Wanted: Somebody to tell me I'm a fool for wanting to do this...

Hahaha!! OR, there are triples out there that you can use AND I think there is enough room if you use a shoe horn to squeeze in the 5th wheel hitch in the back of the bed.

Might wanna put a skateboard under the rear axle though "Just as a precaution"


Just having fun with this...

In all seriousness, not the best idea I have heard of.

Once with a dual axle trailer brakes and all trailer we have here, and our full sized Ford truck, I was hauling a load through Salt Lake City and was going down a hill, load on the trailer, seen the red light ahead and was slowing down "what I though" was pretty good.. Well, m*** X weight X momentum... Uhhh yeah... I slid "wheels locked" THROUGH the red light honking the whole way.. I was there for the ride, and even p***ed a state patrol as I was skidding through the light... Scary **** man!! I had to wipe after that...

The state patrol guy just watched what I was doing. I think he realized there was no stopping that load and he seen that I really was trying to stop.. He didnt pull me over, nothing... That also could have something to do with that I got it stopped just after the intersection and had it off the road, out looking at the wheels (I smoked um) and wiping my *** in public ya know! Haha!!

It wasnt fun, and nope, never in a S10... I know... I own an S10 4 cylinder... Bout all my S10 does for me is get LIGHT loads of metal from the metal yard here for my machine shop.

 

Well... this gives me much to think about. My soon-to-be ex-wife actually brought up yesterday:

"Um..., you know that'll only pull like 1200 lbs, right?" she asked.

"Oh... um, yeah. Yeah, I knew that," I replied, with a slightly bewildered look on my face that totally betrayed my complete lack of anything trailer/towing-related to the world.

So from what I gather from you guys (thanks for the info, by the way), is that even with a V8 and bolstered suspension & brakes, pulling anything but a lawnmower with an S-10 is just plain retarded. Granted, I can haul an empty trailer, but that's about it... and the idea of doing it with my 4-banger is so ridiculous that I should p*** it off as if I meant it as a joke.

Actually, I had no clue about any of this stuff, and figured you folks were the ones to ask. Boy, I'm glad I did. It seems that even with a stouter truck that the insurance, licensing, log books, etc that it takes to make it all legit is a phenomenal ***** to keep up.

Still, the idea is appealing.

I guess I'll put the idea on hold for now, but I'll still think of it every time I run across an old 40s/50s COE, and imagine a re-body onto an Isuzu COE Rollback...

In the meantime, there's nothing that says I can't let folks "borrow" my trailer for a "donation" of funds or bodywork or something.

Anyone near Kansas City need to "borrow" a 16" car hauler?

~Jason

 

I have a 2.8L v6, 4 speed, and a tow dolley, and it has a hard time moving my engine/tranmissionsless dart! With the dolley the total weight is under 3000lbs (truck is rated for 3500lb towing and has the GVWR to do it).

I would not even try a flatbed trailer and car behind anything less than a fullsize truck.

I would get a fullsize van - 3/4 or 1 ton, with a good v8 in it and use that if you want to do what BenD does. They are cheap, you can sleep in the back instead of paying for hotels, as well as secure storage for your stuff. They punch a nice big hole in the wind so the trailer is less sensitive to gusting wind.

The downside is they are more sensitive to crosswinds and gusts themselves.

The best car hauler I had was a F350 Dually with a steel beavertail bed and a big winch. It only had a 351 in it and a C6, but got good gas milage on the highway and hauled anything I put on it like it wasn't there. You pulled the car up onto the back of the truck, strapped it down at all four corners, and off you went.

 

That rig of yours sounds very cool!

Got any pics?

~Jason

 

Very wise choice.

 

I have a 97 Explorer with the V8 and All Wheel Drive and I had a buddy break down in his 2001 F150 Pick-up. There is not a whole lot of weight difference (probably 1500 pounds), so I fugured what the heck, Ill grab a trailer and take him the truck to get it fixed. Couldnt have been more than 20 miles down the Highway a a couple of miles of streets.

Mannnnnnnnnnnnnnn was that a scary ride. I couldnt get over 50 it was swaying so badly and stopping ****ed. I had pleanty of power to get it going, but controlling it while going and stopping it was another story.

Dont do it!

 

Have I got a deal for you. I have a '90 1 ton Dually w/ 454, T400. It has new brakes, new exhaust, 6 new tires, new power steering unit, electric trailer brake setup and will haul anything you can hook behind it SAFELY.
$3000 And I'll make sure the dual tanks are full when you come to get it.
Used to haul a 28' enclosed trailer from Bay City, MI to Chicago regularly delivering custom built hot rods and customs for a friend that has a high end shop that had his upolstery work done there. Haven't used it in about 2 years except for short local trips and it's not worth keeping it insured and plates on it to just sit.

Frank

 

I once hauled a 2 place snowmobile trailer with '37 Chevy body shell strapped to it......holy **** what a ride. I was taking it to a local community college to bump it out in their shop about 20 miles away.

My dad's '92 S-10 2.5 5 spd. hit a bump just right and the tongue of the trailer lifted the *** end of the truck right off of the ground. I could see the left side of the trailer then it bounced for a right side view, it did this for about a half a mile back and forth. I pulled over and had to collect my thoughts after that one.

 

uship.com is the place to get a load.
its an ebay deal,you bid on the load.
Randy

 

I'd get a full size pickup and use a dolly or towbar. There is an '85 Chevy 1/2 ton long bed in my local paper, runs and goes, for $300.

I try to flat tow cars when I can with my 1/2 ton Suburban, because the last time I had a trailer behind it, I too damn near slid through a light. The fact that the car had like 1500 lbs of parts in it didn't help, on top of being 3500 lbs already. I went slow and took back roads with it. It pulls the empty trailer fine, and I can put up to about 3500 on a trailer with it, but much more than that is just asking too much of the truck's brakes, and it's rough to go up any kind of hills because the rear gear is so high in it.

Now I flat towed a '48 Hudson 4dr with no front clip 125 miles and it was like it wasn't even there. I was able to go along with interstate traffic up to about 60 MPH, much more and it started to weave, but I figurd 60 was plenty fast enough. Had I used a trailer I would have had to go slower and take twice as long. I have a nice old ex U-haul towbar, super heavy duty that clamps to a steel bumper and then chains on underneath, and I usually run a safety chain with it. Basically the top chains keep it off the ground, and the bottom chains do all the work. I've had it for about 15 years and we've towed some silly things and towed hundreds of miles with it no problem. The only time we ended up not using it was when we bought a full size van one time to sell at a car auction - that wanted to sway back and forth pretty bad.

When you get into towing other people's cars for them, you get into needing DOT numbers and all that stuff, too. There's a lot of liability involved. Make sure you're legal before you get stopped three states away with an expensive ticket. I'd also plan on driving where you can go through any major cities late at night, so you don't get caught in a traffic jam and have less risk of the need to make a panic stop.

 

Check out the '66 Rambler I pulled using my 2000 Ranger 4 banger 5 speed from Santa Maria, Ca. to Camarillo, Ca. all I can say is NEVER AGAIN!!!
That's why I have a bigger truck now.
By the way I traded it for 2 (ya two) F1's a '52 and '51. Pulled the '51 back but it was not near as heavy as that old Rambler. Still won't do it again.

 

This thread has gotten really, really important information all over it. I've actually learned a lot, especially through horror stories.

I may well have to talk to Fab about that $3k Dually.

Too bad I can't tow stuff with an S-10 body swap truck. Cool though it would be, it's still going to be an S-10 underneath...

Keep the horror stories coming!

~Jason

 

want more horror?
loan your trailer out.....
you'll have your own stories

 

Yep, but chances are, you won't have a trailer or what you will have will give a whole new meaning to the term 's**** trailer.'

Here's mine: 20 foot true 2" deck used to haul tractors. 10k gvw. Side and rear ramps. Low deck. Beautiful trailer with tool boxes on front and side. Simple task, let my brother in law use it to haul my water tank (325 gallon) to fill his well (we're in the country and sometimes it gets low). He calls after I get back on a business trip telling me he's bringing it home and did my wife tell me he wrecked it? I said 'you're kidding right?' just as his cell phone cuts off.

My wife looks up and says, uh, he did.

He brings it back, the rear axle is bent, gate is laying on top, water tank is gone, hitch is cracked, frame is bent, and fender is missing. Oh, and wiring is ripped off.

He was so drunk he not only p***ed out and put it in the ditch, he was so drunk the farmer couldn't wake him up while he pulled his truck and my trailer out of the ditch! 8' deep ditch. Trashed the side of his truck when it jack knifed going around a corner and drove it through the bed of his truck.

Of course he'll pay me back, he says it all the time...for the last 3 years.

Don't loan it to friends and definitely don't loan it to family unless they can buy you a NEW one.

 

Look hard at those old square body chevys. Recently bought a real real nice low mile one for 4k, BBC 3/4 ton camper special. It's the greatest thing since sliced bread for towing, should last a long time, and there's not much depreciation to absorb.


Worst horror story here is pulling a HD construction trailer, loaded with a 59 bel-air, behind a 73 elcamino.

Tooling thru town at about 25mph on a hot summer day and the light turns red, why is it turning red? Because of ladies with strollers on either side of the street pushing the crosswalk ****ons. Cheap tires plus hot asphal equals nothing but squealing, no hint of slowing. Fortunately with all the honking and squealing the stroller ladies noticed our predicament and stayed on the sidewalks. But for a moment there, was poised to get really ugly. I've since used dollies behind elcaminos, but never ever a fullsize trailer again.

 

or just dont loan one to someone who's gonna get ****faced and drag it around. . . sounds like loaning a grenade to the neighbor kid

 

Sometimes, I want to loan a grenade to the neighbor kid... well, a paintball grenade, anyway.

~Jason

 

Point taken.

Whoa...

~Jason

 

Pics of rigs:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2101859#post2101859

~Jason

 

I recently bought a '96 S10 2.2/5 speed to add to the fleet, and it actually has a decal in the glovebox instructing the owner to NOT use it for towing or slide in campers.....leaving nothing to chance, I guess!

 

I think I still have a pic or two of it. I bought it off of ebay and painted it with a brush to get it all one color. It was known as the "Uglytruck".

It could have used the wheelbase extended to 200 inches as that was what the bed was designed for but worked fine. I was planning on doing it but sold it before I could. Here it is with my 69' Dart on it.

 

I am just that quick, call it a pre-emptive reply

 

I saw one of those at "Vintage Ford and Chevrolet Parts of Arizona" (AKA So Cal AZ). It was parked in the back and I don't know if it was theirs. I wouldn't have recognised it as an Isuzu ch***is / drive train if I didn't have a NPR Isuzu box van. Looked sweet, just remember the old 3.9 turbo diesel the smaller ones use (like you might use for a rollback) is gutless much above 50 degree ambient air temperature without an after cooler. You will likely have to re gear for the highway, as the older ones (that you might be able to afford to start a project like this with) were geared to top out at 60.

 

I'd say "complete" covers it. Hey, you did say please

 

Indeed I did ask for it. What else could I expect from the HAMB? Sarcasm and biting wit are but one of the many services HAMBers tend to offer, mostly for free.

~Jason

 

I'm convinced that that Isuzu ch***is to COE body swaps is like the S-10 ch***is to the other body swaps.

~Jason

 

Could be, and I just remembered seeing the newer Isuzu's on Epay frequently (wrecked). The newer ones have disc brakes, and some have the bigger 6Cyl turbo diesel.

 

if you think you might want to haul stuff for a living.......................

I've been hauling stuff for a living for about 14 years now. You don't have to own a truck or trailer or nothin LOL

there are people that will supply you with these things, PLUS they will find stuff for you to haul.

The draw back is you need about 30 minutes of training that they stretch out into 4 or 5 weeks then they want you to pay for it.

But a real smart fella or somebody like me who kinda fell into it can get training for free (state of MO. payed for training and payed unemployment while I was in school)

lots of truck driving jobs out there

 

Ummm...Yep, Pretty much what they said.


Unless you go at least 3 car and have a pretty good customer base keep your desk job because it's not as glamorous as it sounds.

 

But you make it seem to cool!

What about doing it once or twice a month, just little weekend gigs, for extra cash? Is that do-able?

~Jason