Posted By: STEFF
Towing with an A-100 - 01/04/14 06:07 PM
Has anyone towed a 24ft enclosed trailer with an A-100? How did it handle it?
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Not enclosed but an 18' open was just fine from WI to CA with my pig b-body on it. Rear sway bar and other tricks would help an enclosed. How far do you plan on going? Towing in Oregon is MUCH different than towing in Ohio's
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Has anyone towed a 24ft enclosed trailer with an A-100? How did it handle it?
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I heard a bunch of people say in the past that the pucker factor was high towing heavy trailers with Ramchargers, which are longer and heavier than A-100's.
I can't imagine what it would be like towing a 24ft enclosed with a 90" wheelbase and 10" drums.
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I would find a swepty and put it on a newer chassis if I was planning to use it for towing. The 60's trucks had bad suspensions, drum brakes, wimpy steering, etc. I say all of this from experience.
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I would find a swepty and put it on a newer chassis if I was planning to use it for towing. The 60's trucks had bad suspensions, drum brakes, wimpy steering, etc. I say all of this from experience.
I tend to agree with this, expect the suspension part. The 3/4 ton swepty had heavy duty suspension, the drum brakes were large diameter. They were capable of doing the job you have in mind. I had a 66 3/4 ton "camper Special" Dodge pickup, it had a poly 318 and a granny low gear 4 speed. Between my father and I, we had huge loads on that truck. more then almost anything I put on any of the 73=93 3/4 ton trucks.
My dad did construction, then did jack hammer work when he owned the 66. The last 3 or 4 years he owned it, he had an air compressor that was big enough to run 2 90lbs jack hammers, at the same time, mounted in the box. He sold me the 66 truck when he bought an almost new 76 Dodge 1 ton, single wheel, camper special, pickup which he moved the air compressor to. According to him, the 76 truck didn't hold a candle to the 66. The 75 was later replaced with an 85 1 ton, which dad said wasn't near the truck the 76 was. He maintains the 66 was the best work truck he ever had.
If I was planning on pulling a trailer, I'd go for a 70s D (or W) 150 or 200 truck with the disc brakes. The old drums were OK for stopping a loaded truck, but adding a trailer increased the demand on the drums to the point of being borderline.
An A-100(truck or van) is a very light duty operation I would be afraid to pull a little 2,000 lbs trailer with. A 70s heavy 1/2, 3/4, or 1 ton B van was capable of being a good towing vehicle, but be sure its not the real light duty 1/2 ton version. Gene