Can my truck haul it??

[HalfTon]

Well I've been wondering about this for a few weeks. I just got done building a vw rail buggy and it's not street legal so I can't drive it on the road. When I decide to take this thing somewhere I gotta trailer it or tow it with a tow bar. My 69 is my only truck so it's all I can work with for mow. The question is, with my 2500 stall will I burn something up while pulling this 900lb rail with tow bar and 250lb 4 wheeler in the bed? I have plenty of power but I don't wanna mess up my trans or stall trying to tow this stuff down the road. What do you guys think??

[MSHax]

you should have no issues, unless you're trying to do it with the inline 6 with 300k miles on it

since you're using a tow bar, not a trailer you're taking that tongue weight off it, so that's nice. I use my truck to carry my 900+lb Harley Electraglide in the bed so you should be good

[GMCJOE]

If you feel it slipping when towing, don't do it. They make stall converters that retain the ability to tow.

[HalfTon]

Ok thanks. I figured the tow bar would help but wasn't sure how much. I've never towed anything with my truck before so I was unsure. I need to get a trailer hitch now lol. Are the ones from lmc any good??

[Mike C]

In Texas, if you flat tow a vehicle, it has to be registered, insured and inspected. If you don't want to do that then it needs to be on a trailer. That's TX law, but I would suspect that CA would be more stringent, not less...

[mmiddle]

First: A stall rating on a converter is somewhat of a misnomer. That 2500 stall may stall @2000 or 3000. This all depends on engine torque. So, a 2500 stall in a worn out L6 may stall at 1500rpm and behind a stout 454 it might stall at 3500. They easiest way to find what your converter is actually stalling at is to power-jack it. Foot on the brakes hard and add power until the wheels start to spin, that is your stall.

So to answer your question, towing with a stall converter will not hurt anything. So long as your cruising speed/rpm is above the stall rating. cruising below the stall rating generates lots of heat and if you cannot manage that heat it will smoke the tranny.

Lockup/overdrive trannys are a different story.

So what tranny are you running?

[hugger6933]

A trans temp gauge and a add on cooler in front will help your situation out a good deal, What rear gear do you have ? did you quote the driving rpm's @55? some of those thing might help us better help you but from what is here in these post already I would say it is pretty much taken care of. Jim

[HalfTon]

I'm running a th350 behind your average SBC build. Its pretty basic .40 over, flat top pistons, comp 270 magnum cam, slightly ported 882 heads, 1.5 roller rockers, weiand dual plane, Holley 600 vac/secondaries. Engine is pretty fresh with about 2500 mi on rebuild. The th350 has been in there since I got the truck 3 years ago. It shifts good and never has it slipped or given me any trouble. I added the stall when I was building the engine because it would work well with the build I was going with. The rear end gears are the stock 3.08. I've never checked to see where the stall fully locks up at. I might have to do a couple burnouts tomorrow and find out haha. As for having the buggy registered in MO to pull it with a tow bar I'm unsure, I'll check into that.

[74baggedbug]

The trailer I used was overkill and normally used to haul heavy equipment and my truck pulled it no problem

[jhwkns]

I towed my buggy on a tow bar a few times. The front end is so light that it makes it a little bit dodgy, so I built a custom trailer for it.
The buggy is so light it shouldn't stress your trans too much. Keep your cruising rpm above the stall speed, and launch easy.

Amargosa Dunes Apr.'13 I had the whole place to myself.

[HalfTon]

Here is my buggy. I never intended for it to match the truck but I thought it would look good in blue lol.

[HalfTon]

Here is another pic while I was putting everything together. It's not the fastest buggy in the world but that ol 1500cc will get you anywhere you need to go.

[Ol Blue K20]

In ca you can't tow a non reg vehicle with any of it's tires on the road. It will have to be on a trailer. No tow bar or dolley

[HalfTon]

Well it looks like here in missouri the vehicle being towed doesn't have to be registered. Now I gotta get a trailer hitch and I'll be good to go.

[k_n_browning]

Look at some.of the air cooled mags the have a tow bar that will fit on the bugs front beam.most just have two pins to pullout and it drops to the gound.

[mmiddle]

3.08:1 gears you may be pushing the limit. I had 33"tires on my 69 with 3.08's and pulled 2000 @60.

I also had a very (truck/pulling) stout 350 and a 2500 stall that was stalling at about 2300. I rarely only drove 60 and rarely pulled anything at highway speeds. Just my boat that weighs 4k but the ramp was 7 miles away and all country back roads. I also had a large external cooler on it.

[DGulliver]

One thing about towing that a lot of guys don't consider is that there are many other factors besides just "Will it pull it?"

A more important issue is "will it still stop securely and not lose composure doing it?" If you have even a slight pull to the left or right under a hard stop, it will be magnified tenfold with a loaded trailer behind you. Others have mentioned the dreaded "trailer wag" which can be due to improper tongue weight or load balance issues. Having your load secure is important as well, as any load shifting can cause dramatic and sudden changes in handling.

Y'all be safe out there!

[lowrollin70gmc]

I would vote for a small trailer to fit the buggy on. As light as it is, a cheap single axle just big enough for it to fit on would work well. You could leave it on the trailer loaded ready to hookup and go. My biggest worry with flat towing is when you have too much fun with the buggy and break something that would prevent it from being towed back. A flat tire or a fried bearing would keep you from pulling it with tires on the road.

[Sammy]

Tow bared one from Nashville to St. Louis in July one year with my 69. 3:08 ratio rear with a stick tranny. Had no difficulties. With a turbo I would think a tranny cooler would be all you need and in dead heat of the summer a good water temp gauge. Heat would be my biggest concern.

[HalfTon]

Originally Posted by lowrollin70gmc

I would vote for a small trailer to fit the buggy on. As light as it is, a cheap single axle just big enough for it to fit on would work well. You could leave it on the trailer loaded ready to hookup and go. My biggest worry with flat towing is when you have too much fun with the buggy and break something that would prevent it from being towed back. A flat tire or a fried bearing would keep you from pulling it with tires on the road.

I never thought of that situation. My grandpa has a good trailer that works perfect for a buggy but my brother uses it to haul his buggy haha. I may just keep any eye out on Craigslist for a trailer but until then the tow bar is my only option. Unfortunately this cold weather is starting to set in and it gets a bit chilly in the buggy, so I won't be driving it much.