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Towing Capacity of 49 Plymouth Special Deluxe


lwebb

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Had a 49 Special Delux in college. . Wish I'd never gotten rid of it. But just bought a beautiful four door and I just go out and sit in it for fun. Runs great looks great, original paint and interior. Just a gem.

Now my question, I also have an early 50s 15 foot restored camper. I don't know the weight but thought I'd ask, what the towing capacity of the flat head six was?

 

 

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I would be most concerned about stopping this trailer, you will need to set up trailer brake controller, either a 6 volt unit,or perhaps dial down a 12 volt unit.

Your car, will have trouble on a busy Georgia Interstate/freeway, but plenty of slower state and county roadways should be fine.

I would have a Class 3 receiver hitch installed, correct wiring to accommodate trailer lights, and trailer brakes, if this trailer is under 2000 lbs, you may not require the trailer brakes, or if you have a surge brake set-up, you may not need the electric trailer brakes.

Your brakes on your car, may be a red flag concern, converting to front disc would help a lot, all suspension components, and maybe even rear overload or air shocks. What is the tongue weight of this camper?

You could set it all up, but just having a bumper hitch and away you go, will not cut it, for a light utility trailer, but not for your camper....good luck, I am sure others will share the opinions too

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Concur with Fargos-go-far about brakes being the big concern. At the very least, put some surge brakes on the trailer. And while I don't like modifying cars away from stock, I'd seriously consider putting disc brakes on the front of the car if you plan on pulling a trailer.

 

You won't win any acceleration or speed contests with that rig and you'd probably want to stick to as uncrowded back roads as you can if you go that route.

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When I was a kid in the 60's and early 70's my parents had a rig like yours. Lots of good memories in that small camper.  My parents are approaching their late 70's now and they've been roaming the country in a 5th wheel with three slide out rooms for the last ten years.  I like to tease them that the 15' scotty they had in 1969 slept about 13 people and a dog inside. Now they've got 40' of road-home and it sleeps exaclty two after shutting down the electric fireplace for the night. 

 

Love your rig and it will look sweeeeet behind that four door!  Just gotta get yourself a birch canoe for the top of the car.  :)

 

PS, my mom does all the driving.  Dad learned a long time ago it was a much more peaceful ride if she had something to do.

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lwebb:  No "official" tow ratings exist for your car so all we can do is offer suggestions.  

 

How often do you intend to tow the camper?  How far?  What kind of roads - Interstate, 2-lane, mountains etc.?  Most important is what is the weight of the camper and the tongue weight?  Does it have electric brakes (looks like a 7-pin wiring connector near the hitch)?  In towing there's a saying that anything can tow anything, the question is will it be safe?  If you can answer some of these questions you may get some more help.

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How about this? If the towed item weighs less than, to about the same as the tow vehicle, you are pretty much OK, keeping the brake situation in mind. Stopping distances will likely be 1.5 x longer than just the car. Acceleration will also be much less quick. The tongue weight should be no more than 10% of the trailer weight, so 250 for a 2500 lb trailer. The hitch should be spec'ed to exceed those weights. You need to have that 10% tongue weight to minimize trailer sway. The biggest issue on working the tow car, is not necessarily the trailer weight, but aero drag of the trailer surface that sticks out around the car.

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Everyone talks about the brakes being bad on these old Mopars. Sure they take more effort because they are not boosted, but are these big drums that bad? I mean it has 2 wheel cylinders per front wheel. Or do they over heat quickly?

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no one says they are bad...just a bit inadequate for the use the man is intending to employ...back in 49 they were top of the line..this is however not 49..the roads are better and the speeds are greater..and speed they do these days...the car individually can operate in traffic if in top shape but I also do not recommend them for any towing application of a trailer this large..the bigger question is have you contacted your insurance carrier to see  if your are covered to  tow..all collector car carriers I know say NO...unless it is for static display, no clothes, no spare parts etc etc..tow with a classic carrier and get in a accident..you are null and  void..

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Another factor, do you have the flat 6 or the flat 8 engine in that car. My 49 New Yorker with the L8 only makes 132hp so pulling that trailer up a hill would pose some reduced speeds for sure.

What about cooling-overheating, these were issues back then and still are today with these old cruisers.

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Where is the OP in this thread????? Lots of good posts, but now getting subjective and repetitive. The OP, needs to provide more info, and state his intentions on usage and plan for hauling this camper, does he want to pull it 30 miles from home and back, or is he planning a 3000 mile trip. As mentioned, what type of insurance is he carrying...

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My apologies I had unexpected minor health issues which put me out of pocket for a couple of days.
Thanks for all the responses and the patience.
OK  The 49 Plymouth I think only came with a flat head six. It's a great engine has plenty of pep and runs like a sewing machine. That's without towing anything though.
The trailer weighs between 1900 and 2500 pounds depending on how it's loaded, with a tongue weight of probably 200 lbs. It has excellent electric brakes and I've towed it several thousand miles with my 98 Tahoe. I use an anti sway bar hitch that works exceptionally well.
I plan on towing four to five times a year with most trips under 600 miles round trip. Occasionally I'd like to make a long run say a couple thousand miles but that would be an exception.
As to tow speed? I need advice on that. I usually tow 70ish with the Tahoe but the Plymouth is a whole nother ball game.
Yes I agree a class 3 hitch is necessary and of course I'll need to install a brake controller.
I'm concerned about the cars ability to do the deed. I love the 49 and my business deals with making parts for vintage travel trailers so it would be wonderful to pull with the vintage Plymouth.
I know trailers but haven't worked under a car hood in over 30 years except to changing plugs, wires, fluids, etc.
I want to make this work and am willing to modify the car to make it a sound tow vehicle but will make modifications with my teeth gritted as I really hate to change what is a truly beautifully built car.
I’ve read and been told on blogs everything from all I need is a trailer hitch and brake controller  to at a minimum it needs front disk brakes. or replacing the front end with a newer set up out of a mustang or something. I was told to do it right I needed to drop in a small hemi and replace both the front and rear ends?  The advice has run the gamut but none of the folks were Plymouth people.
So now that I’ve actually given you some specs to think about is anybody still willing to give me pointers after I dropped the ball the last few days?

 

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    All I can tell you is what I would do if it were mine.

   The car, to me, deserves to be kept  as original as possible. To use it, which is what it was built for, it needs to be used safely.  I have pulled a Shasta 1600 thousands of miles and think now that I would not do it without disc brakes up front, trailer brakes, and radial tires. You will need to upgrade to 12 volts if you want to use the brakes you have now. Disc brake kits are simple to install, see Rustyhope, and tires you will need anyway.

   Keeping the car original must take second place to safety.  You will probably see a top speed of about 60 while pulling that big square sail behind you, so you don't want to put a constant strain on the entire drive train. Keeping it at 50 will keep you off the interstates and probably make a more enjoyable trip.

   This is only my opinion and its free. Remember then, you get what you pay for.

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Look up nhra safety safari images on the interweds. The 53 Dodge in their lashup is conspicuous for its lack of V8 symbol on the car. You might want to look for a late model dodge or Plymouth 230. That would bump your HP from 97 to 125 while keeping the stock appearance.

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Neil I certainly sympathize and only will modify  where I have to but bottom line, I need it to pull travel trailers and be a safe dependable daily driver.
I hate changing it it but I love the car.
Greg, I saw the Red Wagon pulling what could be a shasta. I looked for three years almost daily for a 49 Plymouth Special Deluxe wagon. The longer wheel base would have been a plus and it has a lot more storage space which would take away from what has to be loaded in the trailer. Would the car need to be drastically modified to put in the Plymouth 230?

I was looking at a disk brake conversion kit I think was close to a grand. A guy here in a vintage club told me I could put in a newer 90s front end with disk brakes and better steering etc for less that that. I just need to do a lot of research but the answers I had been getting were so varied and my level of expertise and knowledge in this so minimal I'm  simply just spinning my wheels.

 

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(Quote in part...........)    I looked for three years almost daily for a 49 Plymouth Special Deluxe wagon. The longer wheel base would have been a plus and it has a lot more storage space which would take away from what has to be loaded in the trailer

 

actually the wagon is the shorter wheel base car...111" 49-52

Edited by Plymouthy Adams
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The 218 and 230's are exactly the same externally. All your external stuff bolts right on including the bell housing, clutch and trans.

A disc kit from Rustyhope or even Scarebird is only a few hundred bucks. Infinitely less work and money than a frame clip.

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Really on the wheel base, I wouldn’t have guessed it.
Would there be enough of a benefit to go from the 218 (which is what I assume I have) to the 230 or should I be considering an engine even larger than that even if it means modifying to get it to fit?
Would either of you be willing to speculate on a best case scenario for what I’m trying to achieve?
Lanny

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(Quote in part...........)    I looked for three years almost daily for a 49 Plymouth Special Deluxe wagon. The longer wheel base would have been a plus and it has a lot more storage space which would take away from what has to be loaded in the trailer

 

actually the wagon is the shorter wheel base car...111" 49-52

 

Tim is that right for 49-50 when they still had woodie wagons along side the new steel ones? I know the steel wagons are a shorter wheelbase but I would suspect a 49 special deluxe to be the woodie wagon

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In my opinion in addition to disc brakes, 12 volt, proper hitch, 230, radials, I would add an electric radiator fan, and an overdrive. That overdrive will give you that quick downshift that will keep your RMPS where they should be so that means a tachometer. With the OD and the tach, then learn to drive it like a truck, which to means, keep the engine at its best power band. Finally, drive in the morning when the air and the pavement is cool, stop early.

I have all those things ready to go into a 54 Plymouth Belvedere Suburban. And I will also change the rear axle.

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For pulling a trailer I'd think a stock 3.9  as in most models late 49's,  is as low geared as I'd want to go, even with the Mopar R-10 OD trans.

 

My 50 4 dr. will easily cruise at 70 with the 3.9. Not pulling a trailer. If going over a lot of big hills a 4.1 gear ratio would even work better pulling a trailer, but only with the OD.

 

Changing a stock type 218 to a 230 requires the 230 crankshaft and rods to be installed. If the rest of the parts are in Good condition they can be reused to save some $$$,

 

My 50 cents (inflation ya know!)

 

DJ

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Just watch the movie starring Lucille ball called the big trailer , or something like that ..... just a little something to lighten the mood ....old brain kicking in .....

I just love the look of that trailer .....

Edited by bobjob55
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