New section, post your tow rig?!

Don't think I posted my rig in here yet.  '03 Chevy 3500 with a big thirsty 8.1.  It was lowered with helper bags here, with milled 24" Freightliner wheels on adapters.  
 

I've since torn it apart to get it even lower, was inflicted with the minitrucker virus in my teenage years, so I can't help it. 😎

Swapped in a narrower chassis cab rear axle to tuck the rears in, big C-notch, 4-link conversion, Suburban gas tank relocation, and torsion bars were thrown out in favor of new control arms and airbags all around using parts from Phat Phabz.  It'll run AirLift management with the level sensors to keep things at desired height.  I need to wrap it up and get this ready for spring.  Reasonably close, but need to paint the frame and put it back together.

In reply to xflowgolf (Forum Supporter) :

Dude, build thread?

chandler said:

In reply to xflowgolf (Forum Supporter) :

Dude, build thread?

Ha, I do not have one. I have been taking pics along the way so maybe I'll put one together retroactively. 

I finally did it! No more borrowing trailers!

I found a steal of a deal on a 2011 Stealth 8.5x20 trailer. It was hidden in the corner of my local trailer dealer...they didn't even know it was on the lot. It was only a couple hundred more than an open trailer.

Picked it up Friday afternoon, loaded the Miata in, and took it to autocross. First tow was good, but I really need to fix the squat!

I don't have this any more but is was pretty good.  Had a school bus engine (Caterpillar 3116) and lots of storage compartments.  Poor man's RV.  Bought it on ebay for $7000 (before painting it black).

In reply to drtalon123 :

I absolutely love your civic.  Details ?

I picked up this 2010 Silverado 2500HD 6.0 last weekend to replace my old 2000 Silverado 1500. It has lots of maintenance history and has surprisingly very little rust for a Wisconsin truck!

I recently downsized from the '98 C3500 CCLB Diesel to a Gladiator. I've wanted one of these things since they came out. So far, no regerts.

Picked up this 2015 Ram back in December. Got a good deal on it because it needed the heater core replaced. Did that along with replacing everything else in the cooling system since it was 10 years old with 195k miles. Been a solid rig so far, already had Carli leveling springs and Fox shocks. 

Really wanted a long bed but can't be too picky when trying to find a decent priced Cummins truck that is well maintained.

untchabl said:

Been a solid rig so far, already had Carli leveling springs and Fox shocks. 

Looks like the "levelling" springs have made it squat with a trailer attached. :(

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

This era of 2500 Ram has coil spring rear suspension (3500 kept leaf springs) which makes it ride very nice empty it does cause the rear to squat when loaded. But the front being leveled does cause the squat to be much more noticable. Only the front springs were replaced with the leveling kit, the rear springs are stock.

I'll eventually put air bags in the rear to control the squat but that's farther down the priority list.

In reply to untchabl :

Curious how much tongue weight is on that?

It looks like Karl is going to get a little break this summer.

I saw this and couldn't stop looking at it. I wasn't even looking... sort of. But after a couple days I showed PW and she said, we haven't had a truck in over a year, you need a truck, just buy it.
You don't have to tell me twice! 

2018 Colorado W/T. Not really a fan of the colour, but I can live with it.

Probably the nicest interior of any vehicle I've ever owned. It's supposed to be a work truck, I thought it would be a bare bones vinyl floored plain Jane, but it's somehow fairly well optioned. PW loves it.

I wondered if I would ever find a better example, probably not. One owner, dealer maintained, 90k. This thing is clean, and it has this

In reply to Hoppps :

Buy a weight distributing hitch!  It is amazing what a difference they make in how comfortable the drive is.  I last had an Eaz-Lift purchased from Amazon and it was amazing, and their 10k lb version is under $300.

I got my first chance to try towing with my new truck last night! I am helping my friend fix up his 94 del sol VTEC that has been broken on and off for the past 10+ years. It has been mostly sitting since he moved out of his parents house in 2021 and didn't have the room at his apartment. I helped him get it started again last year, but it wouldn't rev past 4k rpm. We are thinking that the fuel pickup is likely clogged and causing a fuel pressure issue. He finally decided to let me bring the car to my house where I have more tools and storage space for it, and we will actually be able to get it running properly again! Plus my wife loves this car almost as much as her AW11.

Heres a badly lit picture of my friend with his car. It took us over 2 hours to get it on the trailer because I forgot to transfer the winch controls to my new truck and the battery was cooked on the del sol. It did start up and run well enough to drive on the trailer after we got a new battery though!

In reply to Caprigrip :

Hey there! Sorry its been a while since I've been on this forum!

This car has been a passion project for over 10 years now. It started out with a D series in it, then built to where it is now.

I started the build documentation for this car on D series dot org, and have just continued to post there. Great group of folks.

See this link, it goes over some of the details, as well as a link to the forum with the build thread.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/92-95-civic-si-hatchback-track-toy-a-passion-that-travelled-across-international-boarders/268796/page1/

I'll be at Hyperfest this year for HPDE, anyone going?

Thanks to advice from this group, I redirected my tow pig dreams from a Raptor to this 330k 2011 F-350. Just did our first race haul with it, a 1400 mile weekend, and it worked great. Averaged 14.5 mpg, usually running 72-73 mph.

In reply to pyrrhicvictory :

Oh, I remember that thread! I like the Superduty--nice pick!

xflowgolf (Forum Supporter) said:

Don't think I posted my rig in here yet.  '03 Chevy 3500 with a big thirsty 8.1.  It was lowered with helper bags here, with milled 24" Freightliner wheels on adapters.  
 

 

I missed this when it was first posted. What kind of tires do you run and what kind of life do you get out of them? I have a set of milled 22s on my ramptruck and it seemed hard to find a tire that still had a decent load capacity rating.

Here's my rig after hauling the Mustang home: 

It's a 2021 F-150 Powerboost hybrid. The trailer is a homebuilt one that I bought about 20 years ago, 18', wood deck, brakes on one axle. In the time I've owned it, I've replaced more than half of the boards, installed tie downs, repainted it twice, rewired it twice, and replaced the taillights more times than I can count. It tows great, though.

Truck did great on the 1500 mile trip. I set the cruise at 72 mph on the freeway, though a fair bit of the trip was on 2-lane roads. I got 16.5 mpg with the empty trailer and 15.5 with the Mustang on it.

Also, the truck has Ford's "Pro Trailer Backup Assist". I did the whole calibration routine and tried it out, and so far I'm not a fan. To me it just seems easier to do it the old fashioned way, maybe because I've been doing it so long. The backup assist seems too touchy and unpredictable to me. I'll try it again next time I have to tow, maybe it just needs some getting used to.

Love the 4-eye 'Stang, Tom!  

I recently 'downgraded' my tow rig from a 3500 Dually to a 2500...  We no longer have a slide-in camper since we bought a Class A for RV trips, so the extra payload capacity we needed before was just contributing to a rough ride.  I debated trading out of a truck I'd owned since new for an unknown, but lucked into basically the same truck in a 2500 that was also one-owner, had less miles, and full service records from new at the local dealership.  The 2500 rides better, gets better mileage and still tows our trailer just fine.   I think the only thing I'll really miss is the long bed...

Here's my setup.

I recently sold my 2009 Super Duty and picked up a 2021 Gladiator.  The Super Duty was great when I neeeded a TRUCK but was a pain in the keester to drive around town the other 99% of the time.  So far I'm very happy with the Gladiator.  Set the cruise at 65 and go.

I see you gladiator guys hauling close to(if not above?) the rated towing capacity. How do they feel loaded down so much? I bought a gladiator knowing it can tow my racecar on a dolly but I think with a trailer I'd be over the tow limit.