Towing the Stalker

In spite of the huge fun-factor involved in driving #29, there are the infrequent occasions when it would be nice to be able to transport the car without regard to potential inclement weather. A Stalker trailer has been on my list of projects, and Dennis and Justin graciously shared their research on the trailer they produce, but I finally had to face the conclusion that I don't have a place to store a seldom used trailer. After researching and sourcing material and components for a single-axle trailer it was obvious a trailer project was going to consume at least $1000. This along with the storage problem makes it hard to justify something that will probably be used less than once or twice a year to transport my street Stalker.

You don't travel very far on our nation's highways before you catch a glimpse of a small vehicle in very close formation with a massive motorhome. If the retirees of America can safely tow their grasshoppers behind their homes, why couldn't the Stalker be towed to the infrequent meet or mountain jaunt? Granted, towing the car subjects it to road rash and tire wear that wouldn't be present if the car was trailered, but those might be acceptable trade-offs for the infrequent and moderate length trip. My biggest concern was whether the steering geometry of the Stalker would lend itself to towing. The towed vehicle's front suspension must have enough castor for the wheels to "follow" the tow vehicle. Since the Stalker has specialized steering geometry I didn't know if the little car would willingly track behind our S-10 or end the experiment with the front tires howling in protest.

After finding a universal 5000-lb towbar on eBay for $60 shipped to my door, I decided this was worth a try. The towbar shipped with brackets for attachment to a bumper and a set of safety chains along with necessary hardware. Obviously, since the Stalker isn't disgraced with a front bumper, some fabrication was necessary to attach the towbar to the car.

A 36" length of 1.5" square tubing was purchased at the local Tractor Supply store and after mocking up the arrangement to check clearances, the supplied bumper brackets were welded to the tubing. In keeping with a belt and suspenders approach, a 1/2" bolt also secures each bracket to the tubing.

The tube is bolted via 3/8" grade 8 bolts to the frame downtubes. This arrangement provides adequate clearance from the A-arms, bodywork, shocks and brake lines, and the bolts are only under tension during vehicle braking. The tube can be quickly slipped into place with only a slight amount of effort while working it around the various bits and pieces behind the radiator.

A safety chain goes around the bracket before the supplied pin is inserted into the towbar.

After everything was squared up, all the bolts in the towbar were treated to Locktite and torqued down. Safety chains with hooks were added for attachment to the tow vehicle and a 2" ball was fitted to the receiver on the S-10.

Since I anticipate towing at night, a cable was fabricated that connected the Stalker taillights with the S-10 trailer lighting connector.

The cable plugs into a receptacle on the Stalker firewall. Since the   Stalker taillights are wired through the turn signal switch, the turn signals do not work properly due to backfeeding the switch but the tail and brake lights operate correctly. I consider this a satisfactory situation since the S-10 signals are easily visible to following traffic.

So.......how does #29 like being towed? Michael and I took both vehicles to an empty parking lot for testing. After hooking everything up (and it is a quick hook-up; I like having a way to easily retrieve a broken Stalker if necessary) I began tracing large circles in the lot followed by smaller circles and figure eights to see if the Stalker front tires would track properly. Very quickly it was evident the Stalker had adequate castor for the wheels to follow a turn and then self center. After rechecking all the attachments, this was followed by a twenty mile test drive on rural roads then a test at highway speeds. During all tests, the car towed beautifully and more smoothly than the utility trailers I have previously towed with the S-10. Driving technique will be modified to account for increased braking distance caused by the added weight of the Stalker but some impromptu tests indicated the S-10 can stop the combination quite readily (on dry pavement at least!).

By the way, the '95 Firebird version of a Stalker 3.4 in the S-10 handled the extra load just fine!

It remains to be seen if towing the Stalker will result in accelerated front tire wear. I will probably add some mudflaps to the rear fenders of the S-10 to reduce road rash on the Stalker. Towing the Stalker 4-down certainly would not be an option if street tires weren't in place and the car was frequently going to autocross meets. But for my purposes and restrictions, I think this will be a good alternative to driving the car several hundred miles in inclement weather.

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