You used ratchet strap's to hold a 6,500 pound truck on that trailer?
Edit, I Reread and saw you had it chained too.

 

I used all the supplied uhaul tie downs then added straps I had in my excursion just to put them. I drove very carefully but I was super scared something was gonna happen at first. It ended up towing okay. I wouldn't do it again though probably. I knew it would be pushing the limit length wise.

 

How much gas was in it? I ask because, with it being a '99, the pickup line on the fuel pump could be cracked, causing slightly low fuel pressure and a light misfire condition. Same thing happened on my father in law's old 99 f150 - less than a quarter tank and it started running a tad rough. However, the boys are on to something with the K&N - over oil them and they KILL MAFs. They shouldn't be red when you oil them, just a light pink. That's how I've always ran them and never had a problem.

Good luck with the truck - it should treat you well.

 

You nailed it on the gas, it's got about a 1/4 tank. And my uncle noticed a small leak under the bed and he said it smelt like gas. I will let my mechanic know exactly what you just said, could be the same issue!

 

Man its funny you southerners perspective of rust! Here in new england if a 99 had that much rust it'd be considered mint! For that price you did good I think, I bet you'll have it for a while. I cringed when I saw the ratchet strap on the back tire even though I knew it was chained lol

 

yea I wouldn't do that again. I was determined to get it home though. Young and stupid I guess haha. It looked dangerous but it was pretty secure and the highway was smooth the whole way. I drove extra slow once I got off the highway because the roads in my town...yea.. I'll just leave it at that. Lol. And yea the rust thing. .I know you're not kiddin, ive heard that from a lot of people! We just arent used to major rust in Florida so any little rust and we consider it junk!

 

I remembered I had the stock limited radio from my 01 excursion, so I put it in just so I can at least have a cd player.

 

Is it hard/expensive to add a hitch to this XL? I wont be towing anything large, just my 4x8 trailer if I have a lot of stuff and the bed is full. Ill likely just take the cheap route and attach a ball to the bumper since I'll rarely tow. My excursion can handle anything that requires a hitch or more towing capacity.

 

Glad you got it back safe! No way should it have been towed on the uhaul. Those cheapo straps used on the rear might look good but their working load is far less than the truck weight. Years ago I tried them and found out quickly they are useless just holding down a little CJ at the rear. So you got very lucky in more ways than you can count. Towing that was an accident waiting to happen.

 

the hitch should be easy-peasy.

just find a hitch in the price range and weight range you like and install it. All the holes should be there so it's just a matter of holding it up to the frame and getting the bolts in there. if you've never done it before it might take you an hour to figure out how to hold it up there .... but it's about a half our job once you know the tricks.

i just set the hitch on some tall jack stands to hold the weight while i get a couple bolts on each side.

when you are looking for hitches, make sure you call Uhaul to check their cash price on a hitch. when i was shopping around for mine (on my explorer) u-haul's price was the best i could find. they will sell them outright or install them for you. they will even install a hitch you bought somewhere else, so long as it is made for the vehicle. the shop here charged me $45 to install the hitch on my '79 f-350, and that included drilling all the holes.

I think if you get a good hitch on it, you'll find yourself using the '99 as the work mule to save your EX, at least that's what we do ... if the old trucks can pull it, i use those rather than beat up on the "good" vehicles. if it's a crappy job, i use the crappy trucks

good luck getting it sorted out, i think you'll like having it for the beater jobs. it's AWESOME having a truck you can use and not care if it gets banged up, makes life easier.

 

How long was that haul trailer? I've been looking at parts trucks and want to be sure my 16 ft trailer is long enough.

 

It may be overkill, but I wouldn't tow anything with a bumper hitch, no matter how small the load or trailer. A decent hitch runs about $100-150 at wal mart here and is easy to install.

 

Yea id rather have a hitch to be honest.

Yhe uhaul trailer...compared so the truck which is 137" wheelbase, its about 137 total. Thats why the wheel wasn't all the way on.

 

will a console from an excursion fit these if i install bucket seats?

 

Picked up a hitch for 50 bux.