I need to get my 85 F150 extended cab 8 foot bed truck back home. I was thinking about towing it home with a heavy duty tow bar. I currently have a GMC Sierra ( I know it sucks but its all I have) with a 350. This is also the 8 foot bed extended cab version. Should I have any problems towing this home?? Oh the GMC has a class 5 hitch on it. I need to go approxiamately 800 miles with this setup.

 

you shouldn't have any problem towing it,I would rather have a trailer or even a car dolly
I would put a little weight in the back of the tow vehicle with a tow bar

 

If it's an automatic, make sure the guts in the automatic are not turning with the engine off as you are towing it. If it's a 4x4, you can put the transfer case in neutral. If it's 2wd, you will have to disconnect the driveshaft from the rearend and tie it up good to keep the tranny from turning, and also keep the fluid inside the tranny.

 

Should I just take the driveshaft out?? How do I make sure that the guts wont turn with the engine off??

 

I'm thinking that taking the driveline off would cause the slip yoke to come out of the back of the tranny or t-case and it'd spill all of the oil out thus causing a very short life.

 

So just leave the driveshaft attached to the tranny but tie it up somewhere along the frame or somthing so the rear wheels are just freely spinning??

 

Yes. Duct tape the u-joint cups in place, and use a strong bungie cord or wire to tie the shaft up so it stays in the tranny. If you have a fixed yoke output shaft, you can just take the whole thing out and put it in the bed.

If you happen to take it completely out and it has a slip yoke inside the tranny, then you will lose fluid, and it will make a mess, but it will not ruin the tranny, you just have to refill it when you go to get it going again.

Flat towing a vehicle with an automatic can burn the tranny up, because the tranny is lubed from the oil pump in the tranny which is operated by the torque convertor when the engine is running. If you pull the vehicle on the ground, the driveshaft will be turning some of the guts of the tranny, and it will have no lube from the oil pump because the engine is off.

Most people just rent a tow dolly and put the drive wheels on the dolly, and then they will not turn.

And if it was 4wd, you can put the transfer case in neutral, which will disconnect the driveline from the tranny. A little bit of the transfer case will turn, but it will be splash lubed and be ok.

 

This is a two wheel unit so if I disconnect the driveshaft nothing should be turning in the transmission correct? The truck should just be free-wheeling because the motor and trans are not connected to any of the wheels. So I should be okay as long as I remove the driveshaft right?

 

Sorry for the double post but I would love to rent the tow dolly but Uhaul wont let me because they say that my truck (the GMC) is not heavy enough to pull the Ford even though they are essentially the same truck. And I dont have a flatbed trailer or know anyone around here (at college) that has one. Like I said I'm 800 miles from home with this truck.

 

Yes, just disconnect the driveshaft.

 

As I see it, you have 2 options. One is to rent a car trailer from U-Haul, (I did when I moved my 72 Ventura from Reno to Billings 4 years ago), or go to another U-Haul, rent the dolly and tell them your towing a smaller vehicle. It isn't lying, it's bending the truth to benefit you!

 

The u-haul trailers are not big enough for a pickup.

 

U haul can be a pita. I rented a trailer in OH to bring back a 70 F100 to NY. Uhaul said the truck would not fit but it did. (After going to a different dealer and saying I was going to put something else on the trailer. Your truck might have the 2-piece drive shaft. If so just unbolt from the rear end yoke and pull the rear driveshaft out, marking the location. If one pc driveshaft you can pull it out of the trans without losing any fluid (unless you start it up) put a plastic bag over the tail of the trans to help keep out dirt. Don't forget to turn the key to unlock the steering wheel. Rig up a light bar to put on back of the truck for lights and turn signals. Good luck

 

Thats what I was afriad of cause its the 8 foot bed extended cab truck and thats pretty big.

 

That figures. They gave me the same song and dance and I believed them.