Transport parts truck MA-IN

[bgilbert]

What are my options as far as transporting a 70's Dodge 3/4 ton 4wd reg cab, lwb, no bed, 318 not running. ? Checked uhaul and other truck/trailer rentals and according to their websites, I can't haul this truck- too heavy for their dolly and car trailers?? I swear I've seen full size pickups on dolly trailers before. How about a towbar? Don't know anything about them, just seen them on the road. Are we talking high dollar to pay someone to transport it from Massachusetts to Indiana about 1000 miles? Thanks for any info.



>Thought I'd post here as well as towing/hauling forum.

 

[SGibson]

as long as your overall outside width fits the dolly and the straps will fit the tires I'd probably do it anyway, pump the tires to the max, keep checking for slack and go slow, I think 215/75/15 was the max, I hauled my Aeromate from STL to Naples,Fl last year on one at a wt. of 5800 and it was ok, if you have a accesible dock or hill thats close you could rent a 20 footer and save wear on your vehicle all you'd need is a flat floor and a couple of ramps, I get Penske's locally @ 12c's a mile,$55 a day, that's hard to beat.

 

[Hunter4x4]

I concur with SGibson - you should be able to dolly that truck all day. Especially if it has factory stock size tires on it. I dollied a '78 CJ7 with 33x12. 50 and then 35x12. 50 tires for all over the country several years. The fact that you have a longer wheel base and a majority of the weight up front should make that an easy tow.



Be aware that there are different sizes/capacities of tow dollies - your local rental shop is more likely to have a heavy duty one than the U-Haul store.



Just make sure that the dolly sets level when you tow or you'll have problems with turning - the 'plate' won't want to come back to center.



If possible, make sure you have a spare for the dolly, too.



Mike

 

[Philip]

Pull that dead 318 and drop it into a side ditch somewhere and then put it on any dolly you can rent. It will not be over the limit for it.



Striped like that it will weight around 4k or a little less. A 2WD model with a big block ready to run weighs around 4,400 lbs around that year.

 

[boatpuller]

There's no weight on the rear, load it on the dolly backwards, just tie the steering down and you'll need some lights but that will take the weight off the dolly.

Also as light as it is it shouldn't be a problem on a car trailer, just measure the length of the wheel base and get a trailer alittle longer. I towed an 85 crewcab with no engine on my 16' single axle car trailer, it hung off both ends but the wheels were on the deck.

I wouldn't trust the website to tell me if the truck will fit on the trailer, nothing beats a good old tapemeasure.



Just a few more thoughts,



Caleb

 

[MMiller]

My bigblock 4X4 with dana 60's only weighs in at 5500# I'll bet that you truck will be almost under 5000# specially if its 1/2 ton.



If you can trust the trucks tires and wheel bearings go get it with a car toter. How wide are the Uhaul bumper hitch trailers? I wonder if theay are wide enough. I would n't worry about the wieght too much. How many times have you seen some one put a jeep cherokee or something on a dolly or trailer from uhaul and then FILL THE JEEP UP with stuff. Thats gotta be in the neighbor hood of a full size truck.



Which weekend you want to do it? I'd be up for a good road trip!



Michael

 

[Hunter4x4]

bgilbert -



Don't want to start a big piddling contest here, but I'm afraid I have to disagree with Boatpuller. Towing a vehicle backward on a tow dolly isn't such a great idea - I know from experience. The biggest problem is that the caster is wrong and the front of the vehicle at the back of the rig will wander all over the place. Like I said - been there, done that, baught the t-shirt!! 'Bout 4 years ago with a rig that lost a rear axle bearing and I had to tow it backwards. Could go about 55 MPH max. Long trip home!!



Just my $0. 02 worth!!



Mike

 

[boatpuller]

Hunter,

No piddling contest here, I've seen the wreckers towing cars backwards for years figured it would work the same way on a tow dolly, from your experience I guess it doesn't.



Caleb

 

[TKingsbury]

I sold a '56 International 3/4 ton 4x4 to a guy and he picked it up with a u-haul trailer. The width and the length were just about maxed out, but it fit and worked fine. That truck would be similar in weight and dimensions to your truck.

Travis. .

 

[bgilbert]

Darn Michael you are something else, heck of a buddy, to offer trailer service like that, I appreciate it. Though I wouldn't want to ask for it since its out east, now something along the lines of Texas or Colorado or West , your direction then I might ask. -> Then again, you might have meant you just wanted to ride lol , I've seen that nice gooseneck you have...

The rest of you, I appreciate the replies, it has learned me somethings on trailering vehicles. Looks as though I won't be gettting this truck, got outbidded on ebay, thats fine, I didnt really want to drive so far for it, even though those 3/4 ton parts and divorced 205 would sure look good sitting in my yard . But I will someday trailer a parts/donor rig or crewcab home and I know now what to expect.

 

["Mad Max"]

Tow bar

Fellas -



I had similar issues when I purchased my '85 crewcab dually - How the heck to get it home?? I didn't even want to try a dolly - the 20'-long crew cab was just too big and cumbersom. My solution was to -make- a tow bar 'jig'. The tripod front half was simple - I just got the biggest, heaviest one I could find. But how to attach it to the truck? I didn't want to 'clamp' it to the bumper - I figured that would eventually rip the bumper off the truck. I wanted to go to the frame. Well, I removed the front bumper assembly (bumper and both brackets, 6 heavy bolts, 3 per side) and fabricated a very simple hitch that bolts right to where the bumper brackets did. Made from 2x2" square tube and 1/4" plate steel. Bolted up the hitch, and then attached the tow bar via pull-pins - it worked so well that I was amazed these things weren't available commercially.



I'll try to get some pics and post 'em here. After that, the wiring for the brake lights is simple - just get one of those towing jigs available at Wally World, plug it in, and attach the magnetic base to the rig.

- Sam