I can not think of a reason that my 390 hp. XKR-100 should not be able to tow a trailer with a 2500 lb. runabout behind.
Have any of you seen in the past, a Jaguar Touring Car towing a boat?
I will appreciate advice, good or bad.
Thanks.

 

I think its a case of read the manual. Personally I cannot see any reason why not. If I remember correctly that is one of the functions of the J Gate. To allow you to select the gears for towing etc.

 

As long as you are within the stated maximum towing weight there's no reason you'd have any problems.

 

Take some pictures, I've gotta see this

 

I wouldn't risk it. These ZF transmissions are dodgy enough without trying to use the vehicle as a tow rig....

 

Imagine the look of top-down towing this...

 

The OP said 'XKR 100' so that will have the Mercedes transmission.

 

ZF or Mercedes transmission, I still wouldn't risk using the vehicle as a tow rig....

 

You can do a search for it on this forum. I recall a fellow who towed a rather large boat with his car. I recommended to him that he not do so in the highest overdrive gear as a transmission specialist told me that doing so could damage the trans since overdrive was not intended to be under a lot of strain. Better to tow with one gear lower giving a few more revs on the engine, but less stress on the engine and trans.

 

In my experience, a 2500 lb trailer is going to need 300-400lb of tongue weight to tow properly and not wiggle above 60 mph.

The long tail of a X100 is not going to like 400lb's of tongue weight.

You can tow with as little tongue weight as you want, just don't tow it above 55 mph on a highway near me.

I will be the one mocking you from the top of the embankment the trailer has driven you off.

 

Find a different rig for towing...this idea is like trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole.


Sure, it could do it under most conditions...but it's not right .

 

Can't find a photo with a boat but ......



Graham

 

This is the fellow that I was talking about.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ng-xk8-141698/
As you can see, the boat has a dual axle and does not appear to have a very high tongue weight. I certainly don't recommend using one of our XKs as a tow vehicle, but this fellow was doing this as a one time deal and reported that the did not experience any issues.

 

35 years ago, when the speed limits were 55 mph, you can practically tow anything with anything. I towed a 4800lb double axle car hauler with a 100hp I6 AMC eagle for years. I had air shocks and a helper leaf on the springs to increase tongue weight, but it still wasn't enough (was only about 450 and it needed to be over 600) and the trailer would start to sway about 60mph.

As speeds get above 55mph, the swaying can start and if it finds the harmonic, things can get ugly fast.

To increase tongue weight, air shocks or helper springs would be needed, and these would be hard to fit on an X100.

Around town it will be fine. Around here, where anything under 70mph gets you run over, it would be terrifying.

 

Could I? - yes. Would I? - no.

Vince

 

My last input, just to correct the record. As to the fellow who towed the boat in the previous post and photo that I made, one person said that he did not really tow that boat with his Jag, but here is the PM that he sent to me after his trip, where I recommended to him that he not tow it in overdrive.

Don't get me wrong, I would not advise anyone to tow a boat with their XK, especially on a regular basis, but, for the record, I feel that I need to reveal the outcome of such an event.

Originally Posted by Kevin D
You must be thinking about a different incident. Here is what this particular person said about towing that boat.
I remember is so well because I had recommended to him that he not tow it in overdrive, as I had been advised not to do that by a transmission shop and I recalled that he said that he had taken that advice.

Hitch on the XK8

Old 04-21-2013, 02:32 PM
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Default Tow was FANTASTIC!
Mileage: 245 mi (One Way)
Time: 4 hours 40 min
Gas Mileage:This shocked me, I expected less- 20 MPG

The transmission guide from ZF said that the "transmission controller (computer)would sense the towing load and adjust the shift points accordingly" and while reading this I thought "yea". Well blow me down this thing shifted wonderfully and did not hunt at all! The guide did not say to not tow in overdrive but I did not feel comfortable doing that and left it off.
Man this thing blew my mind with how well it did.

Absolutely gorgeous drive with the top down-Fabulous weather and the boat won "Best of Show- Restored"
Pictures will follow

IT JUST DON'T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!

 

This is the only acceptable way to tow if you have an XK8/R

 

OP, if you are still considering this and interested in a hitch, let me know - I had one on my 1997 XK8 coupe that I used for one haul up the east coast of the US. It only requires two holes drilled inside the trunk, with the other two bolting beneath the car into sockets that were already there, and threaded-! This was on my 1997; my 2003 XKR I have not checked nor am I at all interested in putting a hitch on that car.

The one time I towed anything it was a 300 pound motorcycle on maybe a 600 pound trailer, plus some odds and ends. I probably wasn't straining anything too badly - at least I don't think.

Remember when hooking it up though, the wiring is very fiddly on these cars and the tail light wires in particular are thinner than I expected. Use all the right relays, fuses and whatever else you might need to make sure you don't burn out something or have the trailer lights quit part way through the trip (been there).

 

There's probably listed somewhere in the owners manual or some shop manual somewhere a maximum towing weight and within the specs, I'm sure it is safe. But as far as towing a BOAT, and having owned a 16' runabout, I would be concerned about getting it in and out of the water with a small car. There's been many a shallow boat ramp where my truck's rear bumper was under water before the boat was afloat and conversely many that were steep and slick where I would not have gotten out without 4 wheel drive (and not uncommon to see people chaining two trucks together). I think a wet boat coming out of the water weighs a lot more than a dry boat going down the road.

 

There seems to be a lot of 'don't do it' advice which seems to be based on the notion that there's something special about the XK8/XKR. It's a car, just like any other car. Certainly it's a nice car, but it's still just a car. As long as the towing specs are adhered to I really can't understand the negativity.