Here's the deal... if all goes well, next spring I will be hauling a race car up to one of my local tracks every weekend, but I'm worried about towing with my truck. My truck has a 6" lift, 37" tires, and 232K miles. It hasn't given me any issues and it runs like a top, but I'm wondering if towing with it will push it over the edge. I'd be towing about 110 miles round trip every week, mostly back roads that are pretty hilly. The total weight would be right about 7K to 8K pounds depending on what type of trailer I go with. I'm leaning towards a 20-24' enclosed car trailer. I have already installed a new 15K punt rated hitch, wiring, and brake controller last weekend, so that is all set. I also will be doing a full gauge kit and switching from 3.73s to probably 4.56s. So, the question is am I pushing my truck to the limits or should I be ok? My other options would be to buy a second truck just for towing or buying a rollback. What do you guys think?

 

If you are using any sort of drop hitch insert, that will reduce your 15k hitches rating considerably. You may end up overloading your hitch even at 7k towed weight if the hitch drop is extreme.

The reason for this is that the hitch is rated in a straight tow configuration.

The other thing to think about is hitch weight, and if you have a leveling kit installed, then you need to take that off as the proper load on the hitch is going to drop your rear end of the truck way too much for safe and proper towing due to frame slope issure as well as headlight aimming issues. Unless of course you have a adjustable rear suspension or a very stiff rear suspension.

You want the frame to slope to the front, at worst be level to keep the proper alignment / frame slope to insure the proper handling at hiway speeds. let alone if you have toake a emergency manuver at speed.

Towing can be done with a lifted truck, but it does reduce what you can tow in most cases. I like to tell the story of the guy here in Washington state that had a lifted SD, big tires, chipped and bragged about how fast he could tow - up untill the time he came across a emegency situation and his 35' reg hitch (not fifth wheel) toy hauler/travel trailer whipped his truck around once the truck got a little sideways, crossed the center medium strip and rolled over and killed two people in a car traveling in the opposite direction.

What did he do wrong ?

1) Grossly overload trailer
2) Lifted truck with a high center of gravity
3) 16" drop insert on his hitch, what a huge leverage!
4) Speed way over legal (75mph in heavy traffic, blasting by people in the left lane) in a 60 mph max speed area (ANY vehicle towing ANY trailer in the state of washington is limited to 60mph, even in 70mph zones
5) Illegal use of the left lane on a three lane hiway - in the state of Washington, ANY vehicle towing ANY trailer can only use the right two lanes. Left lane usage is only perisable if the hiway has 2 lanes in each direction, and then only to make a pass, not traveling.
6) Not paying attention to the flow of traffic / driving at least 10 cars ahead - he was on his cell at the time, denied it at first but the State Patrol in ther accident investigation supenaed his phone records.
7) Almost forgot - yes the truck was sitting nose high due to the leveling kit and this adversly affected his handling due to the improper frame slope and its negative effect on front end alignment.

ALL of these things were in his direct control, he just didn't care enough to give them a consideration. The collision simply did not have lto happen and it was in no way a accident.

Can you safetly tow faster than 60mph in your state - YES, but all trailer rated tires are by design limited to a MAX of 65 mph.

I know this a much more than you wanted, but this guy in my opinion murdered these two people and I just want to pass along what can happen when things get away.

Thanks for asking, that shows that you are concerened!!!

David

 

That's freakin crazy. It's too bad things like that have to happen because of ignorant people.

 

I'd drop the lift down so it is easier to do. Conservation towing as well.

 

Wow that's a crazy story dmanlyr. I appreciate the opinion. I've been towing trailers forever, all different types and sizes. I'm not saying that I know everything or that accidents don't happen, but I do have a decent head on my shoulders when it comes to towing. I know to stay slow and keep my distance. I'd rather a trip take me 10 minutes longer than go to fast and wreck. Not worth it to me.