I been day dreaming and lookin at old canned ham campers. I think I got the bug here. Short of flying down to Florida 2X's and going to my dads old house in Ireland 20 yrs ago,..I have not been more than 250 mile from home here in Delaware,...pretty boring I know. I want to hook up an old camper to my 51 panel ( which is running like a top thanks to you guys ) and see this awesome country. Short runs at first. I got some more things i want to get up to snuff, but I would really like to see the USA like they did back in the old days. Maybe not real practical but,... buying a 51 ford panel, off the internet was not brilliant either but I got a cool ride now. Any one towing with a daily driver from this gang?

 

There are people on here towing campers and trailers around. They should chime in soon. It seems like a lot of people taking a couple a days off for easter.

Good luck.

 

HI John!

Haven't heard from you in awhile. Glad the old girl is running so good - doesn't that feel great!

I plan to tow my boat with my F1 but I havent gotten that far yet. I do have the plug wired for th elites though and a diagram for it. I would think that on of the first priorities with towing would be making sure the brake system is above board and the steering is all top notch. I would imagine that getting a good hitch arrangement would be fairly simple at a good welder or trailor shop. Shoot, why not turn the back of the old Panel into a cross country pleasure palace! I would think that would let you tour at least the north east - be sure and carry your tool box!

Nice to hear all is well - Happy Easter!

 

I towed my homebuilt teardrop to a local show today with the 53

 

I am setting up Willard, my 49, to tow but with upgraded power, handling and brakes. The brakes would be my first concern. Electric brakes on the trailer would be my plan. You will be towing slow particularly uphill with the old flathead. I towed my 31 Vicky cross country on a tow bar 30 years ago but had a 56 Buick nailhead for power. Cross country at 55 mph or below. Anything over 55 was sheer terror. What transmission does the panel have? Is it a M H conversion? The light duty flatmotor transmissions do not like a lot of abuse. I know this from experience.

 

is that the one you can buy the plans at speedway

 

Actually I had no plans when I started the teardrop. This one I built after looking at pictures of a few on the internet. During the build, I found this site Teardrops & Tiny Travel Trailers :: Index and met some of the members at a gathering to look at their rigs up close. Probably 95% of the members there build from scratch, so there are some unique teardrops. I thought of building a few to sell, but with my life being sort of busy right now........
Sorry to highjack the thread, now back to regular programming.

 

Cool camper and thanks for the link to T&TTT

 

Not a highjack there Mechmagcn ! I am looking at all these type ideas.In addition to my sight seeing ambitions, my work is taking me a couple hundred miles away these days ( not much work around home these days ) and setting up in a camp ground is a lot cheeper than motels. I got to put up a couple of my guys so the Teardrop would be AHHHH...lets say....weird.
Julie,... It crossed my mind to rig up JOHNNYS ROLLING HOUSE OF PLEASURE in the old Panel but I dont think I could explain the mirrors on the ceiling to my wife . If I could rig up a shower and toilet in the Panel ,..I would, but a 16' + trailor seems like the ticket. The 12 volt conversion is a must for the brighter lights and trailor brakes and the front end upgrades were one of my next projects, even got the parts. I am waiting on Julie to do here front end ( of her truck that is ) and then I can bug her some more. I got the standard 3 on the tree,... not sure if my tranny is the M H conversion. Whats the scoop on that 49willard.
I am seeing some interesting 12 to 18 foot trailers on ebay. I got some home renovating skills that I can put to use if I can pickup a decent old timer. I dont need a palace.
My truck is great up to 55mph but gets scary at 60. Maybe when the front end is done it will like +55mph better.
Hows about suspention? I just did a 100% rebuild of my front and rear last summer,...all stock. Any upgrades prudent if you are towing a bit?

 

I am gearing up my panel to tow a 24' enclosed race car trailer, but you wouldn't need to use anything heavier than a class II hitch for a small trailer. No trailer brakes unless the trailer weighs more than 1/2 the weight of the tow vehicle, brakes on a light weight trailer will be constantly locking up with even a light application, not a very safe condition. locked brakes on a trailer are like locked brakes on a car, no control, it will go wherever it wants to.