towing capabilities?

[Dirtkid93]

I've got a 64 chevy c20, inline 6 230. 4 speed granny tranny. i live in vegas and my buddy has a 65 c20 located in Glendale Arizona, my tow ball is mounted in my bumper ( pure steel )
can i tow his c20 back using my truck? would i have to install a real hitch? would i screw myself and ruin my truck if i did?

[LT1 Burb]

You would be pushing it with a 230, that would be a heck of a long slow trip. If the truck had a V8 then it would be no problem.

[BADAZ chevy guy]

Without knowing how well your truck runs and what shape the motor is in, it's hard to answer a question like that. What are you going to be pulling the other truck on? Tow dolly or trailer? Have you inspected your bumper hitch to see how well it's mounted? What grade bolts is it mounted with? What gears are you running in the diff? (Check your diff oil before you try this)
20 years ago I would have just gone for it and thrown caution to the wind. Now at 56 I tend to be a bit more cautious. lol

[TJ's Chevy]

I agree with whats been said. That 230 will be working hard...even if your gear ratio is 4.11. Even 4.56 would be making that lil motor work. It'll do it..heck..but it will be a slow ride..And full throttle threw all the gears.

[Dirtkid93]

Originally Posted by BADAZ chevy guy

Without knowing how well your truck runs and what shape the motor is in, it's hard to answer a question like that. What are you going to be pulling the other truck on? Tow dolly or trailer? Have you inspected your bumper hitch to see how well it's mounted? What grade bolts is it mounted with? What gears are you running in the diff? (Check your diff oil before you try this)
20 years ago I would have just gone for it and thrown caution to the wind. Now at 56 I tend to be a bit more cautious. lol

motor is on first top to bottom rebuild, everything has been replaced. same with tranny. 800 miles on both so far, rolling stronger than it did out of the factory. might need a carb clean and tune before the trip but thats about it, brand new drum brakes too. i welding the bumper myself out of 1/4 inch steel ( certified welder at age of 16 ) can't remember what grade bolts are as they were replaced year or two ago., but i paid a nice hefty price even with my union discount. would be towed on a full trailer, never used a dolly, never will. so all together, i would have a 14000 lbs rig rolling down the highway, i figured the fastest id go would be around 55 mph-ish.. haha each truck weighs 6000 and then id assume another 2 for the trailer, maybe less, never driven to glendale before so i don't even know if theres major up and down-hill. to hire someone they want like $900 just for a 6 hour drive.....

[BADAZ chevy guy]

You sound like you're young and adventurous. Aside from what's been said about running your motor really hard, Which I agree with, I'd say go for it. Worse case you blow something up and have a story to tell your grandkids. Best case you get it all back in one piece and you have a story to tell your grandkids.
Take pics... for the grandkids. lol

[66Submarine]

I don't think you'll have much trouble. I just posted a thread a couple days back about towing with my '65 C-30 (with a 250/SM420/4.10 gear combo and tall (32") tires). I was towing a 4000lb car through fairly mountainous terrain and was actually pretty impressed. On flat ground 55MPH was no trouble at all, and it went up some pretty good hills without losing any speed. Not going to win any drag races, but it did just fine IMO. I have the timing jacked up a little from spec (IIRC 10º BTDC initial), but otherwise the little 250 is mod-free. A 230 should do fine (if you aren't encountering a lot of hills, anyway).

BTW, those trucks shouldn't weigh anything close to 6,000lbs unless they are made of lead. I figured my C-30 (without all my tools and crap + me in it) weighs all of about 4,500-4,600lbs complete with 12 gauge (IIRC) steel treadplate lined/coated bed. You'd think it would weigh 6,000lbs, but apparently that isn't true.

So, if it was me I'd say go for it. BTW, pictures or it didn't happen!!

[argonaut]

Agreed. It'll tow just fine with a slow and steady pace. What the heck do people think that granny low gear is for?
Also agree that neither c20 will weigh more than 5,000lbs at most, probably less. So you are maybe 11k to 12k total. It will be quite slow through the hills. A trailer with brakes is the one thing I would want. I've used the uhaul ones many times with good luck.
Go for it! And report back!

[MikeS.]

My 63 Burb has a curb weight of 4,520lbs and GVW of 5,600lbs. So the trucks should be lighter than that.

[Old Truck Man]

Your truck will tow the C20 just fine. My old wrecker was a 64 C twenty. 250 six with granny four speed. Ive towed a car on the sling and another on a tow bar flat towing behind it. Also towed a pickup on the sling and my tilt top trailer behind that pk with a M farmall tractor on the trailer. I brought in two school buses also. It pulled them Ok steering & stopping was kinda on the edge. My present 66 GMC 1/2 ton is also a granny 4 speed and just last week I hauled three head of cattle in my stock trailer 50 miles to the sale barn at Ash Flat Ark. And I live in the Ozark Hills. Stopping is the only problem I ever worried about.

[Clyde65]

Are you sure it is a 230? I personally have never heard of a c20 with a 230, I thought all of them were ether 250 or 292's or v8

I think it would tow just fine. Stopping might be a challenge depending on your speed and conditions.

If your bumper is rated at 300+ lbs, then you should be fine with a tow bar.

[kieth]

GVWR= 5000lbs 5000lbs minus the weight of the truck, driver, passengers, and fuel 120, 200, 100, 3500 = 1080lbs net payload *hence a 1/2 ton pickup.

3/4 ton truck

GVWR=7000 lbs

heavy 3/4 GVWR 8200lbs

GCWR (gross combined weight rating) how much you can tow with the same vehicle. You could tow the other truck but it is good that you will be going slow, you also need to watch how you load the trailer to keep from overloading the rear of your tow truck. A load equalizer hitch would help a lot in transferring the tongue weight to the front of the towing vehicle

If you are going to attempt to pull the other truck on a trailer a load equalizing hitch and electric brakes on the trailer will make the experience a lot safer. you will not be going very fast due to the 230, if your truck had a 292 it would perform much better....

[MikeN]

Back when I still had the 230 in my 64 C10, I pulled a 69 Chevelle on an open trailer a few times. The little 230 has plenty of torque to get that done.

That said, I'm concerend about your hitch. I have a nice Drawtite Class III hitch on my truck, with weight distributing bars. I also have a Prodigy brake controller and electric brakes on my trailer. I'd be leery of pulling a load like that with a bumper-mounted ball and no trailer brakes. You'll need to go way slow and easy if you try it. JMHO.

[Old Truck Man]

Today I took a 66 GMC half ton to Missouri. hooked up a 83 chev I bought yesterday to it with my tow pilot tow bar and pulled the 83 back home. No problems at all. big rats nest on the 83 engine don't know if the rat came home with the truck!?