I am trying to tow my 1973 F250 4x4 from central Texas to Spokane WA using a rented car trailer. My problem is the renter says the max weight for the trailer is 4500lbs, i have no clue the weight of the truck. If anyone can tell me if i will be able to use the trailer or will i have to sell my beloved truck. i appreciate all the help ive gotten from this forum.
ollie

 

last time i weighed my 74 f250 4x4 it weighed a touch over 4800 w/ 38 inch tires. i would just load it and truck it. extra couple pounds won't hurt antyhing. good luck

 

Measure how wide the truck is. I can't fit my 76 250 4x4 on any trailer that has fenders on it! I have 33" tires though. I don't think it would fit with standard tires though either.

 

my 73 2wd weighs 5000 with gas and no driver, not sure why it weighs more than your 4wd's, but that is what the weight set said when i had it figured so i could tow it from washington to cali

 

If you really want to know, go find a truck scale that is closed. There's generally a window that opens to let you see the scale reading, so truckers can weigh their rigs if they want to.


You'll find that your rig weighs more than what the factory said it does. They always weigh more than listed weight; I think the listed weight may be "dry."

On the other hand, the official factory listed weight may be less than the 4,500 official limit on the trailer -- so use that.

BTW, my car trailer has two 3,500 lb. axles and is officially a 7,000 lb. trailer. Not long ago, I saw 9,200 lb. on those axles (when I stopped at a closed weigh station), and I had more weight on the equalizing hitch holding it to my Suburban. I don't recommend such behavior, but if you have good tires and bearings (and BRAKES), you can sometimes push things a bit.

 

That is true, but on a rented trailer I wouldn't push anything... You don't know how well the thing is kept up and you don't know what kind of stress it has been pu tunder before you go ahold of it.

 

i just weighed the truck and it comes in at 5400lbs. now i feel like im between a rock and a hard place. i can take the 35's off and save a couple hundred pounds but other than that ive run out of ideas. thanks for your replys and if anyone has any advice id appreciate it.
ollie

 

My '74 highboy (F250 4x4) weighed 5500 according to my brother who weighed it, and I got almost the same number leaving a scrapyard when I had 3900lbs of cast iron in the bed

I assume you're using U-Haul, because I wanted to trailer my highboy and they had 4500 lbs limits on the car trailers.

If you take it easy, and assume all responsibility if the trailer fails and kills someone, then you should be able to get away with the extra weight.

What are you towing it with? Can you use a tow-bar? Even those have limits, but at least you won't have a problem with fitting the truck on a trailer.

 

I was wondering if the company ( budget rent a truck ) would allow me to assume responsibility. i guess the only way to find out is to ask. im going to be towing it with a 15" rental truck. By the way im moving from Ft. Hood to Spokane after serving my time in the Army, and I will want to get home asap. Thanks again for the advice every bit helps tremendously.
ollie

 

Just curious: Have you taken a look at using a commercial auto transport company? I'm just guessing, but I bet if you add the rental cost of the trailer and the additional fuel costs you'd rack up towing all the way to Spokane, you're already spending 75% of what it would cost to have your truck hauled by rail or car carrier to your destination.
An added benefit is that you don't have to worry about towing the truck yourself, and you also won't have to worry about mechanical problems arising from an overloaded and/or under-serviced trailer. If you drive your truck to a local Airport or shipping terminal, then pick it up in Seatle or Spokane (instead of "residential" pickup/delivery, you'll save even more $$$!
Do a Google search for "auto transport", or got to the Auto Trader/Truck Trader website, and there's a banner ad for a transport co. you can click on.
NOTE: For the best rate, use a site that'll take your info and send it out to several different companies for bidding - You'll find the bids vary GREATLY, up to 100% cost difference in some cases!
Good luck!... Cameron

1977 F250 400
1999 Buell Lightning X1

 

yes i have looked into a auto transport company. the only thing is, the army will pay for the u haul and trailer - however the auto transport will have to come out of my pocket. thanks for the advice, it may have to come to that
ollie

 

I would just put it on the trailer and go! I mean is the company actually going to come out and weigh your truck? Yeah right I doubt it. So just go for it!

 

Just go for it!!!!!!!!
Your not that much over.
Take everything you can out of it to make it as light as possible.

 

i just moved my truck today on one of the uhaul auto carriers. im not looking forward to doing that again any time soon. i have 255\75\16 inch tires on my truck and the tire straps didnt fit over them. i ended up just running them over the axle. the trailer was JUST long enough to accomodate the truck. when i say just long enough, i mean that i only had half of the normal contact patch of the rear tires on the trailer. the rest was in open air. my best advice to you after just doing this is to go ahead and get the trailer. just make sure you buy a few heavy duty ratchet straps to anchor it down securely. i would recomend two for each axle. the rearend of my truck did hop around some on the end of the trailer. make sure to watch that your hub doesnt hit the fenders of the trailer. mine came close.....i think they just rolled up the fender actually. i don't really think that the trailer was a problem, it was their method of securing the vehicle. you have to remember that those things are designed for cars, not trucks like ours.

 

well I see from the dates that this is an old thread but I thought I'd add my $.02 for those who found it later.

I've never done this with my '73 f250 but "my friend" had an '84 fj60 pop a water pump in the middle of death valley. "he" AAA'd it to Las Vegas (AAA plus has saved "his" A$$ so many times...) and told Uhaul "he" had a '92 Jeep Cherokee back in death valley and that was under their weight limits. key thing to keep in mind is you're soooo liable if there are any problems (of course, if you do break something you get a nice trailer out of it). You'll have to deflate your tires once you're in place and use extra heavy duty ratchets but you'll get it there. do youself a favor (and the next guy to use the trailer) and don't put anything in the bed and drive the recommended speed (slow as it may be). roll the thing off in a gas station near the uhaul and reinflate the tires right there, then walk back to the station after you drop off the truck and trailer. at least that's what my friend did