Can my '81 911 tow a motorcycle and trailer

[Huh]

safely? I just need to get my motorcycle to be looked at. I don't have a truck but I do pull a small trailer with tools and tires when I do a DE event. I only have to pull it about 10miles.

[defcon65]

What is the hitch receiver bolted to? I think it should have enough power but I would worry more about the added weight to the rear effecting the handling. They really weren't built to tow.

[Walko]

I thought Porsche made a towbar for the 911, so as long as you were using a factory hitch then just check the specified tow limits.

Michael

[charleskieffner]

dont even think about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if you dont believe me just consult with u-haul about a hitch!

[ruf-porsche]

Originally posted by Huh
safely? I just need to get my motorcycle to be looked at. I don't have a truck but I do pull a small trailer with tools and tires when I do a DE event. I only have to pull it about 10miles.

Maybe you could tow the PORSCHE with the motorcycle

LOL

[charleskieffner]

if you do tow a trailer w/your p-car name me in your will, or dont drive in arizona! nicht gut! verboten! du bist TODT! and you will give the u-haul guys a heart attack from laughing so hard, let alone myself! ask me how i know! hint u-haul is based here and im a native!

[A Quiet Boom]

Uhaul Pickup truck, local in town runs about $20 a day.

[herman maire]

Why is everybody no negative to pulling a trailer?
I have seen a bunch of guys pulling trailers to the track loaded with tires ect... One in particular I remember was a turbo hauling all there gear.

I would pull a motorbike no problem just be sure the braket is bolted to the frame rails not welded .

As for Uhaul... My hitch was built to pull 3000lbs they told me I could not dolly a car with my 5series bmw , I rented from inited rentals instead and hauled the dolly+car for 3500miles round trip. Car was more stable than some truck I have used.

[Noah930]

I just need to get my motorcycle to be looked at

Who's doing the looking? If it's just the cops (for some sort of VIN check to get plates/registration), give the local precinct a call. I did this past spring, and pleasantly found them totally willing to come out to my place (at my convenience!) and do it right at my home.

[cegerer]

Given you're towing it only 10 miles, I'm not really seeing a big problem here (assuming this isn't some big a$$ hog). You already tow a trailer with the tires, etc. so you've got a feel for how the handling is altered. How much does the motorcycle and trailer weigh? Maybe 500-700 pounds? Single axle trailer I assume? If you load it so the tongue weight is no more than about 15% (recommended maximum) you'd only have 100 pounds or so pushing down on the back of the car. That said, I'd try it with your car, but not mine.

What scares the crap out of me are people towing various trailers with front-wheel-drive cars and minivans!!! The trailer unweights the steering and drive wheels all in one fell swoop - fun in the rain I'll bet.

[charleskieffner]

bmw is total different car than p-car. once again call u-haul and ask for your year p-car trailer hitch on the shelf or custom. then be prepared to hold phone 3ft away from ear as they laugh themselves silly! if still in doubt please call mike dilgard(MR U_HAUL TECH HIMSELF) at u-haul tech center in tempe,az and hold phone 10 ft away from ear while he hurls in disgust while laughing himself silly! then be prepared for speech that says you are a total idiot towing anything with your p-car and the finale..............please do not do this EVER! we have warned you in advance-it is not advisable-it is not safe!

but hey dont listen to me...........do it and then post pics of the damage incurred so i can laugh my A$$ off and hurl in disgust, then go meet mike and buy him a beer and we both will laugh some more! and then i will buy all the parts that are left over after you have wadded up car and laugh again!

every porsche wrecked.................just makes mine that much more collectable and rare!

[roger zimmerman]

I called u-haul for info on a hitch for my p-car First they could, then they couldn't, then they said they could do a custom build, then they wouldn't do that either. I copied my hitch from a P-car website and it turned out fine. Pulls my tires, tools and junk just fine. I expect that you could pull a bike 10 miles without any problem at all with your P-car. Follow the usual safety rules about tongue weight, etc.But don't believe "yalhaul" at all! (Sorry Charles)

[ben parrish]

No problem with the tow as long as the weight is not too heavy and the existing trailer hitch is properly supported. Keep the tounge weight in check; if you struggle lifting it, it is too much . Just because some yahoo at U-Haul doesn't know what to do doesn't mean it is not a good idea. Wouldn't look to "Just Brakes" for advice on brakes or a lube-n-tune for tune up advice.
No problem, just use common sense and keep it out of the twisties.
It's a car; it's a trailer and it is nothing that special. Seen VW Beetles pull Aerostreams.
Good luck, Ben

[cegerer]

[Grady Clay]

Most know me as an adamant safety proponent.

In this situation I don’t see a serious problem. A very
lightweight trailer and an appropriate 911 hitch works
just fine. Many use a small trailer to haul four race
tires, an air tank and a few ancillaries.




The key is lightweight.

Some Porsche race tires & wheels, a go-kart or a small
race bike should be acceptable. At 300# this is about
10% of the weight of a current 911. With 10% of that
as tongue weight, that adds 30# to the rear of a 911.


A Pelican friend wants to tow a 125 shifter kart with his
911SC and I volunteered to help. The hitch will attach
to the bottom two studs of the engine mount. There
will be two diagonal struts forward and out attaching
to the torsion bar tube. There will be a small receiver
under the muffler. I think the assembly can easily be
under 40#.

The aluminum trailer will have 911 front hubs and black
center 5 ˝ x 14 Fuchs narrowed to 4” with light weight
low profile tires – V rated of course. HeHe.

We are toying with the fiberglass clamshell that Coleman
and others supply. The goal is to have the enclosed
trailer, race kart, a spare set of tires & wheels, a plastic
fuel can, aluminum kart stand and aluminum air tank be
under 400# total. The race kart is about 170# wet.

How about a pair of 911R replica tail light assembles?

I suspect a 911 could tow a significant load (30%) if all
the trailer tricks were applied – load equalization, ABS
brakes and more. Still, the key is lightweight aluminum,
magnesium, titanium construction and light load.


If you want to discuss dangerous towing; put your 3000#
911 on an 1800# trailer and tow with a SWB 3500#
Cherokee. That will give you nightmares and permanently
stained upholstery – if not worse. Too often the norm
seems to be a 12K trailer with a 4K tow vehicle. Bad
idea.

Like any towing situation some serious design engineering
is important.
Some things to consider are:
The ratio of trailer weight to tow vehicle weight.
Tongue weight.
Trailer center-of-mass.
Ratio of tow vehicle wheelbase to trailer axle position,
including hitch ball location.
Use of an equalizer hitch, yaw control and other.
Trailer brake system.
Of course there is much more including aerodynamic factors.

Driving on the highway is dangerous enough. Towing
increases it several-fold. Safety should always be
the #1 issue.

Best,
Grady

[lateapex911]

I'm sorry, but citing U-Haul as an expert witness ranks right up there as calling Micheal Jackson to be a microbiology professor!

Or, in other words, U-haul shops are the place I go only when I have exhausted every other possibility, and they never cease to amaze me in the ineptitude in all aspects of their trade.

Simple number crunching says you'll have a trailer and bike that weigh what, 800 combined or so? Thats 80 pounds or so tounge weight. The average 911 with driver is what, 3200? OK, it will look goofy, but it can be done.

[Rot 911]

Originally posted by lateapex911
I'm sorry, but citing U-Haul as an expert witness ranks right up there as calling Micheal Jackson to be a microbiology professor!

Amen to that brother! You should be able to do that tow with no problem. Just give yourself plenty of room for braking and keep in mind you need a bit more distance to brake.

[Huh]

I have a small cruiser which weighs about 400lbs wet. I may have someone who can help me using his truck but I didn't want to rely on him. The reason I don't do the uhaul truck is I don't have a ramp to put the bike on it. I am having someone help me get it running correctly.

[Quicksilver]

Towing with your 911!!!

It is such an insane idea. Your car is going to have an unbelievable quantity of corner entry oversteer especially in the entry of a decreasing radius corner. Even worse is that you can't find any DOT tires rated for a trailer that have anywhere near the grip of your 911's tires! When the trailer's tires become unstuck at the apex you will find the trailer sliding out and spinning the car with it.


Oh the humanity....

________________________________
Ok maybe that was a little over the top... (or completely insane!)

Grady has a pretty clear view on this one. Lets make one concept completely clear>

YOUR 911 HAS NO IDEA THAT IT IS A PORSCHE!
It is a car with four tires and a rigid structure. It is a fine basis for a tow vehicle except that lots of people will look at you as if you have sprouted antenna out of your head. Your 911's tires probably have rather stiff sidewalls so that will even take some of the monkey motion out of the car/trailer combination.

The hard part is how to attach the tow hitch. You don't want to molest the car. Grady's idea is interesting. I have thought of attaching to the tow hook holes for a hitch that would tow tires and an EZ-up. Never pursued it though.

The most important thing on any bumper hitch mounted trailer is Tongue Weight. Negative tongue weight can make a car dynamically unstable. (Think of a car/trailer swaying side to side and if the trailer is heavy… think of looking out the side window and seeing the trailer at the peak of each oscillation!)

You want the tongue of the trailer to be weighted down by at least 10%.


If you come up with a slick, removable, and non-molesting solution I would like to see it.

[Laneco]

A 911 is a fine robust car. A motorcycle is light. I'm a girl and I can push a motorcycle (but it does suck...). So you 911 will not have any problem with it.

Be smart, keep it light, conservative speed, very conservative corners and braking. You will be fine. Take a picture and post it.

My husband and I are going to build a replica 904. A fellow on this board suggested a strong engine for the 904 and use it to tow the spyder (replica). Smashing idea.

angela