Long story short: Bought an old car on Ebay,but I'm having trouble getting it home -- it's 2000 miles away. It's been almost a month since I bid on it and the transportation broker tells me high gas prices,as well as the car being inoperable,has me behind the eight ball despite offering a good price for the pick up and transporting of it. I've paid for it and there it sits.

Okay,here is my question: I have a regular cab lwb 2001 F150 XLT with the 4.6 with 72,000 miles on it and I am confused about what its 6600 lb GVWR is all about? What can it tow in other words? Can I go to a U-Haul trailer place there in Indianapolis,rent a car trailer transport or dolly,and make it work all the way back to southern California? This Packard supposedly weighs 3900 lbs,which is the U-Haul dolly's limit fwiw.

Thank you all very much for any help you can be.

 

6600 pounds minus truck, trailer, driver, gas, etc. what is left over is what you can tow(on paper)

 

What Packard did you buy that only weighs 3900 lbs? 1951/52 200 2 door sedan/1953/54 Clipper 2 door sedan?

AFAIK, there isn't anything that weighs less (except 1899/1907), cuz I've owned 60 Packards from 1921 thru 1956.

If it's a postwar, I can give you the 'factory shipping' weight, and have some shipping weight figures for pre-wars. Shipping weight is less than curb weight.

6600 lb. GVWR: This is not the weight of the truck, it's the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of the truck.

GVWR: The actual weight of the truck, driver, any passenger(s) and cargo (so sez Ford) should not exceed the GVWR

 

Here's a good explanation of GVWR.

http://www.clubfte.com/users/monsta/safeloading.html

 

Remember you will not have the full weight on the Dolly. Only two wheels will be off he ground so most of the weight will be on the wheels on the ground of the Packard. If the tires are good, I really do not see a problem. Its your vehicle, the truck can handle it, so just make sure you have all your paperwork for "port of entries" and "scales" and you should be just fine. You will not travel 70 mph, but just adjust and drive. You should be ok. I have an 01 ford in a SCrew. I have towed vehicles with it and no problems, just don't get in a hurry.

 

I think he means a 4-off tow, not a 2-down dolly...


no, whatever is left is what you can carry... you can tow much more. GVWR only limits your tongue weight, and unlike the GCVWR that ford lists, GVWR is actually a legal number.

 

Go to the Uhaul web site and enter everything you have told us here. Chances are they will NOT rent you a trailer or dolly for that load and application.
That said, you can pull it but crossing the Rockies will be slow up and better be slow coming down. Be prepared to gear down. Make sure your trailer brakes are working well and you have manual control thereof.

Somewhere in your owner manual should be a chart indicating what the GCVWR of your vehicle is. This Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating is the figure you are looking for.

 

Wow,so many responses in such a little period. Thank you all very much!

Well, after reading them,I'm encouraged,but I'm also discouraged. Some are saying I can,and some are saying I can't if I understood some of the responses. I'll keep digging and maybe amp up the offer to these transport drivers one more time. Never thought of simply towing it with a tow bar: will that work?

The Packard in question is a '49 two door fastback,and I did find the weight of it on the low side.That straight 8 locomotive engine alone supposedly weighs half a ton (How does one post an image in this place?).

 

The problem with a tow bar is that you have to rely solely on the tow vehicle's brakes to stop it and the Packard. That is a lot to ask of your truck's brakes and is dangerous. Plus, you need to consider the condition of the tires on the Packard and whether they're up to making the journey home or not.

In all honesty, I think that's almost too much for your truck to tow on a trailer. A tow dolly might cut it if the two tires down on the road (on the Packard) are in good enough shape to make the trip. I definitely wouldn't try it with a tow bar, if it were mine.

Regarding the photos, you have to have 25 posts in order to post unless you use an off-site photo hosting site like Photo Bucket, etc.

 

I would rent a tow dolly (from wherever you can) and tow it..... COMBINED GVW is the number you have to worry about..... I don't think you'll be even close it it.My older tow guide is 2009 and it says TOW weight is 5,900 #.

 

Three different fastback models, all weigh more than the other.

Standard/Deluxe Eight: 4,150 lbs. (288 cid w/5 main bearings) / Super 8: 4,255 lbs. (327 cid w/5 main bearings) / Custom Super 8: 4,410 lbs. (356 cid w/9 main bearings).

Fastbacks have been scarce for many years, were hard to find 40 years ago. There are two different 1949 models.

One has the side mouldings in the center of the body, one has them below, towards the bottom of the fenders/doors/quarter panels.

And, there is an early/late 1949 Packard. The early is the 22nd Series (same: 1948), the late is the 23rd Series (same: 1950). Open the left side of the clamshell hood, look at the data plate, has the Series/Body number on it.

There is no VIN on these cars, they are registered by their engine number, found on the drivers side of the block-center, just below the head.

The 23rd Series is the Golden Anniversary Model: 1899/1949. Packard had more 'firsts' in the autobiz in 57 years, than Ford has had in 108 years!

 

First, you need to check the tow ratings for your truck. The fleet site has dropped the 2001 document, but the 2002 is most likely the same. Download that here:
https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...2/2002_All.pdf

Look at page 21 for your F150. Select your engine, axle ratio, transmission, body style etc, and it will give you the maximum weight trailer you can handle. Don't worry about GVWR with a pull-behind, that won't be a factor. But you do need to consider GCWR, if you will be hauling people and luggage/tools with you. GCWR is the truck, the trailer, people, cargo, the whole enchilada.

Without knowing all about your truck, it looks like you are limited to around 6,000 to 7,000#. If your Packard is 4k, plus a trailer of at least 2k, it looks questionable, but possible. But on the other hand, how many parts are missing on this old car? Keep in mind that pushing the very limit of the tow ratings on an F150 is hard on the truck, so get her it top shape before you go and take it easy.

For 2,000 miles, vehicle condition questionable, I would not even consider anything less that a car carrier trailer. Not even a 2 down dolly.

 

Better yet...let me check out that packard

I think you can do it myself with a tow dolly and resonable speed.

 

Thank you all.I can honestly say that I took something from EVERY response on here. I will reread them all again for a couple of days just to let all these nuggets of wisdom sink in.

Here's the good news,though: This afternoon,after I increased the amount of carrots Monday in hopes of enticing a transport driver to bite,one bit! The car will supposedly be picked up this Friday and rushed to San Diego.It will supposedly get here on Monday the 9th.

...I tried to send 'Numberdummy' a private message so he could post an image of the car,but I didn't see where to do this on his profile. Here's one that is similar to it,though mine is dark blue/black.

1949 Packard Club Sedan (Custom) 'LUCI11E' 2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Enter this item number at Ebay (200604665889) and it will also give some of you an idea of the body -- it's the same as the '49. I just hope the rust is not too bad. It does have some rust on the quarters and doors,but that can be patched (There's a 90 year old body shop owner down here who once actually worked for a local Packard dealership and who still works with lead). He'll be my sheet metal guy. He does good work. He told me that Ford had the best sheet metal as far as old cars go. Henry Ford didn't care for impurities in his steel according to this man.

Thank you all once again for your imput.Learned a lot.

 

Since I subscribe to every thread I post in, I get 100's of emails and P/M's a week!

The reason you cannot P/M/email me is...you need 25 posts before you can access some FTE features. When you do, just click on my user name for contact info.

I too once worked for a Packard Dealer, but I'm not 90 years old...yet.

btw: A pal of mine's dad was the General Sales Manager at Earle C. Anthony, Inc. Anthony was the CA Packard Distributor 1905/56. SoCal main location: 1000 S Hope St., in downtown LA.

The Bernard Maybeck designed building is still there, but is almost unrecognizable, as it has been converted to condos.

He once remarked that people starved trying to sell these cars after FoMoCo, GM, ChryCo and Nash came out with all new models in 1949. During WWII, this same person was JFK's PT Boat Squadron Commander.