Does anybody have any experience towing an obs Ford with a tow bar? I've searched and haven't found anything conclusive. I'm buying a donor truck for a conversion and uHaul claims the F150 is too wide for one of those 2-wheel dolly trailers. I'd have to get a flatbed trailer, which though not much more money, would be just too much for the ol' girl to handle at nearly 6500lbs with the truck on it. So a tow bar seems to be the best option on my limited budget. I am buying the truck for the transmission and driveline components so I can convert my truck to 4x4 from 2wd so am worried about doing this right so not to hurt the transmission.

My plan is as follows:

-Buy a tow bar kit and lights from Walmart or Harbor Freight.
-Remove bumper and install tow bar brackets on frame.
-Shift the manual t-case into neutral
-Unlock the front hubs
-Disconnect the rear drive shaft.

Does that sound right? I don't want to miss anything. Should remove the front driveshaft as well?

My truck is a 1996 f150 4.9 with an E4OD. The donor truck is a 1996 f150 5.8 4x4 with an E4OD. Both trucks are of a similar weight which I know can be a problem. My buddy is coming with me and picking up a large compressor and 5 bags of cement at 80lbs each. I'm hoping that load in the bed, along with my truck cap and a few other tools will be enough to outweigh the donor truck. Even though it's located 100 miles away I plan on driving home granny style at 35mph and avoiding highways.

The biggest question I have now is whats the best way to mount the tow bar brackets on the f150? I was thinking of removing the front bumper and attaching them to the bumper brackets, or straight to the frame horns? What do you guys think?

Thanks for the help.

 

Theoretically you don't need to remove the rear driveshaft. The transfer case has an oil pump driven off the rear output shaft that is supposed to keep it lubed. But if you're going to pull the driveshaft out anyway I'd sure do it before the tow. And no need to pull the front driveshaft if the front hubs are unlocked.

That said, you're going to have a big tail on that dog. Not having any tongue weight using a towbar will make it easy for the towed truck to push the front truck around. And you'll be pulling a pretty heavy trailer with no brakes. I've done a lot of flat towing (a '75 CJ5 and a '71 Bronco with 1/2 ton to 1 ton trucks and now a motorhome). But I went to the trouble and expense to set up the towed vehicles with brakes and I'me using tow vehicles that are quite a bit heavier than the towed vehicle. Honestly I'd go with the trailer if I were you (although U-Haul likely won't rent you one if you tell them what you're going to do with it).

If you stick with the plan to flat tow it you are likely to be successful. But you are taking a risk that could affect other people too. So be VERY careful!

 

The problem with the trailer is that at over 2000 lbs empty it becomes waaay too heavy with a 4500 lb truck on it. Also, my gearing sucks cause I have 3.08 gears from the factory and 31" tires. The 300-6 is a stump puller though and will sure pull almost anything along but I don't want to push the limits of the truck.

A buddy of mine has offered to sit in the towed truck to help with braking but I'm not sure that'll be a good idea. It might be too dangerous.

You are right that it's gonna be right on the line. Like I said though, I plan on staying off the highway and doing 30-35mph the whole way. Not in a rush to get into an accident.

Any ideas on how to attach the tow bar to the truck? Are the bumper brackets strong enough??

Thanks again for the reply!

 

If you are only going to go 30-35 mph, your truck will pull the trailer just fine. I towed that way with mine back when it had the Six (and 3.08 gears) and it did fine, although I had the ZF5 granny low to get the load moving. You did not say how far you are going, that is a factor IMO. I just don't like flat-towing when the two vehicles are close to the same weight. Well, to be totally honest, I don't like flat-towing at all.

 

It's about 100 miles away. I feel like from what I've read that for long distances it's better to remove the rear driveshaft. I'm removing it anyways for the swap into my truck so it's no problem to just do it now and be safe.

The 31" tires effectively alter my gearing to 2.63ish which is just waaaay too tall to pull 6500lbs with.

The question that's still on my mind is about a proper attachment of the tow bar brackets to the truck. Should I just bolt them straight to the frame horns?? I'm not sure the accordion section in the front is strong enough, or wether the bumper brackets can be pulled on...

Thanks again everyone!

 

Sorry, I can't help you with how to attach a tow bar. I've never had my bumper off to see what there is to work with.

Yes the trailer will be "too heavy", but so will the flat towed truck, and in my thinking the failure modes of a too heavy trailer are better to deal with than the failure modes of a too heavy flat tow.

You'll be hurting for power towing the too heavy trailer. But mostly that's a good thing here. Yes it'll be slow off the line and going up hills, and if you push hard you'll overheat your trans. But that all makes you take it easy, which is what you need to do anyway.

You may also overload your rear suspension with a too heavy trailer. I'd definitely skip the air compressor and cement on this trip if you're using a trailer (make a second trip). 10% of a 6500 lb trailer is 650 lbs. That shouldn't be too much for your half ton.

You may also overload your hitch with a too heavy trailer. A lot of hitches are only rated for 5000 lbs / 500 lbs tongue. Not a lot to do about that. I'm not going to recommend anyone overload their hitch, but if it was me I'd rather be using up the safety factor on the hitch than dealing with the problems of a too heavy flat tow.

Assuming the trailer has brakes, stopping shouldn't be a problem. And with 10% of the weight on the tongue stability shouldn't be too bad (although I'd still keep the speed down).


With a too heavy flat tow you risk plowing into the back of someone when you can't stop, and you risk a jack-knife when the towed truck tries to go straight while you turn, or tries to pass you when you're on the brakes. Yes you can reduce that risk by putting a bunch of weight in the bed of the towing truck, but that gets you closer to the problems of a too heavy trailer while not eliminating the problems of a too heavy flat tow.


And again, people drive overloaded in many different ways, usually without a lot of problems. In the end what you decide to do is up to you. I'm just saying why I'd prefer a trailer in your situation (even though I am a fan of flat towing in the right situations).

 

Did some rough calculations. So when all is said and done my truck will probably weigh in at around 500 lbs more than the donor. Not ideal but should help in not letting the towed truck bully around the other rig....

 

The bumper is not bolted directly to the frame, so yes I would advise you to pull the bumper and bolt your tow bar to the frame. The accordion part won't be a problem IMO.

 

Here's the model I'm looking at
Ok I'll pull the bumper as I was gonna swap that as well. I'll just put it in the bed for more weight.

You think I'll need to fab a cross bar? The brackets are designed to bolt to a metal bumper bar under a car's plastic bumper. When you take the f150's bumper off there's just two frame horns. Can I bolt the brackets at 90 degrees?

 

Here's the model I'm looking at
Ok I'll pull the bumper as I was gonna swap that as well. I'll just put it in the bed for more weight.

You think I'll need to fab a cross bar? The brackets are designed to bolt to a metal bumper bar under a car's plastic bumper. When you take the f150's bumper off there's just two frame horns. Can I bolt the brackets at 90 degrees?

 

Sorry for the double post, idk how that happened

 

I had a 12,000 lb winch bolted to that accordion crap on my old truck and it held up just fine.

But the bumper brackets, nope. I wouldn't put much load on those at all. They are just angle iron. Actually not even, they're L shaped pieces of stamped steel.

 

I've had to tow my 93 F-250 a couple of times. It was towed with a tow bar similar to the one pictured.
The first trip was over 200 miles towed with a 65 F-250, and it towed great.
The second time was about 20 miles or so towed with a 78 F-150 extra cab long bed and it got pushed the whole way. Stopping was an adventure.
Both times the drive shaft was pulled, and the bumper was removed and the tow bar mounted to the bumper brackets.

 

Yes looking at the bumper brackets they look pretty solid. Though I wouldn't bolt a shackle or d-ring to it to use it off-road, it seems if it was triangulated together with the tow bar it should be plenty strong enough to use for very low speed towing. It's obviously been designed to hold a bumper during impact so it should be fine.

 

My advice is to find a heavier truck to tow it with... a 4.9 with those tires and gears will be absolutely anemic. You'll be overworking the trans and risking damage. 20 miles? OK... 100 miles? No way. This comes from a guy who has spent his life doing too much with too little.

If you are on a budget (like me) I'd get at least a 5.0 or 5.8 to tow with...an F250 would work. Then rent a tow dolly from u-haul but tell them you are towing an Escort or similar size car. An F150 WILL fit if it has standard tires on it... I've done it.

I've towed an F150 with a Cougar and my own tow dolly... but not 100 miles.