Towing - How

[ultrarunner]

Anyone know what the procedure is when your tow vehicle and trailer predate tow ratings or GCVW?

I was told by a retired law enforcement officer the load ratings on the tire is the only thing they can go by...

 

[JDgreen227]

Anyone know what the procedure is when your tow vehicle and trailer predate tow ratings or GCVW?

I was told by a retired law enforcement officer the load ratings on the tire is the only thing they can go by...

Interesting query...tire load ratings will vary according to pressure and number of plies, how does a law enforcement officer make a decision when they don't know the weight of the towing vehicle or load? You could modify a half ton truck by using wheel adapters to install 3/4 ton rims and tires which have a much higher load rating but the rest of the truck doesn't get any stronger. Seems like a half-elbow method to determine it, IMO.

 

[ultrarunner]

Interesting query...tire load ratings will vary according to pressure and number of plies, how does a law enforcement officer make a decision when they don't know the weight of the towing vehicle or load? You could modify a half ton truck by using wheel adapters to install 3/4 ton rims and tires which have a much higher load rating but the rest of the truck doesn't get any stronger. Seems like a half-elbow method to determine it, IMO.

They carry portable scales that go under the wheels... and tire load ratings are on the sidewall.

What else can you really go on when the vehicle predates manufacturer's Tow/Weight Ratings?

Fooling around with antique cars since age 12... I've been stopped a few times over the years... mostly just so the officer can get a better look... never cited.

Had the kids in the Model A Rumble Seat for a town parade... main street was blocked-off by the Highway Patrol... as we left the parade route and officer was directing and my 5 year old niece proudly announced she was riding without a carseat... officer just smiled.

I imagine it is the gray area between being "Grandfathered" or not when it comes to the vehicle code... and/or how familiar law enforcement is... most don't know any commercial vehicle before a certain year is exempt from weight fees and commercial tags... 1936 I believe.

My Sears Heilite Tent Trailer always gets strange looks... it is single wheel with two 1" trailer hitch balls...

 

[brokenot]

I had a '90 Ford F150 with a 4.9 six and automatic, 3.08 gears, factory tow rating was 5000 lbs, 10,000 lbs GCWR. Put the truck on a scale one time with all gear in back, fuel tanks full, cap, toolbox loaded, etc. Scale said 5,020 lbs. Towed a Jayco 30 foot TT, scale read 6345 with gear and LP tanks full. I was actually almost 1400 pounds over the factory GCWR. If I had the 5.0 V8 or 3.55 axle instead, GCWR was 12,000 lbs. factory and it would have been legal. WHY? More power or a lower axle ratio means no difference in how well you can turn or stop.

There could be any number of reasons for that. Perhaps the available gear ratio in the automatic transmission, coupled with the rear axle ratio, put the engine too close to the "lugging threshold" when towing, resulting in constant downshifting/upshifting under load. Every time an automatic changes gears, clutch packs are engaged/disengaged. All of those engagements/disengagements are "softened up" to make shifts less harsh. The softening up of the shifts basically means that the clutch packs apply/release hydraulically usually via an accumulator, or through the use of an orifice. So every time a shift happens, wear happens as the clutches *slip* into engagement/disengagement. When I'm towing at anywhere near any of my vehicles' max tow ratings, I'm usually not keeping up with traffic, and it's intentional.....I'd rather take a few minutes extra getting somewhere, instead of toeing the "lugging threshold" speed that results in the constant shifting. Vehicle manufacturers can't control how their vehicles are driven, so sometimes it seems like they play with tow ratings specs and such instead.

While the 4.9 produced good torque down low, at highway speeds the 5.0's higher rpm power curve could have made up for it, resulting in less of a tendency for it to lug down, which created a need for more throttle, and more downshifting/upshifting. A lower rear axle ratio would accomplish the same thing.

Turning or stopping is another issue altogether. The stopping thing is an easy one. When properly equipped with a brake controller and with the trailer braking system functioning as it should, the extra 2K of weight would be of little or no consequence. Turning with a heavier load is *kind of* left up to the common sense of the vehicle operator.

 

[RobertN]

Pictures!

My Sears Heilite Tent Trailer always gets strange looks... it is single wheel with two 1" trailer hitch balls...

 

[tcartwri]

While the 4.9 produced good torque down low, at highway speeds the 5.0's higher rpm power curve could have made up for it, resulting in less of a tendency for it to lug down, which created a need for more throttle, and more downshifting/upshifting. A lower rear axle ratio would accomplish the same thing.

The 4.9 was a much superior work motor than either the 5.0 or the 5.8 V8's. The reason the 4.9 was rated lower, was because of the light duty 5 speed they put in the F150's.

Towed my race car for several years with one of those straight six F150's. It worked very very well.

 

[not2old]

Anyone know what the procedure is when your tow vehicle and trailer predate tow ratings or GCVW?

I was told by a retired law enforcement officer the load ratings on the tire is the only thing they can go by...

In British Columbia, they are much more lenient with this but you are talking about towing with vehicles more than 20 years old. |In this case they almost ignore GCVW and look at GVW, axel and tire loads. All trailers over 1500 lbs. require operating brakes.

 

[ultrarunner]

Pictures!

Here you go...

Heilite Trailers were built of aircraft quality aluminum by the Heilite Manufacturing company founded in 1953 in Lodi California. They have doors for access to the storage area under the sleeping area.

The entire canvas is water proofed and folds into the top of the trailer and if need be could be removed and the trailer used as a utility trailer.

The two small trailer hitches that mount to 1 inch trailer balls. The data plate makes no mention of Weight or Load Capacity.

Here's a link to the a view of the undercarriage.

http://www.singlewheel.com/Auto/Heilite/HeilSamba/1650253.jpg

 

[slowzuki]

We used to tow hay wagons with 5 tons of hay on them with one. It was a 4 spd std with the bull low though. You could hear the lifters clacking away with the rpm down around 500 dragging the load up over one of the hills. You had to put at least 50 bales on the truck to have enough traction to get started at one of the stop signs along the way.

The 4.9 was a much superior work motor than either the 5.0 or the 5.8 V8's. The reason the 4.9 was rated lower, was because of the light duty 5 speed they put in the F150's.

Towed my race car for several years with one of those straight six F150's. It worked very very well.

 

[slowzuki]

The 1998 F150 started the F150 heavy version that has a 10.25 semi floater axle in the rear. I think they call it the 7700 kg gcvwr option up here now. It was to bridge the gap since the Superduties are all really 1 tons, just some have softer springs.

The F150's all used the 8.8 rear axle, regardless of six or V8 that year, they began putting that size axle under trucks starting in '83. THe bigger F250 and F350 models used the bigger 10.25 inch rear axle in starting in '83.