1979 Chevy

[Cody Birch]

i have a 79 chevy half tone heavy duty rear end air ride in the back 350gas motor 4x4 single cab do you think it could pull a enclosed car hauler? im talking about a goosneck trailer it has a rebuilt strong motor strong runing truck i just want to no if it will have enuff balls to pull a goosneck with a truck in it from here to tennesee if i want?

[ToyHauler]

cant really say from the info given. those trailers can be 1500 ish to huge and the load what truck? a ranger or a one ton diesel? and where is here?

[TiredFarmer]

Basically, it depends upon what the weight is you're towing. For a GN trailer that a full size truck will fit on, you are looking at about 4000 pounds MINIMUM for empty trailer weight. A half-ton single cab 79, is it a long bed?? Give us more info and we can better give you our opinions.

[Cody Birch]

its a single cab 8 foot bed be going here northern indiana to tennessee i will be pulling a standard size truck in the enclosed trailer just a regular trailer it wont have a living quarters or anythang in it just the truck and maybe some luggage

[Cody Birch]

just has a standard rear end 350 tranny and low tourqu cam i will be hauling 28 foot goosneck with 4000 pounds added to the weight of the trailer

[LeoP]

I wouldn't do it with that truck. JMHO.

[Cody Birch]

I wouldn't do it with that truck. JMHO.

any specific reason or just cuz its underpowered?

[TiredFarmer]

You are looking at towing around 8000 pounds with your truck. Yes the motor can handle it as a one-time deal. Tranny, well probably. Biggest concern is your braking ability here. Stability and stop-a-bility are factors that need to be considered

[bowtieguy101]

any specific reason or just cuz its underpowered?

Not enought brakes, and the truck is a half ton, They are light duty trucks. I drive a 1/2 ton as a DD and I wouldnt pull a 20 foor GN with it. thats what heavy duty trucks are for.

[Cody Birch]

Not enought brakes, and the truck is a half ton, They are light duty trucks. I drive a 1/2 ton as a DD and I wouldnt pull a 20 foor GN with it. thats what heavy duty trucks are for.

that is true but this a solid like new truck no rust the frame and everything is solid steel back in 79 they wernt cheap on steel so a 79 probly weighs as much as a new 2500 does today

[TiredFarmer]

that is true but this a solid like new truck no rust the frame and everything is solid steel back in 79 they wernt cheap on steel so a 79 probly weighs as much as a new 2500 does today

It isn't about how much the truck weighs, it is about the suspension/steering and braking capability. Doesn't matter what year model it is, it is still a HALF-TON truck!

[05Av]

Figure about 200 pounds per foot on an enclosed trailer for weight. so 200/ft x 28 ft trailer = 5600lbs unloaded.

No way I would even consider it, especially across state lines. Will the truck even fit in the trailer? What if it is windy? Nothing good can come from this. Look for an open 16-18ft trailer.

[Cody Birch]

Figure about 200 pounds per foot on an enclosed trailer for weight. so 200/ft x 28 ft trailer = 5600lbs unloaded.

No way I would even consider it, especially across state lines. Will the truck even fit in the trailer? What if it is windy? Nothing good can come from this. Look for an open 16-18ft trailer.

o ya its just a 1936 Ford F100 hot rod it will fit in a 28 foot trailer easy

[ToyHauler]

X2 on the open trailer, should be able to get one 1k to 1500 unloaded weight and that will be good for a half ton.

[TiredFarmer]

Cody, if the truck you're hauling is the 36 Ford F100 Hot Rod then why do you need a 28 foot long trailer??? Smaller trailer would be easier to tow.

[Cody Birch]

Cody, if the truck you're hauling is the 36 Ford F100 Hot Rod then why do you need a 28 foot long trailer??? Smaller trailer would be easier to tow.

the trailer itself is 28 foot from tip to tip that includes the 4 ft that goes over the bed hookes up to the gooseneck

what kind of a truck should i be looking to get then to pull a 28 foot trailer?

[TiredFarmer]

the trailer itself is 28 foot from tip to tip that includes the 4 ft that goes over the bed hookes up to the gooseneck

what kind of a truck should i be looking to get then to pull a 28 foot trailer?
That all depends upon what else you would do with it, and of course how much cash is available. A One Ton Duramax is probably overkill if all you're gonna do is tow this one time! I would look for a 2500 at a minimum, preferrably a 2500HD. If you look there, the Duramax will outperform the 6.0 for the life of the vehicle. As for your trailer, even 24 foot inside is way bigger than you need, unless you are looking at a race trailer setup, then you def wanna go 3500HD.

[Cody Birch]

That all depends upon what else you would do with it, and of course how much cash is available. A One Ton Duramax is probably overkill if all you're gonna do is tow this one time! I would look for a 2500 at a minimum, preferrably a 2500HD. If you look there, the Duramax will outperform the 6.0 for the life of the vehicle. As for your trailer, even 24 foot inside is way bigger than you need, unless you are looking at a race trailer setup, then you def wanna go 3500HD.

it will not be hauled just one time i plan on taking trips to tennesee from here in northern indiana 2-3 times a year and it can be a daily driver when im home here so a person mideswell buy a 3500 and be done with it im not a fan of deisel trucks i go with a big gasser

[TiredFarmer]

If you're staying GAS, steer clear of the 6.0l then and go for the bigger gasser. My 6.0 in 2500HD gets at best 14-15 completely unloaded. Towing it drops off quickly to 5-8 MPG. That is why I suggested the Duramax, they constantly pull at 10 MPG and up and depending on year and engine model they vary from 14-18 MPG unloaded in the 2500HD's. Don't have any experience with the 8.1's

[bowtieguy101]

You should be looking for at least a 2500 series truck. Go full on 1 ton and know you have enough truck. The 6.0 is the new 5.7, Drop dead reliable, and pulls well.

The duramax is a great motor, but way overpriced and way too much weight for the front ends on these trucks. Most people have to rebuild the entire front end every 60-80k miles.

[Cody Birch]

You should be looking for at least a 2500 series truck. Go full on 1 ton and know you have enough truck. The 6.0 is the new 5.7, Drop dead reliable, and pulls well.

The duramax is a great motor, but way overpriced and way too much weight for the front ends on these trucks. Most people have to rebuild the entire front end every 60-80k miles.

i think im going to go with a 3500 im thinkin of getting a dually how do they fair in the snow do i need 4x4 in a dually?

[bowtieguy101]

In my experiance i have always had worse luck getting stuck with a dually than a SRW truck. I got stuck on wet grass with my dually once. Not a ton of snow driving experience but I lived in oregon for a few years so i am not completely without any knowledge.

if you think youll need 4x4 get it. Cant tell you for sure that youll need a dually tho, but it will help with sway towing a GN..

[ToyHauler]

the best thing for snow is tall skinny wheels and with a dually you have two extra. single wheel 3500's have wider tires to handle the load. my work truck is a 4wd f550 with dual wheels, with tires that are as aggressive as i could get while retaining the towing rating. i only need to use 4wd when i go offroad with this setup even hauling up to 17k bumper pull. as long as you are talking about on pavement or gravel when you are not going to sink in i wouldnt worry about 4wd with a dually. the tires arent cheap though.

[bowtieguy101]

My dually wouldny sink enought to get any traction.. That was kinda where I was headed with that. Seems like ti would get better tracktion having extra tires, but it actually got stuck more often adn even on wet grass because the weight was so spread out it was sliding on top the grass.

like I said the there are goods and bad to a dually. No right or wrong answer here.