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Towing a K5 with an old shortbed

punchinghorse

punchinghorse

Uppercutting Equestrian
Joined
Dec 4, 2013
Posts
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Location
Anderson, IN
Let the flaming and groans begin, but here is my situation:

I have purchased (sight unseen) a '73 K5 that is currently near Atlanta. I am in Indiana. The K5 runs and drives well i'm told, but I don't feel comfortable driving it all the way back. I have the ability to rent a trailer to retrieve it but I am completely at a lack of options for a truck to pull it with. The only thing available is my father's 1990 GMC K1500 shortbed. It is a good truck, but old and honestly hasn't been maintained all that well.

Question is, realizing that long-term towing isn't a good option with this truck, what are the pros and cons of taking a one-time risk of using it to tow the K5 back home? My main concern is the 700r4 going through the mountains of TN. It is very slow shifting and probably closer to dying than I want to believe. If I keep it in D and give it a break after major hill climbs, I think it would probably last. Worst case scenario if the truck breaks down I can swap out and pull the truck home on the trailer with the K5.

The trailer has brakes and the brakes on the truck are good as well. It has a receiver hitch, but the rear suspension is pretty soft. The engine is plenty strong.

I know it's a risk no matter what, but does anyone have any thoughts? I've pulled many trailers with this truck before, but never anything more than 20 or so miles. I am probably going to do it regardless as I have absolutely no other feasible options. Renting a truck on top of the trailer is prohibitively expensive, and at that price I'd be just as well off hiring an auto transport company to bring it up, but that is approaching $700.

Thanks for any input.
 
What about taking some tools, spend a bit of time going through the K5 and then driving it back. You could take the short bed with a tow dolly just in case.

A K5 with trailer (4500 + 2000#) is going to be a lot of weight for that truck to tow even if it was in good condition.
 
I would attempt to tow it. This way if the shirt bed gives out, you can then tow the short bed, with the k5! It's a built in back up plan!
 
I had seriously considered just driving it back, but that is a 700 mile trip on a truck I have not even heard run. The seller sounds and seems like a really honest and good guy. He has been upfront about everything with me. He told me about all of the mechanical work that he has done to the truck and it would most likely make it. But he said that he would not recommend driving it that long of a distance.

I have a small chance of borrowing an 06 3500. Hopefully that pans out, but if not I think I would rather try to pull the K5 on the trailer than try to use a tow dolly as a backup plan.

I would try to go through the K5 and maybe drive it back, but I have very limited time. It basically needs to be a turn and burn to get down and back before I have to be back at work on Monday morning. I am not a fan of making things easy on myself.
 
Id drive it, or get it transported.

People fail to think of things that go wrong. You could lose tires on the tow rig or trailer, or a ton of other possible issue.

Check out uship.com

Is it really that much more than you'll spend in gas, plus any repairs along the way?

Id ship it if i didn't have time.

If i had more time, i'd fly down, and drive it back. Get a AAA Premium membership, for $70, and you can tow it up to 5 times 100 miles. You can always buy tools you need....
 
Gas and cost of trailer will net me about $400. It's about $750 to have it shipped. It's definitely a toss-up. I'm really counting on being able to borrow this 1 ton.
 
I have to towed way worse with worse lol. I would not hesitate to tow with that shorty. Sure it would be nicer to tow with a nicer truck but beggars can't be choosers. I tend to be on the begging side of things
 
I didn't think I'd have any issues dragging a Ford F-150 back on a transport trailer from Chicago to Fort Wayne... Didn't think that because the transmission was just rebuilt about a year before.

Was pulling with my mothers 1/2 ton Silverado, 4.3 V-6 (did just fine) kept the speeds slow and take offs and braking easy. All was going fine till I eased into the throttle to get going from a stop light and a big bang let loose, then a grinding, vibrating noise while we were moving. No reverse.

Busted the sun shell.

ANYTHING can happen, and if you even THINK the trans is questionable in the tow rig, I'd pass.

$750 for having it transported to your place compared to $400 in gas isn't that much of a big difference, considering the time, effort and serious wear and tear and possibility of breaking something on a questionable tow rig.

My little "help a friend out" deal ended up costing us $1100 for a new transmission. No, I didn't ask for anything from the friend, wasn't really his doing, crap just happens although he did assist a bit.

I'm in the same boat with my Suburban in Indiana right now, it will be cheaper for me to have a trucking company ship it to me at about $1100, than it would be for me to drive out there, fix it and then drive it back, basically driving two cars back.

But we're planning on making a little vacation out of it, so we'll see what happens.

Have it shipped, or get a better tow rig, my advice.
 
I'd drive it. Just take it easy, stay in Drive, 55 MPH tops, half throttle up hills. Slow and easy, you'll be fine.
 
eagle mark said:
I'd drive it. Just take it easy, stay in Drive, 55 MPH tops, half throttle up hills. Slow and easy, you'll be fine.
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There must be something seriously wrong with my suburban if half throttle up hills is possible in anything other than a diesel.

My burb will barely move its own weight up larger hills at WOT, let alone at half throttle, with a vehicle in tow. Am i missing something?
 
Well, I guess this thread is now invalidated, because I secured a 1-ton! I'll only get 8mpg, but at least I will have a better chance of making it there and back. And I'll have a "new" K5 in my driveway by Sunday evening!
 
In case anyone cares...I made it! Borrowed a friend's 200? 1-ton dump. Averaged about 7.5mpg and 50mph through the mountains but it did the trick and trans never got over 150 degrees. 30 hour round trip total, including 2 hours to load and strap the k5. Probably would have been cheaper and way less stressful to just have it shipped, but hey at least this way I know it was done right :rotfl:

photo.JPG
 
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punchinghorse said:
In case anyone cares...I made it! Borrowed a friend's 200? 1-ton dump. Averaged about 7.5mpg and 50mph through the mountains but it did the trick and trans never got over 150 degrees. 30 hour round trip total, including 2 hours to load and strap the k5. Probably would have been cheaper and way less stressful to just have it shipped, but hey at least this way I know it was done right :rofl:
Click to expand...

:haha:I`m sure there will be lots of us that care.

The blazer looks complete at least! :thumb: Just don`t go all Chief Brody on it!?? :D
 
punchinghorse said:
In case anyone cares...I made it! Borrowed a friend's 200? 1-ton dump. Averaged about 7.5mpg and 50mph through the mountains but it did the trick and trans never got over 150 degrees. 30 hour round trip total, including 2 hours to load and strap the k5. Probably would have been cheaper and way less stressful to just have it shipped, but hey at least this way I know it was done right :rofl:
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Long trip for something that beautiful :haha:

What was the draw to this particular truck? its a bit hard to see its inner beauty from the picture. :eek1:
 
It is complete except for some missing interior stuff.

The "draw" was sheer unavailability. Believe it or not, that is very light rust for Indiana standards. The drivetrain, floor pans, and frame are all rust free. Any truck you'd find around here would be completely rotted out. And, '69-'75 Blazers simply do not exist around here. You'll find one every 2-3 months pop up on craigslist, but it's usually a total restoration lifted 24" on chrome wheels and wanting $15k+. Or it will be non-running and completely rotted out to where it's barely usable for parts. The salt spray just absolutely kills undercarriages, and Indiana LOVES their road salt. Oh, and that new type of salt that is less caustic than traditional road salt, and even has added corrosion inhibitors? Yeah the INDOT has never heard of it nor do they care.

I got a hell of a deal on it, and the purchase price plus the cost to retrieve it were still way lower than if I ever happened to find a comparable one in Indiana. It's way less rusty than my previous '75. That poor truck literally fell apart in my driveway (I removed the top and the quarters fell off).

It's very mechanically sound, too. Everything works as it should and he has put a lot of money and time into it. He just never messed with the body. It's got a 4" Skyjacker all spring lift, ORD sway bar discos, new shocks, new brake lines, rebuilt trans, new heads, and many more things. All I really need to do is figure out where the oil is leaking from that coated the rear of the trailer on the way home and adjust the carb for the Indiana winters and I'll have a great starting point.
 
punchinghorse said:
It is complete except for some missing interior stuff.

The "draw" was sheer unavailability. Believe it or not, that is very light rust for Indiana standards. The drivetrain, floor pans, and frame are all rust free. Any truck you'd find around here would be completely rotted out. And, '69-'75 Blazers simply do not exist around here. You'll find one every 2-3 months pop up on craigslist, but it's usually a total restoration lifted 24" on chrome wheels and wanting $15k+. Or it will be non-running and completely rotted out to where it's barely usable for parts. The salt spray just absolutely kills undercarriages, and Indiana LOVES their road salt. Oh, and that new type of salt that is less caustic than traditional road salt, and even has added corrosion inhibitors? Yeah the INDOT has never heard of it nor do they care.

I got a hell of a deal on it, and the purchase price plus the cost to retrieve it were still way lower than if I ever happened to find a comparable one in Indiana. It's way less rusty than my previous '75. That poor truck literally fell apart in my driveway (I removed the top and the quarters fell off).

It's very mechanically sound, too. Everything works as it should and he has put a lot of money and time into it. He just never messed with the body. It's got a 4" Skyjacker all spring lift, ORD sway bar discos, new shocks, new brake lines, rebuilt trans, new heads, and many more things. All I really need to do is figure out where the oil is leaking from that coated the rear of the trailer on the way home and adjust the carb for the Indiana winters and I'll have a great starting point.
Click to expand...


Sweet. Sounds like a good move then.
 
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