Hello!
I usually hang down in the Pre-Powerstroke diesel section, as my current truck has no character in terms of body style, but has a fuel effcient diesel!
I'm looking for opinions and issues that arise from towing with a highboy. I'm actually looking to build a killer work truck. 70's 4x4 chassis, 65/66 body, 8' dumping steel flatbed, and an 86 Ford 6.9 turbo diesel. I plan to do a lot of hauling witht he dump bed, so a local spring shop would be building me custom leaf packs with LOTS of springs and overloads. I also plan to do some heavy towing, such as a skid steer, tractors, and other things that would fit on an 18' equipment trailer.
I've spent a lot of time reading about the chassis of the 73-77 and the 77.5-79. I'm convinced the 77.5-79 is the best. High pinion front axle (D60 in some 78 and 79 models), married transfer case, different frame allows lower cab height, etc.
However, I'm being teased with a highboy that's in good shape and I could immediately put on the road. My concern is the that the highboy stands up tall, how the heck tall is the tow hitch? I don't like the idea of huge drop hitches either...
I'm planning on like 285/75R16 Cooper Discoverer ST-C.
Who tows with their highboy?

 

I tow with my highboy because thats all I have, but she works great. I have 285/75/16's and dont have to have a huge drop hitch, with the low gear ratio I have plenty of power pulling, and she pulls smooth.

 

hi boys were only marginally taller than non hi boys from the factory. If youre looking at a truck thats up in the air, its probably aftermarket.

 

Thank you for the replies fellas!
I'm looking at a '74 and I believe it to be factory, judging by the space between the wheels and fenders.
70's ford truck parts
I want to tow with the truck, so I'd stick with 265/85R16 tires in Load Range E, in an attempt to keep it low enough for the hitch.
My daily driver now is an 85 F350 cab and chassis 2wd. I had my neighbor weld me C-Channel across the back frame section to close it up for a bumper, and also installed a 2" receiver into it at that time. But it's too tall to tow with, the bottom of the receiver is 24" from the ground. I'm OK with that, I wanted that receiver that's in the frame to be used for any serious jobs like pulling people from a ditch. I plan to have my neighbor build me another receiver to bolt/weld onto the frame to hang lower for trailer towing.
Seems the magic number is in the ballpark of 16", measurng the bottom of the receiver to the ground. That's off my Dad's 03 F350 2wd crew cab. He doesn't need any type of drop hitches or riser hitches, just a standard 2" ball mount...so I guess that might even be like a 1" drop.
I spent a bit of time looking at hitches, and it seems that if I do any serious pulling, I'll end up with a weight distribution hitch which has drop in it anyways.
Thanks again fellas!

 

I used a 10" drop on my '76 and the only modifications are 35" tires...

It pulls like a champ though! Did a 2000 mile trip with what you see here. Over the rockies too!

 

what kinda trailer do you want to pull? Its not something you see on the cheapies designed for personal use, but a lot of nicer trailers or commercial built trailers have a C channel welded vertically to the tongue of the trailer, and you can move the pintle up and down to suit your hitch.

 

Blackkawi, that's a beautiful combo you got there! What are you running for a hitch? A standard 10" drop 2" ball mount? Or a weight distribution hitch with a 10" drop shank?
Hasteranger, I know what you're talking about. Those are found mostly on flatbed equipment trailers. I plan to haul an equipment trailer, preferably with a 2 5/16" ball with a weight distribution setup, and not a pintle...but I'll take whatever's cheaper when I get to that purchase I suppose. I plan to haul my tractor or skid steer with it. Not a huge tractor, but a medium sized farm tractor with front end loader and something on the 3-point hitch. I already have a combo pintle hitch, the type with the 2" ball and the closing jaw (if that's a technical term?). and it has 4 seres of adjustments, and the trailers I've looked at also have 4 series of adjustments. I suppose I could put the truck pintle on the lowest end of the pintle plate, and put the lunette eye on the highest end of the trailer. Thanks for pointing that out!
I also plan to pull a 24' ish enclosed tandem axle trailer, and that would definetly have a weight distribution hitch and a ball. I would have a Jeep inside the trailer, going cross country from Massachusetts to Moab, Utah!
I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable with this towing issue with the highboy pickups. Although I'm not totally crazy about a 10" drop, I'm very thankful someone shared their positive experience using one!!

I guess my main concerns with the orignal post is geometry. The truck hitch is higher than the trailer, does that have any effects on stopping or handling? I've pulled utility trailers with my F350 and Jeep CJ8 and only used a standard 2" drop ball mount. The weight was never real heavy, so the trailer sat taller in the nose and not level. My Grandpa used to do a lot of towing with his bumper-pull 28' camp trailer and was always meticulous about setting his weight distribution hitch so the truck and trailer sat as level as possible. He's a retired 36-year truck driver, so I trust his advice.
I've also pulled a U-Haul traler wth a '78 Trans Am on it for a buddy. Fortunately, the truck and trailer combo sat very level without any adjustments.
Thanks fellas! Your advice is excellent!

 

weight distribution is important, but you can search for towing guidelines through google and come up with a lot of stuff by people that know a lot more than I do about getting the tongue weight right.

As for the hitch itself, I think the main concern is getting the trailer level. If it takes a 10" drop ball mount and the ball mount is rated for the weight of the trailer youre towing then you should be ok. My concern with the 10" drop ball mounts is that if youre hitch is rated for, say, 6000 lbs, when you tow a trailer with a 10" drop ball mount you effectively have that same 6000 lb trailer only now its acting on a 10" lever. So just like when you use a breaker bar to bust a bolt loose, that 6000 lb trailer is pushing or pulling against that hitch with more than 6000 lbs and you may be exceeding the safe capacity of your hitch.