Tow Car Equipment - Airstream Caravanner 1977 Owner's Manual

Tow Car Equipment
If you plan to buy a new car to tow your
Airstream, we suggest that you include
in your purchase the trailer towing op¬
tions offered by most automobile
manufacturers. These include such things
as a heavy duty alternator and radiator,
heavy duty springs and shock absorbers,
automatic transmission cooler, heavy duty
fan and flasher unit and others, depending
on the make of the vehicle.
Transmissions may be manual or
automatic, but an automatic transmission
may prolong your car's engine life and
generally does a better job of controlling
engine loads than the average driver using
a manual shift.
Having adequate power is very important
when considering the purchase of a new
car or the trailer towing capability of your
present one. Emission controls that are
required by the Federal Government have
reduced overall engine power. To deter¬
mine generally what the tow capability of
your car is, divide the total weight of your
trailer by the cubic inch displacement of
your automobile engine. This ratio should
be between 10 and 20 pounds of trailer
weight per cubic inch of engine displace¬
ment with 15 pounds per cubic inch
considered optimal. For example, with a 31'
Airstream weighing 6500 pounds totally
loaded for travel and a car with 400 cubic
inch displacement engine, divide 6500 by
400 giving a value of 16.25 pounds of trailer
weight per cubic inch engine displace¬
ment. This is very close to the optimal value
and the automobile should have adequate
power for towing the trailer. Obviously total
car performance such as maximum speed
up grades and acceleration is lessened
when towing a trailer. Remember that
engine power is only one indication of the
car's towing capabilities; the axie ratio and
cooling capabilities certainly must be
considered. We suggest you review the
owner's manual of your present car and
discuss your automobile towing capabilities
with your Airstream dealer and your
automobile dealer.
Inspect your vehicle's hitch regularly tor
loose bolts or nuts, cracked welds, loose
ball mounts, worn parts, etc.
t he majority of new trailerists carry more
food and other supplies than really needed.
Remember that every item you take along
is one more thing to stow and adds weight
to the total load you must pull. Consolidate
items in shelves, lockers, and in the re¬
frigerator. It is better to have one full and
one empty locker than two haif empty ones.
Special care must be taken not to overload
the front and rear ends of the trailer.
See tire section for correct tire sizes and
pressures for your trailer and load on
pages 30-32.
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