Towing two jeep's F150?

I can accept all that, and I’m not necessarily disagreeing with any of you or that info. My legitimate question is, what did we do then as a nation, before 2000??? How did we transport equipment from job site to job site, how did we transport a couple heads of live stock, how did we move anything over 10,000lbs? A half ton built in the last 10 years will knock a one tons dick in the dirt from from 20 years ago. Curb weights are comparable, wheelbases can be/are comparable, plus 20 years of drivability improvements. Or are we saying thank god for 2005+ 3/4+ tons and we were all taking our lives in to our own hands at work and personally before then?
What's really crazy is the amount of incremental improvements. A 99 super duty uses the same cab and dimensions as a 2016, and many of the parts will interchange. But a 16 is 5 generations of engine later, and everything about it is nicer, smoother, tighter, stronger, and more expensive. The difference between the 2008 F250 I had and the 2012 F250 I currently have is night and day when it comes to towing heavy loads. A lot of that is in the transmission, but the overall package just feels more settled/stable/controlled.
 
My legitimate question is, what did we do then as a nation, before 2000??? How did we transport equipment from job site to job site, how did we transport a couple heads of live stock, how did we move anything over 10,000lbs?

Medium duty trucks.

A mid-90s 3/4t or 1t would haul a 773 on a trailer with some hand tools and maybe an auger in the bed, but that was it. If you had to haul a skid loader behind the F350 dump, you didn't have to worry about the brakes, because you'd be lucky to hit 55mph on flat ground. The Fords got new transmissions about once a year (unless they were ZFs), and any that were used hard ended up with broken frames. Depending on how they were used, it wasn't uncommon to see entire fleets of them with frames that had been repaired numerous times.

If you needed to haul more than a skid loader, there were F650s, F750s, F850s, Internationals, and GM Topkicks. They had Cats and better transmissions (7 speeds or 5/2), but depending on the particular truck, might top out between 58-68mph. They were slow, but they had good brakes.

If you were moving hay or some cows, you might pull a gooseneck flatbed or a stock trailer behind a pickup, but you weren't going more than 30-45mph. It wasn't uncommon to see a guy with a cow or two in the bed of the pickup. If you weren't going far, it just got pulled with the tractor. Anything more than that, and there was a medium-duty or heavy-duty truck for towing the big trailers.

It was the same story for race trailers. Guys either had a 16' flatbed with a tire rack and toolboxes that they towed behind a pickup, or the baller guys had a Topkick pulling a 40-45ft enclosed trailer. If you had a camper, it was a 24'. I remember seeing a lot of big 5th wheels in New Mexico in the early 90s. They looked huge at the time, but they were probably only 35' or so.

That all started to change in the mid-90s when pickups started getting turbo diesels.
 
So...
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Said MJ drove from Hartsville to Dirty Myrtle after a dif fluid change and reseal. If he’s got that kind of balls his ass is driving it to Harlan....
 
Medium duty trucks.

A mid-90s 3/4t or 1t would haul a 773 on a trailer with some hand tools and maybe an auger in the bed, but that was it. If you had to haul a skid loader behind the F350 dump, you didn't have to worry about the brakes, because you'd be lucky to hit 55mph on flat ground. The Fords got new transmissions about once a year (unless they were ZFs), and any that were used hard ended up with broken frames. Depending on how they were used, it wasn't uncommon to see entire fleets of them with frames that had been repaired numerous times.

If you needed to haul more than a skid loader, there were F650s, F750s, F850s, Internationals, and GM Topkicks. They had Cats and better transmissions (7 speeds or 5/2), but depending on the particular truck, might top out between 58-68mph. They were slow, but they had good brakes.

If you were moving hay or some cows, you might pull a gooseneck flatbed or a stock trailer behind a pickup, but you weren't going more than 30-45mph. It wasn't uncommon to see a guy with a cow or two in the bed of the pickup. If you weren't going far, it just got pulled with the tractor. Anything more than that, and there was a medium-duty or heavy-duty truck for towing the big trailers.

It was the same story for race trailers. Guys either had a 16' flatbed with a tire rack and toolboxes that they towed behind a pickup, or the baller guys had a Topkick pulling a 40-45ft enclosed trailer. If you had a camper, it was a 24'. I remember seeing a lot of big 5th wheels in New Mexico in the early 90s. They looked huge at the time, but they were probably only 35' or so.

That all started to change in the mid-90s when pickups started getting turbo diesels.

So if I’m reading that right, the fear of towing with a newer 150 rated to trailer tow at 11,000lbs vs an older 350 rated at 10,000lbs...is speed regulation??? I guess that’s where I’m of the opinion it still takes some brains to tow and the brakes and drivability of newer vehicles do some compensating. I’d think someone were pushing their luck cruising 70+ with a decent load behind them regardless of vehicle. But I’ll bow out...it’s clear I’m in the minority.
 
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All I need to know is.....


Am I going to die, or nah?
 
View attachment 294228

All I need to know is.....


Am I going to die, or nah?

Magic 8 ball says depends...you’re in that early stage of golden era truck development...but I’d bet that truck is only rated for 12k with a 5th wheel...but that number is a joke, so if your load is over 8k and you go faster than 55...I Hope you have a will.
 
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Magic 8 ball says depends...you’re in that early stage of golden era truck development...but I’d bet that truck is only rated for 12k with a 5th wheel...but that number is a joke, so if your load is over 8k and you go faster than 55...I Hope you have a will.

No clue...but I'm using up most of my 24k tags when I'm loaded. I think it's around 23,000 total.



IDK but I'd love to see that in Camden for a weekend. Will provide food and beer or whatever you drink.....

Well....I've hauled it from GA to NC when I bought it. That was 6 hours and some change, but I think it's about 4 hrs to Camden.
 
View attachment 294228

All I need to know is.....


Am I going to die, or nah?
In my opinion, gooseneck is a totally different game because of where and how the forces are distributed and what it does to the way the truck is loaded. Brakes may still be an issue, but that's about it.
 
You're too old to Carolina Squat buddy :)

At least it's hooked to a trailer...right?

In my opinion, gooseneck is a totally different game because of where and how the forces are distributed and what it does to the way the truck is loaded. Brakes may still be an issue, but that's about it.

It hauls it pretty well. There's a VERY small window of space to properly place it on the trailer though. It's gotta be juuuuuust right or it'll either buck constantly or there's not enough tongue weight to make the trailer brakes work as well as they should. I've about figured out that the blade should go right over the split of the deck boards though, so that helps. If the trailer brakes weren't pretty awesome, it would definitely suck to stop. The PowerStops made a nice difference over stock stuff.
 
So if I’m reading that right, the fear of towing with a newer 150 rated to trailer tow at 11,000lbs vs an older 350 rated at 10,000lbs...is speed regulation??

The problem with two Jeeps on the trailer is that the guys in favor will take the published curb weight of 3500# or whatever, double it, add 3k for a trailer, and say you're good and have capacity to spare.

The naysayers are gonna guess that the Jeeps weigh 4500# ea and the trailer is probably 5k. That's more than the F150 can handle.

They're both right. The bottom line is that you don't have enough data.

There's no question that you can pull 10-12k with a modern 1/2 ton. They have huge brakes, integrated trailer controllers, sway control, dedicated tow transmission programs, big coolers, etc. Is it going to be slow on the hills? Of course. Is it going to be at least as good as a 3/4 ton truck from 25 years ago? Sure.
 
For the record I'd weigh both jeeps at a cat sale before I ever attempted it... I prefer facts. I know my jeep is heavy. 42's, one tons, and H1's are not light...
 
Until the last ten years or so....I dont remember seeing anyone hauling more than one rig at a time. That was reserved for 450 and bigger trucks
 
@ghost you mentioned renting a half ton, enterprise and most places don’t have a hitch on their half tons cause they don’t want people towing with them and it pushes you to pay more for the next size up.

Idk if the trucks you can rent from Home Depot have a hitch and I don’t know if you can rent them for several days, but a Uhaul will tow and you can camp out in the back! Or just have a lot of room for gear to stay dry! Lol
 
Enterprise commercial is the way to go. They have diesel 3/4 tons, and the in person rate is much better than the published website rate, IMHO.

If you only need one a few times a year, you're probably better off renting.
 
There's no question that you can pull 10-12k with a modern 1/2 ton. They have huge brakes, integrated trailer controllers, sway control, dedicated tow transmission programs, big coolers, etc. Is it going to be slow on the hills? Of course. Is it going to be at least as good as a 3/4 ton truck from 25 years ago? Sure.

And that brings us full circle to the point I was apparently poorly trying to make. There’s not a single one of us here that hasn’t hauled the weight of those two Jeeps with a 20 year old truck and felt perfectly comfortable in doing so. So fast forward 10-15 years...you have a truck with better ratings...what’s the difference??? You’re dealing with the stigma of it ‘only’ being a half ton, and being conditioned with the ease of use from new diesel one tons. Like I noted previously, I was doing some vehicle towing yesterday, would I have preferred to use my 2017 dodge...ya damn skippy, but it was tied up, so I used my new expedition instead (9300lb rating). Could I drive carefree and forget the load was back there like with the dodge...of course not, but it did the job, and did it as well as my 96 350, that most guys wouldn’t hesitate using.
 
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There’s not a single one of us here that hasn’t hauled the weight of those two Jeeps with a 20 year old truck and felt perfectly comfortable in doing so.

I wouldn't recommend towing 14k to Harlan with any pickup made before about 2003, and wouldn't consider it with anything made before 1999.
 
I wouldn't recommend towing 14k to Harlan with any pickup made before about 2003, and wouldn't consider it with anything made before 1999.

And that’s an assessment we have the luxury of making now that it’s 2019. I’m with you that there are better tools for the job, I just don’t believe everyone here went out and bought medium duty trucks to get to the trail pre-03 because they felt light duty ratings were BS or it would be too slow/difficult to get there.
 
I just don’t believe everyone here went out and bought medium duty trucks to get to the trail pre-03

You're right - they just didn't do it. In 1999, you were a fucking baller if you had a tow rig and a trailer for your one trail rig. Most people drove their trail rig. You might have known about one guy who was friends with a friend of friend that was a farmer or a contractor that had a flatbed and a topkick and pulled two rigs at the same time.

Serious question - how old were you in 1999? Because I'm really getting the impression here that you're just making shit up.
 
You're right - they just didn't do it. In 1999, you were a fucking baller if you had a tow rig and a trailer for your one trail rig. Most people drove their trail rig. You might have known about one guy who was friends with a friend of friend that was a farmer or a contractor that had a flatbed and a topkick and pulled two rigs at the same time.

Serious question - how old were you in 1999? Because I'm really getting the impression here that you're just making shit up.

Oprah says Age is just a number...could just mean an old dude has been stupid for a long time too. Point remains, hauling 10/12/15k isn’t a new thing since 2003, could be pillows, could be Jeeps, could be construction equipment...doesn’t particularly matter, the weight is the weight, and folks weren’t going out and buying medium duty trucks to move it. If tow ratings are BS today, they were 20 years ago too, and based on that logic, if we want to stick with ‘overloaded is overloaded’, then a trailer with a single 4,000lb load would have been ‘stupid’ 20 years ago too.
 
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folks weren’t going out and buying medium duty trucks to move it.

Well, in 1999, I worked as a driver for a construction company. We used medium duty trucks to move anything that weighed more than 10k.

Your profile says you were 13 years old. I bet y'all had some great arguments at recess over whose daddy had the best pickup. :beer:
 
Hey Grandpa, do you remember how much trucks cost back in the last century?
 
I guess there’s absolutely no way for someone to educate themselves about stuff that happened before they were born, and trucks and truck literature pre-2003 no longer exist. If only there were a thread or something that showed what folks were using as tow vehicles.
 
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