I wanted to see if anyone has ever attempted towing a CC/LB dually long distance with a tow bar? Perhaps someone has and discovered some helpful tips in regards to doing as such! Good experiences/Bad experiences?

After much struggle trying to find reasonable means to bring my truck back (950 miles away), I settled on a tow bar haul. Unfortunately using a long enough trailer is not available, those shipping weirdo's are either too pricey or want to dismantle the truck to haul it, can't find anyone going this direction, so I started going outside the box! I got the use of a 94 IDI F-350, and have a steel fab shop making a tow bar up that can tote that kind of weight. i will disconnect the drivelines and prep the towed truck for the trip, but wanted to see if I am missing anything, and any good tips out there to ensure a safe trip!

 

George tried to tow one from TX to La. and said that it was killing his brakes.

 

check state laws, most states require a brake assist on the towed vehicle. buying that could cost more then having it shipped

 

Rob towed a CCLB dualy from Arizona to Nor Cal on a 17 1/2 foot trailer. So thats about minimum on trailer size if you are still looking

 

Bad idea ...

Most states require you pull into the weigh/inspection station
with a towbar.

A manufactured towbar rated for 10,000 pounds might work,
but I doubt you can find one.

A towbar made up will raise a red flag ....

Better trailer it .....


Jim

 

man you fun suckerupers suck....

Build the tow bar, Throw a TON of weight in the back of the F350 IDI and start driving....

If WY is anything like the Dakotas out here, anything goes...Its only Illegal if you get caught, and even then they just shake their finger at you and say get home.

I would guess stopping will be hard with no trailer brakes, and no tongue weight.

Diesel Rod

 

I did get a chance to look over the towing laws for each of the states I would be passing through, Arizona-New Mexico-Colorado-Wyoming. I was surprised to find out that as long as the combined vehicle towing length of both the towed vehicle and the towing vehicle must be 65' or less. Colorado was the only state that requires that when towing, a person has to stop at the port of entry, but also allows a longer length of 70'.

What I found even more interesting, is the only state to require the towed vehicle to have a brake hook up was New Mexico, while all the rest did not. For curiosity sake, going through Utah instead, they do not require brake hook ups. Lighting was interesting as well... None of the states i looked at had lighting laws regarding tow-bar vehicles. For safety principle it is something I am going to do anyway.

I was very surprised to find so many laws regarding trailer laws, as compared to tow bar laws!

As for breaks on the towing vehicle I am pretty certain I should be good, as the towing vehicle is another dually, and is set up for towing. I may have to replace the brakes when done, lol, if the driver gets a little too hot and heavy on breaking!

 

I have heard of this as well, and have seen it first hand here in CO, One of the guys at the track tows a 38' 5er with his CC dually, behind the 5er he has a 20' enclosed trailer attached to the back. He stated exactly what you stated for legal length requirements. Never has been stopped or questioned in CO. I see guys with big 5ers and boats behind them all the time as well.

We call it the train but on any given night on I25 between 11pm and 2am you will see a train of auction cars being towed by minvans, vw's or almost any improper tow vehicle towing another auction vehicle with a tow bar to the Mexico border... There is no brake controller on their setup and only a pair of magnetic lights on top of the cars... I figure if they can make it to the border you should be fine getting from pt A to B... but I could be wrong.

Regarding brakes, if you don't drive like an idiot and avoid inner city Denver for the most part you should be fine... I'm not saying its the safest thing in the world but I have towed numerous time 5-8k loads without trailer brakes and had no issue, but never had to stop on a dime either. Now if you are going over I70 with that, I sure hope you have a manual truck to keep the brakes in check.

IMO I think you will be just fine, hard on the brake the rear might wiggle a bit, but as long as your not trying to tow at 80+mph I wouldn't see a problem. The only time I did it was from Southern CO to Rock Springs, WY with a late 70's CC behind a single cab SW 7.3 with a bar. Didn't have an issue and just plugged along at 65-70...load stopped absolutely fine.

 

That works for me! My biggest concern was getting it here safely, and was curious about any challenges ones may have faced in the actual towing (something I may overlook or not even think of)!

Further research into the CPOE (Colorado Port of Entry, of all their regulations in towing, it comes down to commercial applications, nothing regarding a POV stopping.. so like you said Nossliw, I think it applies more to dealers and commercial shippers! I am thinking I will go ahead and tempt passing through without stopping, and if I do get stopped I will pull the tard-card if I am questioned, LOL!

I also had the same experience lately with these insane towers. It appears there is a Geritol convention going on lately, as there have been herds of RV's towing cars on tow bars, passing up and down the highway! LOL!

Thank you all for the awesome input!!!

 

Sure it can be done, but we all know it's not ideal, thus I have to wonder.

I priced shipping a truck across the country a while back and it was in the 800-900 area. I can't imagine you can't find someone to transport it for less then the fuel to go back and forth.

If you really have to do it on your own, and can't find a large enough trailer to rent, and if you have the funds/credit why not just buy a trailer. A rather common tandem axle 18 foot car trailer will haul it, cost between 1500 and 2500 and won't lose much if any value so just sell it after if you can't afford to keep it.

I'm assuming you looked for a trailer to rent, I know regular trailer rental businesses suck for this kind of thing. IDK around there but here I've found a few private people renting there personal trailers out, I rent/loan mine on occasion.


If you do use the tow bar don't bother pulling the drivelines. Unlocked front hubs of course and pull the rear axles instead. That way the rear diff isn't turning and it's easier. Prep by making a cover to bolt in place of the axle. If you can find some junk 10.25 axles just cut and use them.

I don't know what you plan lighting wise but if you don't want to wire anything into the towed truck you should be able to back feed the lights via a mirrored male plug plugged into the female trailer plug in the back.

Of course as was said already lots and lots of well balanced weight in the bed of the towing truck. Ideally something you can shift around front to back if you want to balance the weight, like sandbags, old batteries, cement bags, etc.

Carry lots of fuel, in jugs if you have to, by doing so you have more control over when and where you stop for fuel so you can avoid having to go into areas where you might have to deal with traffic or tight stations where you might have to back up.

 

have you ever put a truck on a trailer?
a simple obs truck with factory rims and tires requires an 8 &1/2' wide trailer. my Drake trailer, 8 &1/2' X18' was over $9.000.00! not trying to be an a$$ here but there are not that many trailers around where I live that can move one of these trucks, If I could find these trailers for $1500.00 I would buy them all day long and re sell them

 

F'n forum ate my first post so here I go again.

Yes I've put many trucks on trailers, and no a "simple obs truck with factory rims and tires" does NOT need a 8-/12 foot wide DECK. The trailer is of course 8-1/2 wide but the deck on mine is 7' wide. Mine has a 16x7 deck, cost about $2400 new, now with wear offset by upgrades is probably worth $2000 -2500, but I've seen used basic ones for sale in the $1500 area, and I will be putting an 86 CCLB dually on it as soon as I sort the wiring on my new to me tow rig. YES it will fit.

Of course a non dually will fit, how well depends on tire size and the trailer fenders. Sometimes getting oversize front tires between the fenders can be an issue but anything close to stock fits just fine. If you don't want to risk messing up the fenders then screw some wood blocks to the deck to work as ramps just to lift the front tires as they clear the fenders.

As for a dually it's a non issue as it's only wide at the back. So as long as you load it forward, which for weight reasons is the only way it should be loaded. Then the duals stay behind the fenders and are not a concern at all. Sure the outer dual ends up hanging off the side of the deck but so what. On a dually the front wheels and fender clearance issue is a little different as the widest portion is generally the lugs and of course you don't want those rubbing the fenders so the block trick as all but a must unless you have really cool or already messed up fenders or something. But you don't have to go as high as you only have to clear the lugs not the whole tire, so just a few inches of block is all you need.

There are really only two issues for me and my 16x7 deck hauling a dually CCLB. Both are about weight, with only 16' of deck I have to end up rather tongue heavy, a 18' deck would solve that. And I have a 7000lb gross on mine so I'm a little overweight on the trailer. Thus the electric brakes get a little weak, and I have to keep a close eye on tires and bearings. Otherwise it works just fine and is very cost effective.

FWIW in this particular case the truck being so long is kind of a good thing. I haven't tried a reg cab dually yet but would imagine it might be an issue getting the truck forward enough for good weight distribution before the duals contact the fender.

Your not being an a$$ but you're not being very creative about fitting loads either, I'd imagine you're bad at tetris, lol

EDIT PS, 9 grand, and only 18' damn man for that price it better be one hell of a nice trailer. What hydraulic tilt and a 20K capacity for heavy equipment?

 

Your average car hauler only has 3500lbs axles. A ECLB will max out that trailer easy.

I have a 18' with 5000lbs axels. And with a ECLB DRW F350 on it the trailer isn't long enough. With the rear wheel sitting on top of the dove it puts to much weight on the tongue.

I wouldn't tow a obs to far unless it was with atleast a 20'

 

That of course is the downside of a dovetail, but don't pull it up to the top of the dove, better to balance the weight, block the tires, and strap it down well.

While you're right about axle weight ratings, we need to consider the best wrong. Which is more dangerous flat towing a truck as heavy as the towing truck, or being overweight on a trailer. We overload the axles in our trucks all the time. Compare the risk between the two. With the overloaded trailer you might blow a tire or overheat a bearing and a little extra tongue weight on a dually isn't a big issue. Verses the risk flat towing of getting in a major wreck cause your unstable under braking and can't stop all that weight anywhere near as fast as the traffic in front of you.

OP if you do flat tow it make sure the tow bar is angled down vs up, the ball being a little lower then the pivot on the truck. That way under braking the towed truck pushes down instead of up on the rear of the towing truck.

A good way to put weight in the towing truck is water jugs/barrels. Can bring them down empty, fill them up when you pickup your truck, and dump it out if it's too much. Four 55 gal drums full of water would be about 1900lbs.

 

I know I've kinda hijacked this thread but just for kicks I looked at the Wyoming craigslist.

18' deck over flat bed, $1400 18ft Flatbed Trailer for Sale

19' flatbed, goose neck trailer, $2450 19 foot flatbed, goose neck trailer