Crime Novelist Has Research Question...
 

Friends:
Starting a new book featuring retired married couple who are Airstream full-timers, and would like to give them a classic Ford truck (rather than a contemporary model) to use as a tow vehicle for their 24-foot Excella. What year of F-series Ford would best meet their needs in terms of adequate towing capacity, great looks, and serviceability?

(In terms of this last - serviceability - I wouldn't want to give them something so rare as to be difficult to repair by most Ford dealers.)

I'm thinking it would be unrealistic to go any further back than a Fourth-generation, 1961 - '66 model, but you guys are the experts - What do you think?

I would certainly use the '66 model, probably the F250 Camper Special. 352 V8, Cruise-O-Matic HD trans. Of course I'm partial to this year since I own one. By far the best looking of the 61-66 trucks especially with the tu-tone paint scheme.

The later models'64-'66 are great looking trucks.
The 8 cylinder engines are more familiar to most people. Big block FEs. The folks in your story would probably tow with those. Lots of grunt.
Earlier years have Y blocks. Not to many folks outside of ford lovers know what those are.
You can tow with them but not as well as an FE.
So depends on where you are going with the story.
Good luck.

Thanks!
 

Thanks for the great replies to Jhooch and Turbohunter! A '66 F-250 with the 352 V8 and two-tone paint it is!

Here you go.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-P...yLong09011.jpg

Probably would have to be retired CEOs from fortune 500 company or lending institutions. What with the price of gas these days. Just saying.

Is that yours Buzz ?
That is beautiful

Beautiful truck for sure...But not exactly a factory 66 F250. It appears to have a 66 grille. The bed is 57-63 Styleside (not 61-63 Integral Cab). And the front fenders are 61-66 F350. But I LIKE those fenders for the big tires. The paint would have been my choice of color at the time the truck was new. And I've always loved Airstream trailers. The entire package is beautiful!

The rig in fact reminds me of my old neighbor around the corner. he had a 66 F350 4x4 he bought new. His was red/white and he had a similar size travel trailer, though not an Airstream. He also towed his boat with it. He was into hunting and fishing. I remember one time him coming past my house with the little boat on top of the lumber rack and the trailer behind with the whole rig splattered in mud. He'd been off in the wilds of Canada hunting and fishing for 2 weeks.

So yeah this whole setup fits what the man's talking about for his book.

Alas not mine. Pic is from this web site under the thread post pics of your slick I believe. Or in this part under the form of post pic of your truck. I dont remember for sure you might find it on a search. Oh and the 3/4 ton 4x4 for 61-66 came with that styleside bed it is appropriate for the truck. Front fenders are as well. It depended on what size tires the truck came with as to style of front fender opening. 66 f100 4x4 is only one to have had the newer styleside bed.

Hey DocEdsel...When you get close, let us know the title for the book, release date, and your nom de guerr so we can go out and buy it.

Hmmm I see (and always have seen) 64-66 F250 and 350 trucks around SoCal with the 64-66 Styleside bed. There's a 66 F350 4x4 Styleside Camper Special I pass on the way to WalMart all the time with the access door in the side of the bed like the aforementioned neighbor's. In fact, I can't say I've ever run across a 64-66 4x4 with the 57-63 Styleside bed. Maybe certain markets or assembly plants installed different beds on some models than other plants did?

While pickups were used back then to tow travel trailers, many peeps opted to tow them with full sized passenger cars/station wagons, "Cornbinder" Travelalls.

Are you aware of the following book? Take a gander at the gazillions of pics for ideas of what was used.

"Airstream, The History of the Land Yacht" by Bryan Burkhart & David Hunt / Chronicle Books / ISBN: 0-8118-2471-3.

Considering your user name, how about a 1958 Bermuda S/W or a 1960 Villager S/W (I had one a these in 1967/68, a blue/white 6 pass. It's still extant and AFAIK, Phil Skinner owns it today).

More thanks to all...
 

Thanks for all the great responses, everyone. Looks like I came to the right place with my question, huh?

As I've already posted, I'm going to go with a '66 F-250 with the 352 V8 and two-tone paint (color combo undecided for now).

Buzz, that's a terrific photo, though I think I'm going to skip the 4-wheel drive set-up strictly for cosmetic reasons. Color combo definitely appeals to me, however.

NumberDummy, I love old school station wagons myself, and your point about their use as trailer tow vehicles back in the day is spot on. But as my story takes place in present day, I think it would be more realistic to see my couple use a truck than a restored Country Squire or Villager, considering how rare the latter are likely to be now days. Also, I've already established in two previously published books that my characters use a Ford truck to tow their rig (1993/4 Lightning), so all I'm really looking to do is update their tow vehicle to something a little cooler, and less, in retrospect, ridiculous. (A Ford Lightning pickup towing an Airstream trailer?? Talk about a gas hog!)

Will reveal all to you guys when the time comes. For now, I'll just sign off as Doc Edsel, the Ford lover.

Thanks cant take credit for the photo. Just dragged it forward from another thread. When you posted what they were driving and what they were dragging it sparked my memory so just thought Id post it up. That color combo was pretty popular in the day. Good luck on the book Doc.

Well Doc, Since it's a modern setting and the couple is a pair of gearheads anyway...Maybe it would make sense to have a late model Ford diesel engine conversion? And I have seen a Lightning towing a trailer...with a race car on it! The husband and wife are in their 60s and both have Lightnings which they used to drag race near here until the drag strip closed down.

All these ideas....sounds like some on here need to write their own books.