towing....

[TXsizeK5]

Okay, I don't have ANY towing experience and neither does my friend...

We're thinking about trailering my k5 around when it comes time for trails for the OffRoad club.

For 1) he has a 96 Ford F-150 with 33x12.50 BFG mud terains, 4.10 and eaton posi and an inline 6. Is thi sufficient for pulling a stripped down k5 (no top or tailgate) and a few basic tools.

2) What kinda trailer setup should we get? is a 14 foot or 16 foot trailer w/out brakes and a 4,000 GVWR (whats this mean?) sufficient or feasible?

3) Two bar with trailer? or hook straight to the ball on the hitch?

Any info is appreciated... thanks!!!

and dont tell me to do a search, cause it came up inconclusive and Im a college student and time is not a luxury! classes are stressful enough not having to think about towing!

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

It may very well be illegal in your state to pull a trailer that heavy without brakes. It sure is in Illinois. A 4,000 GVWR is nowhere near enough. Your K5 weighs 6,000+ lbs and that trailer probably weighs 1,500. That puts you almost at double that 4,000# figure.

I would not pull anything with a 1/2 ton truck, but that is my personal opinion of course a lot of people do sucessfully.

Definitely get the truck as far forward on the trailer as possible to maximize tongue weight which hopefully will cut the sway to a minimum. If you can, use a weight distributing setup to make the truck and trailer level afterward.

I don't even know where to begin if you know absolutely nothing about towing, but start with this:

Use only long wheelbase rigs to tow

Get a trailer with brakes. If you're going to risk it without brakes, make sure you use a 3/4 or 1 ton truck that will have bigger brakes. That's still not enough, but at least it's better

Use the proper hitch so that your truck and trailer are as close to level as possible

Load the trailer correctly. Get 10-15% of the weight of the trailer on the tongue. Make sure you securely bind the truck down forward and aft to make sure it stays put.

 

[ramjet gmc]

i tow my k5 with a Power Stroke Excursion and i would not even think of towing with out electric breaks that k5 is is some BIG LBS close to 7000 with trailer and parts in it and 100 lb for my lunch /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif Some day you on the west coast will see it at BB4
but what is the miles you plan on doing ??
and the trailer is 16 foot i think a smaler trailer is too squarly(side to side )

 

[sdavid]

His 1/2ton will probably pull it, but not that great. If he has an automatic, it will be even worse and will not hold up to much tow duty.

GVWR= Gross Vehicle Weight Ratio (I think) 4000lbs is probably all the weight the trailor can handle safely.

I would think atleast a 16' tandem (2) axle trailor for a K5, and trailor brakes would make a huge difference for the better.

I am not sure about flat towing or hooking your blazer directly to another vehicle. Could be an option though.

 

[gravdigr]

[ QUOTE ]
GVWR= Gross Vehicle Weight Ratio (I think) 4000lbs is probably all the weight the trailor can handle safely.

[/ QUOTE ]

that is the max weight of the trailer and whatever it carries. Our flatbed monument truck is rated for 10,000lb GVW but the truck itself weighs 6500lbs so we can carry a max payload of 3500lbs including driver, passenger, fuel, and whatever else I need. And as far as the tow rig goes you'd be better off towing the I6 truck with the blazer /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[toy4fun]

I'm no expert but I think the truck it to small the trailer is to small or the k5 is to big.
I think a 1/2 ton can do it with some overloads springs but the inline six is going to be working really hard, and I also heard that it not a good idea to tow with a posi becase the add weight on the back end will not allow the rear tires to spin in a tight turn putting a lot of stress on the axles.
Bigger trailer with breaks and a GVWR of a lot more then 4000 and as low to the ground as possible, this will make your k5 less top heavy /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif

I think when towing Biger is better /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

 

[TXsizeK5]

wow sounds like WAY too much to keep track of. /forums/images/graemlins/1zhelp.gif

I might just end up driving thisthing everywhere/anywhere, I just have to plan mods accordingly. such as, if i get trailered around , I can go chop top and i can get 5.13's... if i drive highway Ill leave the front top part on and 4.10 stay, etc.

 

[wild-will]

man you guys got some weak trucks my 96 burban has no prob pullin my truck and like 1500 pounds of gear. dude just hook up and drive you arnt gonna screw up the other truck

 

[got_mud]

[ QUOTE ]
man you guys got some weak trucks my 96 burban has no prob pullin my truck and like 1500 pounds of gear. dude just hook up and drive you arnt gonna screw up the other truck

[/ QUOTE ]


statistically, and as a professional driver, i can guarantee that this attitude kills as many people as drunk driving. check with AAA, they can verify it. "just hook up and drive"? a 6 cylinder ford can't get out of its own way. tripling the load on that drivetrain will end horribly.

load leveling hitches and overload springs don't make a tow rig. do the damn search and read the posts by the guys who have recently lost their rigs due to towing accidents.

 

[gravdigr]

I'm fairly sure your burb isn't running a 6 cyl engine either. Total weight of his truck, trailer, and k5 will be in the neighborhood of 12,000lbs at least and that is too much to ask of a small engine. He'll feel like he is pulling a dead elephant and god forbid he hits a hill /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

On that note, my 1 ton 2wd truck has a 350 in it and single wheels and is rated to tow 9,500 lbs. I think. My 7,500 lb. or so 5th wheel certainly is a heavy mofo behind that thing, but at least I know that I have a safe truck to pull it with. I have a 15,000 lb Reese 5th wheel, a Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller, there are something like 11 rear leaves and overloads back there, and I have D rated tires. I might not have a lot of power, but at least I tow safely.

 

[KrebsATM02]

The 6 cylinder ford is not that bad of an engine...It produces more torque than a 302. Granted I would never tow my K5 with one... We tow our smaller tractor around with it and the total weight of tractor and trailer is around 5500-6000, but we go slow...

 

[6.2Blazer]

At absolute minimum I would use a 16' trailer rated at least for 7,000 lbs. GVW and that had at least brakes on one axle.

The 1/2 ton Ford is definitely not the idea tow rig, but if it is in good shape it could probably do it. A weight distributing hitch should be considered a necessity for the 1/2 ton.

Engine power is just about the least of my concerns when towing as I would much rather have stable handling and good braking power over being able to pull grades at 70 mph........though expect to be going pretty slow up any type of hill.

 

[TXsizeK5]

Texas doesn't have too many hills, but we do do some runs up in CO and NM... so that would definately be a concern.

He has 4.10, so that would help for pullin I suppose... but we pretty much junked the Idea, and I figure I'll jsut be driving my rig whereever and whenever.