Would it hurt?

[Two Dogs F..king]

OK I will be pulling my friend's K10 w/ 33's to the wheelin spots around here, and to the mud-runs. Will I have any problems doing this w/ my z71, 10 bolt, and stock 350?

By next summer I should have the SFA w/ d60, 14ff, 4.88s, 38.5s, 10" lift, lockers on it. And he will probably have some 39.5 boggers on his truck... not sure. What problems will I have then pulling him? Will I still be able to? or would that be a stupid thing to do?

Also, would I be able to pull 2 trucks? I plan on making a rockcrawling/trail truck after I finish my z71 (daily-driver/mud-truck). What kind of trailer would be the cheapest one to purchase, and still be able to pull 2 trucks on a ball hitch? (already have a trailer for his truck, but once I pull 2 trucks around, I'll need a new trailer).

Thanks for help guys!

[Blair]

I would say that from my experience that you should be okay towing your friends rig. Especially if it is fairly local as opposed to the 4 hour trip down the freeway with huge mountain passes. The ten bolt will explode if you abuse it though.

I dunno about towing two rigs with the truck the way you envision it. Especially without a gooseneck and a lot of lift it could be interesting unless the suspension is pretty stiff especially in the back. I don't know that for sure but I do know that you are going to be hurting for power with a 350. The 4.88's will put you back near stock gearing but you will have added weight in the tires and new front suspension. Plus a whole bunch more wind drag. And then add 2 rigs plus a bigger trailer. Its gonna be sloooooow. Thats what bigblocks are for. Or if you like fuel economy as well you want diesel. Oh yeah the 4l60 (if its an auto) will puke towing that much weight as well. Good luck!

[Two Dogs F..king]

What kind of modifications should I need? I want to keep the auto, but is there a stronger automatic transmission out there?

Also, how much would a good diesel (big power'd) run me?

[Blair]

I am not the most qualified person here when it comes to towing info since my experience is mostly with towing tractors and stuff for work not towing a trail rig. Anyway my guess would be that to tow safely with a rig that tall you would need swaybars front and rear and possibly an airbag setup in the back. At least I would do it this way so that you could disconnect the swaybars and lower the pressure in the bags so your truck would still be trailworthy but safe with a big load. A super stout reciever would be important as well since you are going to have a lot of drop in the hitch. For the powertrain I would say a th400 or a th480 if you can afford it for the overdrive. Either of these will hold up ok with minor mods. For the engine I don't know costs but I don't hink I would trouble myself to swap in a GM diesel. The easiest swap would probably be an early cummins. This is a guess for me though since I run a 454 and a 472 gas bigblock and am content to pay the big gas bills. However I would probably never tow 2 fullsize trucks behind either one unless it was for an emergency. And turbo diesel is the king when it comes to really heavy loads like that. Good luck!

[Two Dogs F..king]

Well I'm not going to mod the 95 now. Might put a 14sf in the rear for added strength, but not going to wheel it. My dad said that he didn't give me a nice truck to go and beat the hell out of it. So I'm going to build an old SFA chevy w/ 1-ton gear. I'm not going to pull more then 1 truck now either. I just hope that my little 350 can pull it, because I don't want to put a lot of money into the 95. I want to make the 1-ton a badass. Well I have to buy one first .

[road1will]

the 350 should be fine, but there are a few things i would be worried about.

TRANSMISSION- you have a POS 4L60E or 700R4. either is a POS for towing and will soon shit the bucket with much use. buy a tranny temp guage and a BIG ASS cooler for it.

BRAKES- 1/2 ton brakes are simply NOT up to the task of towing anything more than about 5 or 6000 pounds. especially FLAT TOWING! at the very least buy a braked trailer (electronic) and a good controller for it.

REAR AXLE- the 10 bolt will not like this very much. be very careful with your tongue weight or you could bend the housing.

HITCH- most 1/2 ton hitches are not rated for enough to tow a decent sized rig on a trailer. check, and be sure. upgrade if neccessary.

that is all.

[Two Dogs F..king]

Thanks. I need to by a trailer for it anyway. We put 2,000 lb's of rock on the back of the trailer that we have, and the axles bent. I can't use my friend's trailer all the time either, so I need a new trailer.

Hope they don't cost much...

[TEX]

Do NOT tow anything in overdrive with your truck. As for hauling your pal's truck on 39.5's, you're REALLY gonna struggle. I towed a friend's 1-ton/BBC equipped Blazer behind my Z71 for a short distance & had to keep the speed under 45 to feel safe. It was REALLY a load.

BTW, you planning to race at Platte? If so, which time - the MMRA race in 2 weeks, my GUMBO race in August, or BOTH?

TEX

[dog walker]

A 1/2 ton Chevy is in no way set up to pull a trailer with another 1/2 ton Chevy on it! I could understand if it were a short distance once in a while type job, but for any real towing jobs, your gonna fry that 4l60E tranny, blow up the 10 bolt, and over work the 350. And work the springs out real well! And the brakes are not gonna be happy with ya!

As stated above, if you even tow once in a while, be sure to lock the tranny in 3rd gear (do not use OD)

Jeff

[Two Dogs F..king]

Originally posted by TEX
Do NOT tow anything in overdrive with your truck. As for hauling your pal's truck on 39.5's, you're REALLY gonna struggle. I towed a friend's 1-ton/BBC equipped Blazer behind my Z71 for a short distance & had to keep the speed under 45 to feel safe. It was REALLY a load.

BTW, you planning to race at Platte? If so, which time - the MMRA race in 2 weeks, my GUMBO race in August, or BOTH?

TEX

Well I won't be pulling my friend's truck, but I will be pulling mine. I want to get one of those hitches that goes onto the front of the vehicle that is being pulled, and hooks up to the hitch on the tow-rig. Does anybody know what they are called?

Also... I am not going to be 16 until November, so I won't be racin this year. Next year definately. I go to all of them I can, and I NEVER miss the Platte City Fair race. I believe it's the one in August. If you see the Male Mann, or the Wild Mann, that family has kind of adopted me. I am over at their farm all the time, workin on trucks, playin in their mud pits, and helpin them with the monster truck (Wild Mann monster truck). I love those mud-races. My mom is very encouraging, yet my father hates the stuff. He never has supported any of my hobbies, because they aren't airplanes, and airports.

Oh well...

[TEX]

Originally posted by Aquaman
I NEVER miss the Platte City Fair race. I believe it's the one in August. If you see the Male Mann, or the Wild Mann, that family has kind of adopted me.

Well, the Fair race is the one that's next weekend (July 26th & 27th). That's the traditional one that they've had every year with Missouri Mud Racing Association. Pretty sure Mann's monster will be there, but on display only. Should be basically the same type of race you've seen every year at the fair.


The race that's taking place in August (23rd & 24th) is a new one for this year, and it's sanctioned by my group GUMBO (Gateway Unlimited Mud Bog Organization). My race will be quite a bit different than the one in July. First of all, there's no fair, just mud & monster trucks. Second, on the first night, we'll be running mud DRAGS rather than a bog. 2nd night will be a traditional style bog. There will be classes for local guys both nights. Rules are also different - some guys will like the change 'cause they'll be able to run more classes, some won't like the higher entry fee or the change in where the tires cut off. But, both events should be a really good time


TEX

[Two Dogs F..king]

Cool. They were talking about somethin in August, and something in July, so I got kinda mixed up. Is it THIS weekend? Or the weekend after? I hope it's this weekend, cuz I have to go to a wedding in Alabama the next. I will probably be going to the one in August. Are you competing? What does your truck look like?

Maybe I'll see ya there.

[TEX]

Originally posted by Aquaman
Cool. They were talking about somethin in August, and something in July, so I got kinda mixed up. Is it THIS weekend? Or the weekend after?

The weekend after this one is the "fair" race sanctioned by Missouri Mud - July 26th & 27th.

Are you competing? What does your truck look like?

Maybe I'll see ya there.

Probably won't be bringing mine to the August event as I'll be too busy working it. IF I can make it to the July race, I'd like to bring the truck. This is mine:



1980 Toy, 408" Chevy, Q78 TSL's.

And here's a link to pics from my last event - many of these folks will be at the August race:

http://gumbo4x4.com/top_mud_v_photos.htm

TEX

[Flatty]

You WILL blow up that crappy 10 bolt in the rear, and most likely that 700r4 in there as well. These trucks were not made to haul that kind of load. If I were you, I would tell your buddy to go buy an old 1 ton dually and tow with that. The truck you have is not built for thiss tuff. Youa re towing a vehicle that weighs more than your rig. It will get squirly on the street, and you will not be able o stop it with the 1/2 ton brakes.

Dimitri

[Two Dogs F..king]

As I said before, I won't be pulling his rig. But what you said still partly applies to mine. I am going to weigh my options on this. I might get a 14sf. And I might get lower gears. If I get lower gears, will my tranny problems be cured? Like 4.10's. I am probably going to get some bolt on poser performance mods for the tow rig (exhaust, filter, chip). That might help a little.

[Flatty]

The tranny will still be hurting. The 700r4 is all plastic inside, so it likes to heat up quite a bit. When it does heat up, it just breaks. Get a BIG tranny cooler on there, and make sure to service the tranny all the time.

Dimitri

[TEX]

You're probably better off just to keep the stock gears 'cause no matter what you do, you'll never get to the point where you can use Overdrive for anything except running empty on the Interstate. And runnin' 4.10's with stock tires is gonna be a lot of RPM's in 3rd gear. And I wouldn't bother with the SF14-bolt until the day comes when the 10-bolt gives up the ghost. Nobody will give you anything for it, so may as well run it until it blows. Mine never did crap out in 150,000 miles despite lots of towing (towing Jeeps, & Toys, rather than full-size stuff).

TEX