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towing limits


nj viking

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Hi all.

My wife and I have strong symptoms of the rare disease Vintage camper itis and was wondering about towing limits. I'm guessing a canned ham but I know if I find an old Spartan Manor or Spartanette, I'm gonna jump at it. The truck in question is a 52 b3b with a fresh 218 bored .030 over. Stock rear, and total refurb of the truck including a disc brake conversion.

Think its enough to pull 2500? Or is it time to get that Hemi project started..

Thanks

Viking

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I pulled many trailers with my first b1b, you won't even know 2500# is behind you. However, if your wife is game for a hemi I would tell her there is no way that little 6 will pull our camper.

Todd B

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Thanks Todd.

Figured I'm not gonna make any new friends going up the hills; but thought the 218 had enough torque not to burn up clutches every trip.

I'm lucky. I never have to give my wife a reason to do anything. Every time I have driven or drug something back to the farm she always has a smile on her beautiful face. As a matter of fact; she bought the hemi engine from a surplus auction from one of the munincipalities here. I'm Guessing it was from a back up sewer pump or something? Anyhow I think its gonna make its way into a 48 B1B I just acquired.

viking.

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Your truck will tow any kind of trailer you like, it just won't tow it very fast.

If you want to tow a canned ham style trailer of up to 15 feet or a little bigger, to a local show, you should not have any trouble. When you get into the heavier models, or the newer trailers which are much heavier than the vintage models you may have problems. Even with a load equalizing hitch and trailer brakes, you are asking a lot of the old suspension and brakes.

Speaking of towing trailers. I used to know an old mechanic who drove trucks during WW2. It was his job to deliver "wartime houses". These were small, 2 bedroom saltbox style 1 1/2 story houses built to house war workers around the many factories that were built or expanded at that time.

He told me when he started they delivered a whole prefab house with 2 trucks. Later they put a trailer behind the trucks and delivered a house with 1 truck.

He always drove a Dodge 5 ton truck. It handled the load even on steep hills (in low gear).

One day they took away his Dodge and gave him a V8 Ford. He protested that a Ford would never handle a load like a Dodge but they would not listen. He set off to deliver a house to Hamilton and got half way up the Hamilton Heights when the Ford stalled out and would go no farther. He had to stop, block the wheels, set out flares and wait in the middle of the road till a cop came and sent for a wrecker.

So, an old Dodge will tow a load. Whether the brakes and suspension are up to the job on modern roads is another question.

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Your truck will tow any kind of trailer you like' date=' it just won't tow it very fast.

If you want to tow a canned ham style trailer of up to 15 feet or a little bigger, to a local show, you should not have any trouble. When you get into the heavier models, or the newer trailers which are much heavier than the vintage models you may have problems. Even with a load equalizing hitch and trailer brakes, you are asking a lot of the old suspension and brakes.

Speaking of towing trailers. I used to know an old mechanic who drove trucks during WW2. It was his job to deliver "wartime houses". These were small, 2 bedroom saltbox style 1 1/2 story houses built to house war workers around the many factories that were built or expanded at that time.

He told me when he started they delivered a whole prefab house with 2 trucks. Later they put a trailer behind the trucks and delivered a house with 1 truck.

He always drove a Dodge 5 ton truck. It handled the load even on steep hills (in low gear).

One day they took away his Dodge and gave him a V8 Ford. He protested that a Ford would never handle a load like a Dodge but they would not listen. He set off to deliver a house to Hamilton and got half way up the Hamilton Heights when the Ford stalled out and would go no farther. He had to stop, block the wheels, set out flares and wait in the middle of the road till a cop came and sent for a wrecker.

So, an old Dodge will tow a load. Whether the brakes and suspension are up to the job on modern roads is another question.[/quote']

I agree with you 100%

I tow alot of stuff in my business and most of it is overloaded for the truck. in those situations it's not how fast I can go up a hill; its how slow I can go down the hill and maintain control.

I personally think I'm asking the 52 to do more than it was ultimatley designed to do..I was just wondering how much weight people here have had behind their rigs.

I have a starting point of 2500lbs. I will video the rest. Helmet and all.....

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How would 12v electric trailer brakes work on 6v? Would they just be weaker? Has anyone on here done this?

I have not tried it, that would require some experimenting. I'm not sure what the brake controller would do either. The brake itself is an electro-magnet that when activated, scrapes against the inside of the brake drum, which provides the effort for the actual pads. I am unsure if it is current based or voltage, but it SHOULD work IN THEORY.

-A SIDE NOTE TO PROTECT MY BUTT!:D

THIS COULD BE POTENTIALLY UNSAFE, I AM NOT LIABLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS.

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I have not tried it, that would require some experimenting. I'm not sure what the brake controller would do either. The brake itself is an electro-magnet that when activated, scrapes against the inside of the brake drum, which provides the effort for the actual pads. I am unsure if it is current based or voltage, but it SHOULD work IN THEORY.

-A SIDE NOTE TO PROTECT MY BUTT!:D

THIS COULD BE POTENTIALLY UNSAFE, I AM NOT LIABLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS.

Based on voltage and the use of a brake controller, the best you could get would be half the braking power of a 12v and you may find you have to lock the truck brakes to get any action on the trailer.

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Based on voltage and the use of a brake controller, the best you could get would be half the braking power of a 12v and you may find you have to lock the truck brakes to get any action on the trailer.

I was thinking the same thing about the trucks pedal pressure, it would probably lock up on the truck before it did much for the trailer. I was just wondering if anyone had tried it. I have a small pop-up camper with electric brakes and I've thought about using my pilothouse to pull it, I probably will be too afraid to try it. I WILL pull my model A doodlebug to the tractor shows I normally go to each year with my 52 when its done. It fits nicely on the snowmobile trailer and might have a combined weight around 1,200 lbs.

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Based on voltage and the use of a brake controller, the best you could get would be half the braking power of a 12v and you may find you have to lock the truck brakes to get any action on the trailer.

it is entirely possible that the brake controller could be adapted to run on a 6 volt system, most electronics run 5-5.5 VDC, so in theory it would operate if it uses a regulator. If it uses a resistor, it would require some alterations. the controller would also have a fast and slow gain adjustment on it to determine how much to apply the brakes on the trailer.

The brakes themselves would be the object to question, theoretically one could make them operate on 6 volts, but I need to do some testing with voltages and strength. There were older 6v systems, and I think you could make them operate with the modified brake controller to act as a modern setup. I will do some looking into magnets and voltage when I get back home tonight.

I am sure you have heard this many times, but other than nostalgia, why not convert to 12 volt? If you are going to haul a trailer, then I would recommend 12V. It would be cheaper in the long run, and likely safer. If the brake controller goes out, that would be special, brakes may be special, you couldn't haul the trailer with a different vehicle due to voltages. accessories would be few and far between, light bulbs would be more difficult. If you are going camping, you would likely want an inverter to do things such as charge phones, laptops, anything 110, and I am yet to see a 6V inverter or phone charger. just food for thought...

Edited by 41/53dodges
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I am sure you have heard this many times, but other than nostalgia, why not convert to 12 volt? If you are going to haul a trailer, then I would recommend 12V. It would be cheaper in the long run, and likely safer. If the brake controller goes out, that would be special, brakes may be special, you couldn't haul the trailer with a different vehicle due to voltages. accessories would be few and far between, light bulbs would be more difficult. If you are going camping, you would likely want an inverter to do things such as charge phones, laptops, anything 110, and I am yet to see a 6V inverter or phone charger. just food for thought...

I want to keep 6v for originality. I probably will never pull the camper with my truck, but I was just curious if anyone had tried electric brakes. If they would work on 6v, then I would possibly consider trying it. I am already going to add trailer lights to the truck and the hitch that was on when I bought it. As for electronics, I would just have to make sure I go somewhere with electric hook up if I ever go that route :D.

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How would 12v electric trailer brakes work on 6v? Would they just be weaker? Has anyone on here done this?

Or....... it's been a while since I studied electronics, but what about a 6V system with a step up (or multiplier) transformer. Example - 6V at 3 amps into a step up transformer would (could) come out the other side as 12V and 1.5 amps (if I remember correctly). Some one way smarter than I would have to design how to do it (what components) and where to put it (in what circuit - being careful of placing the contraption in series or parallel).

Just a theory / suggestion.

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I've been thinking that a guy could use a 12v battery in the trailer to operate the brakes, and control the set up with a 6v relay.

I'm going to build some remote tail lights using 6v LEDs sorta like tow trucks use for disabled cars that they tow.

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A modern brake controller will work fine on 6 volts. They are adjustable, you normally have to dial them down so they are not too "fierce" on a 12 volt car. On 6 volts you just need to turn them up a little.

There has been some discussion of this on a trailer board I look at. One member also towed an old trailer with 6 volt brakes, they worked fine but he had to dial the adjuster way down.

Maybe you can find a vintage trailer that still has its 6 volt brakes?

A trailer up to 2500 lbs and 15 ft in length should be no problem for your pickup truck.

Have a look at this, a guy who towed a 15 footer with a 6000 lb DeSoto Suburban 8 passenger sedan with the 251 flathead 6 and Fluid Drive.

http://www.allpar.com/cars/desoto/suburban-1951.html

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Guy's;

Why electric brakes at all? What is wrong with properly set up surge brakes?

I am a veteran of several 1000 mile trips down to the tip of Baja from SoCal...towing boats that easily outweigh a 15' travel trailer by 4 to 1.

My first trips down were more than 30 years ago....no we were not using a Pilothouse to tow with....but that highway was really hairy in those days.

And even today this is not a trip to be taken lightly.

If your trailer is properly set up...good brake and wheel bearing maintenance...correct tongue weight being a key item..... then this system is pretty much all you need. With the added bonus of not relying on an electrical connection for brakes. We never had any issues with hydraulic surge brakes and in particular the trailers with disc brakes were very easy to tow. Honestly these brakes "picked" very predictably. And believe me that is what you want.

Really I think the key is "tuning" the trailer to fit within the capacity of the tow vehicle. That and someone behind the wheel that understands his responsibility and how to remain vigilant while towing.

Hope this helps

Jeff 52 B-3-C

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how bout a 12 voult gen with a resistor for truck battery and 12vs for the trailer and 12v bat on the trailer what do you think?? -Jake 14 years old

Jake you can get the same thing easier, by using a 12 volt battery and taking 6 volts off the middle of the battery. You do this by driving a screw or bolt into the connecting bar in the middle of the battery and using that for all the 6 volt stuff. And using the full 12 volts for 12 volt stuff.

Or, use 2 6 volt batteries in series.

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  • 7 years later...

 

Can I drag up this old topic with a slight curve...

 

I have an occasion to use

https://www.etrailer.com/question-230998.html

and while they say they are safe, I wonder.  The 2 inch ball for the base, it still has a limit.  Putting the 2 5/16 'cover' over it still has the 2 inch ball strength..?    there comes a question - has anyone ever broken a 2 inch ball..?  What type of forces are at work to do that I wonder.

 

I must move my trailer (8800 #) and I have to rent a truck to do it.  The truck will definitely tow the trailer weight safely, yet it has only a 2 inch ball -welded- to the back of it.  I must do it - I don't feel comfortable doing it - but my choices are do it or not - and I must move my trailer.  Key words here are 'I' & must..  i'm not a trusting soul to let someone else do it (hence renting the truck).

 

So what's the 'capacity' for breaking a 2 inch ball.  has anyone done it & what were the circumstances when it happened.. ?   Has anyone used the ball adapter above..?  Thoughts/comments  on that use..?

 

thanks

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Found this page for your info.

 

Also,  what is your bumper rated for weight wise?

2' Trailer Balls - Trailer Balls - CURT Manufacturing.html

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