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2000 Volvo S70 Towing Capacity

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

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scot850
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Re: 2000 Volvo S70 Towing Capacity

Post by scot850 »

And remember, you are running standard brakes! Abscates car brakes were doing double duty so down hills you could induce brake fade/overheating. Almost safer using a light alloy trailer with it's own brakes.

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Post by V50M66 »

tjmartin317 wrote: 28 Aug 2023, 18:43
abscate wrote: 28 Aug 2023, 17:43 An air cooled type 3 weighs under 2000 pounds.
Wouldn't even be a full type 3, just the shell of one:

10008737.jpg

A few guys could lift that onto a trailer no problem... but I don't have a Volvo trailer hitch, which leaves my options to Curt and whatever Uhaul may install...

EDIT: Looks like Uhaul will sell and install a Curt trailer receiver... rated for 3500lbs, but again, it doesn't sound like some folks on here trust it.
You’d probably be fine with the Curt for that. I personally don’t really trust it, but for something that light, you should be able to get away with it
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Post by wizechatmgr »

Please note that while you may technically be able to pull that much, stopping it is where people often find the issue. Be careful =)
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Post by abscate »

Keep it under 60 and triple your following distances. That Tyoe 3 shell will be under 1000 pounds , that tow will be fine
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Post by V50M66 »

wizechatmgr wrote: 29 Aug 2023, 23:04 Please note that while you may technically be able to pull that much, stopping it is where people often find the issue. Be careful =)
This. I'd highly recommend upgrading to 302mm brakes and good pads before heavier towing. You never know when some idiot will cut you off, even if you adhere to large following distances
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Post by abscate »

It’s hills that are the killer. You won’t fade a280 mm brake with any single stop.

I just put an egg crate grill on the yard vehicle, that keeps the speed down
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Post by surfbug1 »

abscate wrote: 28 Aug 2023, 17:43 An air cooled type 3 weighs under 2000 pounds. You could dolly that nice and slow, but stop every 2-3 hours and let things cool off. With an M56, you don’t have to worry about ATF temperature!

I just trailered a 3500 pound v70 with an NA V70 and it was near the limit of safe , power wise. Look at my coolant temps….

where didja get that app?

very slick


yes I towed an RV that was 35-3800lbs with a v70 turbo

go slow.....no issues!
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Post by abscate »

surfbug1 wrote: 02 Sep 2023, 02:35
abscate wrote: 28 Aug 2023, 17:43 An air cooled type 3 weighs under 2000 pounds. You could dolly that nice and slow, but stop every 2-3 hours and let things cool off. With an M56, you don’t have to worry about ATF temperature!

I just trailered a 3500 pound v70 with an NA V70 and it was near the limit of safe , power wise. Look at my coolant temps….

where didja get that app?

very slick


yes I towed an RV that was 35-3800lbs with a v70 turbo

go slow.....no issues!
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Post by foggydogg »

tjmartin317 wrote: 28 Aug 2023, 18:43
abscate wrote: 28 Aug 2023, 17:43 An air cooled type 3 weighs under 2000 pounds.
Wouldn't even be a full type 3, just the shell of one:

10008737.jpg

A few guys could lift that onto a trailer no problem... but I don't have a Volvo trailer hitch, which leaves my options to Curt and whatever Uhaul may install...

EDIT: Looks like Uhaul will sell and install a Curt trailer receiver... rated for 3500lbs, but again, it doesn't sound like some folks on here trust it.
If you're renting a Uhaul rig, it should have surge brakes; with that little bit of weight you'll be fine. Be sensible about tongue weight; if you balance the shell so you end up with ca. 200 pounds on the tongue - about 10-15% of the total rig - then none of that should put any heroic strain on brakes or stock springs. Think about it in light aircraft terms; if you have a full tank of gas, vacation load in the trunk, and four American sized humans in the car, what does that weigh ?
Do the sawhorses convey ? Extra ten pounds there.
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Post by abscate »

You can spring for the carbon fiber ones to keep the load down.

Everything I trailer , I take up ftom 50 mph in 5 mph steps and look for the telltale swaying of the towed load. If you see that , keep your speed 5 mph below that. Watch for Rolling over speed
Coming down hills
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