Towing with a 850 N/A Questions?

betawave · Post by **betawave** » 09 Aug 2010, 10:54

Hello,

Im new to the site and hoping someone here has had any experience towing a U-Haul trailer in a 850 N/A 5 speed.

I need to move and I will have to rent a smaller Uhaul trailer but before I invest in the hitch and trailer I want to know if my car can pull the thing from one coast to another.

My Volvo in not turbo i.e. less horsepower but it is a 5 speed which I think will make things a little easier but I am not sure if there is any maintenance things I need to do to the car before my commitment to the trailer.

If anyone here can chime in with some feedback or experience I would really appreciate it.

Greg

Post by **matthew1** » 09 Aug 2010, 11:16

Betawave, welcome to MVS.

I did a Stage 0 before the trip, and I'm happy I did. You never want to break down, but it becomes crucial to keep mechanical demons at bay when you're towing. Sadly, I've not used the hitch again since then, so the "plus" of choosing to have a hitch installed to tow a trailer -- rather than renting a large UHaul truck to pull my Volvo behind and put my furniture inside -- wasn't a big bonus it turns out. Oh well.

Your Volvo should be fine if you don't do lots of shifting. If you feather that clutch over and over on your trip you'll burn it out. While my 850 is auto, I tried to get up to speed and not vary things too much. Do the same. Find a comfortable spot in the slow lane and take it easy.

betawave · Post by **betawave** » 09 Aug 2010, 11:35

Thanks for the post and the info regarding the Stage 0 tune-up.

Was your Volvo a non turbo, the one you refer to use for towing?

Post by **matthew1** » 09 Aug 2010, 11:58

1997 Turbo. Power is not really a concern with any US-spec 850 unless you're literally running out of muscle going up mountain roads and thereby being a dangerous slow-moving target. You'll be able to get up to 60mph and stay there.

Post by **jblackburn** » 09 Aug 2010, 12:03

Matt's is a Turbo. I've been thinking about putting a hitch on mine to move stuff in the near future; I'm just concerned at this point about the rear wheels dragging. My car has a factory sport suspension (in need of replacing too), and I had it packed down with moving stuff last week, and shingles the week before that, and the wheels looked like they were just about dragging the arches. Your NA should have smaller tires and a higher ride height, so you probably won't have that problem.

The most important thing to remember when towing with any car (especially one with a smaller engine) is just don't push the car too hard. Both the engine and transmission are working harder to move along, and it can overheat if you're running flat out, running AC, and its hot outside.

Plan way in advance (especially for braking), shift HIGH (3500 RPM or so rather than 2500), and keep the revs up on hills to avoid straining the engine. Most of the torque in the NA engines is above 3,000 RPM, so depending on how much weight you're carrying, you may have to climb hills at highway speed in 4th gear or whatever's appropriate for your speed. Your engine will be happier to work less hard at a higher RPM than giving you everything it's got at a lower RPM.

Other than that, like Matt said with the Stage 0 things, new fluids and new hoses are probably the best thing you could do to prepare your car for the trip.