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How to bring home a Chevy pickup (long distance)

J

Jesse Jaymes

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Can anyone lend some ideas on how to retrieve a truck? No this is not an assinine question, but a serious one.

I have a burning desire for a Chevy 1-ton pickup. So in searching Craigslist and such, I have found a few in the "Tri-State area", meaning Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. I've done the math and mileage and if the price is right, I would like to take a few day vacation and go get one.

But how?? Now, I have moved myself cross country, 3 times now. I know the ins and outs of rental truck places and trailers. Budget F'd me over BIG TIME last year, which cost me a great 1984 3/4T Chevy that I was forced to leave in WA, and sell for pennies. Never again.

I do not think there are any companies who make/rent tow dollys that are wide enough for these pick ups, are there??

And UHaul trailers are too narrow. Budget does have ONE trailer that is within an inch of being the right size, but see above. And they will only rent you a trailer with a truck. I have an '04 Dodge Cummins, so no, I am not interesed in renting a POS to pull up and back.

I thought about a tow bar, but isn't 600 miles a bit far for a chincy rig like that?

Asking if there are any other options.

I am not going to buy a truck I cannot drive, but 600 miles on a truck of unknown abilities is beyond me and my current mechanical skills.

Please help with any ideas or resources you may be able to pass along
 
Jesse Jaymes said:
Can anyone lend some ideas on how to retrieve a truck? No this is not an assinine question, but a serious one.

I have a burning desire for a Chevy 1-ton pickup. So in searching Craigslist and such, I have found a few in the "Tri-State area", meaning Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. I've done the math and mileage and if the price is right, I would like to take a few day vacation and go get one.

But how?? Now, I have moved myself cross country, 3 times now. I know the ins and outs of rental truck places and trailers. Budget F'd me over BIG TIME last year, which cost me a great 1984 3/4T Chevy that I was forced to leave in WA, and sell for pennies. Never again.

I do not think there are any companies who make/rent tow dollys that are wide enough for these pick ups, are there??

And UHaul trailers are too narrow. Budget does have ONE trailer that is within an inch of being the right size, but see above. And they will only rent you a trailer with a truck. I have an '04 Dodge Cummins, so no, I am not interesed in renting a POS to pull up and back.

I thought about a tow bar, but isn't 600 miles a bit far for a chincy rig like that?

Asking if there are any other options.

I am not going to buy a truck I cannot drive, but 600 miles on a truck of unknown abilities is beyond me and my current mechanical skills.

Please help with any ideas or resources you may be able to pass along
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I'd look at having it transported by a pro.

600 miles one way? I am just going to guess and say you'll get 8mpg while towing. 600 miles / 8mpg = 75 gallons @ $5 a gallon = $375 in fuel alone, and that's just the trip home.

Add to the $375 the cost of renting a trailer...OH, and the diesel to drive the 600 miles out to get it.

Not to mention a lot of your valuable time (use the vacation time to work on the truck, not get it! :D ) and the headache of planning.

That's just my $.02. I got ballsy and after a year of pondering, I just went up to TN and drove my K5 back on a bad bearing(s). I paid the cost of gas on TWO vehicles (the gas in the truck that took me up and followed me back came out of my pocket).

It was quite an ordeal and, money notwithstanding, the stress I endured is not something I hope to ever experience again.
 
Professional transport is the way to go. After you get done with everything you could just wait an extra week or so to receive your truck (transport schedule) and continue working to pay for all the new stuff you want to have done! It shouldn't cost any more then the cost of doing it yourself. Probably less tbh. GL though
 
What about a tow dolly??? You could pull the front tires on and strap it down. IF you don't want the drivetrain spinning bring a couple wrenches and unbolt the rear driveshaft. That way the only thing spinning is the rear axle and tires!! That's what I would do and I think u-haul rents those at a fair price.


Right after rereading I saw you posted about tow dollies. The only issue would be the track width. Do some research, I'm sure you could get some measurements from the board about the width differences between a DRW or SRW 1 ton chevy and compare to the tow dolly measurements.
 
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I work at United Rentals (construction equipment rentals and sales) and many branches have car trailers that will fit a full size rig. Some of the trailers happen to have trailers that are 84" wide by 16' long and I have put my K5 on it and traveled about 400 mile round trip with it and it was fine. Depending on how long the truck is you can either pull the ramps off and put in the back of truck or some models have the ramps slide in. If the truck you are buying has bigger than 35"x 12.5" tires it may not fit. My K5 has 35" tires and I squeezed it onto the trailer. My 6K lb rig was fine for the 10K trailer capacity too. Call the local United branch in Las cruses to see what they have or the one in El Paso. For a 2-3 day rental should be no more than $200. Just a thought.
Hoby
 
I will start searching for United Rentals. When looking into transporting the prior '84 IIRC the outside dimensions were 79-80ish with factory rims and throw-down spares. I was prepped to pull my 35" BFG's to get it on the trailer.

I appreciate the ideas, and will consider all. But I doubt I would buy a truck unseen and would need to be there to test drive ect. So I've already burnt the fuel up there. The Dodge is impressive, and I averaged 13.2 with a HEAVY 4 horse gooseneck trailer and that was from about Vancouver, BC to Juarez, MX. So that is a little savings on fuel.

My buddy just went to MX and filled up his auxilary fuel tank w diesel at $2.55 !! Talk about savings.
 
If you're going there anyway, just get a trailer to do the transport, and then sell it when you get back. I've done things like that a few times, saves on the rental fees. I always sell for more than I paid - aerosol overhauls are great things.
 
I'd consider renting the trailer or dolly one-way only if you decide to buy the truck after looking at it. No point in hauling a trailer out of state just to bring it back empty if truck turns out to be a POS.:D
 
As long as the tires aren't too big, you can get it on a tow dolly.
They make them in different widths .
Just picked up a 91 Blazer towed it with my friend's tow dolly & about a month ago towed a short bed K10 frame with axles about 200 miles ,on a tow dolly, IIRC the short bed frame had 31X10.5x15's on it & it fit ok.
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I agree that just having a pro transport it is the way to avoid a LOT of headaches, but if you're making the drive to go LOOK at the thing anyway (and therefore spending at least that much gas) you may be right to figure out how to get it home yourself at that point.

Heavy equipment rental places are the way to go if you're doing round-trip. They generally don't do one-way stuff, but they have trailers capable of hauling things like backhoes, so a full size truck is no problem. I rented a trailer that pretty easily handled a late 70's full size F*rd on 37's at one of those place... Nations Rent I think it was... and towed it from Phoenix to Moab (about 10 hours) with no problems at all.
 
I flat towed my '91 home. The rear driveshaft was already out when I bought it so I just made sure the hubs were unlocked. That was only 100 miles or so though. I also got mine in TN, Jon. :D
 
what kind of condition is the drive-train in??? does everything roll easy??? if so, look @ a tow-bar set up...you'll have to drill 2 holes in the bumper(one on each side of the mounting holes to put the brackets on) but as long as it rolls good, you'll be fine...harbor freight sells em for like $50...i bought one for my converted 1 ton(6000lbs+) and have pulled it all over the tri-state area...
 
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the tow bar setup would probably be the cheapest, but it wouldn't hurt to look on craiglist(or similar) and just purchase a tow dollie. i've towed many fullsized trucks on dollies. when the tires are too big, i just deflate them untill they fit. then i re-inflate them after its all strapped down. improvise.
 
Where, exactly are you planning on retrieving from? I have some parts to retrieve from Denver, and can take my carhauler and get it for fuel $$$$.
 
i wish i would've know harbor freight sold em...i bought my tow-bar @ uhaul...cost me $165...i was sooooo PISSED when i saw em @ harbor freight for $50...
 
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