I am planning on pulling the driveshaft and towing my 79' F150 wheeler down to school next week. I need to get a tow bar, but I need to know what weight rating the bar would need. What is the curb weight of the truck? Do you think a 5000 or 6000 lb tow bar will be enough? I am pulling it behind my 01' Silverado 2500HD with the Duramax.

5,000 to 6,000 sounds about right depending on what you have done with it and what factory options it had. Give yourself plenty of tongue weight and you should be fine.



hick

I would figure on 6500# for the curb weight maybe a little more depending on how much you load it up with stuff. As far as tongue weight, you will have none since it is a tow bar not a trailer. Make damn sure it is secured well and check it often. I flat towed my jeeps a lot and had one side come undone and the jeep changed lanes on me. Bent th tow bar all up, good thing I had a friend with, we just drove both vehicles from there.

I would figure on 6500# for the curb weight maybe a little more depending on how much you load it up with stuff. As far as tongue weight, you will have none since it is a tow bar not a trailer. Make damn sure it is secured well and check it often. I flat towed my jeeps a lot and had one side come undone and the jeep changed lanes on me. Bent th tow bar all up, good thing I had a friend with, we just drove both vehicles from there.

You are probably right about the curb weight being closer to 6,500, but as for the tongue weight, it depends on the style of the tow bar. The ones that attach to the front bumper of the vehicle being towed can be adjusted as to allow for more or less weight to be put on the towing vehicle. If you don't put enough load on the towing vehicle, the rear of the towing vehicle can come up off of the ground.


hick

I just weighed my 1978 f250 supercab longbed, no lift or mods, at the dump empty w both tanks full she was 6000lbs. I hope this helps.

Thanks it does! My truck is only a F150 Short Bed Reg Cab with one tank! So I am probably around 5400lbs then! Great that means I can get away with a less expensive 6000# bar.

I have never seen a tow bar that adjusted to give more or less tongue weight. I am not saying they are not out there, I just never seen one. Then again since my little tow bar incident mentioned above I have never even looked at another tow bar.

I have never seen a tow bar that adjusted to give more or less tongue weight. I am not saying they are not out there, I just never seen one. Then again since my little tow bar incident mentioned above I have never even looked at another tow bar.

The kind that I am referring to is the style that clamps onto the front bumper of the vehicle being towed. You can adjust the position and the angle of the tow bar, thus effecting the tongue weight. We got one from the local u-haul and decided that I would be a good idea to tow a 1980 chevy truck-based dully box truck with a grand cherokee 100 miles in a snow storm. Upon making the first corner pulling out of the driveway, the box truck (8,000 lbs+) lifted the rear of the grand cherokee completely off the ground. The only thing that kept it on the road was that the grand was a limited with all-time 4wd.



hick