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Towing with lift kit

C

colelkhunter

1/2 ton status
Joined
Sep 19, 2010
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Location
tennessee/colorado
I am about ready to start on my 77 k-30 project. i want to make it trail friendly (moderate) and still use it for occasional towing of my other rigs. Looking to run at least a 37" tire, maybe up to a 42. Anyone have a lifted one ton that they use for towing that can chime in with a little advice? I am not going to lift it over 6", or is that a little much. Bumper pull trailer mostly, but may hook up to the gooseneck every now and then if I need to.
 
i want to make it trail friendly (moderate) and still use it for occasional towing of my other rigs.
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what does "trail friendly" mean? i ask only because a 6" lift and 37 or 42" tires seems extreem to me. it will take a whole lot of modification to that '77 to make that combo road worthy by itself i would think. what do your other rigs/trailers weigh? how far do you want to tow with it? there's mountains in CO, right?

i'm gonna change my name to "towing thread pain-in-the-a55" :D
 
I plan to run the 37" H1 hummer wheels and tires to start. These will bolt on with very little lift. These tires are also load rated for towing. Planning to keep some semblance of the rear 1 ton spring pack to make it a little softer, but still able to tow without problem. Also the wheel base will be about 130". I am not looking to rock crawl this truck, just get in and out of hunting places and trail ride for the most part. Also considered using a softer suspension and adding airbags to the rear to stiffen it up. Just mainly wondering how much lift would compromise the towing ability of a 1 ton truck, before going to far.
 
not to be an annoying or anything(can't help it :D), but the further away from "stock" you go the more comprimised the truck will become(for towing). it really boils down to the weight you want to tow.....not pull, but safely tow. there are plenty of people that will disagree with me though. and plenty of people that have got away with towing things they shouldn't have.

i don't know where you hunt, but the remote places i've had to get into in NY were handled with 33" or 35" tires quite handily with a more technical approach . if you're dead set on the Hummer deal then go up 4" and trim the front. that would make for a VERY rugged truck providing all the other planets line up too. there is a plethora of things to consider when using a tire this big......gearing, braking, steering/bump steer, just to name a few. you'll probable need to go with 4.56's to tow effectivly with that size tire, 4.88 may be better yet depending on your drivetrain. the simplest explaination is, the higher you go the more unsafe the truck will be to tow with. think leverage and side loading.

how much weight do you plan on towing? tongue weight? trailer brakes? brake controller? a 5th wheel is better than a receiver hitch too imo.
 
Truck is already geared 5.13 with a BBC engine sm465 and np203. crossover steering is already in the works. As well as a shackle flip for the rear. I was thinking 4" as well on the lift, but I won't rule out 6" later. reason for the H-1s is they are plentiful and cheap near me and are E load rated. Plan to tow at least 8k lbs with gooseneck trailer, trailer brakes of course.
 
I'd be a little leary of a shackle flip towing that much weight....
 
I'd be a little leary of a shackle flip towing that much weight....
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and i agree 100%. 8,000 lbs is plenty for a stock 30 series SET UP for towing. that is a sweet rig though. i was just showing the pic i found of the rims and what was done to them to fit tat truck.

soft rate springs and no sway bars or track bar is fine for wheeling.....towing?
 
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not if i was towing 8,000+ pounds... and i do hate to say it, i know how harsh lift springs are compared to a flip...
 
and i do hate to say it, i know how harsh lift springs are compared to a flip...
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what if he went with a HD 2" spring and ORD 2.5 flip kit for less "side to side" with a 4" spring in front, and a low goose neck? i bet the truck would sit level with the right weight in the bed and he could keep the sway bar with disconects. that should make it pretty decent at that weight. he'll just bounce around off road :doah:


i really want to see the rigs men use for their truck's tow vehicle. i know what kind crashed in the city when i worked as a highway tow operator for 10 years, and i saw the rigs that crashed when i lived upstate NY for 8 years. I've seen some real cool tugboats too. i'm going to see if there's a thread about that.......
i like to hear other opinions on this towing stuff. opinions on how we could design the perfect lifted tow vehicle if someone had the budget or the fab skills.
 
Well Im converting my CC to a 4x4 and so got to lift it a bit to match the front cuz the front is going to have some. Don't rally want to put 48 in springs in, have a set of 56's but dont need the flex or the soft ride.
 
i found this on ORD's site, i'm curious if anyone has done this with a track bar. wouldn't be hard to make it quick disconnect or a clamp-able slip setup.


  • [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Load carrying ability is also a common question. Basically, if you keep the factory overloads, you won’t have any trouble. We've designed the shackle angle to retain as much load carrying ability as possible with a lifted 4wd. [/FONT]

  • [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There is no more lateral lateral motion of the vehicle than with the stock tension shackle bushing setup. It may look as if the axle could move side to side easier, but the only thing that puts more leverage on the bushings is the additional ride height, which you also gain with blocks or lift springs.[/FONT]

  • [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1-ton trucks require a different flip kit than k5's, k10's and k20's. The kit is the same price, we just need to know it's for a 1-ton when you order it. The difference is that the spring center spacing on the 1-ton axle is only 40 1/2", and on the rest of the trucks, it's 42 1/2". The brackets are a different shape to reflect that.[/FONT]
  • http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/shacklekit.htm
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the other thing to remember when lifting a truck and towing with a goose neck or 5th wheel is the hitch height of the trailer..........lifted trailer :rolleyes: ?
 
ok after alot of looking heres what I have come up with so far. For now i am leaving the wheelbase at 164. Adding the H1's and 37's (whick bolted right on with no lift :D). Clear pretty well in the front,may require slight trim for full stuff, no issue in the back. At some point I will shorten it to 130". Keeping the stock rear springs and adding airbags. Eventually Looking for 4" total lift and keep the airbags as an end result. This should result in a truck that can be trail ridden and tow occasionally. Meeting my goal. Next thing to figure out is what to do with all the leftover space behind the single cab. Would look pretty goofy with a flatbed that long. Thought about Cutting the top off the cab (early blazer style) adding a cage and extending the cage work onto the rear to act as a crew cab cage. then have a short flatbed on the back over the axle to mount a gooseneck ball, reciever hitch on the rear. Frame cut as short as spring perches will allow. i would also like to convert to propane in the end, so cage could be built to protect tank as well. Anyone with photo-chop skills feel free to play with this as I have no ideas YET.:waytogo:
 
If it was my project, I would set the truck up with towing in mind as the main priority with how well it could do offroad as an insignificant second. Is this a crew cab or regular cab? Pretty important in my book.

If it's a regular cab I'd put a 4" lift with a set of 33x12.50's.

If it's a crew cab I'd go as high as a 6" lift with 35's.

Obviously I would leave the rear suspension stock with just a block and add a leaf.

I would be in the mindset that if the mild lift and tire combo isn't enough to get me where I want offroad, then I need to just build a different truck for offroading.....

I tow with a 6" lift and 33x15.50's on my '06 Ram and it's all the tire and lift that I can stand when towing.
 
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