Hi all! I have a 1987 Volvo 240 station wagon with a manual transmission and about 100,000 miles on it. I'm planning on moving across the country and I'd like to take my horse with me. I was wondering if anyone has actually towed near max capacity with an older Volvo station wagon and what their experience was like - anything someone planning to do as such should know before they try it. The trailer with my horse in it weighs about 2,800 lbs. I'm currently assuming that the 3,300 lbs. tow weight capacity applies to both towed items and items actually in the vehicle, though if anyone has any information or experiences that speak differently please let me know. Thanks a lot!

 

If anyone has info on this, I have the same question. About to drive cross country and considering towing a U haul trailer on my 95 Volvo 940

 

when pulling a heavy trailer with a light car, surge brakes on the trailer really help. If you hit hills you better make sure your cooling system is up to the task. Otherwise it's pretty much common sense. don't tailgate, read each light before you get there to see if it is a fresh green or if not prepare to stop. if cars pull in front of you react to get your stopping distance back immediately even if it means hitting the horn and the brakes and high beams.

Pull over if you get cars behind or people get upset and do stupid things. drive more slowly and cautiously than normal. if you hit hills watch your temperature guage and carry extra water. If you do boil over be prepared to stop an hour to let it cool and then take the cap off. . so take food and water for yourself. stay out of overdrive unless its really flat or on a slight downhill grade and it isn't making the car work too hard. avoid freeways if you can so you can mosey along.
don't buy the 5 dollar chinese made hitch ***** that aren't DOT approved. keep the tongue weight about 50 to 100 lbs. If you want to do a lot you might swap the gears in the rear end. I have pulled many heavy loads with my 122 and it's a little tractor and I added the lower gears and the overdrive like the 123. If it's your trailer consider switchng the lighting on the trailer to LED so it won't draw too much power. my 122 will outpower many little cars even with the trailer in tow but they can't recognise that,, but stopping distance is always your worry, not speed.

im not sure on the weight. I think you can pull up to about half the weight of the car without trailer brakes but pulling a horse and trailer would exceed that. If you can do some trial runs up hills to see if your car is up to the task. Usually if you just take your sweet time and drive really cautiously you'll have no issues. If your rad is getting plugged watch out. If you have to go up long hills dont' do it in the hot part of the day during the summer, night driving can be less stressful. If you do want to do a lot of highway speed driving then make sure your car has good shocks and handling otherwise when trucks pass in close proximity youll be fighting their wind and that can be dangerous if you are pulling a huge square box. watch the rear view and give them space. its mostly common sense. use your gears, go slow and don't boil your brakes going down hills, brake periodically and release them so they can cool. If its a long downhill stretch then plan a stop to let them cool. I'm pretty sure adding weight to your car won't increase it's towing capacity. I think it's based on the curb weight, but thats not to say you couldn't throw the spare tire of the trailer in your trunk so you aren't towing it. You can check the regulations in your area. I always use two chains that are crossed so they will catch the hitch ball if it shoudl come off, also there is a cable on the trailer I have with brakes so that if the trailer breaks away it also dynamites the brakes on the trailer.

make sure you have spare belts, keep your old ones when you change them. good to supply yourself with some extra oil and some tools and of course check that you have enough spare tires and they aren't flat. take some markers in case you have to stop in an awkward spot. or flares. one light thing that is god to have is something you can write on and a jumbo marker , big sheet of cardboard? this is in case you get stuck you can ask for a jack or put " help " or Im returning for this trailer" , or need water .. or whatever with your big sign. It wont' take a lot of room to be prepared with that.

a common cause of trouble is that trailers get parked in the sun. tires age so even if your tread is ok , check if the tires are all cracked or just too old. Yoll almost never wear the tires out on a trailer but I have seen tires rip all around the circumference from being old and rotten. If your trailer has been sitting , then checdk the wheel bearings and re-pack them. also check the trailer brakes you need to keep them adjusted so it doesn't pull to one side or anythign strange. trailers , like cars need to be alligned, so if your axle isn't plumb with the rest of the trailer you can have situations where the trailer is pulling itself back and forth behind the car.

otherwise just take it easy and you'll be fine. your car is capable of going up a really steep hill on its own. it'll pull a lot but you just have to plan your trip and take it easy, if you have to go up a hill in first, sit back and let her climb slowly, shell do it. resist the urge to drop it in second and keep it floored so you can go 40 MPH instead of 20 in second. If you push things, or go too fast ,you take the risk. remember you are kind of putting your car to the test, it may see stresses it isn't used to and that's when things fail. I often have to do a long mountain climb and I see cars all over with blown rads. usually it's avoidable. quite often they get hotter than normal and we see a lot of fires from things touching the manifold or fuel leaks. Ive seen many cars burn until the tires seats and everything is a pile of crap after so don't let that happen. fire extinguisher ! extra water too.

forget that you have lousy handling and braking and you can find yourself in trouble. of course watch your corners so you don't squish bicycles or power poles ;-) If people tailgate and seem frustrated and they can't pass then adjust your speed up and down by about 10% every 30 seconds to a minute. not so much they notice it. They will get tired of that game (to keep up behind you they have to copy your pattern) and follow further back or pass you. If you make it obvious what you are doing it to pee them off, you'll make them angry and you don't want that either.

If it's a 2 lane road and they are just stuck close behind being stupid, sometimes I can fake them out by just putting my right turn signal and slowing a little so they think I'm turning off and that causes them to pass. the worst is people that cut in front of you and stop quickly. all you can do is drive slowly enough that they move on ahead. If you have big distance between you and the car ahead anyone passing you and pulling in won't have the same tendency to do it ten feet from your front bumper. If they do they still wont' get themselves into a panic braking mode because they will have distance in front of them. but some will. they are forcing you to be in a situation where you are out-driving your braking capabilities so don't allow that. if it happens correct the situation immediately you are vulnerable to it because they can out brake you so easily. You rear end them, it'll look like your fault and no one will be there saying well "he just pulled in and hit his brakes", they will find you at fault for over-driving your own stopping distance. Accept that and live with it , it's part of pulling a trailer. many people are so oblivius to the fact your stopping distance is twice as long as normal. pretend everyone doesn't get it because so many just don't.

If you find yourself getting frustrated stop and take a little walk and calm down.. it helps. Pulling a trailer requires a lot more attention and that can make you weary, especially until you get really used to it. If others get road raged just keep going but hang back , they will usually not want to drive slowly just to . play games and it's hard for them to approach your car when you are still driving. I usually drive in such a way that if anyone gets road raged and starts playing games they see no reaction. I don't' stare them down in the rear view or give them the finger, I just go a bit slower and pretend not to notice. If I react I smile and wave and show them it isn't working. Usually they will give up since you are not giving them any satisfaction and move on ahead

pulling a trailer can make you a target for hotheads. pull over, drive slow, but keep going , they have no choice but to move ahead and then likely you'll never see them again. Hotheads are almost always per-programmed to pass everyone they can so let them go. If you see them in an accident down the road ahead you can stop and tell the cops you saw them driving erratically just prior to the accident, otherwise let it go. keep your cool.

Just watch how the truckers drive in traffic, they hate coming to a complete stop so they hang back and just try to keep rolling slowly towards a light. they are also experts at reading traffic lights ahead of time and will perceive if it's a fresh green or a stale one. People will recognize what you are doing and almost all will just respect it. You have to drive defensively and protect your stopping distance at all times. If you have a chance and a line behind you , pull over , let them go ,, they will thank you for it and if you catch up again they won't hate you so much for holding them up.

Often truckers will give you the backup light to say thank you for adjusting your speed so they don't have to, If you drive with a trailer a lot you can do the same and rig up a backup light on a switch. a little blink of a light can change their attitude towards you for the rest of the trip.

if you have to do a slow pass of a SEMI on a hill and you see that coming up , you might have to get in the left lane and hold people up , or you may have a choice to loose all your speed. reading these sorts of situations ahead of time is really important when pulling a trailer and sometimes you need to own the road to avoid situations like that even though you know they don't like it.

Otherwise they'll see whats happening and pass you and you'll have to dump your speed, not the end of the world but on a long steep climb you want to keep rolling if you can. In the same situation you might be able to say turn on your signal and slow a little , giving them the signal to go or you'll take the lane. sometimes things like that can wake people up to the situation.. sometimes people drive with their automatic speed control on and get really oblivious to things like not driving beside someone on the highway for long distances in case they want to make a panic maneuver, or driving in someones blind spot. be cautious when making left turns, sometimes people time it so close and don't realize you have a trailer until they attempt to dodge around behind your vehicle so again extra caution. If Im making a left with the trailer , it's pretty normal that when it goes yellow the people left in the intersection will complete their left when the light goes amber and oncoming traffic stops. Usually there will be two , sometimes three cars that go through the yellow. when I have a trailer I dont' push that so much , wait for the next light and make your left since you are longer. don't pull ahead if there is another car ahead of you turning left in the intersection. Otherwise someone won't realize you are pulling a trailer and misjudge the situation. someone wil see it's green coming the other way now the light has changed and you won't have time to get clear of the intersection.

Sometimes people have a habit of passing cars turning left even though its only one lane but you can predict that and plug the hole by pulling to the right and stopping to make them make their turn legally, and then go. . I see this a lot here. if you are facing that same situation form the other side of the intersection and making a left turn and see other cars moving to pass the left turner illegally, its best to let them do it and not to try to police the situation by cutting them off even though you do have the right of way. You'll see this stuff just in normal driving but with a trailer you have to be twice as cautious because your maneuverability isn't as good.

I always try to watch my mirrors often and keep room open. It has paid several times, when I suddenly needed to dodge into the left lane to avoid and accident. so if you can know where all the other cars are that are coming up behind you it sure can avoid a situation. It only happens once in a while but Ive had people pull from the curb into my lane some 10 feet ahead of me without looking, at that point had no choice but to take the left lane with no time for a shoulder check.

a few times I found that I hit my brakes hard, locked them, slid toward the other car while controlling my brakes to just keep the wheels turning while braking, and at the very last moment took my foot off the brakes, and since I again had full traction , was able to steer around them. Playing in the snow can help you do panic maneuvers like that where in normal driving you'd never see those situations come to life. Knowing where the other cars are and not being beside them can save your life. your braking distance is much longer with a trailer, after a while it will be second nature but at first just be super cautious, eventually it'll just become normal to do so. pulling a trailer youll have to watch out because it might jackknife behind you Not many people have practiced panic moves like that with a trailer in tow. the mechanics are different.

I once stalled on a hill with my trailer and my battery was dead. so I immediately thought I could jump start my car by rolling backwards a few feet and dumping the clutch, yea don't do that. It's no problem with out a trailer.. but I couldn't keep the trailer behind me, I jackknifed it and came to a stop now blocking both lanes and couldn't move back or forward, how embarrassing!.. luckily it started again before i had to 'splain myself to a cop.

big mirrors are a huge help and you might be able to look at ones that clip on if you dont' want huge westcoast mirrors on your 940 ;-)

If you find yourself turning around in a parking lot and you can see the reflection of your trailers tail lights in the window of a building , this is a perfect time to check that they work right without having to leave your seat or rely on anyone else. its not hard to create that scenario in order to do a spot check while on the road.

 

good reply and advice