Trailer towing question.

[T7RM21]

Hey Guys;

I'm considering taking my '69 Road Runner to a couple of shows that are both several hundred miles from my home. A friend has offered me the use of his 24 ft enclosed trailer. I have a 2006 Silverado 4X4 crew cab (four door) short box with a 5.3L engine. My question is, is this enough truck to tow this combination of car/trailer?

Thanks.

 

[Sixpack70]

What is the GVW of the trailer and how much does the Runner with gear weight? That will be your total trailer weight. Then, what is the towing capacity of your truck? I know a friend of mine used an H2 to pull his fuel dragsters enclosed trailer and it did fine. I think his trailer is about 24' long, maybe more.

 

[Stumper]

I think you would be pushing it towing a 24' enclosed trailer with a B body in it with a half ton truck. I am pretty certain it would be over the GVW. I pull my car on an 18' open steel trailer with my F150 4x4. I wound up adding a set of overload springs to keep it from sagging too much. With the 5.8L motor and extra springs it pulls the load "ok" but I am sure it is over weight.

 

[shag766]

you are putting quite a load on a 1/2 ton, especially being enclosed. check your GVWR and even if it is on the limit i would be using helper bars on the tounge. depending on the axel placement on the trailer i would consider backing on to put the motor-tranny weight on the trailer axels and not dangling off the tounge.
my .02 cents. old truck driver. some places have a deal on u-haul aluminum car trailers and they pull fairly well if you really want to go.

 

[bluefury]

towing capacity

24 ft enclosed trailer. I have a 2006 Silverado 4X4 crew cab (four door) short box with a 5.3L engine. My question is, is this enough truck to tow this combination of car/trailer?

An 06 Silverado crew cab 4X4 should be plenty enough to tow a 24' enclosed trailer and your runner. I think the 4X4 crewcabs are 3/4 ton rated trucks at the least. The GVW and towing capacity should be listed on a sticker in the door jamb, or somewhere in the truck... also in the owners manual.

Just keep your speed down, make sure your tire pressures are set to the high side of spec and I would highly recommend a electric brake unit be used.

 

[YY1]

I pulled my 66 Coronet on an open 22 foot all steel trailer (with full diamond plate floor) all the way from Texas to Florida with an F150 crew 4x4 with the 5.3. No trouble at all.
Almost didn't notice it sometimes.

It's all in the tongue loading. Gotta have enough, but not too much.
Tuning the trailer brakes is big as well.

It was my first time doing anything like that to boot.

 

[NHCharger]

What is the GVW of the trailer and how much does the Runner with gear weight? That will be your total trailer weight.

A lot of 24' enclosed trailers are only rated for 7.5k. You would be at or over the limit with your RR.

 

[Meep-Meep]

As a weight reference point, my 7900 GVW flat bed trailer weighs 1900 lbs and I tow the hemi Charger with my 2012 Dodge 1500 no problem. The rear end drops down quite a bit but it's very stable nonetheless.

 

[Budnicks]

With working trailer brakes & properly loaded weight distribution, take it easy don't drive like a maniac, you should be OK, "it's not ideal" but you can tow it with a 1/2 ton, you generally don't want the loaded trailer to weigh too much more than the truck, with a light duty truck, but some extra weight will be OK as long as it's not tounge weight... Just My Opinion, I towed all over the U.S. with a SWB 76 Chevy step side 1/2 ton w/all my tools & spare stuff in the back & a "fully loaded" steel trailer w/ trailer brake, with a 68 Charger R/T, in my youth... Have fun, take it easy, get there in one piece... I wouldn't do it again probably, but I didn't have another choice at the time, my regular tow rig was down & still wanted to make the trip...

 

[YY1]

Forgot to mention...the F150 was a rental, and had 180 miles on it when I picked it up.

I fully disclosed to the dealership what I intended to do while I had it, and they didn't have a probem. I even called their service department while on the road, to get the pinout for the trailer brake pigtail that I found in the glovebox.

When I returned it, it had just over 3600 miles on it, and I paid a whopping $525.
I did have to keep it 2 extra days, as mileage allowance is based on miles per day, and if I had returned it the day I got home, it would have ben a total of $600 including overage fees for excessive mileage.

 

[ws27]

Your biggest issue is going to be wind drag. An enclosed trailer at highway speeds causes a big drop in fuel mileage which translates to the engine working harder. As everyone said, take it easy. The weight is at or near the limit of the truck and the wind drag will put it over the top. Let us know what your mileage was when you finished.

Good luck.

 

[T7RM21]

Thank you for the input gents!

I think I might be asking a little to much of my truck to make these trips. One of them would be more than 2000 miles round trip the other about 800 miles. We are going to test it out but I'm going to have to examine other options. Thanks again.

 

[bluefury]

Road trip......

Why not just drive the car....?
I drove my 65 Coronet 3400 miles in 10 days last June, then in september went another 2000 miles to the turkey run and back. I try to stay off the interstates and really enjoy the journey.

 

[T7RM21]

Why not just drive the car....?
I drove my 65 Coronet 3400 miles in 10 days last June, then in september went another 2000 miles to the turkey run and back. I try to stay off the interstates and really enjoy the journey.

Unfortunately, both of the shows are held at a time when there is more than likely going to be snow on the ground especially in the mountain passes.

 

[Budnicks]

Yep the evil white stuff

Unfortunately, both of the shows are held at a time when there is more than likely going to be snow on the ground especially in the mountain passes.

There is a good reason they call it the great white north...LOL...

 

[wahya]

We drove through Banff last year pulling a 7500 lb trailer on our way back from Alaska and yeah we could have done it with a half ton, but I felt a lot safer with my 2500. We didn't see any snow on the road since we were in Colorado in May.