O-D

So I have a 1995, and I am moving about 1000 miles across the country in a few months. Instead of renting a U-Haul truck, I could get a 4'x8' trailer for less than 1/3 the up front cost, and no extra gas cost. I know some people use their C4's for towing small things small distances, like track tires, or the occasional lawnmower, and the quick google images search shows jet skis, and even a boat!

The engine will obviously handle a bit of a load, the rear end and transmission should hold up just fine and the drilled and slotted rotors should assist with braking. From what I've found so far, the concern lies with the rear subframe simply not being able to handle the stress.

Has anyone had any experience with long trips with a, I guess, mid size load, not to exceed 1000 pounds? Or am I overestimating the vette's ability and should consider getting a truck and just towing the vette behind that?

65Z01

That would be my choice. Some years ago I rented a U-haul with car trailer, loaded furniture into the truck, put my Camaro on the trailer and drove easily from NE OH to SW FL.

c4cruiser

Some people have towed weights like that, but the car isn't really designed for carrying/hauling that weight. There should be a decal on the door jamb that shows what the maximum cargo weight is for the car.

IIRC, C4's have a posted gross cargo capacity of around 450 lbs. That weight includes the driver, a passenger, and a full tank of gas. So that doesn't really allow for much more in the way of cargo.

Finding a trailer hitch can be a problem. Reese no longer makes a C4 hitch and Curt may be the only company left that may have one. The rear components of the car where a hitch will bolt in are aluminum and the install is not that easy. The wiring is easy but it does require being under the car.

As for a trailer itself, most trailer loading guides say to have 10 to15% of the gross load on the trailer tongue. So that's and additional 100-150 lbs of weight as 'cargo". At this point, the rear springs are at a point where all of that weight may cause them to bottom out if the road conditions are not smooth. Because the springs are compressed, the shock travel is reduced.

The engine and driveline may handle the towed weight, but remember that the brakes will have to handle that extra 1000 lbs or so. Expect the trans fluid to get hotter as will the engine coolant. I don't agree that drilled/slotted rotors by themselves will make a huge difference; the brake pads will be the issue in braking performance. You didn't say what that 1000 miles will consist of but if there are hills or a mountain range to deal with, expect the brakes and trans to get a real workout.

And a heavy trailer behind the C4 will create some different handling characteristics; you may find that under certain conditions, the trailer may try to drive the car....

I would really suggest renting a truck and a car trailer. U-Haul would be a reasonable choice. Their trailers will handle a C4 but expect to use some extra ramps to get the car on their car trailers. The typical loading angle on U-Haul trailers is fairly steep so some 2x10's will be a help. And with a small box truck, you can certainly carry extra cargo and keep it secured and under cover.

Chuck Tribolet

And it won't be no extra gas cost.

Chuck

O-D

Yes, well without adding the rest of that info in my original post, I had considered most of that as well. I wasn't really planning on doing it, just more or less curious to see if anyone has actually done it. Thanks for the responses though!