Here's what's really odd about towing capacities. My old 97 Ford Explorer 4x4 V6, with 220 HP had a tow capacity of 5,500 Lbs! It is shorter, narrower, lighter and has less HP than the H3. I don't know how they come up with trailering numbers but they don't make a bit of sense to me.

 

newer vehicles will alwys have a lower towig rating than before....just for the simple fact that they are protecting themselves from lawsuits...a few idiots with off balanced loads or no trailer brakes and the lawsuits start getting filed. The trailer brakes are the big thing....if they ever become mandatory AND inspected every year..you'll see the towing ratings increase. I used to tow a older 21' Stratus bass boat with my Jeep grand cherokee ( I-6 motor). Coming back from Maine one year I broke a hydro line on my trailers surge brakes....towing went from not even knowing it was back there to bieng almost impossible to handle whenever I had to slow down or stop....it was horrible.

 

Is it possible to burn up your brake pads or rotors in those conditions? I know you can warp them, but how hard can you really push them before they just give out?

 

let's just say that I stopped at a rest stop about halfway from Maine to NJ and when I got out my rotors where glowing....I had to replace rotors/pads the next weekend.

 

Ohhhhh, you'll darn sure know it when they're HOT like that! When you step on the pedal it'll fell like you're stepping on arotten orange (sorry for the Florida analogy) Anyway, I've had hot brakes before and yes your rotor can actually crack as well as the glazing over ofyour brake pads. When heavy trailering there are two must haves. One- A Load Leveling Hitch, Two- Good trailer brakes.

 

sorry i had a typo on my first post here, should have read 5400 lbs including the trailer,,, i guess i shoulda checked my own typing
anyway got some pics today of my tow, will post them in the next couble days

 

5400 # isn't as bad as 8000+ # but before driving around with an overloded $290K in toys, I'd play it safe and spend a couple hundred and rent a 3/4 or one ton truck to do the job.