Towing a flatbed trailer with a B150 Dodge van?

Blaze

Blaze

The Jeeper Reaper
Joined
Aug 9, 2005
Location
Wake Forest, NC
Anyone have any thoughts on this?

I am starting a business and need something that can pull an 18' flatbed car trailer with a car on it. I plan on rebuilding/flipping cars and need a tow rig.

By grandfather has this Ram Van 150 with the 3.9L V6 in it. He's selling it but no one is buying it, he'd probably give it to me if I asked.

It is a short 110" wheelbase panel van. Max towing capacity on it is like 6300lbs. I know he's towed a 41 Packard Clipper Sedan up through the mountains on a dolly with it with no problem.

Ideally I'd rather have one with a V8 in it, but the V6 in this is like 180hp/225tq which is about on par with a early 90s TBI SBC.

What do you guys think? I'd rather have a 70s-80s crew cab Chevy, but can't beat the price on this one.......
 
I wouldn't worry so much about if the van could pull the trailer, I would worry if it could stop
 
Depending on the weight of the trailer, I would think you should be fine as long as it has brakes. If you get the van and it seems to struggle, you can always change the gearing in the rear end up a bit to compensate. If you are doing long hauls or a bunch of hills, you might want to add a transmission temp gauge and increase cooling capacity if needed. Not knowing the size/weight of the trailer or what conditions you are hauling in (flat or mountains), it's a little difficult to say for sure.
 
Here is what you will have working against you:
Brakes, yes even with trailer brakes, you will burn them up quick if doing many hills or mountains
Suspension, Just isn't very beefy on that van
Wheelbase, short wheel base can be bring handling issues
engine and tranny. from cooling issues to lack of grunt, and ability to do this repeatedly

If you picked up a stock wrangler, you are looking at ~4300 pounds, trailer will be ~ 2000 pounds,
anything bigger, you can see the where the math goes.

positive side of it all, No weighter tag needed
 
Unless you've already bought the trailer, I'd look into the lightest trailer you can afford. They make some out of aluminum that are super strong, yet light. They are pricy, though. My understanding with vans is that the difference between a 150 class van and a 250 class van is in the rear end and suspension, not in the frame. It's not until you get into the 350 class that the frame is beefed. If you feel the rear end saggin under load, find a 250 van at the scrap yard and start harvesting parts.

Again, the price is right, just stay local until you can afford to upgrade.
 
You know, now that I think about it, it might actually be a 250. He bought it brand new in 1992 for his electrician business, we've hauled all kinds of stuff around with the thing over the years!

ai97.photobucket.com_albums_l201_Birdman79_IM000236_zpsa619e0f5.jpg


Free candy.
 
Blaze said:
You know, now that I think about it, it might actually be a 250. He bought it brand new in 1992 for his electrician business, we've hauled all kinds of stuff around with the thing over the years!

ai97.photobucket.com_albums_l201_Birdman79_IM000236_zpsa619e0f5.jpg


Free candy.
Click to expand...

I don't think they ever put a V6 in a 250 series Dodge van, but I could be wrong. I also don't think the 250 was available in that short a wheelbase, but again, I could be wrong. I can't zoom in on the emblem enough to see if it's a 1 or a 2.
 
I don't think the risk is worth it. Chip is right, it's not designed to do what you want to do and if you modify it you still have a short WB.
 
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