I was thinking about posting this earlier in the week, but was prompted again by the bus conversion thread recently posted.

We will say that anything goes, but this is a tech forum, there has to be some tech in your post. Here are the categories that I am thinking about, but feel free to add your own or modify these. This would be a dedicated tow rig and not a DD. Assume no budget, but try to keep it sane. $2 million on a motorhome just gets you a really really nice coach, everything else is the same as far as towing, driving, slides, etc.) If you would build a truck or fix/update/modify one, tell what you would do and why (fix steering issues, build a stronger tranny, upgrade starter contacts or front hubs, etc.)

One ton or smaller truck towing an open or enclosed trailer, RV or toyhauler and models like F450 can even have flatbeds for a small rig or ATVs. Maybe you would purchase an 8-10 year old truck, and fix or upgrade its components like redoing the interior, adding GPS or brake controllers, upgrading axles, wheels and tires, solid axle conversion, upgrading brakes, motor and transmission, etc. You could make it exactly how you want it for traveling and towing. Maybe you are cool towing with an K5 Blazer, sleeping in the back and flat towing your sami buggy? Maybe you want a 500hp Duramax powered F350 on 22's towing a 45' enclosed trailer?? Do your 100K mile semi tires on 22.5" aluminum rims give you traction on the dirt road into your favorite park? Do your bling wheels take a beating on a gravel road? Would you tow on an off road tire so your tow rig is less likely to get stuck?

Larger than one ton truck - This could be something like an F650 or a Kodiak 5500 all the way up to a Class 8 truck. You need to consider things like storage, licensing and insurance, modification costs, etc. which could differ greatly from a one ton or smaller truck. Would you buy an old Needlenose Pete and slam it down? Can you get in your favorite camp ground or RV park with it? What about a cabover truck with a tight turning radius and air ride seats and cab? Maybe a six door F650 with a ten foot bed is your thing or maybe you would buy a new roll back and camp with your buddies?

The final category would be to have an RV or Motorhome (Class A, B or C) and use that for your tow rig. Again licensing and insurance, storage and other things would come into play. After attending a recent RV show, I was depressed at all but the highest end coaches and buses (250k and up) Even Fivers and toy haulers costing 50-75 grand were poorly constructed IMO. Would you buy an older Bus, RV or coach and fix it up, swap the motor and redo the interior? Would you get a toterhome or expeditor truck and use that to haul a big trailer forgoing the roomy plush accomodations for storage/trailer space and hauling capacity?

What say yee PBB? What is your Ultimate Tow Rig and why?

Not sure what you are asking...

However since I am sober and bored.

Assuming no DD or HOA.

c5500 crew cab older model, Dmax with zf-6, 4X4, exhaust brake, traction tires at all corners, upgraded engine parts for around 400 hp 700 + torque.

Updated with a bed.

Big Lance Camper with slideout.

Keep my 34' two rig trailer, with two rigs.

16-18' trailer for a single rig when needed.


Assuming I still have to deal with HOA and commuting:


Late model ('08+) F-350 S/C short bed SRW, V10, ZF-6, supercharger (if I need it), 4.30s, upgraded mud tires (pro Comp Extreme M/Ts or BFG KM2s)

If I have the $$ I would add in a front locker (ARB or such), and perhaps upgrade the rear L/S and maybe 4.56s or 4.88s.

2500 lb +/- camper (maybe with a pop up top, no slide or crazy stuff)

Custom 14 ft trailer 10k+ GVWR with Ford pattern to keep spares universal.


Assuming I am keeping my current rig. (Avalanche 2500)

Raylar engine parts
Cognito suspenion upgrades (and some nice shocks)
ZF-6 (see a pattern here?)
Bags
front locker
255/85R16 KM 2s
Same custom trailer as above but 8 on 6.5"
nice pop-up camper that I can tow with the Dodge on the 34' trailer...

here's my ultimate tow rig. Can get anywhere with this rig

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Qlx0g_dMJsY/Rb6uBtisVFI/AAAAAAAAABQ/ZC-jbctkBwE/s1600/mi-26.jpg

Your rig is a red x thats awsome.......

2009 F-450 Fully loaded. Ox Locker in front and Detroit in rear. 6.4 replaced with a 5.9 Standard Output ISB w/ a P7100. All the inhale and exhale mods (Even tube headers, custom intake, ball bearing turbos, etc)

I would consider this the ultimate tow rig because it'd sound amazing, pull great, and tuned by a pro could get 20MPG.

Otherwise a T-Rex w/ that same Cummins with OX lockers in all 3 axles wouldn't be bad either.

Ok ill bite..This topic has been driving me crazy the last few months.

Id say med duty truck like a f800 4 door with a cummins.Front loading rockwell or meritor axles.Airbags at all corners.8ft bed from a pickup truck fitted with lance's top o da line slide in.The bed would have to be on a quick removal setup. This way it would accept a flatbed if i need to hual stuff.

Tire wise id run something of a cement truck up front with a custom cut tread and out back id run duals but with the same cut.Im partial to a ground hawgish pattern.(flame suit on)

Some other things would be a engine driven air compressor,clutch activated hyraulic pump running to a small power unit with an open center vale(to power log splitters and whatever else i need.Generator powered off a pto.Small miller stick welder/generator taken apart and installed under the cab.At least 3 trailer jacks from a 5th wheel to stablize the truck.

Inside would be all ghettofied glory with a ceiling mount 23" lcd and a 15" on the passenger side raising from the dash.Full leather and ostritch coverings:flipoff2:.Jl subs MB quart satellites, Old school x tant amps, with peavey 1/3rd octive eq's and 24 db/octive x overs.Using a laptop as a source unit.

I dont see me or the old lady being the rv park types..We are getting a camper soon but will be ok with rest stops and wall mart parking lots on the way to trail rides.Id dd it but take the camper off.The removalble bed would come in handy when i need to carry shit like pallets of concrete,engine etc etc.

for a one tone sized rig it would have to be
f450 or f550 4wd crew cav stuperduty with 8-10' allum flatbed (w/ goose/5th wheel plates). with a 7.3L. wont be the fastest thing, but would be reilable, and repair parts readily availble if your out of town and it quits running. insurance/lisc will suck dpeending on your state. In IL with F plates tags wold cost like $275 a year, and you would probably have to inshure it through a bussiness. small enough to get around, yet heavy enough to pull most things.

for bigger trucks.
i persoannly run a RV IH4700 33lb GVW truck and love it, only a few upgrades i would do would be to a different chassis. mine is an air brake , 3060p allison 5 speed, air ride with an electronice dt466. anybody can legally and no skill(ever tried to watch someone who has only driven cars/pickups try to learn a 13 speed? its quite horrible to watch.) required to drive this truck.
for my ultimate it would probably be a early 2000's. KW tractor with a 72" sleeper, and air ride suspension.
would liek to see one with under 500k miles, as trucks DO GO BAD just sitting there. shur eyou can run 2 millionm mile trucks, btu they are consistanly breaking and stuff freezing up as they sit for a couple weeks without use. it would be a pre major emission truck, but yet not old enough its rusted away, 350-425 horse cummins(smaller is better for fuel mileage, as my IH gets 10mpg,)
remove the front tandem to loose some weight, rolling mass, and friction, plus less parts.
get it set up as a RV for plates/inshurance and the crossing states lines and fuel tax issues that come up.

dont know if i would stretch it and put one rig on the back on a faltbed, or shorten it up and tow a 5th/goose with it, as setting it up to do both gets you at to long a WB to get around with.

My dream tow rig would be an old mack two axle tractor rig like my great grandfather drove in the 50's. I always liked the real old style tractors. Of course it would rust since I couldn't drive it often or fill the tank more than once a year. My second choice is the truck I have, a 5.7l tundra (the mack wouldn't fit in my garage or even on my property).

Peterbilt 362 (cabover) cummins or cat powered with 10-13 speed, the biggest sleeper possible and flatbed the rear with a heavy reciever hitch to pull an extra trailer if needed. It would be capable of pulling whatever you want plus Cabover semis dont really sell very high so it would be pretty affordable plus Im a lil fucker so a cabovers sleeper is plenty big enough for me plus onboard air from teh factory as well as factory lockers and power divider are possible. That and Ive always had a soft spot for a nice old cabover with straight pipes. The downsides would be: the fuel bill as 7mpg would be about the best you could get depending on engine trans combo, maintenence costs on the big engine if something went wrong grantedyou would get ALOT of miles b4 you would have problems though so it would balance out I think,storage space in cab is kinda limited from the trucks that I have seen, Cabovers kinda ride rough compared to other big rigs but its nothign compared to a truck on floating I beam suspension so its livable.

I guess i will throw in my rig. Well I have two.

Modern tow rig would be a 2009 quad cab Ram 4500 with a 5.9 from 2004/2005 truck. All the engine mods; intake, exhaust, twins, exhaust brake, injectors, programmer, and stronger internals. Water meth injection to keep stuff cool on the long climbs. Something around 550hp and 1000lb-ft. Upgraded 6 speed manual or maybe a big spicer 7 speed. Gear Vendors OD for cruising but have deep 4.56's in the axle for pulling the big stuff. Run 19.5" because I am not a big fan of the 22's on smaller rigs. The rear would be a monstrous 4 link with a panhart and bags so I can slid under the goose and air up and lock in. Selectable lockers front and back. Aluminum bed with bins and tool boxes, built in compressor and welder.

Trailer would be a fifth or goose with a pop-up up front and enough room for two rigs.

Old school/big guns would be a early power wagon rig with a cummins ISX and the rest of a modern rigs running gear. Biggest sleeper I can get. 53' trailer that is half enclosed and half open. Closed part would have a kitchen and some extra places to sleep for company and room for one rig inside. Some weekends you just need to get under a roof when the weather gets biblical. Open deck would have enough room for another trail rig. And of course all the tools storage possible.

Ok, I am done dreaming. (As i look out the window at my 1/2 ton gas tow rig):shaking:

Semi with 53' trailer. 20 foot would be a camper, 5 foot tool storage, 28 foot to haul two rigs.

The problem is that it would be too big to go up in the mountains that I like, so scale back some to F350 with 30 foot gooseneck toyhauler.

i would take a duece rollin chassi put a isx or n-14 cummins in it with manual trans behing that run to a divorced style case that would be big enough (dunno if there is one but i would try to find/buld on that tcould take it) and then mount a chevy 3+3 cab on it and build a flat bed on it run the 48" michelins and would run one truck on the bed and 2 on the trailor

My dream tow rig would be an old mack two axle tractor rig like my great grandfather drove in the 50's. I always liked the real old style tractors. Of course it would rust since I couldn't drive it often or fill the tank more than once a year. My second choice is the truck I have, a 5.7l tundra (the mack wouldn't fit in my garage or even on my property).

You mean like this one.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k51/hadfield4wd/Tow%20rigs/mack.jpg

I'd do a Rat Rod old style motorhome with a modern running gear and a 34' trailer.

I would put a big sleeper on the back of this bad boy for my old school rig. And keep the paint just like it is.

The problem for me is that it's not that uncommon for me to have parking issues that would prevent a huge coach or road tractor from being a good option. I still like to stay at camp, in a trailer, etc. with my club. Also, sometimes I use my tow rig and trailer to retrieve my buggy. For that reason I'd like something "normal sized" and 4x4. Your regular CTD or duramax that everybody has is pretty close to my dream rig.

If you want cool, having an updated (reliable) drivetrain in a 4x4 ambulance like this would be great. I could sleep in it for cold weather camping and park outside the trailer/house at Harlan like a normal person.

http://www.4x4offroads.com/image-files/1976-dodge-w200-m886-1.jpg

The problem for me is that it's not that uncommon for me to have parking issues that would prevent a huge coach or road tractor from being a good option. I still like to stay at camp, in a trailer, etc. with my club. Also, sometimes I use my tow rig and trailer to retrieve my buggy. For that reason I'd like something "normal sized" and 4x4. Your regular CTD or duramax that everybody has is pretty close to my dream rig.

If you want cool, having an updated (reliable) drivetrain in a 4x4 ambulance like this would be great. I could sleep in it for cold weather camping and park outside the trailer/house at Harlan like a normal person.

http://www.4x4offroads.com/image-files/1976-dodge-w200-m886-1.jpg


There are several of these for sale locally. The guy is very proud of them and they only have a 318. So the drivetrain swap is a must.

that rusty old Pete is saweet... rat rod tow rig with a bombed out Cummins and black straight pipes :D

Light duty tow rig, pre 1991 Chevy one ton dually crew cab, with a 12 V CTD turned up for 1000 ft/lbs. Propane injection, six speed manual South Bend clutch. Class V receiver goose neck ball.
Medium duty tow rig, mid 1980s International crew cab, rockwell front loader axles. A eight foot flat bed with storage boxes. DT 466 with P7100 injector pump, six speed manual. Class V receiver and goose neck ball.:grinpimp:

This is a sick truck....

445343

I'll play along
Small tow rig, 78-79 crew cab ford, cummins swap, 6 speed, four wheel discs nice updated interior, good tunes, nice soft springs or air bags, prolly run 35"ish tires. This would be a nice truck to tow with or use as a DD.

Big tow rig, start with a decent late model semi, stretch the frame a bit so I could run a 8'-10' sleeper and a 16' rollback bed behind the sleeper. You could still tow a decent sized tag trailer if you wanted to haul more than 1 rig. I'd run super single tires in all positions, not having awd would suck a bit but with lockers in the tandems and careful driving I think it would do fine.

Brewchief:D

87-96 F-350, 4x4, 4-door, swap in a front loading Rockwell 2-speed rear diff. Add some 19.5 tires. Make it a diesel with a 6- speed. Cummins would be nice, but stock is easy to get parts for.

Upgrade the front seats to buckets. Add some sound deadener to the firewall and drive it till it dies, then build it again.

damm, you guys are crazy with some of these antique clunkers and wanting them to tow your junk and be reliable....
nothing like no power steering, wedge brakes, underpowered, leaks more oil then you can add unless you shut it off. 5mpg with a top speed of 53mph. plus rides like a cinderblock on wheels.

remember
Big trucks=Big bills,
Bigger trucks= really big bills.
Bigger, really old, wore out trucks=bills so big you might need to sell your house to pay for it.

damm, you guys are crazy with some of these antique clunkers and wanting them to tow your junk and be reliable....
nothing like no power steering, wedge brakes, underpowered, leaks more oil then you can add unless you shut it off. 5mpg with a top speed of 53mph. plus rides like a cinderblock on wheels.

remember
Big trucks=Big bills,
Bigger trucks= really big bills.
Bigger, really old, wore out trucks=bills so big you might need to sell your house to pay for it.

Meh, take old cool cab off old truck and drop on newer chassis, presto one truck that looks like it's 50-60 years old but drives like new.

I always like the 2003 F450 2wd chassis cabs we drove at work. Outfit it with a frame width flatbed, semi-style fenders, stacks, tool box against the cab, and a 65 gallon replacement fuel tank, and I'd be pretty happy. Permanent mount pintle hitch, class 5 draw bar hitch, and a gooseneck mount and I'd be towing anything I ever needed to.

The trailer is were I'd get really creative. Gooseneck flatbed with a fully equipped 144" tractor trailer sleeper on the front. Behind that is a flat deck with mounting pins for a removable box with retractable legs- take the box off and its ready for vehicles, or run with the box and move across country without fear of getting wet...

Take the cab and front end sheetmetal off of this:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=286990&stc=1&d=1170990260

and put it on a "modern" 1-ton 4x4 chassis & drivetrain. I doubt the 60 year old running gear is worth dumping any money into and you wouldn't be able to pass a single gas station with the 501 cu. in. inline 6-cylinder GAS engine. :eek: But, the sheetmetal is definately old school cool.

Ultimate would be a Renegade like SanDiegoCJ's I think.

Hopefully I will be building my ultimate here pretty soon. 96F350 SRW w/ 12V and NV4500 swapped in.

ill take one of these please..... with a cummins of course:smokin:

and a single car hauler trailer

For a small truck I would love to get my hands on a '60s crew cab Dodge Sweptline pickup and drop a 12v Cummins in it and 4x4 drivetrain.

For a big truck I would consider any of the late '90s or early '00s class 8 or crew cab MDT chassis that are fairly easy to come across and relatively inexpensive. If I ended up with a CC MDT chassis I would try to put a pickup bed on it if I could find something styled similar. If I ended up with a class 8 tractor I'd leave the sleeper, drop one of the rear axles and create some sort of flatbed around the 5th wheel hitch to make it look a bit more complete when there isn't a trailer attached.

I seriously doubt that the town I live in would like it if I had a big truck stored in my yard so I'd say that the light duty pickup route is much more feasible for me.

Take the cab and front end sheetmetal off of this:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=286990&stc=1&d=1170990260

anybody know what truck or cab this is??

EDIT: http://www.justih.org/Binder-Bench/showthread.php?t=6533

and Moore's Auto Salvage has tons of cabs and old cars and trucks: http://www.mooresautosalvage.com/parts.asp?division=5&make=International

would be very cool to put one of those cabs onto a modern chassis and driveline :smokin:

anybody know what truck or cab this is??

Yeah.... it's a '53 or '54 International Harvester R-195 Roadliner sleeper cab model.

here is one for sale that has potential:
http://images.craigslist.org/3k13o43p2ZZZZZZZZZ95t12cae4bafa501d7a.jpg

here is the craigs list ad:
http://anchorage.craigslist.org/cto/1194909275.html

put a 35 footer on that and you are set!! maybe new seats and some HP addons

There is an awesome truck used by the wrecker service near Tellico. It is a 2 1/2 ton drivetrain under a late model dodge body!! Really cool, wish I had a pic

Prob an F-650 I dont say Ford because i duno if FORD even makes them.. i just know it has a ford cab on it..
Full Air brakes. CAT engine Allison trans ( i think im getting a Stiffy)
bascially this without the exoctic paint or topper..
http://www.taod.org/applications/PhotoGalleryManager/images/Picture%20131.jpg
These things cruise the freeway like a DREAM ! and pull a house or two..
Add on a flip out DVD nav system in dash Train horns :laughing:
and Full LED marker lights along the bottom edge of the running boards

I would then drag this behind it...
40' plus 5' tail Big Tex goosneck
http://www.bigtextrailers.com/trailers/images/trailers/22gn.jpg
add on a nice big travel trailer for the front half..
Say this one ?
http://www.terrytownrv.com/terrytownrv/productphotos/1%202009%20Puma%20282RKSS.JPG
http://www.phillipsrv.com/assets/images/253-FBS.gif
ditch the couch in the back in favor of a nice couple lazy chairs and add a door on the back to allow the trailer to be used as a Deck..
outdoor speakers facing the deck area.. 4 Loading lights on the deck..
understorage toolbox's along both sides of trailer.. Generator and air compressor both under trailer..


Oh yea thats my lottery dream right there..




What you said you wanted some detailed Tech ?

bringing this back.

for a small truck:

96 f550 frame, front end, rear end, front leaves, rear 4 link and bags, 100+ gallons of fuel. 7.3 , ZF6, rear locker. 22.5 alcoas with tractions. '96 f350 leather quad cab with an 8 foot bed. good tunes, good lights. 35' deckover 24k goose. first 12' and goose are home built steel framed living space. axles match tow rig rear's. 22.5 alcoas. enough solar to run the RV. generator for welder and real air compressor. 100+ gallons of water. recycled plastic fake wood flooring. bumper sticker with "100% recycled materials" cause it's true and to screw with the tree huggers. LED's for all the lights.

big truck is a short bus 20' living space. 8.3 cummins. allison auto sized appropriately, 2 speed rear end. keep it yellow. and a bumper pull trailer for two rigs.

so far i've got a 93 f250.

damm, you guys are crazy with some of these antique clunkers and wanting them to tow your junk and be reliable....
nothing like no power steering, wedge brakes, underpowered, leaks more oil then you can add unless you shut it off. 5mpg with a top speed of 53mph. plus rides like a cinderblock on wheels.

remember
Big trucks=Big bills,
Bigger trucks= really big bills.
Bigger, really old, wore out trucks=bills so big you might need to sell your house to pay for it.

+1.

Its fun to dream, but where do you start working on an old truck ? Newer trucks are so much more advanced. How do you compare an old 250 Cummins with a DD S60 or ISX ? Ditto for cabs, brakes, steering, wheels, etc.

Very interesting to read this thread.

I'm towing with a 99 Superduty CC with a 3rd gen 325/610 Cummins with a ZF6 and full air ride rear suspension.

Is it the BEST tow vehicle ? Probably not. But I keep looking at various alternatives and I keep coming back to my Superduty.

An HDT would be too large and burly for me. MDTs have drawbacks (weight, lack of power, noise, ride). I think an F450 would be optimal.

I don't think there was a '96 F550. Just the F-Suepr Duty (450 ish)

Here is my 1981 kenworth K100. It has a 3406a that was factory rated at 380hp but it is turned up, way up. 13 speed double overdrive with 18 ft of frame behind the stacks and an overall length of about 27ft. I just bought a flatbed and when completed I will post a thread with some more pics of my old clapped out tractor with 960,000 miles on it. When it is said and done, I will have about $10,000 in it. It is not for everybody, they can be expensive if you can't do a lot of the work yourself. Plus I can store the truck at the quarry that I work at. If anyone has any questions about HDT ownership I would be glad to answer to the best of my ability.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac334/eagleno49/14344_102172393138001_1000003572-1.jpg

anybody know what truck or cab this is??

EDIT: http://www.justih.org/Binder-Bench/showthread.php?t=6533

and Moore's Auto Salvage has tons of cabs and old cars and trucks: http://www.mooresautosalvage.com/parts.asp?division=5&make=International

would be very cool to put one of those cabs onto a modern chassis and driveline :smokin:

That is an R model International, but there might be a different designation for the extended cab. The first post of the picture was right on. 501 Red Diamond gasoline 6 cylinder. 2mpg at 50mph.

got any interior pics rump ranger? I always loved those sleepers with those dual windows on an angle. nice tractor

2010 International 7500 Workstar 4x4, 350/1150 Maxxforce 10 & G178 385/65R22.5 all around pulling a 44' Work and Play toy hauler

1 ton- 94 chevy k3500 crewcab 6 05 8ft bed. 12v 32kgsk, nv5600, d60 front, 80 rear, on 19.5's traction all around

med duty. hopped up 4500/5500 kodiak crewcab flatbed 4x4

I would put a big sleeper on the back of this bad boy for my old school rig. And keep the paint just like it is.

This looks like the rig in the movie Duel with Dennis Weaver.

got any interior pics rump ranger? I always loved those sleepers with those dual windows on an angle. nice tractor

This is the only interior pic that I have on hand.
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac334/eagleno49/truck/DSCN0290.jpg

There is an awesome truck used by the wrecker service near Tellico. It is a 2 1/2 ton drivetrain under a late model dodge body!! Really cool, wish I had a pic
Is this it?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v107/Timco/RamzillaSpringFling.jpg

bringing up an old thread......
i saw this and wanted to post it over here and didnt know where else to put it.


i was cruising ebay and say this for sale. i think it looks freaking awesome, but i dont know how well it would do towing. i assume those are 22.5's

Those look bigger than 22.5's on that truck, maybe 24's or 24.5s??

Probably would not be a good fit for a towing application without quite a bit of work. Large wheels and tires take more time/effort to accelerate and to stop and that tire and wheel package could easily be 5-7 grand.

That said the tires will last forever on a truck that light, but would probably ride shitty unless heavily loaded, as I am guessing they are load range G or H tires....

Almost thought this was the truck from Duel. (this is the actual truck from the movie)

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/swampfox89/Surviving_Duel_truck.jpg

I would put a big sleeper on the back of this bad boy for my old school rig. And keep the paint just like it is.

Awesome on the Duel!