towing with a dolly

[daveboy]

I plan to start taking my '52 half-ton to some carshows next year that will be 50+ miles away. Although she drives good around town, I don't want to put that many highway miles on her if I can help it (still all original). I can get a dolly to tow her for much less than a trailer. I have only used a dolly once to tow a vehicle, so this may be a dumb question. So, here goes: Why could I not tow the truck backwards? That is, put the rear wheels on the dolly. Wouldn't the front tires track straight? Tell me where I am wrong with this theory. I would rather not put the wear and tear on the differential/transmission.

Thanks,
daveboy

[Highsider]

I think the running gear is sturdy enough to handle whatever you throw at it.
Even driving it.

[71swb4x4]

I am not a towing expert, but I have towed quite a few times. I have had enough times that made me nervous where now I only tow with a trailer that has trailer brakes. If I had a nice truck like yours, no way I would tow it with anything that did not have brakes on it.
Imagine if someone pulls out in front of you and you have to stop fast. There is a decent chance your truck and dolly are going to swing around and try to pass your tow vehicle damaging the tow vehicle and the '52. At the very least they are going to add enough extra weight to the tow vehicle where you will have a hard time avoiding the collision.
If you are a towing with a trailer with good trailer brakes and a good brake controller in your truck chances are good that the trailer will stay where it belongs.

[47 Fasttoys]

I'm not saying it could not be done....but towing with a tow dolly with your steer wheels on the ground is a bad idea. Most of your weight is over the front axle, maybe 65%. When using a tow dolly most of your weight needs to be on the dolly. If you slam on the brakes with most of your weight to the far rear your just asking to lose both trucks. If your truck is in good shape drive it. If your worried about your investment put your money in your 401K and sell the truck to someone who will use it. I don't mean to be an A-hole here but it's a truck...not a collectable work of art.
Fasttoys

[mr48chev]

Drive the blooming truck and take the slow roads. A friend just drove his Model T roadster with the Model T 4 cylinder in it from Portland Oregon to Vantage Washington for the Flathead only run in shot on Saturday morning. That's 242 miles in a model T roadster with no fenders and more oil leaks than one car is allowed to have.


The above car was also driven under it's own power from Portland to Bonneville and back last year.

another friend drove this one from Seattle to Vantage and back that day.


On this seat all the way.


Face it, if the truck isn't up to being driven 50 miles each way it isn't up to being drug that same 50 miles on a tow dolly. you had better go for a trailer for your trailer queen.
Take the slow roads and have a slower more enjoyable trip that is going to take just over an hour each way.

The enjoyment of having these trucks is driving them not worrying about "putting miles on them and ruining the value" Drive the blooming thing and quit worrying that a few miles will reduce the resale value.

[55dude]

Drive it! Don't tow it backwards on a dolly or a trailer or your gonna have a wreck.
Posted via Mobile Device

[msaintg]

The front wheels of your truck WILL turn if you do not have a locking steering wheel. Even if you do have a locking steering wheel, it will put a lot of stress on it. I know it does not make sense, but that is the way it works with three pivot points. (you can prove the idea by trying to back up.... it will never go straight.) What others have said about trailer brakes is very true too. I have a nice car hauling trailer and I still get concerned when I hit a dip while going down the freeway at 65 mph. Everything jumps pretty violently. I would never use a dolly for freeway speeds.

[_Ogre]

drive it to the shows or face the humility of unloading your truck a couple blocks away from the show and turning in your man card.

[meter swinger]

Ive used tow dollys a few times in town, they are dicey at best and would not think about pulling one over 50mph tops. I sold a 63 f100 to a guy a couple years ago and he picked it up with a tow dolly, 1/2 mile from my house one of the straps came off a wheel and he narrowly avoided disaster. I would pony up and find a nice used trailer with brakes, add a winch to it, and as long as you have a tow rig that can handle it you would have a good set-up.
Dont sweat towing it, i cant get my family in my old beaters, so its either tow it or drive two cars
Posted via Mobile Device

[FirstNation]

Put the front of the truck on the dolly. Make sure the rear end fluid is topped off. I just used a tow dolly to pull my '57 GMC Surburban Carryall 1100 miles from Minnesota to N.Y. at 60-65mph on routes 80 and 90 with no issues. I had to make a few quick stops more than once with no problem. Just make sure your tow vehicle is in top shape, especially the brakes..

[daveboy]

It's amazing how many people have opinions, but so few have answers.

Thank you to the members who actually answered my question. I knew there had to be reasons as to why you would not put rear wheels on the dolly, now I know. Thanks again.

As for the rest of you who explained why I should not tow, please read my question again.

Thanks
daveboy

[mr48chev]

You have all winter to fix the things that make driving it iffy. It has low miles and I don't want to put miles on it and devalue it is the lamest excuse for not driving any vehicle that anyone can come up with be it a new Ferrari or an old but low mile truck. You are a long way from the first one who has presented that excuse for not driving his rig including a lot of street rodders I have known over the years that are more concerned with resale prices than enjoyment. You aren't looking at 5 thousand mile road trips like I have done with my truck but most likely less than a thousand miles a year total.

No one has ever suggested that you "have" to drive on the "highways" at highway speed, Half the fun of having an old vehicle is putting along on the two lanes and enjoying life at a much lower pace.

At the local rentals trailers usually rent from ten to twenty dollars more than a tow dolly for a 24 yr period. Not enough to risk using the tow dolly with that truck, I always figured tow dollys were for daily drivers that were stuck on the side of the highway or front wheel drive econoboxes being dragged along behind a motorhome.

I have no issue with a guy who trailers his vehicle to events because his health or physical condition or that of the person who goes with him doesn't work for traveling in the enthusiast car for distances. That might including towing one of our trucks that had a standard trans because the owner had a bad hip or knee and couldn't work the clutch for extended periods of time in traffic. Or you are on that bucket list 25 state road trip in your motorhome with the truck on the trailer on the back to be used as your dinghy during stops along the way and to stop at various car and truck events that are along the way. There would be no issue if you were telling us that you wanted to take the truck to a national event a thousand miles or more away either. One can't expect a guy to drive a totally stock truck that distance in a short time frame.

I don't want to come off as harsh but your reasoning doesn't jive with me and most other folks who enjoy driving their trucks more than looking at them in the garage. I just wish mine was together so I could drive it Saturday, there is a nifty show at the Maryhill Museum on Saturday that I'd love to take it to and that is only 65 miles from the house up over Satus Pass.

[57ToyBox]

DRIVE IT and get the respect you deserve from your fellow show participants.
Plus eventually your truck will begin to show the effects of being towed on a dolly.
It's like your truck was tailgating

[_Ogre]

you could always just take some pictures of your truck and show them around to the guys at the next show.

not driving your truck, saving it for the next owner...
is a lot like not having sex with your wife, saving her for the next husband.
turn in your man card

[lazypineapple]

You can tow it backwards like that.
But, No the front wheels will not track straight. you must lock them straight.
If not.
They will turn full lock right or left and be uncontrollable.
Take a piece of rope, loop it around the steering wheel. Close it in the door with a knot in it so it won't pull thru the door. And tow away
You will limited in tow speed, I would guess 50-60

Tow at a safe speed

Originally Posted by daveboy

I plan to start taking my '52 half-ton to some carshows next year that will be 50+ miles away. Although she drives good around town, I don't want to put that many highway miles on her if I can help it (still all original). I can get a dolly to tow her for much less than a trailer. I have only used a dolly once to tow a vehicle, so this may be a dumb question. So, here goes: Why could I not tow the truck backwards? That is, put the rear wheels on the dolly. Wouldn't the front tires track straight? Tell me where I am wrong with this theory. I would rather not put the wear and tear on the differential/transmission.

Thanks,
daveboy

Posted via Mobile Device

[daveboy]

Okay, sometimes people just don't get it. So, I will say it again...read the original question. If you can't answer the question, then why not just post all your knowledge and infinite wisdom without waiting for someone to ask a question?

I shouldn't even respond, but since you insist, I will state this:

(1) I am not trying to maintain the value of my truck. I plan to hand this truck down to my son, which if he takes care of it like I do, will hopefully drive a 100 year-old, stock truck someday. So, resale value is of absolutely no concern to me.

(2) My truck has the original running gear, which I have no idea what kind of maintenance was done in the sixty-two years before I purchased it. It runs good, but gets 8 mpg, burns oil, vibrates and does lots of things that a sixty-two year old vehicle should do. I could spend thousands of dollars rebuilding everything...just so I could drive it to a carshow where people would not know if it was driven there...or towed.

(3) I drive my truck at least every weekend. I average 75-100 miles per weekend on it. It is reliable, and I love...I mean absolutely love driving her. I love the looks I get. I love the thrill I get driving that old girl down the road. But, all my driving is local, in daylight, with no rain, snow, or hailstorms.

(4) I realize my original post said that I wanted to tow her, "50+miles." Maybe I should have explained a little more (but that has nothing to do with my question). I have no problem driving my truck 100 miles round trip. It is the OVER 100 mile trip that I have concerns with. There is one weekend cruise-in that I would like to attend that is 400 miles away. Would my truck make it there? I have no doubt. How long would it take? How many stops for adjustments, adding oil, repairs would I have to make? Again, I have no idea. If I were towing her, I could answer that question.

(5) I also realize that some people drive their ancient, classic, (much older than my truck) cars/trucks across country. How much time do they have? I work for a living. If I get off work on Friday afternoon at 5 pm and I want to be at a show at 10 am Saturday morning, that is 200 miles away, I have a choice to make. I can drive a sixty-two year old truck at 45 mph down backroads, at night, with wife and grandchild. Have you ever driven an old vehicle, at night, on windy-country roads, at slow speeds, while other modern vehicles approached you and you only had those dim, 6V lights on your rearend to warn them that you were there? Have you seen how bright those lights are? If so, maybe you think less of you and your family's welfare than I do.

(6) I want to show my truck. I want to show people how the "original" truck looked. Nothing is wrong with the truck that has been lowered, small block, hot-rotted and made more modern. There is a place for that and I wish I had one. But, if towing my truck means that more people can enjoy it, then I think that is a good thing. I don't think people should question my masculinity because that is what I want to do.

If I have ranted then I am sorry. I just wish people could answer a question...that is all.

Thanks,
daveboy

[47 Fasttoys]

Well put Daveboy. Enough said.
Rob

[mr48chev]

As I said before I have no issue with a guy loading a truck like that on a trailer and hauling it 400 miles to an event. Most likely the family won't fit in the AD truck anyhow and you would have to leave someone at home or take another vehicle to accommodate the whole family.

I'm a bit anti tow anti trailer as usually the trailer guys are either the trophy hunters who "don't want to get the vehicle dirty driving it" and loose out on a show trophy. We have one such individual up here who honestly loaded up his car and hauled it a little over a mile across town to the park where the local car show was held because he won't drive it in fear that it might get a speck of dirt on it that might cost him a show award..

Drive to the close ones and trailer to the ones you feel that are too far away and call it good. If you said what you did in post 16 in post 1 my response would have been different except that you need to use a trailer rather than a dolly with that truck. The dolly ride would probably be harder on the truck than just driving it with care would in the long run.

[parkwood]

I agree with Mr48 in both of his posts.... but bottom line is rent a trailer and get to the show and have fun.... just don't take up 6 or 7 parking spots at the hotel with you tow car and trailer, i hate that...

[55dude]

When you take up 6 or 7 spots in the hotel you can bet your tires are flat the next morning, both acts are ride!
Posted via Mobile Device

[mr48chev]

He can park his rig out with the tow rigs that haul the rat rods that aren't legal or safe for the street and no one will tell on him. Or if it's a Goodguys event he can park the tow rig and trailer in Goldchainer row with all the fancy tow rigs for billet laden street rods. They probably won't notice while they are unloading their matching embroidered lawn chairs. Driving the truck a couple of miles back and forth to the motel shouldn't be too bad.