well i wasn't sure where to put this but i am gonna throw it here until Ryan decides it doesn't belong here.

i was just curious how all of you get your junk to your playground? so far whenever i wanna take mine i have to drive it (ie 3 hours for me to get to Tellico, I have to fill up about 5 times by the time i get home!). i have been looking hard for a gooseneck that i can load my truck and bronco up on and take them both with me but everyone wants upwards of $4000 for one and i just can't afford that right now. i even kicked the idea around of building one (i have a set of plans) but just the materials would cost the same amount as if i went out and bought one.

the other day i had a revelation... i was walking through my garage dicking off and i noticed we have a tow bar from back when we went motorhome camping a lot (that's the reason for the giant garage!!!). i am seriously kicking around the idea of using a tow bar to pull my trail rig around so i don't have to pay for the gas the 460 uses. my plan would be to put a set of street tires on and throw the iroks in the bed of PSD. then when i got to my place at Tellico i can swap tires in my barn. i would also have to unhook my hydro assist so that the steering wheel would turn.

what do ya'll think about it? is it too risky? should i hold out for a g/n? or do you think i would be fine? what's everyones take/ideas on this?

-cutts-

 

flat tow can be dangerious.

My buddy flopped his EB flat towing when the people in front of him all slammed thier brakes on. he had to stop fast when he did the EB jackknifed and swung his F-250 into a 180 spin. The EB ended up on it's side.

 

Fish,

My first choice would be a gooseneck. I love the way mt GN horse trailer handles. Second would be a bumper pull (which is what I ended up with since I couldn't afford a GN either). I've also used a tow dolly, but I didn't really like it. I found that going thru towns on my way to the trails was kinda tough when you had to make 90 deg turns.

I have seen a few guys use tow bars, even on the freeway. They must be OK since almost every RV I see is using one. I've even seen them tow full size broncos. My guess is that they'd still be a little rough making sharp corners.

I'm really happy with my bumper pull car hauler. I got it new for around $2500 with all the tax & registration. I dropped another $100 on a weight distributing hitch and it pulls like a dream. The whole package weighs around 6800 - 7000 lbs. and I pull it with a 88 RAM 1500.

If you do look at trailers, make sure you don't get the cheap e-bay ones made with angle iron. Mine is all I-beam and channel construction and is noticibly more sturdy than the $800 - $900 ones of the same size. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to trailers.

If you want to find out more about tow bars, talk to your local RV dealer. That's probably the biggest market for them.

K.

 

on my 95 f150 one of the previous owners put tow bars on it. supposedly they towed it behind their rv when they went out. i always see people doing it with jeeps, and some of my ma's friends took their grand cherokee out to colorado from chicago. it seems like they dont have any problems so i dont really think you would either.

 

i hauled my F-250 snow fighter from Erie PA here to Oklahoma city OK with a tow bar, it was the sacriest thing i have ever done, we used my friend 3/4 ton *ahem*dodge*ahem* deisel truck to tow it. at first we were all over the road, and after almost knocking a female state trooper off the highway in pittsburg we realized we needed to unhook the steering stabilizer on the Ford,it made a big difference.........but it was still a roller coaster ride to say the least, as long as we were actually pulling the Ford it was OK, but as soon as it started pushing us,downhill-stopping etc., it was very hard to control,the Ford pushed us off into a ditch while trying to turn into a truckstop and we were only going about 20mph!!!.....on the highway we basically had to run that diesel full throttle(85mph) all the time to keep control, even in the rain the only control we had was at top speed.....we made to whole trip without a wreck(thank the lord), and other than my friend breaking the tow bar in dayton ohio(thats another story!) it went fairly smooth..just be sure the truck your towing with weighs a considerable amount more than the rig your towing...this is the law in some states........

 

i use my f250 psd to tow the 18' bumper hitch car trailer I bought, has dove tail, and ramps and cost me $1550 new. I looked at goosenecks so I could drag more than one truck to the races but after looking at the price I figured that my friends could buy there own trailer although I do have the gooseneck ball in the truck, and I actually prefer pulling them to a bumper hitch but like you found at double or more of the cost just to get a used one vs my new bumper was pretty much a no brainer, but if I find a good used one at a decent price it will be sitting in my drive.

 

well my tow rig is bigger than my trail rig which is a 96 F350 crew cab long bed 4x4. i have a bumper pull car hauler that is prety dang nice that i picked up in OK city for about $1500, the problem is the axles are too light weight (ie two 3000 lb axles for a total of 6K) and my truck i am guessing weighs in close to 8000lbs! i haven't gotten it to the local scales yet but i plan on it very soon. i do plan on getting a gooseneck and hopefully very soon but until i can muster up the cash i was looking for something i could do until then. and yes g/n's are a dream to pull even compared to WD's hitches for a bumper pull.

thanx for all the input... any other ideas?

-cutts-

 

The only other thing about using tow bars is what to do if you have breakage. If you have axle problems, flat tires, bent steering, etc... it makes it kinda hard to tow.

Have you looked into bigger axles for the BP trailer? They might be a little spendy but not as much as a new trailer.

K.

 

WAY too much information!

Sometimes you can find a good dual axle trailer used. Flat towing a fullsize with another fullsize on a regular basis isn't the best idea imo.

 

thanx Pro, not really what i meant but ok

well yes that is my major concern....breakage but i can just leave the truck in NC at our property, that's no problem. i just wouldn't want to. as long as the axles still held up and the steering was still good it would still tow!

i have thought about bigger axles but by that time i could get another trailer.

-cutts-

 

this just seem approiate:


I've done this a couple of times, we know the guy that owns the truck (his business is on the tractor) and he lets us use it for free, we just pay gas and a couple of our buddies take turns driving and me and my dad bring the tools. The last time we used that, the guy thats owns the orange truck vaporized the yokes on the shaft between the t-case and tranny, chained the 2 trucks bumper to bumper and gave her hell, picked the front of the orange truck off the ground a good foot .

I would stay away from using a dolly or towbars, rule of tumb when towing with some like that is for the towing truck (in this case you psd) to weigh at LEAST 1.5 times more then the thing beeing towed, it makes a HUGE difference in towing (ie momentum), and in your case, the psd ins't going to be 1.5 times heavier.

Your best bet is to keep an eye out for a used tandem axle trailer, low deck trailers are way nicer to deal with but the fenders for the trailer wheels will get in the way of the tires (we use to 8foot railroad ties to clear ours), whatever you do make sure that the wiring hasn't been messed with and is working good, and be sure that all 4wheels on thhe trailer have brakes, one bad thing about the goose necks is that the cargo you can carry is reduced but for you (crew cab truck) this shouldn't be a big problem but keep that in mind when buying. You should be able to pick something up for between 500-1200 bucks thats in good shape, auction sales are a good place to go to check out.

P.S. its amazing how many people slow down when going by (passing) the truck and trailer when all three trucks are loaded up.

 

"sniffles" What a beautiful sight to see.......Id love to have that hauler.......

 

And all Fords, the white one is a 77 1/2 with a coil sprung 60/70 combo, 460/c6, 205, 38" swampers and 8" of lift, the orange one if a 76 3/4 ton high boy, mild 390/435/divorced 205/44-60 combo, 4" lift.

Sure is a good way to get a lot of attention when rolling through the gates of a mud bogg .

 

hahah damn that's badass mustange!

alrighty well i suppose i will step away from the tow bar idea and keep looking for a G/N

-cutts-

 

Hey Mustang70 that orange one is like mine i have 76 250 hiboy with a 390 435 205 and will adding a 4" lift soon after i get the 390 rebuilt is there anything ele that was done to the truck?