Marauder Towing capability

[ProjectFairmont]

I am considering an '03 Marauder. One criteria that is essential for me though is towing my autoX Fairmont.

According to the Merc website the Marauder is rated at a paltry 1400ish lbs. I would think this car is capable of more than that. I would need a rating of 3500 lbs which is a number that many minvans are capable of...

My current modestly sized ride is a Sporttrac which can tow up to 5000 lbs.

Is there a dealer or factory option here, or would I need to seek the aftermarket?

[RF Overlord]

Fairmont:

Welcome to the board...the people here know more about Marauders than the dealer...you might say: "If we can't find the answer, you don't need to know it"... :D

Seriously, I don't know why the tow rating is so low...maybe something to do with the air-spring rear suspension? I have heard that Ford, and perhaps others as well, are reducing the tow ratings on many of their passenger cars, possibly for liability reasons, also because they want you to buy a truck or an SUV for that purpose, as they (coincidentally :rolleyes: ) make a much higher profit margin on those vehicles...

[Macon Marauder]

Welcome!

Towing has come up a few times here. This is a pretty good discussion:
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=746&highlight=towing

[RCSignals]

From what I've been told, the towing capacity is higher. Just a few years ago it was listed as 2000 lbs (maybe even for 2002)
Even that apparently is low, and the reason they "lowered" the stated towing capacity I was told is Ford doesn't want passenger cars competing with their SUV/trucks.
In other words they hope you'll also buy a truck for towing.

[mtnh]

The rear air springs are well capable of supporting the tow loads typically encountered with cars, boats, campers. My '96 GM was ordered with the factory option called Trailer Tow III (for class three duty) and was capable of a 5,000 lb. towed load, with up to 500 lb tongue weight. The Marauder is virtually the same drive train, except with better brakes, more power, and a stronger frame. The trailer tow package also included coolers for power steering, (I guess for in case you have to "saw" the wheel constantly with an unstable load) transmission, and engine oil. Also, a beauteous electrical isolation module was provided for full 6-wire harness wiring capabilities with complete isolation of the car's lights from the trailers, in case of a short on the trailer, for protection of the car's lighting devices. A really nice package, which also included beefed-up sway bars front and rear, larger U-joints and drive shaft, dual exhaust, rear air suspension, a higher output alternator. One of the best things about this package was that you also got a full-sized spare, even with alloy wheels, if that was the way your car was shipped. The best fact about this entire package was that it was an option that only added around $300 to the car's cost, if the car had the LS and premium packages. Unreal equipment for your dollars. In other words, many things on the Marauder are what you would have gotten with trailer tow or handling and performance packages. That said, I would not hesitate to tow up to class 3 loads with a MM. The air suspension will level up the rear with any sensible tongue load. I used to have my boat's tongue weight set at around 320 lb., and the car had no trouble lifting that load to level within 30-60 seconds of engagement.

The beauty of the MM is that you could tow with it and also enjoy a very nice tracking experience, with the much-improved steering characteristics that this car now produces.

Mike

[SergntMac]

May I add my .02c?

I believe the MM can tow much more that it's rated for, and safely too. But, I think the point to keep in mind here, is that the towing limits have been changed by the manfacturer, and adding a hitch that allows towing beyond that limit can threaten your warranty.

Like those of us here with 4;10s and chips, when you modify the base product, the manfacturer can escape his product liability. You're rolling the dice, know that out front. Our mods can be detected, or, ignored, however, whether you actually tow anything or not, the presence of the hitch is telling, and to the limits of the hitch. Break the tranny, or, freeze the mains at 15k miles, and your Class III may open an escape hatch for LM. You may not get the opportunity to pull the hitch, and LM's evidence of "owner abuse" will be hanging before your eyes....IMHO.

[LincMercLover]

Sarge brings up a good point that most of us overlooked. LM sees a tow hitch on your car, that just makes for one more "out" for them not to want to do warranty work. So, you can pretty much consider a tow hitch a viable "mod" to the car that LM has the right to void the warranty to certain sections of the vehicle with.

[Macon Marauder]

Sarge and LML make good points. I don't know much about towing. The only car I have with a hitch is my '68 XL and it'll pull a house.

But - how would the dealer know? Just because you have a hitch wouldn't necessarily prove you'd exceeded the rating. Or would it?

[RCSignals]

Originally posted by Macon Marauder
how would the dealer know? Just because you have a hitch wouldn't necessarily prove you'd exceeded the rating. Or would it?

The class of the hitch would be a clue.
However, it would still be up to LM to prove that what you actually towed exceeded their recommended limits, and caused damage.
Personally, I'm not gong to tow anything with the Marauder, so no need for a hitch

[ChuckB]

Towing!?!

Not sure about that - but i can fit a mini cooper and a vw bug in the truck.

Seriously - towing or any activity which upsets the attitude ie front to back rake or angle will cause the auto leveling to activiate. (pay attention to this as suggested by the factory and turn the air pump off when jacking the car).


this may (or may not dependant on tungue weight) present an issue when the back of the car is loaded. But it does cause an issue when the load is removed. The added pressure (needed to compinsate for the extra load) remains in the pneumatics - there is no vent for release of pressure when the rear ride is to high. The air bags are designed to support moderate loads under a continual compliant (slightly compressed) condition - they are not designed to elongate a possible condition when the load is removed from the rear.

[Billatpro]

Buy a cheap truck, why would you want to tow with car like this? It's just not what it was designed for.

[mtnh]

Chuck,

the air is automatically vented to lower thr ride height if the rear end has any difference in ordered height and observed height, whenever a door is cycled. Also, when the vehicle is at rest and not running, an hourly check is made and the system is either re-pressurized or depressurized as needed. On an older leaky system, the compressor will kick on for 5-10 seconds hourly to re-lift the back end of the vehicle. On the MM, the system appears to have a much better airtightness and I never hear mine. Also, some members have left their air suspension switch in the off position with no real notice of any sagging over the course of days or even weeks. On my '96 Grand Marquis, this would have left the car's bumper on the ground after a few days.

Mike

[ChuckB]

Mike,

Thanx for the response. Perhaps i was not terribly clear in my comments. The VAC (vehicle attitude control) does not pressurize / vent during operation of the vehicle for obvious reasons, uphill, down hill etc. i agree with observation of press / vent when the vehicle is static and entry / exit has been sensed.

my drive is somewhat pitched. when i park (rear of car is lower) the system does it's best to adjust. i pull out to flat land and the rear must be 1 - 1 1/2 inch higher than the norm. (trust me the high boy look is just not for the MM) if i i drive away the ride height remains the same. I've complained to the dealer and was told exactly what you said. shut it off, remove the key, open and close the door. Neighbors must think i'm nuts each morning. When i do this the heigth does return to the norm - never hear it vent (baffle maybe?) just goes down a bit.

[cyclone03]

Well now I'm thinking I have a problem with my air suspention.
If I don't drive my car for a day or two the rear end is lower than normal ride hieght,I also here my pump every morning when I start the car, it also runs when I load(pick up) passengers also deflates when they get out.
I've also noted the pump running off and on while driving.
Turn off the stereo and drive around I think you'll note the pump running quite a bit.

[JohnE]

I have a 2,000lb boat and tow with my 2000 Grand Marquis, which has a 3.55 rear and air suspension.

When I remove my boat trailer hitch, I have to wait about 30 seconds for the car to lower with the engine running. It takes several minutes if the key is off. This is a slight pain, because my trailer jack doesn't lift high enough, unitl the car lowers. But the air suspension sure works well for me.

By the way, the air suspension module is tied into the steering sensor. It will not make changes when you are making turns.

[JohnE]

The greatest concern of towing is heat buildup in the tranny. Since 2000, Ford put in large tranny/power steering cooler on these cars, which is pretty good. However, with serious towing consider adding a good stacked plate transmission cooler and trailer brakes. Also make sure not to exceed the load rating of your tires.