Towing my Powerstroke?
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 169
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From: Klamath Falls, Oregon
Towing my Powerstroke?
Hello all. I am driving a truck with a 40 ft bellydump hooked on it this summer hauling asphalt on highway construction projects. So far everything has been close to home but in a few weeks we have a job to do about 250 -300 miles from home and I want to hook my pickup on the back of the belly dump trailer and tow it up there so I have some wheels. I checked and it looks to be legal to do, so I have a couple questions. My Ford is an automatic, so do I just put the transfer case in neutral? Can I unhook the batterys and just leave the key on to unlock the steering wheel? Any other precautions that I need to know about?
I will make a couple lights that I can stick on the bumper and the belly dump is already wired for a trailer so that should take care of lights. I doubt the weight of the pickup will be noticeable under braking since the light weight on the truck and trailer is 36,000 lbs. Prolly never know it's back there, just won't be able to back up.
Any pointers or insight would be appreciated. Thanks.
I will make a couple lights that I can stick on the bumper and the belly dump is already wired for a trailer so that should take care of lights. I doubt the weight of the pickup will be noticeable under braking since the light weight on the truck and trailer is 36,000 lbs. Prolly never know it's back there, just won't be able to back up.
Any pointers or insight would be appreciated. Thanks.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,782
Likes: 221
From: Huntington Indiana
You might exceed the maximum total length allowed for vehicles. Check with your state DMV for this and you might need to have working brakes - check again with DMV. You probably should take the driveshafts off. I don't think it is reccommended to tow this pickup a long distance. Check with a ford dealership on this.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,627
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From: West Valley Utah
If your company pulls doubles the trucks are most likely already licensed for over length, your company will know. You can pull the truck with the transfer case in neutral but personally I'd drop the rear driveline if I was going to pull it 300 miles.
Couple other things to consider. Insurance? Will the company insurance or yours cover the truck if something happened? Flying crap from behind the trailer is a consideration. Make sure the trailer is as free from dirt and rocks that like to hide in bellydumps. There's a lot of small stuff trucks and trailers suck up and with your pickup that close behind it'd be a good idea to put some cardboard or something in front of the radiator. Windshield "should" be ok but you never know
Couple other things to consider. Insurance? Will the company insurance or yours cover the truck if something happened? Flying crap from behind the trailer is a consideration. Make sure the trailer is as free from dirt and rocks that like to hide in bellydumps. There's a lot of small stuff trucks and trailers suck up and with your pickup that close behind it'd be a good idea to put some cardboard or something in front of the radiator. Windshield "should" be ok but you never know
Elder User
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 898
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You going to make a tow bar for it or use a dolly? If you have the rear axle on the ground, unhook the driveshaft. You seem to have the right ideas about the rest. Rig up lights, your brakes will do just fine. Nobody is going to question you about anything if you don't do something stupid & get stopped.
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