Hey I am wanting to know bout towing with these Dents. I got a 74 F250 Crew with 360 & T18 with 257 rear gears & 2WD. It originally had 350 rear gears but one of the PO's had to replace the rear end in it an but the 257 in it. I am redoing the truck an the guy helping me says that I need a dually rear end for it if I am going to do any towing an do 5th wheel on it. I am thinking bout doing some towing but don't know how big of a trailer I can go with an how heavy? An I have never towed before. I am planning to move to around AZ or NV this summer from Charleston WV an I was thinking bout checking into a enclosed cargo trailer vs a moving company. I am looking to keep it factory he wants to change it which is the best for it? An would a enclosed cargo trailer for vehicles be to much for it like a 8.5X24?

 

First you need to find out what the tow rating is on the truck...

second, you can do an enclosed trailer within your tow rating on a ball. And depending on the size of the trialer your gonna want to use an equalizing hitch with sway control.

 

If you are going to tow with it, you definately want lower rearend gears or you will toast your clutch in no time. and a bigger motor with more torque wouldnt be a bad idea either. a dually rearend will be more stable. I actually just got an idea in my head a week or so ago for a dually dent tow rig.

 

I have had no problem towing with mine when it had the 360 in it. Mine has a t18 and 3.73 gears and single rear wheels. I have had no problem pulling an 8,000lb trailer. But trailer brakes and controller are a must. But I just put a nice 390 in and am looking to put a gooseneck 5th wheel plate in it. I do recommend putting either a 390 clutch and flywheel or upgrading to a heavy duty clutch set.

 

2.57 rear gear? That's a crazy low (numerically) ratio. A 3.50 is a good balance between off the line grunt and freeway mileage. An enclosed 8.5 x 24 trailer loaded with your stuff will likely outweigh your dent in no time. Stressing your truck will reveal its weaknesses... like cooling, clutch, tranny, tires, and brakes. I'd only attempt a 5th wheel trailer with F350.

Personally, I'd rent a 22-foot U-Haul box truck for your stuff and tow smaller trailer with your dent. As a rule of thumb, I tow (F100 shortbed 4x4) only up to the weight of my truck keeping in mind that a Class III hitch is only rated for 5,000 lbs - slightly more with weight distributors. 5,000 lbs is equivalent to my 65 Mustang on a car trailer.

 

I only have a 1 room an a few other things to move & I got with U-Haul when I was trying to transport the truck down here an they said were it is a F250 it is to wide for anything they have I could do it if I had a F150 but not a F250. An one reason why I am looking at a enclosed cargo trailer was if I buy another vehicle I would have something to haul it in an I could use the trailer for everyday use if I had to. An I am thinking bout putting the 350 rear gear back in it. An then do a class 4 hitch. I am planning to put heavy duty brakes on it an upgrade the cooling on it. So how big of a enclosed car trailer can I go an still not strain the truck any. An some of you said a trailer brake & a controller is a must. What controller is that an what should be added to tow with? Should I change the carb from 2 to 4 would that help?

 

You definately want a brake controller. it is an electronic box that controls the trailer brakes. and you want to be sure your trailer has brakes. Most new trailers have brakes. Putting a 4v carb on a 2v intake really wont gain you anything other than use more gas. especially on a 360.

 

Your Motor and gearing are the only thing holding you back, A 3/4 ton truck will tow about anything you want. (as long as everything is set up correctly). My dad tows his 28 foot bumper pull and my granpa tows his 30 foot fifth wheel every year, My hunting buddy tows his 40 foot toy hauler fifth wheel hundreds of miles a summer and none of them have any problems whatsoever. I see no problem at all with a 8.5x24 foot trailer. Just drop some more tow friendly gears in there and have fun.

 

your F250 isn't any wider than an F150 so I'm not sure why they told you that.

But you need to think about what youre asking. You want to take a trip to AZ or nevada from WV. Thats gotta be at least 30 hours of driving. thats the kind of trip where I'd want to have a newer truck checked out and tuned up before I embarked on. And on top of that, youre wanting to tow, apparently, a very large trailer.

I dunno, I did a lot of stupid stuff when I was younger and accordingly I've been stranded places before, but I sure wouldn't do that now.

A trailer like the kind you are talking about, an enclosed fifth wheel, have you even looked into pricing what one of those goes for? They are very expensive. Of course, for that kind of move penske or uhaul will probably charge you a grand or so to rent one of their trucks.

what I've heard a lot of people do is they just buy a used penske truck (or whatever), move with it, then sell it when they get where they are going. They don't depreciate a whole lot, and you can find pretty reliable ones for cheap. If you have the cash to buy the trailer, I'd recommend you just go that route.

btw just fyi, your truck won't fit on any rentable equipment (tow dolly or trailer).

too wide and too long.

 

I am using the truck as a daily driver an yea according to map quest it is at least 30 hours drive. I never drove there before or towed anything an don't know a lot bout these old vehicles in general. So yea its going to be a fun trip but with asthma an other problems got to go out west to get over all that all the family is on the east coast except some cousins in AZ. An for the trailer I am looking at a enclosed car trailer so I don't have to go through the hassle with getting one transported to me I can just go get it myself an not have to depend on nobody & I can always use the trailer to haul stuff in. So basically I don't know what I am getting into or how this truck is going to do on the trip. Basically just load down the trailer & truck & take the dog & have some supplies with me in case I break down. I am I am planning to use a TomTom or something like that for the trip an never used one before. I have always just stuck round the state nothing major like this though. An for the Uhaul they was talking bout using there trailers an it would not fit to wide. So what kind of enclosed trailer can I go with without having any problems with? An what enclosed trailers have the brakes on them an what is a good brand to go with an ones to stay away from?

 

I'd go with what you can find used on craigslist and have it checked out by a trailer store before you purchase it, or at minimum before you make your trip. Make sure the wiring is good, the frame is solid, the brakes work smoothly, and the hubs are in serviceable shape. Check the date codes on the tires, you dont want ones over 6 years old.

Its nice to have a sturdy tongue jack.... beyond that, they are pretty much all of similar construction.

 

If your motor is in good shape a 360 with a T18 should tow just fine, you definatley would be better off with something like 3.73 gearing, for towing purposes 4.11 even better. Make sure your truck is ready for the trip like the other posters said, cooling system, brakes etc after all, it is a 36 yo truck

 

I was thinking bout putting the 350 gears back in it like it had from the factory currently it has a 257 rear gear in it. An everything on the truck is factory the truck looks like it rolled off the assembly line yesterday with 30K original miles on it. It still has the factory Ford blue paint on it an everything. I found some enclosed trailers for under 2G I will go with something like that big enough to haul a car. I might pick up a Mustang before I go an have it all loaded down. But I also have a heavy steel flat bed for it with the rack on it an looking at a brush guard & roll bar for it.