Towing Questions

[strum456]

As long as you arent hammering on it, I think the engine and trans would be ok for occational use.

I am a bit concerned about you being able to balance the load with 10 percent toung weight and keep the jack and safety chains from dragging. Those 2 wheel drive chevys sit low and have soft springs. You might need to consider air bags. A friend of mine uses them on his chevy for the same reason when pulling a camper.

 

[jeffsw6]

I drove one maybe 2005 5.3L with 3.42 gears and the 4 speed and it would not pull a sick ***** out of bed.

I'm not sure if I would go that far, but it is no torque monster. Mine doesn't produce much below 2500 RPM or so. For light trailering it is great.

If it squats to bad or sways I will look into a wd hitch. How much do they run? Never looked at buying one.

Just W/D will only set you back a couple hundred bucks, maybe less. W/D and sway control gets expensive, like $500ish for Reese. The other thing is sway control rigging takes some time to hook up.

 

[Diamondpilot]

It's got one front weight and the fluid in the tires has been removed, no wheel weights. I may try to get it weighed.

My guess is its about a 5,000# tractor then.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

I'm not sure if I would go that far, but it is no torque monster. Mine doesn't produce much below 2500 RPM or so. For light trailering it is great.


Just W/D will only set you back a couple hundred bucks, maybe less. W/D and sway control gets expensive, like $500ish for Reese. The other thing is sway control rigging takes some time to hook up.

Like I said, it was a 3.42 gear with a 4 speed, different beast from what he has in his 2011. I am used to 3.73 and 4.10 geared trucks and there is just no comparison. When I buy trucks the first thing I look at is where the engine makes its torque. If it does not make 80% below 2500 rpm its not for me.

As for WD hitches I can get them all day long shipped to your door with a anti sway system for around $250. Look at Putnam. American made, better paint and finish than Reese, and a great company to deal with. Used them for years for all kinds of towing needs. This is a 10,000# WD setup. Heavier setups are a little more.

Chris

 

[sld]

About the W/D hitch issue, the max tow rating is WITH the W/D hitch, right?

So, if you don't use one your tow rating is quite a bit less than 9700#?

That is the way I have understood it on my vehicles but I have been wrong before.

 

[SMOKEEATERFF]

My truck has the Z71 appearance package, I think it sits a little higher than regular 2wds. Don't know if there is an extra leaf spring or not. I do have the dic to watch the tranny temp.

 

[jejeosborne]

If your trailer weighs 8000lbs, you need about 800 lbs tongue weight MINIMUM. You will need a WD hitch for this load to be safe. I have been caught in the rain on a quick trip when I didn't use mine and I could tell my stopping distance was greatly shortened. Skidded the front tires on my truck with little effort. Not to mention everyone flashing their lights at you at night because you're nose is high.

 

[Diamondpilot]

About the W/D hitch issue, the max tow rating is WITH the W/D hitch, right?

So, if you don't use one your tow rating is quite a bit less than 9700#?

That is the way I have understood it on my vehicles but I have been wrong before.

Yes, like I said before most have a much lower rating without the WD hitch versus with.

Example is my 2 trucks.

2008 Nissan Titan 4x4 has a tow rating of 9,500# but without the WD its 6,000#.

2006 Ford F-350 4x4 Diesel has a BP tow rating of 15,000# with WD, but its only 12,000# without. The tow rating for 5th wheel and GN is about 18,000#.

Chris

 

[deerefan]

You are right but my guess, and this is me going off older GM products, is your hitch has a rating itself. It will be something like 6,000# and 600# of tongue weight for standard pull and 10,000# and 1,000# tongue weigh with a WD hitch.

The guys pulling 8,000# on the factory hitch without a WD hitch are asking for trouble. Been there done that. I tow a lot, about 150 miles a week for the last 20 years and have done just about everything stupid possible.

Using a WD hitch changes the way the load is applied to the hitch. The GM hitches are pretty decent but are far from the best out there. For your purposes I would keep the factory hitch and go with a WD setup.

By the way me calling the 5.3L gutless a fact, not a opinion when compared to Fords 5.0L V8, Toyotas 5.7L V8, Nissans 5.6L V8, and Dodges 5.7L V8. These base V8 engines from all the other manufactures make tons more torque and HP than the 5.3L. It is what it is. Don't get me wrong, the 5.3L is a fine engine that gets good mpg and is reliable but just not the best tower. Yes, I have never owned one but have driven and rode in them and I tow enough to know whats what. Granted, this is all in 5.3L 4 speed trucks and SUV such as Yukons with either 3.73 gears or 4.10 gears. I drove one maybe 2005 5.3L with 3.42 gears and the 4 speed and it would not pull a sick ***** out of bed.

Chris

While i appreciate your opinion, you are not comparing apples to apples. Three of the four engines you listed are the best gas engines avaulable from that particular manufacturer. The 3.5tt would be the best from ford. The 6.2 from gm compares to all these engines power wise nicely. The 5.3 is not the base motor or top of the line either. Kind of in the middle, thought definitely more common than the 6.2. I could not agree with you more regarding the wd hitch. It makes a huge difference, especially in load handling.

 

[SMOKEEATERFF]

Should I go for a regular deck or dove tailed deck? Not sure if there is price difference at my dealer.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I personally like the flat deck. The DT just does not give you enough flat space in my eyes for hauling things like lumber and such. It also can make it tough to balance the tractor because you may not be able to use the last 4-5 feet of the trailer to back up or inch forward to get the balance right.

Yes, DT can be a little easier to load but have a down side that to me just does not outweigh it. They also seem to drag more if you are going over curbs, into rough ground, ect. This can be a real issue since your truck is only 2 wheel drive.

I personally have a 18' low boy style car hauler trailer, wood deck, 81" wide. Its only 14" off the ground and has slide out rear ramps that are 5' long. Ramp style is also another thing to consider. I like slide in style. Stand up ones can prevent proper loading do to constraints on where you must position things. Its legal to let things like long lumber and a bush hog to hang over 4' by law as long as its flagged.

Chris

 

[strum456]

Should I go for a regular deck or dove tailed deck? Not sure if there is price difference at my dealer.

It depends what you are planning to haul. The advantage of a dove tail or beaver tail trailer is loading low-sitting equipment like skid steers. The advantage of a flat bed is more useful space. Your Ford 4000 will have no trouble climbing on the trailer, in my opinion. HOWEVER, I will tell you to ask about ramp capacity. The ramps on my 10,000# Gatormade trailer are already bent, becasue they are only rater for 2000# a piece. An easy fix, but something to consider.

BTW,. I agree about hitches. Get the strongest hitch available for your truck. Using an inadequate hitch is NEVER worth the risk.

 

[Hollow]

Unless your going to be loading something with low ground clearance (cars, lawn mowers) I wouldn't. A dove tail is just going to decrease the ground clearance of the trailer and make it drag more.

 

[deerefan]

Unless your going to be loading something with low ground clearance (cars, lawn mowers) I wouldn't. A dove tail is just going to decrease the ground clearance of the trailer and make it drag more.

This is the same issue I had and why I went with a regular trailer with ramps. Dovetails are nice, especially for cars, but only on flat ground. Going up curbs or driveways, they always seem to drag.

 

[George2615]

Check the hitch on your truck. It should have a tag that tells you maximum trailer and tongue weight with and without a W/D hitch.

 

[jejeosborne]

I think it is important to mention this one more time. I have seen a few post in this thread mentioning to make sure you position the tractor correctly on the trailer in some instances referring to preventing the need for a WD setup. To me this sounds like a recommendation to balance the load over the trailer axles to prevent too much squat on the rear of the truck. What should really be conveyed is that proper positioning means more than 10% of the total trailer plus load weight is on the tongue. You will have dangerous sway potential at highway speeds if you don't follow this rule. You might get away with this at 30 mph city driving but please don't get on the highway. 800-900 lbs on the tongue will squat a half ton truck pretty good. I also believe that a WD hitch is safer than correcting with air bags. The hitch will spread the weight to your front TV axle and help with stopping. Yes you cannot adjust the weight distribution on travel trailers by moving its load but the manufacturers have placed the axles to give proper tongue weight from the factory.
Jeff

 

[Diamondpilot]

I think it is important to mention this one more time. I have seen a few post in this thread mentioning to make sure you position the tractor correctly on the trailer in some instances referring to preventing the need for a WD setup. To me this sounds like a recommendation to balance the load over the trailer axles to prevent too much squat on the rear of the truck. What should really be conveyed is that proper positioning means more than 10% of the total trailer plus load weight is on the tongue. You will have dangerous sway potential at highway speeds if you don't follow this rule. You might get away with this at 30 mph city driving but please don't get on the highway. 800-900 lbs on the tongue will squat a half ton truck pretty good. I also believe that a WD hitch is safer than correcting with air bags. The hitch will spread the weight to your front TV axle and help with stopping. Yes you cannot adjust the weight distribution on travel trailers by moving its load but the manufacturers have placed the axles to give proper tongue weight from the factory.
Jeff

Good point Jeff. Also I would like to add that one needs to also check the hitch itself placed on the truck. Many times the factory hitch is not rated for what the truck is rated for. A good example is the factory hitch that came on my 2004 F-250 was rated for 3,000# less than the truck was rated for. I ended up breaking the hitch in the first year.

People who say a BP trailer pulls like crap usually have one of two situations. Most common is the one you listed above. The other is too small of a tow vehicle. I have been towing for well over 20 years and have owned about 15 trailers. Only one was a GN. All my BP trailers have pulled great. I load them properly, use the proper hitch, and the proper tow vehicles.

Chris

 

[downslope]

How close is a typical dovetail to the ground at the lowest point?

Chris says his car hauler is 14" off the ground. Would a dovetail be even lower than that? It seems like being that low either one might drag in rough terrain.

 

[Diamondpilot]

DT height varies but I have seen them as low as maybe 8". My old GN, the DT was a good 24" from the ground.

Chris

 

[downslope]

DT height varies but I have seen them as low as maybe 8". My old GN, the DT was a good 24" from the ground.

Chris

Yeah, I notice also that on some deckovers the DT is 4ft and on others 5ft. I guess if you want a dovetail the 5ft would be better as long as it's built right.