I have towed a 19ft sailboat from Colorado to Iowa (about 700 miles) and
from Iowa to Michigan and back (about 1000 miles) with a 96 Ford
Taurus. The boat with trailer is 1200lbs according the manufacturer.
But that's probably with the standard galvanized trailer. I have an
aluminum.

I did overheat the transmission fluid on my first trip but after
installation of a auxiliary transmission cooler and most importantly
more sensible driving habits nothing went wrong. At that time I was
paying attention only to the engine oil temperature. Big mistake.
Luckily nothing bad happened to the transmission.

If you are interested I have the installation of the auxiliary
transmission cooler documented with plenty of pictures.
http://www.niesens.com/hobbies/saili...ission-cooler/

I agree that the breaking ability of the car should also be considered
when towing but I do believe that some people put to much importance on
the vehicle and not enough on the driver.

Best wishes and happy towing,
Claus