towing a Deuce with a 1 ton or 3/4 ton pickup

[bugei]

don't laugh too hard westie, i was the guy you helped out with the brakes a few weeks ago. hope you were right about the fluid thing.

 

[jkelly66]

If You can get a goose neck it works just fine I have hauled 2 deuces on mine with no probs.
Oh yeah check the last two pics make sure your tires are properly inflated and in good shape even though they are they may go pop anyway.
John

 

[Blythewoodjoe]

UPDATE:

I looked in my owners manual and my truck is rated at 13500 for the trailer, 20000 gross with the truck. That means a deuce is over loaded for my F350. The trailer will handle it but the truck is pulling more than it is rated for. I would not cross state lines with the load.

jkelly66, your tire probably blew because it was most likely over loaded. I used to have a 4 tire 5 ton trailer and we had lots of tire trouble. My excavator and trailer was too close to the max load for the tires. Lost a tire once a month. Since getting the 9 ton 8 tire trailer I have not had a blow out. I've had the trailer almost two years.

 

[OD_Coyote]

Re: towing a duece with a 1 ton or 3/4 ton pickup

there is discussion about towing dueces with pickups being "acceptable". can you do that for 450 miles? or should i just drive the bad boy and keep the towing in case of "misshap"? thoughts?

new to me truck, seems to run great, all brakes work, just done by trustworthy mechanic.

i am new to this, i just dont want to be walking or trying to push my new duece off the road by hand.

all comments appreciated.

thanx
dan

I vote for driving the deuce back... I drove mine home and it was about 480 miles.

 

[jimk]

You may be able to get more tire life with the next higher load range, or use the correct load range if they are wrong, (example - load range E, or 10 ply instead of D's). With singles I'd say find the highest LR possible. Use the max press and fill cold. Make sure the wheels can handle the additional pressure. Speed kills tires (heat). My 10T Talbert data plate allows for 11T at reduced speed (50 or 55mph/~28,500 max. trl weight). It came to me with the wrong tires, 6-D's and 2-E's. It's wheel bearing nuts were loose, one was finger tight. Use t-wrench for wheel lug nuts, and re-torque. Having a spare is nice. Adding tongue weight reduces trl tire load. Over weight tickets are expensive. Cops may check the sidewall load cap figure then multiply the tires and compare against the scale. Legal liability nightmare if you injure anybody, even you're not the cause. JimK


p.s. Congratulation, John, on that 2 million miles. That says a lot.

strongly advise against it.

p.s.s Driving an 'unknown' has risks. Some of the new super-duty dually pick-ups can legally, and power-wise, handle a +20K towed load. Best to stick with Ford. LOL

 

[FreightTrain]

You gotta think at the big picture.Sure,you might be able to safely flat tow the deuce if you slow down,have a copilot,go back roads,etc etc but what happens when the inevitable happens?Some Dumb SOB decides to pull out in front of you or someone passes you just to take the next road.You sure ain't gonna stop in time.

 

[jkelly66]

You may be able to get more tire life with the next higher load range, or use the correct load range if they are wrong, (example - load range E, or 10 ply instead of D's). With singles I'd say find the highest LR possible. Use the max press and fill cold. Make sure the wheels can handle the additional pressure. Speed kills tires (heat). My 10T Talbert data plate allows for 11T at reduced speed (50 or 55mph/~28,500 max. trl weight). It came to me with the wrong tires, 6-D's and 2-E's. It's wheel bearing nuts were loose, one was finger tight. Use t-wrench for wheel lug nuts, and re-torque. Having a spare is nice. Adding tongue weight reduces trl tire load. Over weight tickets are expensive. Cops may check the sidewall load cap figure then multiply the tires and compare against the scale. Legal liability nightmare if you injure anybody, even you're not the cause. JimK


p.s. Congratulation, John, on that 2 million miles. That says a lot.

strongly advise against it.

p.s.s Driving an 'unknown' has risks. Some of the new super-duty dually pick-ups can legally, and power-wise, handle a +20K towed load. Best to stick with Ford. LOL

I always use the 10 ply tires and 10-4 on the Ford thanks for the congrats
John

 

[Recovry4x4]

OK, I'll speak now. I would never tow a running deuce with a pickup. If it runs, drive it. It will be good for the truck and it will be good for you. Don't fret the 52 MPH thing. After an hour or two you will start seeing things you've never seen before on the same roads you've travelled a hundred times. Deuce roadtrips are a blast. I've driven mine many many thousand miles and enjoyed it much. Now, flat towing with a pickup. Yeah, I've done it, too many times. I won't do it again simply because I'm probably close to have worn out all my good luck. Used my 94 Chevy crew cab with a 6.5. Here's a list of my insanity. M275 gasser tractor from Philly to S FLa. 1250 miles. M35A2 from Baxley GA to S FLa. 400 miles. Did this twice with 2 different truck. M35A2 sans engine from Columbus OH to S FLa. 1300 miles. Yup, all with the old pickup. My trick was being on the top of my game, planning for everything I could and moving as much weight from the towed vehicle to the pickup as I could. 4 outer tires, the spare and 2 batteries moves 1000# from the towed to the towing vehicle. Like a said, it's a recipe for disaster. I did it and got away with it but not any more.

 

[clinto]

Don't worry about driving it, 450 miles is a trip around the block.

I have done 720 miles in a single say in mine before but a little

 

[Westech]

I did atleast that the first day on the way out to Aberdeen. I was so messed up that first day there.... I have done many many over 600 miles a day in a Deuse and its just too much. I would set it at 500 miles a day to feel ok at the end of the day. Just my two $$

 

[WillWagner]

I did close to 300 in a day, 0600 to 1630...once...by butt was sore for a week! But i'd do it again at the drop of a hat. Kennys right. Same road that has been traveled at 80+ MPH was at 52-54 MPH. It was great, got to see a few more trails I could take the kids and motorcycle on, the scenery. Make sure your flashers work!

 

[Recovry4x4]

Clinto surpassed my 700 mile best in a day. Perhaps I'm weird. I look forward to a 500 mile day in a deuce.

 

[OPCOM]

I was wore out daily after 300 deuce miles or so during the road trip last year.. My max. was 400 miles. I'd be chicken to tow a deuce with a pickup of any kind, no matter if the trailer had brakes or not. Just keep thinking about the toungue of the trailer coming through the rear of the cab.. Don't mind admitting things like that scre me. Kudos for having the nerve to do it though!