Can my old truck pull a travel trailer (converted, standard, bed)

[SD4020]

Originally Posted by shortbed

I DO have a four speed with granny gear, but though I've owned this truck for over ten years and a 78 f150 for ten years before that, I have never towed anything
So . . . I've begun taking all your advice. This afternoon I had an experienced parts guy look at my front rotors and do a 'Whoa Nelly!' . . . they're pretty scored, pretty deep grooves. I will put that on my list . . . and this is really 'my' list, since, though I am a carpenter and not a mechanic, I do all this stuff myself.
There is also some play in the ball joint and that feels at the very frontier of my ability . . . balls joints on a four wheel drive. And last night I priced light truck tires online as well as shocks.
I've still got to figure out how to wire up the turn and brake wires and the electric trailer brakes (by the way how does one activate the trailer brakes before the truck brakes. What I've seen online suggests the trailer brakes are wired to the tow vehicle brake light wire?
And, yes, the truck is a short bed. Thanks for all those and all the other tips, guys.
Very helpful.

Jim

Take the pickup to a shop for the ball joints and that. Ball Joints is something I feel better about paying to have done.

There is usually a wiring diagram with the install instructions for a brake controller. Most are activated by inertia or activated manually by a slider bar. As far as wiring, there is a ground, a hot wire from the battery, a tap into the brake lights and wire to the trailer. If it was a newer vehicle the controller plugs into the vehicle with a patch cable, however that wasn’t an option 34 years ago.

When wiring the trailer, most use a 7 way plug, you will want to pull two wires to the plug, and one is hot wire from the battery and the other, often a blue, for the trailer brakes. The rest of wires are for ground, tail lights, brake lights, turn signals. Finding which wire that does what on the pickup is quality time with a light tester or multi meter. The vehicle end has a wiring diagram. It takes time; make sure the connections are dry and sealed to keep moisture out. Also make sure that your ground is to good solid metal to the frame.


If you have a picture of the 79 I’d like to see it. I really miss my 79.

[StealthRabbit]

Ball Jts not that fun on 4x4, is 79 an independent frt axle? ((popular with later Fords, but not popular w/ me... I only have fixed axle / 1T+)

The fixed Axle 4x4 has King Pins (similar function to ball jts). Save some bucks up and have them fully service the frt end (bearings, u jts...) it will be happier and more dependable. Not something you want to worry about on the road... parts / time / towing. frt end and exhaust work I often sub out (especially if vehicle has ANY rust. (Which mine typically don't). Consider a frt steering stabilizer / dampener. Popular to do on 4x4. I like them for towing HEAVY (reduced weight on frt end... more apt to wander / shimmy). IF YOU HAVE A PERFECT frt end they are not necessary... but my OLD IRON is far from perfect. And my 1st gen Dodge Cummins is known for 'Death Wobble'.

for Trailer brakes you need a HD wire from battery to trailer. (through controller). I run a pigtail at battery and through a 30A circuit break to protect the controller. Mount the controller where you can access the manual feature to activate trailer brake independent (or first). The controller has a pendulum / inertia sensor to 'anticipate' need for trailer brakes. (thus it WON"T activate them FIRST automatically). You get to set the sensitivity of trailer brakes and do so based on load / conditions. Get a good brand with GOOD Warranty. and for at least 2 axles (I use 3+) they are about $75 on line.

Controller also ties into your brakelight switch. THUS trailer brake lights work with towing brake lights AND with manual controller switch. REMEMBER to have a full charged battery and a break-away switch on trailer (required by law).

How many axles on trailer?

[SD4020]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Ball Jts not that fun on 4x4, is 79 an independent frt axle? ((popular with later Fords, but not popular w/ me... I only have fixed axle / 1T+)

The fixed Axle 4x4 has King Pins (similar function to ball jts). Save some bucks up and have them fully service the frt end (bearings, u jts...) it will be happier and more dependable. Not something you want to worry about on the road... parts / time / towing. frt end and exhaust work I often sub out (especially if vehicle has ANY rust. (Which mine typically don't). Consider a frt steering stabilizer / dampener. Popular to do on 4x4. I like them for towing HEAVY (reduced weight on frt end... more apt to wander / shimmy). IF YOU HAVE A PERFECT frt end they are not necessary... but my OLD IRON is far from perfect. And my 1st gen Dodge Cummins is known for 'Death Wobble'.

for Trailer brakes you need a HD wire from battery to trailer. (through controller). I run a pigtail at battery and through a 30A circuit break to protect the controller. Mount the controller where you can access the manual feature to activate trailer brake independent (or first). The controller has a pendulum / inertia sensor to 'anticipate' need for trailer brakes. (thus it WON"T activate them FIRST automatically). You get to set the sensitivity of trailer brakes and do so based on load / conditions. Get a good brand with GOOD Warranty. and for at least 2 axles (I use 3+) they are about $75 on line.

Controller also ties into your brakelight switch. THUS trailer brake lights work with towing brake lights AND with manual controller switch. REMEMBER to have a full charged battery and a break-away switch on trailer (required by law).

How many axles on trailer?

79 was the last year for solid front axle in the F150.

[ElkHunter]

Welcome to the world of "Moving for the weekend, instead of camping." lol That's what my kids always acuse me of. Dad, you no longer camp, you just move out to the mountains for the weekend.

You have actually got a fairly good setup and you have been getting some outstanding advice. I wanted to point out some things, for future thought.

I have had people tell me, "I purchased the towing package and all they gave me was this box with a wireing harness to wire up the trailer lights." Not so. A towing package consists of a lot more and vary's from manufacturer to manufacturer and vehicle to vehicle. It can also mean larger brake drums, heavier pads, larger master cylinder pressures, larger radiator, thicker rotors with disk brakes, and a different wiring harness. I point this out because you have none of it. So you need to understand that if you are going to tow, you need to make sure that what you have is 100%.

I'll bet you have seen 3/4 ton and heavy duty 3/4 ton trucks, or at least heard of it. The rear end in a heavy duty truck has floating axles, which you can recognize by the fact that the rear end sticks out through the hub when you put the wheels on the back. This floating axle makes it so the axle takes straight torque for pulling and stopping and sideways torgue is handled by a set of bearings. The wheel is bolted to a housing, and NOT the axle. If you pull too much and snap an axle, you simply coast over to the side of the road. On a normal rear end, the axle is what you bolt your rim to, so if you snap an axle, when wheel lays over. The sideways torgue puts pressure on the axle to twist the camber of the wheel. You have the later. Your axle takes all the pressure, sideways, camber, torgue, etc... Not a totally bad situation, but something you should keep in mind on winding mountain roads. That also means that side sway is something you want to better control. Steering stabilizers, heavy duty shocks, hitch weight stabilizers, etc... are all things that help you in that respect.

With a 16 ft trailer, properly loaded, you shouldn't have a LOT of side torgue, as long as you take it easy.

Stopping is more important than going. You need an electic brake controller. The old style hooked to 12 volts, your brake lights and to your master cylinder for hydraulic pressure. The hydraulic pressure from applying brake pedal moves the little knob back and forth across the front of the controller. The knob, when twisted, simply adjusts the point that electric is applied to the trailer brakes. You want to adjust it so that when you apply the brakes, you feel the trailer apply slightly before the truck. Adjusted this way, you have the trailer braking first so that it's not pushing when the truck is trying to stop. Very important feature on ice and snow. At the same time, if you want to apply brakes to trailer only, you can reach down and activate that little knob by moving it to the right. When coming down the hills or mountains, the brakes tend to heat up and specially the trailer brakes. So if you have long downhill transits, keep in mind the brakes on the trailer will heat up and the last thing you want to do is loose brakes back there by glazing them over. If it's a long transit down from the mountains, stop a couple times and let them cool.

The truck you have is fine for pulling the trailer you want to pull. DO NOT overload the trailer. To keep side sway and braking at a minimum, it's better to carry the weight, than it is to tow the weight. For the trip, load the heavy stuff in the truck, not the trailer. When you get up to the place you want to be, you can move it then. Think of it like this. Walk down the street or hike in the woods with a back pack on. Or. Walk down the street or hike in the woods with me holding onto the middle of your belt in back and I'll pull you sideways from time to time. Sure, you can handle it, but let me do it all day and then see how you feel that night. That backpack is going to do less damage than if I pull on the middle of your belt.

Other than that, enjoy your camping!

[shortbed]

First of all let me apologize for missing a few days. I believe I went to the bottom of page 1 and didn't notice there was a page 2 of responses. So SD4020 and StealthRabbit, coincidentally, I stopped at a four wheel shop I know just this afternoon and asked about the ball joints. I told him I was thinking of doing it myself and he just gave me a look and said something like 'Good luck.' I know it's a big job, but he also said its about a four hundred dollar job with me supplying the parts. Thats a chuck of change for me, but we'll see.
As far as a picture . . . If I can get a friend with a camera phone I will . . . hey wait. I DO have pictures of it. I'll try to figure that out, how to get them off my lap top and post them.
Stealth Rabbit: I will copy and print your post (the others too) and read it when I have more time. Thanks for all the details and the trailer has one axle.
And ELKHUNTER, thank you too for such an in-depth reply, yours too I will copy and read carefully.

[rocktoy]

if you are going to do a lot of towing I would trade for a 3/4 ton truck, your truck will work but it sounds like it needs stuff, my philosophy is the smallest trailer you can get away with and the bigest truck you can afford, towing can be stressfull if your equipment is not right

bob

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by rocktoy

if you are going to do a lot of towing I would trade for a 3/4 ton truck, your truck will work but it sounds like it needs stuff, my philosophy is the smallest trailer you can get away with and the bigest truck you can afford, towing can be stressfull if your equipment is not right

bob

but... If OP REALLY wants to keep his vintage truck, there are MANY things he can do to improve it.

Depends on the TOTAL use of vehicle. Especially EZ on a vintage 4x4 to swap to 3/4 or 1T axles and springs.

Brakes Brakes Brakes !!!~ (You want good brakes) 3/4 ton is MUCH beefier (and priced to reflect).

But it is NOT necessary to go 3/4T. I bought a USED 1/2 ton that had drug around a VERY heavy 32' Holiday Rambler bumper pull (for 150,000 miles). It was a gem of a truck and it brought me another 200k trouble free miles (with some really heavy towing... 20K #+)

[LucyI'mHome]

I've found quite a bit of variation in weight on the older travel trailers between makes, models and years. Get a dry weight on whatever tt you are considering before buying it.

[DataDiva]

I see all these pictures online of beautifully restored, vintage travel trailers, matched perfectly with an adorable vintage car or truck in front to tow it. So, I go search to see what kind of vintage vehicle is suitable for towing a travel trailer, in terms of engine and body type, and I find all sorts of cautions and some flat out "don't do it" kinds of advice. Were all those pretty pictures I saw just vintage travel trailer porn?

[StealthRabbit]

We didn’t ‘play by the rules”, especially when there were no rules!

What are you looking for?
There are plenty of capable vintage vehicles, I’ve been driving them everyday for decades.