Can I tow with a boxed S-10 frame?

It seems that you are looking for anyone to say "yeah I guess, go ahead". It really doesnt make sense, will take a ton of time, and you may kill yourself or someone else. Is this to save what, $500?

I bought my 87 Suburban 2wd 3/4 ton in nice shape for $700 on craigslist, and deals like that happen all the time. I tow a trailer and usually pull 49-51 Mercs and Fords, BUT have had much heavier on there, like a 60 F250 for a friend and it was a little hairy (my rear springs are ***ed out) but all in all made the highway trip fine.

As said, its a 3/4 ton, my brakes are huge and the frame is beefy. The brakes on my trailer are adjustable under the dash (controller) and when I tow I always make sure that its stopping well before I hit the highway.

So, if I were you, I would pony up the $500 or so to buy a ****ty 80s Suburban or the like that can pull it safely without injuring yourself or anyone else around you cause you "thought" it would save a few bucks.

 

I didn't want to go there, But in Maryland(my state), the legislators are looking at some laws that make owners responsible for trailer accidents. It seems that there was a real bad accident on our Bay Bridge that was caused by a trailer not being properly hooked up and several people were killed(3 I think).

Please be carefull with what ever direction you elect to choose!!!!!

 

Or pay even less and buy a full size van. Then you have a storage shed when done!

The 2nd best vehicle I have ever had for towing was an 86' Ford E350 that I bought for $400. It had a GVWR of 9990lbs, long wheelbase, huge brakes, axle (dana 70HD with a 4.56 gear), E load range tires, and a lot of vehicle weight. If it had a larger engine than the 300ci six it would have been great. We used to load it up with 2 skids of engines (4 complete V8's per skid) plus whatever else my engine builder was grabbing from his core vard and we could fit inside, then hook up his triaxle construction trailer with 6 more skids on it.

It had trouble going up hills, but 3 axles of trailer brakes and the 1 ton brakes on the van stopped it just fine. You could feel the load however. There was 5000lbs in the van, and about 14K lbs of trailer and load.

 

Yep, but in the Mythbusters sense of "Yeah, this would work, but only if you did, ___, ___ and ___, at which point it would. but would be far to Rube Goldberg to proceed with the BS h***le."

I'm curious where the line can be drawn.

Trust me, after the comments above, I'm already planning on a $500 POS to set it on. The S-10 seems a little small for my needs, as I'd love to keep it's 1-ton utility. Of course, the appeal is that I'd only need to tow that trailer a couple of times period, and some of the guys have compelling arguments in favor of using the S-10 after all. It's those which I really like to hear. I mean, I really, REALLY want to be sold the S-10 route, mostly because I already have an S-10 driver that I could swap the cab on and begin driving right away, leaving the drivetrain, etc intact, you know? Surely you can see the appeal.

I don't want to fall into the trap of going through the swap and having a trailer I can only move around empty.

~Jason

 

Man, that's actually a really good idea! This is the Midwest, and vans go for cheap. Rust eats the bodies right off of 'em... but since it'll be s****ped anyway, who cares, right?

~Jason

 

Yea, no kidding. I have seen a few 70's suburbans litterly folding in the middle because of rust.

 

If the vans ch***is would work.Then you could build the rig that you want.

 

I pull a 6000lb 29' travel trailer with my gmc 2500 HD. It can get a little white kuckled with wind gusts from semis. My neighbor was in Tennesse and crashed their little dakota and trailor, wind gusts picked them up between two mountain p***es they said. They had no insurance on the trailor. I wouldnt pull with an S10. I have a IH Kb. They are small. If you are looking for a pull vehicle, look for a larger K series, they are cheap, and put it on a full size ch***is. I believe this was discussed in full on the oldihc.org before. Check it out. Use the S10 ch***is, it will fit with a few minor mods, but don't tow with it.

 

Totally.

~Jason

 

I think it was discussed on oldihc, actually.

I have a K3 1-ton, not a KB3. Sorry if I had misquoted myself earlier.

~Jason

 

Heck, the stock frame under the IH is probably heavier duty than the late model Chevy trucks are, the Suburbans I have all have just stamped U-shaped rails, not boxed. I can feel my DD Sub flex under my foot on the floor just pulling out and crossing the crest of the road - and the frame and main floor is not rusty (although most every other part is).

 

41 and 46 ih's were K's, and 47-49 were KBs, the only difference was some stainless grill trim. The K1,2, and 3 all share the same frame. Short bed 1,2, and 3's were 113", and the long bed 3 was 130". The front of the frame rails are 27 9/16", rear is 44 11/32". The front axle is 1/4 thicker, with slightly larger king pins, larger rear spring mount in the back with a larger pack of springs. Hope this helps with measurements.

 

You are a God - Thanks!

~Jason

 

You know, every day, I wonder "What If...?" about keeping the stock frame...

~Jason

 

old thread but glad I found it, I had planned on using a 1950 Chevy 3600 truck with an 1982 S-10 long box ch***is that will be boxed, new rear end, 355 motor, 700r4 ******..towing a 17 foot trailer with a 1954 Ford Hardtop Victoria on it which weights about 3500lbs...wondering if the original poster ended up trying this or not..I had planned on towing with this truck from Michigan to Florida when I move there in May..my dad owns a camper dealership and they deal with hitches & brakes all day long so I'm sure I could get the best setup possible but I'm still iffy if I want to do it or not

 

I drive a stock S10 everyday to work and back. I dont even like to tow a garden tractor, basically S10's ****. But it was free!

 

Imo, that's too much trailer for an s10, and I pulled alt of **** with my two. Pulled a sunfire 30 miles. Coming down an overp*** it feels like you have virtually no brakes. Plus, s10s have very low tongue weight limits. There are some pretty good hills along that drive... Get a longer, wider wheel based truck.