Towing back in 1959

[SanJosesSteve]

Watching my folks bring home a monster 30' 5th wheel trailer yesterday made me wonder..... what is the towing capacity of my 59 GMC. (270 straight 6 w/3 on the tree.)

I imagine back in the day it was uncommon to see anything much larger than an 18' "Canned Ham" type trailer. Still..... I bet they were heavier than a modern trailer.

Anyone know what the towing capacity was of these trucks back in the day? Don't worry though...... you won't see my 59 trying to pull a 30' 5th wheel ! (Would make for in interesting picture though! Hahahaha!

-Steve

[Russell Ashley]

I don't know what the towing capacity was rated at but I'm pretty sure that many of them were badly over loaded in that regard, just from remembering how my grand dad and uncles used theirs. There used to be a lot of house trailer manufacturing in Georgia and a common way of delivering them to the new owners was a toter made from a shortened pickup truck. I don't know what other mods were made to them but these home made toters were pretty common around here a few decades ago.

[mr48chev]

The engine would have little to do with the towing capacity as that would be more on the rating of the tires, springs and rear axle.

From my own experience moving from Texas to Washington in my 48 in 1977 towing a `16 ft Uhaul with everything we owned in it the trucks will pull far more than they may be able to handle without issues. That trailer wooped my but every mile of that 2500 miles. I doubt seriously if there were too many times we got over 50 on the whole trip.
Later we towed a 16 ft camp trailer all over the PNW with it to car shows for a number of years without too many problems. I wouldn't tow another camp trailer with it without a load leveler/sway bar setup though. That makes an absolute world of difference.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

The engine would have little to do with the towing capacity as that would be more on the rating of the tires, springs and rear axle.

...and gear ratio.

One of the criteria we use when establishing the trailer rating is that you have to be able to launch from a stop on the 16% grade at GCWR.

K

[RADustin]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

...and gear ratio.

One of the criteria we use when establishing the trailer rating is that you have to be able to launch from a stop on the 16% grade at GCWR.

K

is there an acceptable acceleration rate on that grade @ weight?

What else do you guys look at? always curious of this.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by RADustin

is there an acceptable acceleration rate on that grade @ weight?

What else do you guys look at? always curious of this.

"Any". If the rest of the truck is set up right it's usually not an issue. Launchability on the grade is kind of the final pass/fail criteria.

The other criteria are ride and handling (the ability to handle the load) and braking.

And "Marketing" considerations.

K

[1project2many]

"Any". If the rest of the truck is set up right it's usually not an issue. Launchability on the grade is kind of the final pass/fail criteria.

The other criteria are ride and handling (the ability to handle the load) and braking.

And "Marketing" considerations.

My grandfather had a trucking company from the '50s to the '80s. He used medium duty straight jobs for many years. He used many makes from Diamond Reo to Brockway to Ford and he even had a couple of Dodge outfits. When I asked him about GM trucks he told me he didn't like them. He said the trucks would pull anything you wanted but stopping at the other end was always an issue. Years later I have to wonder how the trucks were spec'ed, but the impression I grew up with was that GM trucks could climb a mountain jut don't ask them to drive down the other side.