I think your loading sounds good. I have put a measured 2300 pounds of bricks evenly distributed throughout a 1988 DL 245 and I drove 15 miles home and didn't break anything. Very slow to start and stop, but did just fine. I do not necessarily recommend it, but it worked the one time. I wish Volvo had made a Pick-up......

Kenny

Make sure that your wagon has the proper size tires if you are loading it up to maximum capacity.

The original tire spec for the wagons was 185R14 (which is like 185/80R14).

Those tires typically had a load rating of 91. These days, they appear to be extinct as car tires, though a few extra load truck tires may be available.

However, due to unavailability of 185R14 in car tires these days, a lot of people put 185/70R14 (size for the sedan) tires on their wagons. These tires have a load rating of only 87. So you may be overloading the tires if you have the sedan size tires on your wagon.

The best substitute tire size for 185R14 is 195/75R14, which typically has a load rating of 92. However, that size is getting scarce as well. 205/70R14 is fairly close in diameter, and typically has a load rating of 93 or higher, though I don't know if there are any rubbing issues with that size.

I've used my '80 245dl to haul scrap metal for my brother. We've had as much as 1,300-1,400 in cargo + Marc (thin 140) + me (not so thin 200). I'm always conscious of weight distribution, but still, with any kind of load like that the tail is going to be down. Requires slowing down--and caution braking. -- Dave

just figuring ... car weighs about 3500 lbs with driver ... 60% up front ... puts about 1400 lbs on the rear total. So you could put all 1200 lbs in the rear to reach max load. However .... handling and braking would be really bad. Spread it out as best as you can.