of
upgrading the brakes and suspension with parts from my 9c1 police
package parts car, plus AirLift helper springs in the back. It has a
trailer hitch that may have said U-Haul before I painted it years ago.
It attaches to the frame with two bolts to the bumper mounts and a u-
bolt through the frame per side. The hitch itself is very heavy and
made of 2"x2" 3/16" wall steel square tubing.

Any guesses as to what would be a safe tow rating for my setup?

Thanks,
Harry

On Feb 20, 12:38*am, "\"Harry Smith\"" > wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I am thinking of buying a boat and plan to tow it with my '94 Cadillac
> Fleetwood. This is the fullsize RWD model, brother to the Chevy
> Caprice. The Fleetwood was available with a factory tow package rated
> for 7500 pounds. Mine didn't come with that but I am in the process of
> upgrading the brakes and suspension with parts from my 9c1 police
> package parts car, plus AirLift helper springs in the back. *It has a
> trailer hitch that may have said U-Haul before I painted it years ago.
> It attaches to the frame with two bolts to the bumper mounts and a u-
> bolt through the frame per side. The hitch itself is very heavy and
> made of 2"x2" 3/16" wall steel square tubing.
>
> Any guesses as to what would be a safe tow rating for my setup?
>
> Thanks,
> Harry

check for a weight or class rating stamped into the hitch

On 2/20/2011 00:38, "Harry Smith" wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I am thinking of buying a boat and plan to tow it with my '94 Cadillac
> Fleetwood. This is the fullsize RWD model, brother to the Chevy
> Caprice. The Fleetwood was available with a factory tow package rated
> for 7500 pounds. Mine didn't come with that but I am in the process of
> upgrading the brakes and suspension with parts from my 9c1 police
> package parts car, plus AirLift helper springs in the back. It has a
> trailer hitch that may have said U-Haul before I painted it years ago.
> It attaches to the frame with two bolts to the bumper mounts and a u-
> bolt through the frame per side. The hitch itself is very heavy and
> made of 2"x2" 3/16" wall steel square tubing.
>
> Any guesses as to what would be a safe tow rating for my setup?
>
> Thanks,
> Harry


Get a transmission cooler. The transmission life will be much longer. I
would be concerned about the condition of the 16 year old transmission
first.

--
Steve Walker
(remove brain when replying)

> Get a transmission cooler. The transmission life will be much longer. I
> would be concerned about the condition of the 16 year old transmission
> first.
>
> --
> Steve Walker
> (remove brain when replying)

Thanks for the reply. The car has a trans cooler in the radiator as
well as an oil-to-air cooler in front of the condensor. The 4L60E
transmission is definately a weak spot on these cars, but mine has
under 90k miles and has been well maintained. A larger trans cooler
might still be a good idea though. Speaking of cooling, the tow
package replaced the electric fans with an a mechanical fan. I
probably won't go that far, but I will eventually replace the 2.93
gears with something lower (the tow package came with 3.42's or so
that year).

To the other poster, if there was ever a rating stamped on the hitch
it's been wire brushed and painted over once or twice.

Unless I hear otherwise I'll probably go with the 7500 lb number.

Harry