Towing Question

[mikedom1107]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum, glad I found so many experts 'cause I need some advice. I'm going to be getting a medium-sized travel trailer or fifth wheel to live in (20-25 ft.) as I drive accross the country; it'll be just myself. I'm looking at suitable tow vehicles for this purpose; I'm drawn to early 70s Chevy pickups because they have simple, reliable engines, they're less expensive thn buying a new (or newer) pickup, and I find a lot of them in really good shape.

Can anyone offer some advice on the suitability of using 70s-era Chevy to haul a medium length trailer across the country? What kinds of things should I be aware of?

Thanks in advance for yur replies!

[Mike C]

First, get a 3/4 ton truck. A Chevy C20 or GMC C2500. I prefer 2 wheel drive for highway hauling, but you will HAVE to have a limited slip differential. My one-legger will leave you stuck in a damp parking lot. I prefer leaf springs for hauling as well. Get a 71 or 72 with disc brakes. I hated the drums on my 70 for hauling, but you can always convert. Get a granny gear 4 speed. Long term, you will have fewer transmission problems doing heavy towing. A 402 would be nice as well with 3.54 gears. Spend more money up front for a nicer truck and you will be money ahead in the long run.

[cdowns]

first thing you should be aware of is that you're talking about a 30 year old vehicle!!! when these things were made a 25foot trailer was called a house!! in my opinion for the money that you'd have to spend on a fully sorted out beefed up 70's era truck that was capeable of making a trouble free crosscountry trip haulin a 20-25 foot camper you'd be alot betteroff chosing a year or 2 old used deisel truck. thats my opinion

[68 Suburban]

22feet, no problems

[cdowns]

damn that's a nice clean sub!!!!! but be fair to this guy and tell him how much money do you have into it and how many manhours of labor to put it in the condition it is to tow cross country

[Project1970]

I don't think 68Suburban has obscene amounts of work in that truck, but then again, Arizona trucks are nice and easy like that.

Let's put it this way; I would have no qualms about towing a trailer across country with my '70 right now. I just bolted the hitch back on today since I'm going to be towing a UHaul to Tucson. Granted, I wouldn't use a 1/2 ton shorty to do heavy hauling like that, especially not on a regular basis, but should the need arise, I've got no problem doing it.

Someone posted a towing brochure earlier that has the rated weight these trucks can handle; I believe even a C1500 is rated to up to nearly 9000lb total weight (is that GVW?) and only varies on powertrain; I believe it took either a 350/4.11 or a 402/3.4something to get that maximum rating. I figure my '70 is good to the maximum rating, if only because I know I'm pushing considerably more power than stock, and a 700R4/3.73 with 28" tires gives me some nice gearing advantage off the line as well.

Again, though, definitely go for at least a C20, and maybe even go for a Longhorn. Everything I've read says longer is better for towing, and a Longhorn is about as long as you'll get.

[68 Suburban]

Originally posted by cdowns
damn that's a nice clean sub!!!!! but be fair to this guy and tell him how much money do you have into it and how many manhours of labor to put it in the condition it is to tow cross country

Thanks for the compliment on the burb.

$1100 for the original burb, $600 for a 300 mile rebuilt 76 vette engine, $325 Turbo 400 trans re-build, $200 praise dyno brake kevlar brakes. I have put 40,000 miles on it since I purchased it.

I think that puts it roughly at $2225.

Oh, I forgot to subtract $500 that I got for the original engine and add $200 for the new engine install.

The new total is $1925

How is that for being fair

[68 Suburban]

Here it is towing 4500 lbs, no problems for 1800 miles from chicago to phoenix.

[68 Suburban]

I forgot, another $170 for and early classic hidden hitch.

[68 Suburban]

Here would be a nice start to a tow vehicle. You could ad the engine, trans and rear end of your choice

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...threadid=53264

[cdowns]

68suburbaban: how many hours labor do you figure you've got in it at how much do you figure your labor is worth??the reason i ask was this guy is asking about buying and towing he's not asking about buying and building now on the other hand if you're selling your burb for say $2000 let me know i'll fly out and pick it up

[68 Suburban]

I basically bought and towed. I did not really do any re-building. I just took care of things that I wanted changed, but I could have used it the way I purchased it. I would have had to buy a lot of trans fluid and oil to replace what was leaking though...lol

Only labor was general maintenance that anyone would be paying for any vehicle. I included the engine install price. The trans price included removal and installation. Brake labor was what I consider normal maintanance, but if you want a figure, 2 hours labor. Hitch I paid a shop $50 to put it on. About 1 hour to hook up the trailer wiring. So as for labor, there is nothing really extra.

No $500 a month payment either

[Longhorn Man]

Here is that chart.

Some good points on new verses old while going cross country.
how many of us have had problems getting the right brakes shoes...or carrier bearings and U-joints?
It is one thing to do this as a gear head with greasy clothing...another thing all together to have a shop do the work.

[jimfulco]

A friend of mine towed a 26-footer with a 92 4wd half-ton 350 Suburban from Montana through Texas & Louisiana to Florida and then back in July. The only problems he had were both air conditioners (Burban & trailer) bit the dust, & somebody ran over his dog.

[68 Suburban]

Originally posted by jimfulco
A friend of mine towed a 26-footer with a 92 4wd half-ton 350 Suburban from Montana through Texas & Louisiana to Florida in July. The only problems he had were both air conditioners (Burban & trailer) bit the dust, & somebody ran over his dog.

I could deal with no A/C, but not someone running over my dog

[Project1970]

Originally posted by 68 Suburban
I could deal with no A/C, but not someone running over my dog

Beyond true. That sucks.

[68 Suburban]

This brochure has a lot of towing info:

http://www.dingospad.com/trucks/72picking/1.htm

[jku72]

In my opinion, a heavy 3/4 or a C30 would be a best bet. While they are semi hard to find, a longhorn makes an easy trip of a camper the size you are talking about. But a C30 cab and chassis is not rare at all, and should do fine.
I paid $2500 for my Longhorn and got in and drove it from Idaho to Maine, with a full load in the bed and the largest Uhaul trailer available stuffed to the max. No anything for fixing up. No breakdowns of any kind. Paid $750 for my 68 burb, dropped another $700 in tires and other updates, and drove it from Portland Oregon to Maine, again, full load. I did replace a starter($30) in Montana, but that held me up only an hour.
The parts on these trucks are the cheapest, most available of any trucks I know of. A new fuel pump costs $15. Starter $30. Water pump $40 Entire transmission, $600. U-joint $9. Compare those to new truck parts, where transmissions start low end at $1200, and on new trucks, are 2 to 3000 dollars. (I have a receipt in my possession)
These trucks are 30 years old, so expect the unexpected and carry tools and common spares. Bring aspirin as well, comfort on the bigger trucks was not really considered when they were constructed. Even my upscale CST Longhorn gave be a wicked stiff neck. The burb was fairly comfy, but thats due to its smaller size springs.

[oldsub86]

I towed our 23 foot Prowler travel trailer about 200 miles behind my 68 Chevy pickup. It is only a 6 cyl with a powerglide and it bogged a bit in the hills but other than that it did fine. I was a bit careful and did not put my foot into it on one long hill - was down to about 35 mph by the time I hit the crest - good thing it is one of those hills with a 3rd lane for passing - the semi's were going around me! The only things I added were a tranny cooler, hitch and electric brake controller. Make sure you change the diff oil before and after.