Trailer/tow hitch
- Thread starter ruudschil
- Start date
Probably your best bet is to have a hitch made. Chrysler used to offer a nice drawing in their Trailer Towing literature. I have a copy of the page from the '70, which I would assume is the same as a '74. Check the dimensions with a tape measure first!
John FatFab
Member
My 1977 chrysler Town & Country
If you look at my thread for my 1977 Chrysler Town & Country I posted the factory dealer brochure where they show both of the factory options. Mine also did not have the factory towing option unfortunately, but I hope I strike gold one day and find one out west in not completely rotten condition to grab the hitch and associated extra components those cars got. There was just a basic bumper hitch which was not rated for much at all. Then the factory heavy duty hitch option. Those cars had extra items like trans and power steering coolers specific rear gear ratio ect. The section showing the hitch information is towards the bottom of the first page
If you look at my thread for my 1977 Chrysler Town & Country I posted the factory dealer brochure where they show both of the factory options. Mine also did not have the factory towing option unfortunately, but I hope I strike gold one day and find one out west in not completely rotten condition to grab the hitch and associated extra components those cars got. There was just a basic bumper hitch which was not rated for much at all. Then the factory heavy duty hitch option. Those cars had extra items like trans and power steering coolers specific rear gear ratio ect. The section showing the hitch information is towards the bottom of the first page
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
The factory towing package did not include the hitch assembly, as far as I know it was never (in that era) a Mopar accessory you could buy from the dealer.
Alan
Alan
John FatFab
Member
My dad's last 1977 had the factory heavy duty tow package code A35. It was a factory offered option on the 74-77 wagons.
John FatFab
Member
John FatFab
Member
Looks like the only dealer level item was the extended fender mount mirrors
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
Interesting, shows how little I know about the later cars (74+).
Was not part of the package on earlier cars.
Alan
Was not part of the package on earlier cars.
Alan
Used to be U-Hual would install hitches and wiring. But I'm dating myself. Custom is probably best. Go to a trailer fabricating house if you can't build your own. They will set you up!
Yes, the A35 was available and included many HD items for the car to better handle (and live through) the HD towing experiences. Dealer ordered the A35 car. When it arrived, customer purchased car. Car then taken to a hitch provider for hitch and wiring installation.
The pictures of hitches were "guides" as to what the customer should be getting from their hitch provider. Had to match the hook-up on the item being towed, plus related wiring for lights, brakes, and such. NOT nearly as uniform as many might suspect, back then. In more current times, things have become much more standardized as to what the towed item has on them. Just as many people who now tow things use HD2500 pickup trucks to do it, for many reasons.
The "light-duty" towing equipment package hitch is for most lighter trailers. Considering where it attaches to the vehicle. Namely rear bumper and rear body panel area. Probably close to what a "Class 1" hitch would be. As the A35 was for "Class 3" hitch use.
The "heavy-duty" "receiver hitch" is for greater loads. The hitch pictured was also termed "Load Distributing Hitch" as it also attached to the rear wheelhouse area, spreading the trailer's tongue weight to other parts of the car body rather than just the rear bumper area. With the "receiver" part being 2.5" square or closer to 3.0" square. In later years, light-duty receivers are about 1.5" square.
In many respects, the A35 HD Towing Package had similar items to the Police Package vehicles, from what I could see. Not exactly the same in all respects, but pretty close in some.
Take care,
CBODY67
The pictures of hitches were "guides" as to what the customer should be getting from their hitch provider. Had to match the hook-up on the item being towed, plus related wiring for lights, brakes, and such. NOT nearly as uniform as many might suspect, back then. In more current times, things have become much more standardized as to what the towed item has on them. Just as many people who now tow things use HD2500 pickup trucks to do it, for many reasons.
The "light-duty" towing equipment package hitch is for most lighter trailers. Considering where it attaches to the vehicle. Namely rear bumper and rear body panel area. Probably close to what a "Class 1" hitch would be. As the A35 was for "Class 3" hitch use.
The "heavy-duty" "receiver hitch" is for greater loads. The hitch pictured was also termed "Load Distributing Hitch" as it also attached to the rear wheelhouse area, spreading the trailer's tongue weight to other parts of the car body rather than just the rear bumper area. With the "receiver" part being 2.5" square or closer to 3.0" square. In later years, light-duty receivers are about 1.5" square.
In many respects, the A35 HD Towing Package had similar items to the Police Package vehicles, from what I could see. Not exactly the same in all respects, but pretty close in some.
Take care,
CBODY67
Wow this is very useful infomation john.
Thanx alot for this.
John FatFab
Member
I have a feeling I will have to end up making one as finding a wagon in the wild is hard enough, let alone one with the HD hitch. I do have a CNC laser and press brake so I could make most of this, just very time consuming to make a one off piece. And secondly not sure where the price would end up if I wanted to make some extras to sell, but looking at the drawing it wont be anywhere near normal hitch prices as they make thousands of them at a time.
John FatFab
Member
Big John, any way you can get a larger and clearer image of the bottom right picture for the one shown for the wagon. It showing the dimensions is a huge time saver if they transfer over to the 74-77 wagons
Thanks
live4theking
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Here is another approach to manufacturing a hitch. You should always bear in mind what you intend to use it for.
I'll post some pictures of the one I made.
Bear in mind that none of these are professionally rated.
I'll post some pictures of the one I made.
Bear in mind that none of these are professionally rated.
live4theking
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Here are a couple of pictures of mine. It's in storage and hard to get good pictures.
live4theking
Old Man with a Hat
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Here's some more pictures.
In one respect, the rear part might not be that hard to do. Just figure out the strongest locations for the rear parts to attach to the body. Then figure out similar for the front crossbar to attach to the wheel house areas.
THEN the tricky parts would be to put the center piece down the middle AND configure it to follow the fuel tank's contours between the front and back crossbars. That contour would also give it more torsional strength than just a straight tube, too.
Following the rear body rails to the wheelhouse area might seem like a decent alternative, which is can be, BUT going that route would then mean you'd need diagonals to the other side for integrity and bracing, which would then mean more weight, complexity, AND less ground clearance.
In the middle 1960s, there were some good articles in "Motor Trend" on types of hitches, why they were needed, their design intents, and how to know when you "got a better one".
To me, the issue with using any UniBody-type vehicle to tow heavier items is to ensure the tongue weight is as light as possible. Which means the "balance" of the trailer has enough weight on the tongue, but NOT enough to adversely affect the suspension of the two vehicle, as to ride height.
After reading the "Motor Trend" annual articles, I could tell when I would see some of these Airstream Towers on old US80 and later I-20 had been set-up to do what they were doing, reliably, as there was very little, if any, compression of the rear suspension of the tow vehicle. When I'd see them in the "off season", those wagons looked nekkid without a trailer hooked to them.
In Texas, everybody transitioned from full-size station wagons into Chevy Suburban 4wd 3/4 ton vehicles. A generally better platform for towing, for many reasons. Plus the 4wd putting power to both axles rather than just one, too. And now, everybody that used to "bumper pull" buys the "trailer package", which includes the factory-installed wiring to the hitch platform. Very little to add, compared to prior times. Or the even better gooseneck hitch package, which puts the trailer's tongue weight directly over the rear axle, on the vehicle's frame. Which makes some of those older bumper hitches everybody used to use look both "ancient", "dinky", and possibly "an accident looking to happen". But that was all there was, back then. BTAIM
In the earlier 1990s, a new Suburban came through the service dept. It was owned by a regional university. It was RIGGED, from the factory. Four-wheel drive HD2500 Suburban, 8.0L V-8, had the Class III hitch package, somewhat off-road/highway factory tires, etc. It was probably the ultimate towing vehicle. It had stance. It had presence. It had authority. It was ready for anything they could throw at it. Ordered by the Geology Dept. I would have hated to have to feed it! ONLY one like that I had ever seen, at that time.
In our modern world, for a consumer, it would have to be a GMC Denali trim level and cost who knows how much. With all of the electronic items everybody perceives they need just to ride from Point A to Point C.
Just some thoughts,
CBODY67
THEN the tricky parts would be to put the center piece down the middle AND configure it to follow the fuel tank's contours between the front and back crossbars. That contour would also give it more torsional strength than just a straight tube, too.
Following the rear body rails to the wheelhouse area might seem like a decent alternative, which is can be, BUT going that route would then mean you'd need diagonals to the other side for integrity and bracing, which would then mean more weight, complexity, AND less ground clearance.
In the middle 1960s, there were some good articles in "Motor Trend" on types of hitches, why they were needed, their design intents, and how to know when you "got a better one".
To me, the issue with using any UniBody-type vehicle to tow heavier items is to ensure the tongue weight is as light as possible. Which means the "balance" of the trailer has enough weight on the tongue, but NOT enough to adversely affect the suspension of the two vehicle, as to ride height.
After reading the "Motor Trend" annual articles, I could tell when I would see some of these Airstream Towers on old US80 and later I-20 had been set-up to do what they were doing, reliably, as there was very little, if any, compression of the rear suspension of the tow vehicle. When I'd see them in the "off season", those wagons looked nekkid without a trailer hooked to them.
In Texas, everybody transitioned from full-size station wagons into Chevy Suburban 4wd 3/4 ton vehicles. A generally better platform for towing, for many reasons. Plus the 4wd putting power to both axles rather than just one, too. And now, everybody that used to "bumper pull" buys the "trailer package", which includes the factory-installed wiring to the hitch platform. Very little to add, compared to prior times. Or the even better gooseneck hitch package, which puts the trailer's tongue weight directly over the rear axle, on the vehicle's frame. Which makes some of those older bumper hitches everybody used to use look both "ancient", "dinky", and possibly "an accident looking to happen". But that was all there was, back then. BTAIM
In the earlier 1990s, a new Suburban came through the service dept. It was owned by a regional university. It was RIGGED, from the factory. Four-wheel drive HD2500 Suburban, 8.0L V-8, had the Class III hitch package, somewhat off-road/highway factory tires, etc. It was probably the ultimate towing vehicle. It had stance. It had presence. It had authority. It was ready for anything they could throw at it. Ordered by the Geology Dept. I would have hated to have to feed it! ONLY one like that I had ever seen, at that time.
In our modern world, for a consumer, it would have to be a GMC Denali trim level and cost who knows how much. With all of the electronic items everybody perceives they need just to ride from Point A to Point C.
Just some thoughts,
CBODY67
That's the only copy I have from 1970. I think I have the original trailer tow brochure for 1965, but I'd be surprised if the dimensions, particularly the width, was the same.
Let me poke around the web and see if I can come up with a better copy of the '70 brochure.
John FatFab
Member
Send me a link or front cover image of that one and I will buy one off ebay. Can never have too much literature
Vintage Original 1970 Chrysler Trailer-Towing Package Auto Brochure | eBay
Might find it cheaper if you look around.
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