Howdy,

I have an 89 F150 5.0 EFI. I need to tow my van back to where I live, which is about 200 miles from where it currently is. I live in the mountains and the van is about at sea level. The van is over 9 feet tall, is an 84 E250 with a 6.9 diesel engine in it, and requires too much work to fix it where it currently is. I need to get it out because the person who is letting me store it on his property is starting to complain and has talked about junking it. I don't want the thing junked. I'm not entirely sure how much it weighs since I haven't messed with it in over a year. I'm know of a route that bypasses a lot of the steep grades so that isn't a problem.

My question is, how much weight can my truck tow before problems start to arise, either with the engine, the transmission, or the chassis? It is a one-time thing and will be placed in storage once I get it back home. I've thought about hiring a wrecker but I don't really want to know how much a 200+ mile one-way tow would cost. There is a 2" ball on it now. I figured I could rent a vehicle tow from UHAUL.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

You are on shakey ground towing a vehicle that weighs more than your tow vehicle. I have towed vehicles (not trailers) long-distance (800 miles) on an equal-weight situation and I would not recommend going any heavier in the towed vehicle. I have towed trailers that weighted more than the tow vehicle, but that is not the same situation. In your specific case you have a heavy towed vehicle with a heavy engine on its front wheels - your tow vehicle is a pickup, with relatively little weight on its rear wheels.

My tow was mostly on level interstate - your route may avoid grades, but if it is a 2-lane road with a lot of turns and local traffic, you may have to avoid some clown that pulls out in front of you. Your pickup will not easily stop two vehicles with brakes only on one. (I do not think any tow dolly you rent will have brakes, but even then it is only two more braked wheels.)

If you do this, I offer the following suggestions, even though I do not like the idea:

o Carry ballast in your bed (secured so that it will not shift). I recommend you get enough to have the weight on your truck's rear axle at least as much as the van's front axle.

o Make sure your tow dolly is suitable for a heavy vehicle and has a long tongue. The tongue length gives your pickup leverage on the van.

All my experiences are "flat towing" with a tow bar. People with tow dolly experience may have more to add.

P.S.: Your engine & trans would be OK if you took it easy. It is your brakes and traction that are the limiting factors on safety.

 

I think most important, before you hook up or anything else, CHECK THE TIRES. Especially the date codes.Sitting there for a year, who knows what condition they're in, who knows how old they are ? Guaranteed, you'll be going down the road and you will have multiple tire failures.JMHO

 

The biggest risk, as I see it, is that you will have no brakes on that chunk of steel strapped to the back of your pickup. That is a recipe for big problems in a panic stop. If you are not going to have a tow truck deliver it, consider renting an appropriate flat bed trailer with surge brakes at a minimum and tow it with the van secured on top. The single axle tow dolly is a very bad idea.

If you do move ahead with no trailer brakes, could you let us know when you'll be on the road so we can avoid you?

 

Is the van a stick or automatic tranny? You MAY have to tow it on a dolly with the REAR wheels on the dolly. If so, you'd have to somehow clamp the steering wheel so it doesn't turn. (A rope tied to it, out the window and around the top to pass. window and tied to other side of steering wheel should do).

You can't be talking more than about 4000-5000 lbs, towed weight. Towed carefully, I think your truck would handle it. Keep following distances long - anticipate far ahead for stopping and you should be fine. Watch your temp gauge and avoid all the hills you can.

 

I hope you are getting the idea that towing with your pickup not the best idea. Bud's idea, has its merits in that it gets the weight distributed for better stability. (In any case, one would want to disconnect the drive-shaft of any vehicle towed with the rear wheels on the pavement.)

I would agree with AnOldDog's suggestion to use a trailer if you had a heavier tow vehicle, but with a half-ton, your tow vehicle is still too light. By the time you have a trailer that can handle your van you will have at least 6,000 pounds behind your pickup. If you do it this way, carry ballast in your bed, have at least 10% of the trailer's gross weight on your tongue, and keep your speed down - 45 is not too slow. (Be sure you have working trailer brakes - this means test them. Rental equipment is not always in top order.)

 

My vote? spend a few bucks and rent a vehicle trailer. I've used one from U-Haul quite a few times. Solves the "no brakes" issue to some extent as they have surge brakes. Also, protects the towed vehicle's driveline in particular for automatics as all four wheels are off the ground. No matter which route you go with, take it easy. That extra weight will make a difference.

 

Rent a truck to tow it with and a trailer at the same time?

 

Could do that if need be. I know U-Haul has some specifc requirements for renting the vehicle trailer such as type of vehicle towing & being towed.

 

Your pick up is capable of towing your van 200 miles safely & with no damage to either one of them. The bigger question is does the driver have the expierance to do it. I know I wouldn't hesitate to but lots of people shouldn't try it. If you do... be very carefull.

 

Renting the whole rig (truck & trailer) from U-Haul for one day, will probably be a lot cheaper than paying a roll-back for a 400-mile round-trip. (It would not hurt to get a quote, all the same - I have occasionally found that some tow companies will cut you a break on a non-emergency haul, but not on a 3-day weekend.)

 

If you put the trailer on a full trailer, why is that a big problem? I guess I'm not clear as to why towing a trailer that weighs more than the truck is a bad idea... I deal with horses and there is rarely an occasion where the trailer DOESN'T outweigh the truck, even with just a single horse on board. Fully loaded my horse trailer outweighs my truck by over a ton. And that's just loaded for my setup... FULLY loaded, which my truck couldn't tow, would weigh more than three times my truck's weight.

Now, if the reason that is a bad idea is if you are considering a tow-dolly or just a straight tow bar connection, I can understand that...

My advice is to either rent a full bed trailer or a bigger truck, but I wouldn't hesitate to tow that load with a flatbed trailer with properly working brakes.

 

And I should mention that I've hired a tow truck to haul a van 100 miles... the charge was $30 It may not be as bad as you think, especially if you make it clear that the timeframe is not locked in stone.

 

I'm pretty sure "BPofMD" has lowballed the weight estimate. Nor do I believe a half ton pick up has the capacity to trailer that load. I have a half ton capacity truck and loaded my father in law's 3/4 ton gas engine Dodge van on my flat bed trailer, thinking I could move it for him - the truck squatted too much, and the trailer tires bulged too much. Trailer was rated for 7500 (including its own weight). I have to think your 3/4 ton diesel van would be at least as heavy. I'd take acheda's advice.

 

I'll even add (in general agreement with everyone): I have towed a 4,000-pound truck on a 2,000-pound car-hauler trailer behind my '65 F-100 for thousands of miles. The details are that the trailer had a long tongue, all EIGHT tires (truck & trailer) were load range E tires inflated to 65 psi, and I was careful to have plenty of tongue weight. I also had double overload leaves in the back making a very stable vehicle.

Leader is right: it can be done if you proceed with knowledge and caution. To me, that is what this thread is all about.