(also posted in body interior)
I am moving in a few months and would like to use my other car (Ford Crown Vic) to pull my TA, Did anyone ever rig one of these tow bars? I dont want to use the u haul dolly with front wheels up I 'd rather pull the car like you see RVs do.

 

When I first got my race car I didn't have a trailer so I used a tow bar. I fabricated some brackets to attach to the frame through the fog light holes. It wasn't pretty but it worked.

Other than that, there is no easy way to use a tow bar. There's just too much plastic on the front of a third gen.

 

It looks like I have to scrub the whole idea the Crap Vic rating is only 2000 lb,

 

Have someone drive the Ford for ya while you buzz along in the TA.

 

I’ve always been really surprised at the dinky towing capacity those things have. Even the HD towing setup on the town cars only puts them at like 3500#, where if you got a similar B or D body GM you could get them optioned with the same towing capacity as a comparable drivetrained full size truck (7500#)

 

Ahh for the days of old when a Vista Cruiser station wagon could be loaded up with kids, roof loaded with supplies and a 20' camping trailer towing along behind at 70 mph down the freeway.

Replace Vista Cruiser with any of the following

454 Chevelle SS
Park Avenue
Cutlass Supreme
Country Squire
Strato Chief

Now you need a truck to do any serious hauling. Remember when ambulences were on car chassis?

 

I’m not really old enough to remember those things the first time around, but I know what you’re getting at.

I’ve got a K1500 blazer that I basically use for the same use + bad weather but I’ve seriously considered getting something like a roadmaster wagon and building it up for the same use, since _really_ I want something that handles a bit better and is still comfy…

And people bitch about how bad the whole SUV craze is but don’t realize that that it the only good way of getting a vehicle that is at all capable of doing what old cars used to do all the time.

 

Ohh. Roadmaster. I forgot about that one

I look at SUV's and see an oversized station wagon. Who really needs a 4x4 in the city and anyone who does need a 4x4 will buy a real truck. The SUV's still don't have the ability of a real truck. Most of the SUV's are built on a car chassis.

I'm getting to the point where my 454SS 1/2 ton just isn't enough truck. It currently tows the open car trailer with no problems. I have my eye on a 26' enclosed trailer but that would mean having to buy at least a 3/4 ton truck to haul it. Even an older truck converted to propane would be good as a tow vehicle. Diesel would be better but the older diesels have a lot of problems and new diesel trucks are way out of my price range for just a tow vehicle.

 

Heh, again, that’s why I have my “oldish” (’92) K1500 blazer.

It is actually listed as a wagon as per GM and it’s built on a full size truck chassis. I installed 2500 front brakes and the stock rear drums are actually bigger then what a similar year 2500 and 3500 dually would have gotten and seems to be happy towing a relatively large trailer. I regularly tow a 24’ flat bed/tilt bed trailer which is huge for something that is only 24’ and have towed smallish enclosed race trailers from DC to NYC as well as heavy, all steel trailers with vehicles like a 64 buick Riv through the PA mountains or a friend’s suburban on them (I wouldn’t do the suburban more then locally, that was getting big/heavy/noticeable).

The load range E tires and adjustable shocks really help a lot also and the 4x4 lets me go places that I wouldn’t even consider in something else (it’s actually fun to sink in mud and watch it climb out.. haven’t gotten stuck yet).

The one thing that I have done with it that I really wished that I had something heavier duty is when I hauled about 5-6K worth of lumber and concrete in the back of it (it felt like the front was going to lift off the ground the whole time, I’m sure it was way overloaded with lumber hanging out past the tailgate).

If I towed something like your 26’ enclosed trailer regularly I’d probably try upgrading my little blazer first (it would mostly need a better tranny and more gear first, and/or possibly a swap back to normal tire sizes), but would also seriously consider snagging a ¾ or 1 ton beater just for that use.

The roadmonster is more of a “this will do 90% or more of what the blazer will do, handle better (which is big on my list), attract less attention (I get almost as much attention in the truck as I get in my black WS6 TA) and get better gas mileage.” I don’t think it would replace the blazer but more likely the WS6 as a driver and then I’d use it as an excuse to get a second “toy” to build up

 

I've owned and operated various SUVs and pickup trucks, both personal and department vehicles. SUV's are better in the snow and mud than any pickup truck. (with the exception maybe of some of the newer SUVs you see these days, vs the traditional blazer, bronco, jeep, etc)

During snow emergencies, or search and response, I'd much rather have a department Bronco or explorer, than F250.

-- Joe

 

Actually, when my family went on a cross-country trip, we upgraded to a larger trailer and went through the same dilemma. At the time our tow vehicle was a Chevy Conversion Van built on a 1500 truck platform. When we asked a few different people about possibly upgrading to be on the safe side, we learned the only noticeable differences we would see in a 1500-->2500 upgrade is a stiffer suspension. Perhaps you are in the same boat and could find a few cheap methods to improve you 1/2 ton's towing ability to where it needs to be. A new set of heavier-duty springs and shocks would be a helluva lot cheaper than a new truck .

 

It's not that simple. Although adding heavier springs and 3/4 ton springs will fit where 1/2 ton springs are, they're the same length but need more.

Older 3/4 ton trucks have full floating axles. This means there are inner and outer wheel bearings on the rear wheels and the axle itself doean't carry a load. You can upbolt and pull out the axle and still roll the truck around.

1/2 tons and many of the newer 3/4 tons have semi floating axles. They're like cars and only have an axle bearing where the vehicles weight rides on the axle. Overload the truck by using heavier springs and you risk breaking an axle because it's not designed for the heavier loads. At least the newer 3/4 ton trucks use larger axles.

Technically my 454SS could easily use 3/4 ton springs. The diff is already a 3/4 ton diff. It's the GM 9-1/2" ring gear 10 bolt. The only difference is that the axle flanges have a 5 bolt pattern instead of the 3/4's 6 bolt pattern.

The downside of me putting in 3/4 ton springs is that my truck is dropped. The rear has a 6" drop using a flip kit. The leaf springs go under the axle so adding more springs reduces my already low ground clearence although I have considered it. Oh course a short box truck towing a 26' enclosed trailer could be exciting.

 

actually, none of them are except the odd 2500hd from the last couple of years. Only the 3500 axles are full foating.



Most ¾ ton trucks got semi floating axles with 8 lugs. Some light duty 2500’s got 6 lugs (which is where I stole my front bakes for my K1500).

The 9.5” is a 14 bolt, a much larger axle housing then the 10 or 12 bolt (4 wheelers generally shun them because the center section is so big that it significantly hurts ground clearance).

The full floating 14 bolt has something like a 10.5” ring gear

From my experience with my blazer, the whole “short wheelbase = overly exciting” is way over stated. Really, I didn’t notice anything even with a BIG trailer unless the trailer wasn’t properly loaded, and this wasn’t with any kind of sway control, weight distributing hitch or anything…