towing with a 59
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Senior User
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 258
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From: Eastern NC
towing with a 59
I have a situation i need help with.
I have my dads 1959 ford PU and I have been working n it here and there. It was going to be a show beast but I decided to keep it as my hay hauler and barn truck. It made me feel more comfy as it was my grandaddys farm truck and my daddys daily driver.
well I want to get a 3 horse slant load trailer but instead of a bumper pull for my excursion I pondered the PU and getting a gooseneck.
I keep getting weird answers from folks when I say this is what i would like to do.
I have found goosenecks that are 3500-4500# and my horses are 1,000, 1,000 and 500 pounds. so I think 7,000# would be about right. the bumper pull uses the vehicle to pull and teh gooseneck uses the momentum of the tow vehicle. (make sense? It uses the body of the truck to pull)
My PU is nothing fancy it has a straight 6 and I know the engine will have to change...(sigh..it still has my grandaddys and daddys greasy fingerprints on it)
and the rear end will have to change.
Can you all please be honest, open and let me know if its feasible to pull this off and if so how. I want to make it happen.
I have my dads 1959 ford PU and I have been working n it here and there. It was going to be a show beast but I decided to keep it as my hay hauler and barn truck. It made me feel more comfy as it was my grandaddys farm truck and my daddys daily driver.
well I want to get a 3 horse slant load trailer but instead of a bumper pull for my excursion I pondered the PU and getting a gooseneck.
I keep getting weird answers from folks when I say this is what i would like to do.
I have found goosenecks that are 3500-4500# and my horses are 1,000, 1,000 and 500 pounds. so I think 7,000# would be about right. the bumper pull uses the vehicle to pull and teh gooseneck uses the momentum of the tow vehicle. (make sense? It uses the body of the truck to pull)
My PU is nothing fancy it has a straight 6 and I know the engine will have to change...(sigh..it still has my grandaddys and daddys greasy fingerprints on it)
and the rear end will have to change.
Can you all please be honest, open and let me know if its feasible to pull this off and if so how. I want to make it happen.
Postmaster
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,190
Likes: 2
From: Riverside, So Cal
It is absolutely feasible. The best thing about the gooseneck is the tow geometry. The tongue weight is directly over the rear axle, which removes the "whip" action bumper hitches can give with a heavy load. You'll tow that trailer like a semi-tractor. No sweat. Should be very manuverable, too.
If your truck isn't an F-250, you'll probably want to upgrade to those heavier springs. A V8 (maybe a 390 or 460) would be swell for the hills. Depending on tire size and transmission, you should be able to use something like a 3.25 rear ratio so that you'll get plenty of low end grunt and decent highway cruising.
Many on this forum tow with their Effies and can give you more particulars. They just haven't read your thread yet.
Good Luck, Cowgirl!
Grandpa would be proud.
If your truck isn't an F-250, you'll probably want to upgrade to those heavier springs. A V8 (maybe a 390 or 460) would be swell for the hills. Depending on tire size and transmission, you should be able to use something like a 3.25 rear ratio so that you'll get plenty of low end grunt and decent highway cruising.
Many on this forum tow with their Effies and can give you more particulars. They just haven't read your thread yet.
Good Luck, Cowgirl!
Grandpa would be proud.
Junior User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 89
Likes: 0
From: southern New Hampshire
You could possibly beef up the truck enough to handle the load. But if it was my truck I would be worried about it all the time. Depending on how far, and how fast you intend to travel would determine how much effort you would have to put into it. One thing to remember is that these are old trucks with frames that have rivits everywhere, and those rivits could be loose in many places. Also from reading about old cars and body repair guys, they talk about metal fatigue from vibration of all the years of driving. Not trying to scare you, just my thoughts on it.
When I was growing up I worked on a local farm during haying time. They had several trucks to do the job, and the Grandfather had his Model A truck converted to a flatbed to help with some of the hay, but he drove it only a couple miles at about 25MPH.
I would try and find a heavier duty rig and keep the '59 for general farm use.
When I was growing up I worked on a local farm during haying time. They had several trucks to do the job, and the Grandfather had his Model A truck converted to a flatbed to help with some of the hay, but he drove it only a couple miles at about 25MPH.
I would try and find a heavier duty rig and keep the '59 for general farm use.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 4,489
Likes: 5
From: Valley Center, CA
If you do go ahead with making this a heavy hauler, you should consider the 300 straight six engine. They are tough, tough, tough! You get more torque than many big v-8 engines and they are perfect for hauling heavy loads. Check out the forum for inline six engines. 
Jag
Jag
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Senior User
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 258
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From: Eastern NC
Thanks y'all. I see the negative things and hubby wants to put new engine, tranney, rear end, and whatever else it needed. He even suggested the possibility of a newer model frame.
It doesnt have a unibody frame. which worried him. he said none is really going to be hard but I just dont think he feels fully safe attempting this.
It doesnt have a unibody frame. which worried him. he said none is really going to be hard but I just dont think he feels fully safe attempting this.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 15,882
Likes: 88
From: Durham NC
Back in 59 there was plenty of towing being done by the "new" pickups, so your truck handling the job isn't a concern. If you don't have much need for the bed when not towing, then go for the gooseneck. If you are contemplating an engine tranny swap, you can't beat a diesel engine for towing, gobs of torque, good fuel economy, dependable they are just starting to get broken in @ 200,000 miles. Also chose a newer heavy duty overdrive automatic transmission so you can use a lower rear end ratio for starting off without overreving the engine on the highway.
We will be towing a 24' tag along enclosed car trailer and race car all over the country with our 56 Panel.
We will be towing a 24' tag along enclosed car trailer and race car all over the country with our 56 Panel.
Hotshot
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 13,552
Likes: 79
From: Manhattan, KS
I've pulled a 32' fifth wheel with my 54 F250. I replaced the engine with a 460 and C6 auto and the rear end was replaced with a 3.73 rear end. It would pull decent at 50 to 55 mph, but we upgraded to a 2001 Superduty Diesel. It got a little scary if we went faster. Part of the issue was the short wheel base of that series of trucks even with the 8ft bed. If you are not trying to break speed records and most are shorter hauls those old trucks did lots of towing back in their day. They probably aren't the safest towing at faster (65mph) highway or interstate speeds.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,497
Likes: 5
From: Tucson AZ
shortyforty hit it on the head, before making any decisions on this plan, get this truck to a competent chassis/frame shop have it measured, checked for cracks, and loose rivets, also look at the crossmembers for damage, twists cracks etc. These trucks were built with a lot of flex in the frames although it wasn't thought of that way at the time. years of farm work over ruts and whatever can take its toll. this would make a dynamite tow rig , but please do your homework first, a little planning can make the results worth the effort. don't mean to preach, but the first job is a safe rig. good luck PS the goose neck is a good choice
Last edited by fatfenders56; Feb 28, 2005 at 06:48 PM.
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 354
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From: australia
one thing not mentioned so far, if u have a gooseneck fitted to the old girl, make sure the frame thay make has allowances for frame flex, we have a 55chev 2ton with a goose neck and the only issue the engineer had with the vehicle was the fact the hitch was too sturdy in the area it mounted relative to the rest of the frame, they suggested giving the framework 1/8th clearance on top of the frame so the bolts carried the weight while giving room for flex on rough roads( and with horses u should see your share of dirt roads) otherwise a few more ponies just makes it more comfortable and makes fitting things like air feasible
cya...gary
cya...gary
Junior User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 89
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From: southern New Hampshire
One other thing I forgot to mention and I see nobody else has yet, is the brakes. While you can easily beef up the go power you also need to beef up the Whoa power. Even if you have electric brakes on the trailer, you still need to stop if the electrics fail for any reason.
Cargo Master
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,497
Likes: 5
From: Tucson AZ
scrape, I am not an engineer but I am not sure I would be comfortable with an 1/8 inch of clearance on a gooseneck hitch and letting the bolts carry the weight. am I understanding your post correctly?
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 354
Likes: 1
From: australia
yep u understood ,i understand why he said it, but like u i would have something inbetween to help with the load.
in our case the company that supplied the hitch welded it to the normal 2" tow hitch at the rear effectively making the final 3ft of the frame rigid while the rest could twist as normal.
our problem down here is that we require an engineer approved by the state traffic authority to sign off on modifications, so we can rego the thing.( we were using over a dozen 5/8 grade 8 bolts to hold it on )
cya gary
in our case the company that supplied the hitch welded it to the normal 2" tow hitch at the rear effectively making the final 3ft of the frame rigid while the rest could twist as normal.
our problem down here is that we require an engineer approved by the state traffic authority to sign off on modifications, so we can rego the thing.( we were using over a dozen 5/8 grade 8 bolts to hold it on )
cya gary
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 354
Likes: 1
From: australia
at this stage maybe 10 - 12 hours highway time, presently i am rebuilding the old girl, the original six wasn't up to the job as it tows a house boat, so a new small block/5speed and gearvendors unit should fix all.
the bolts don't have shoulders ( like a kenworth or international semi would )they r unf 5/8 grade 8 with six marks on the head of the bolt, nylocks on the ends and they did'nt fit any washers.
we have'nt changed it yey as i'm not sure how we can without replacing the side plates.
cya...gary
the bolts don't have shoulders ( like a kenworth or international semi would )they r unf 5/8 grade 8 with six marks on the head of the bolt, nylocks on the ends and they did'nt fit any washers.
we have'nt changed it yey as i'm not sure how we can without replacing the side plates.
cya...gary