Towing: Am I insane to even consider this?

Ok so here's the deal. I'm the president of my school's Formula SAE team. For those of youy who don't know, we build a roughly 1/2 sized formula one car, they weigh about 500 lbs...

So we're sort of a fledgling team and the school doesn't give us a whole lot of money. We have a compe***ion coming up in June in California, 5600+ miles round trip from here in Delaware. We have NO idea how we're going top come up with all the money for food, lodging, gas, vehicle rentals.....we have a team of 20 guys. According to our numbers the trip is going to cost $20,000. I feel the weight of the responsibility to figure out how the hell we're gonna get out there. I couldn't bear to tell my team that we couldn't go, or certain guys couldn't go, after they've worked so hard this year to build such a sweet car.

Which leads me to my question: Could my '57 Ford safely tow a 20 ft enclosed trailer?

Specs on the car: Fresh 383 Chrysler/built 727 Torqueflight/9" Ford rear w/ 3.50s.

I figure with a disc brake swap, pull out the lowering blocks and install coilover shocks, a bigger radiator, and out a hitch on, I could manage the trip. Even if the school pays for the upgrades, it would save the team over $3000.

Am I crazy?

 

How much does the trailer (race)car weigh in total If its over 3500 lbs I wouldn't do it unless you have a towing package (heavy duty suspension, etc.) suspension on the Ford.

 

The tough part will be finding a weight equalizing hitch for a '57 Ford. The car sounds like it will have plenty of power, and the frame will handle the strain just fine - with the proper hitch. Why do you have to use coilovers? As long as you have the rear of the car (hitch) at the same height as the tongue on the trailer, you should be able to use the stock springs. The weight, with the proper hitch will be distributed the length of the car frame, with more weight on the front, actually.
One of the hitch manufacturers used a Toronado with the rear wheels removed to show how the weight was distributed to the front. You don't want to tow a 20 ft enclosed trailer without an equalizing hitch.


Mutt

 

i would not do it joe. the trailer will be like a huge brick behind your car. for the distance you are going i would be looking for the smallest trailer i could find.

 

The only real leason i thought coil overs would help is because the leafs are old and weak, which makes the car sit real nice now, but i thought might be kinda soft for the trailer. The front of the car is lowered a bit too, it that a problem as well? where would one go about getting an equalizing hitch?

 

An idea - talk to the local newspaper - see if they can come up with an human interest article how the local boys/girls are trying to compete nationally but are strapped for funds. See if they can get a fundraiser going so you can lease a truck to tow the car. Or better yet they may get some dealer to loan you a good used truck. Worth a shot to at least talk to the newspaper. Good luck.

 

no no

 

Take the car apart. Put the frame in this guys truck, the body parts in that guys truck, and the running gear in whatever other vehicles you have. It's a race car, so it can't be that heavy. strip it down and strap it to the roof of somebodys wagon. Get some trailer tires for it and flat tow it. Or, build a removable frame under it and make the car it's self the trailer. You guys are in the Society of Automotive Engineers, engineer something

 

Joe- you and the rest of your guys need to beat the pavement and find a SPONSER for you race team. Like a local car dealer who would be willing to loan you a good truck for this trip. Even a good used one would do fine. In return,perhaps you could put the dealer's logo or name on the car, or have it on display at the dealership when he's having a sale or special promotion. Be creative. Your going to get a lot of "no's", but you only need one "yes". Give it a shot, you got nothing to lose. You might even be surprised! Good Luck!!

Bernie

 

Yes, the front being lowered would be a problem. You can search on line for equalizing hitch, or start with U-Haul locally - they sell them.
It sounds as though you have some work to make the car suitable. As with anything else, it's hard to advise blindly over the 'net. I would suggest you go to a hitch dealer (Travel trailer dealer, U-Haul, Etc) and have them check your car. Take their advice....

Mutt

 

Well, a few thoughts.

1) Find a sponsor to loan you a big 1-ton dually diesel truck to pull your trailer. That would be easiest solution with your existing trailer. As Ford Freak said.

2) Break the load into smaller parts and take it in several vehicles as suggested by Bugman

3) If you guys can build a Formula SAE, you should be able to engineer a hitch for your car. But your car is not really heavy enough to safely tow a 20 ft enclosed trailer.

4) A real truck is needed to adequately tow your trailer.

 

how much would it cost to get it transported professionally? and fly there...i kinda figured it would be cheaper..due to gas, food,hotels on the way, and the upgrades on your car or somehow getting a truck..also it would be alot less h***le and it keeps you from making your car prostreet!!! hahaha

 

I agree that you should keep looking for sponsors.
Continually try to gain more sponsors.
Even if you can't get a sponsor to lend a truck, some sponsorship money can go to renting a truck.
I wouldnt feel safe towing a trailer that big with a car.


Im at the university of windsor and am also working with the FSAE team.
Why aren't you guys coming up here to Michigan?
Couldn't register in time?

 

Talk the school out of one of it's school busses. Open up the back end and put a set of ramps in it. Then you can haul the race car and everybody else on one ride. , Then:
1) Get a sponser to buy the gas.
2) Get a sponser to foot the food bill.
Look at the big chain stores (Wal-mart, Target) chain food stores (Krogers, Cub Foods), auto parts chains (O-rillies, Auto zone, Napa), Motel chains (Motel 6, Red Roof Inns, Super 8). Pretty much anyone that sponcers a Nascar car might be game for your school project, they are always looking for ways to look good to the public.
3) Do several fund raisers. Get local TV, Radio and Newz papers in on it. If you get after it, the school might pitch in a little too.
4) Have everyone pitch in a reasonable fee, after all, they are getting a trip to CA, should be worth putting up a few bucks each. Esspecially if the gas and food are paid for. Gene

 

We have this little blue trailer that we use to haul the car around town, to sponsors and such. The frame of it only goes back to the axle, and then there is another frame inside of that that's hinged, so to unload the car we just pull out a pin in the front and the whole thing hinges down so we can roll the car off... still need to lift up the front so the wings don't drag, but it makes it a one or two man job. Dr. Woods tows cars around all the time behind his BMW. You could pull it with a Geo if you were so inclinded.

If you could build something like that and then fit all your spare tires/tools/parts/whatever in the bed of a pickup and then a couple of minivans to haul people you could do it somewhat economically.

This is the only picture I can find... enjoy the view of my ***.

See you in California!

 

haha, yeah i know charlie. He's a friend of my good pal Larry. I live 2 blocks from the Gulf station you're talking about. His blue model A is incredible. I almost lost control of my Huffy coming back from cl*** looking at that. I'll see if I can get in touch with him this week.

We haven't even priced having it put on a pallet and shipped. Honestly I don't feel comfortable with it. Stuff happens, and if it's going to, i want it to be at the hands of myself or a teammate, not some 3rd party. It's a fully 1 off car, i can't go to NAPA in CA and just get another part in many cases. To rent a box truck, Spalco quoted us $4500. We can rent minivans from the school affordably, which we need to take anyway since even if people fly, we need a way to get around once we get there. By the time all is said and done, the more people we take via caravan is cheaper.

Yeah, we got stiffed. All the spots went within the first 22 hours. Then there was an SAE computer glitch while we were trying to sign up. I talked to SAE, there's nothing they can do. Word on the street is that Drexel won't be ready, so I'd love to take their spot in Michigan. Our car is already built.

We can get minivans from the school, but we can't get anything bigger then that. The school has V8 equipped 15 p***enger vans, but won't rent them to students. Some idiot flipped one a few years back, and last year 3 students were killed in one en route to the SAE comp in mich from a school in MN.

We're in the process of looking for sponsors, but so far no bites.

 

A few of my night cl*** students have built a SAE as a full monocoque structure, they are competeing this weekend

 

That's awesome. I told the guys on the team if we won I'd ask the school to send us to Australia. It's one place int eh world I've always wanted to visit.

The car that our team built 4 years ago was a monocoque, which was a nice car. However, when the senior cl*** graduated that year, it took it's knowledge on composites with it. The team we have now is comprised of half full-on engineers, and half hot rodders. The biggest reason we chose to use a tube ch***is is because if you wreck a monocoque hard enough, the car is totalled. We drive like ****in freaks, and my team policy is that anyone who works on the car gets to drive it. We also pull the restrictors out of the decommissioned cars, so things get crazy sometimes. We took our one car out tonight in the parking lot behind our building. I was ripping huge donuts when the UD police showed up. I guess they heard the Cherry Bomb "muffled" Yamaha screaming at 14,000 rpms. haha, good fun though. I think we've wrecked and rebuilt that car 4 times.

 

yeah thats cool, i wasnt involved in the project, they came to me to learn how to build the thing, They have been disalosioned by the carbon fibre(**** facter)construction. the stuff isnt that great, especially in race cars

 

So it's $4500 to rent a truck huh? Here's what you do: Buy a $1000 fullsize van, take everything out from the front seats back and park the car back there.

 

$20k? for travel? Jeebus son! you should be able to build 4 cars for that, and if people want to come (ugh, 20 people under foot?) let them pay for their own gas/hotel/burgers.

Well, wayyy back when I did FSAE, I designed the car such that it would fit in a full size pickup with the tailgate down. That was actually part of the sales pitch and design review. Lord mighty Carrol Smith was slightly amused.

The pickup made it pretty cheap to take the car there so it could spin a bearing during the noise & brake test. I was pretty amused (& jealous of the $$ wasted) by with huge trucks, trailers, even a semi or two. If it doesn't fit in a P/U, go borrow a decent twin snowmobile trailer and fab up some decent anchors.

Don't do what the inheritors of my car did and ***ume all trailer balls are the same size and ignor the safety chains. Thats the wrong way to get crashworthiness data.

But if you insist on spending money, Hey... I've got a bargain 12' box truck for sale... Drive up to NH with 2k in your pocket and it's yours (FSAE sympathy price)

 

Yes you are....

 

I've towed a lot of cars in my time, and my advice would be

NO!!!

Dude, towing cars around wears out one & a half ton trucks. I've seen pics of your 57, and it's pretty damned nice. Thinking about that car pulling a 20 ft enclosed trailer all over the country makes me shudder.

Use your motel money to buy a cheap one ton van (they're not hard to find), and throw an air mattress in the back of it to sleep on. I'd rather sleep on an air mattress in the back of a van than use my car as a towtruck. For that matter, I'd rather sleep on a pile of broken gl*** and rusty razor blades in the back of a van than use my car as a towtruck.

If you can't swing a one ton van, go buy a caprice or crown vic wagon. You could probably find a decent one for like a grand (or less), and most of them had tow packages. Hell, if it's still alive after the trip is over you could probably sell it for just as much as you paid.

Just a thought.

 

A 3/4 or 1-ton Suburban would work, too, you aught to be able to find a decent one for under $2,000. I tow with my half-ton 'burb occasionally, and I can't imagine trying to haul a trailer with anything lighter. Thats with an open car trailer behind me. Heck I towed all the way to Jersey with it and back. It was a $500 auction beater when I got it, and I drive it everywhere I need to go and beat the heck out of it. But it's not something decent - I can run it until the body falls off, strip it and junk it. Thats what you want for this trip - a decent, older truck thats not in perfect shape. That way if you kill it, nothing nice is lost.

Towing is hard on a vehicle, too. Add a good ****** cooler to your tow vehicle if it has an automatic trans.

 

I wonder who that jerk off is.....hahahahaahah

 

Joe,,,,


Skidmarks = Charlie and all his manliness.

Viva la skidmark.

 

Yeah! What he said!!!

The ****** was always the first thing to **** the bed on our tow trucks (ESPECIALLY the Chevys). Even with a cooler.

And if the trailer doesn't come with a trailer brake, buy one. Being able to stop is always nice when you're in a near death situation.

 

Yeah. If you get something with a 700R4, tow in drive and not OD, too.

 

Joe,

Haha, been there, done that!

Almost the same exact story, just rewind a few years to 2002.

Drexel was supposed to let us use two of thier vans, one for towing and the other for p***engers.

At the last minute our advisor couldn't make the trip so the school wouldn't let us use the vans due to liability issues.

No one on the team had a big truck/van, nor could one be scared up.

All that we could find was a 6-cyl Tacoma and a very beat up 4-cyl Ranger.

We left the ****o trailer at home and split everything up as best as we could between the two little trucks and a few people's trunks.

I wouldn't want to beat up my car with a 20 ft trailer. Split the load up.


Ed

 

Hahahahahaha

That figures.

Invariably, the genius that heads the team decides that the genius who headed the previous team was a ***** and thus a completely new car must be built from the ground up.

I watched it happen three years in a row. Our car was finished AT THE EVENT and broke its rear uprights during the braking test.

Go Dragons (hahaha).



Ed

PS- I hear that Drexel placed second last year behind Cornell?!? Any truth to that?