"Classic" tow vehicles

So I feel like I know that the easy button on the tow rig is the GMT 800 burban or trucks, or the sequoias where you pay less of the truck price premium, but I find myself starting to really like it when I see a clean 80's 90's classic looking truck especially. 7th-8th gen F-series, 3rd gen c/k (4th I feel like I would just go GMT 800), 1st gen RAM etc. If I am going to buy a vehicle that is going to sit most of the time and get used to tow and not rack up a lot of miles are there any good chassis/engine options out there for older rigs?

Depends on your trailer and terrain. Using a trailer with brakes I used too tow 70 miles each way with a 76 f100. But I live in the flat area of Ohio.  I know several guys who use late 80s early 90s 3/4 ton trucks for towing In this area

I had an 87 Silverado dually with a Tbi  350 that was a decent tow rig.

MPG be damned, I want a 2wd GM square body crew cab with a 489 stroker with some type of fuel injection, and a 4L80E and 4.10 gears.   Slammed in the weeds.  But I know the reality would not be anywhere near as good as my '04 Duramax crew cab.  Cooler yes, better, hell no.

But that's what I think of when I think classic tow vehicle.

I really want an old F100 with a s550 mustang drivetrain in it for towing a light car on an open trailer. Definitely not as good as a later model truck, but you can’t beat the cool. 

Got it covered. Got the antique plate for it this year. 

1969 GMC Suburban K2500 4x4

As someone who basically only tows old 1980s racecars all the time, the thought of having a "period correct" to rig constantly crosses my mind, simply for cool factor. But then I remember that 1) Tow Rig must be reliable, 2) Tow rig must have good brakes, 3) most importatnly, tow rig must be easy to drive, comfortable, and safe. Because after a race weekend, I don't want to have to think about the rig, fix the rig, or be uncomfortable towing home with lousy A/C or sub-par brakes, or flat uncomfortable bench seats. I towed with a friend's early 90s F250 diesel (with manual!), and while it was a cool truck with good power, in all other ways it sucked to tow with, even compared to my 4Runner at the time. Modern trucks are just so much better in every way, and the coolness of an old truck isn't worth the tradeoff. 

Could you make a vintage truck into a great tower? Sure, but for way more $$ than just buying something newer. Not nearly as cool, but that's the way to go IMO. 

Someday i'd love to find a late-model pickup with massive hail damage or something and body-swap something old onto the modern chassis/drivetrain (plus the A/C and interior). That would be pretty cool, but probably not remotely cheap. 

If anything, maybe an older Land Cruiser from the 80s with the 4.7 swapped out of the Tundra would be pretty awesome as a tow rig :)

Reliability I think would be decent with 350, or 454, or 460's etc I dont recall hearing much engine wise bad about them or the old c6 transmissions etc.

uncomfortable seats would seem like something somewhat easy to swap in from a later model truck?

disc brake upgrade seems like it would do a lot for brakes.

They definitely won't ride like a Sequoia or be as quiet tho

This was my ‘classic’ tow rig.  It was pretty comfortable and reliable,  but I have a 2013 k3500 now and of course it’s a big improvement.

Whilst not a tow pig my 84 S-10 is essentially the first truck I've ever driven. ( Rented a Nissan for all of probably less than  10 miles once). To me the Chevy is the greatest. Just don't put me in anything late model for longer than a chore and I'll be none the wiser.

Im still of the opinion, that, a dodge/mercedes/ford sprinter or transit van, done up in a livery to match the race car it's towing, will always look "correct" regardless of how old the racecar or what make/model it is. More on topic, if I had no budget restrictions, would be an international harvester VCO-190, with a turned up 6bt and appropriate automatic transmission for the power level, with the biggest cooling system I can fit for it in place. It's basically the OG Isuzu NPR. The bed out back would be toolboxes and storage galore, preferably with roll up compartment doors, and space for mounting a generator/air compressor, the welder/plasma/torch setup would be seated in a full height compartment.  4wd wouldnt be undoable either. Top it off with a gooseneck hitch and you have the most absurd tow rig to ever show up at an event, I bet even spec miata guys with there rolling garages would be jealous. 

I towed with this for a long time. 1994 F350. 460 gas. E4OD. It was a great truck as long as you could feed it. The camper load got 6.2 mpg at 75 mph. 

Bought cheap. Sold for about what I paid for it. It's still beating around town. An old guy is doing concrete work with it. 

Where's ddavid?  He towed with a classic truck for a long time.

And like it so much that he updated to a Lightning.  His comments are pretty interesting, IIRC- to the point where- while it's neat to have a classic truck, the comfort of something more modern before or after a long weekend of racing is pretty darned important.

Find a square body 2500 Chev.  Add overdrive, 4:11 gears, a radiator the size of Minnesota with a trans cooler comparably sized.  Add a camshaft so it makes power to about 5500 rpm, and mufflers so you don't piss yourself off.

Keep your gas card handy.

Edit: Lose some of the leaves from the rear springs and add a well designed airbag setup with onboard compressor.

The oldest excursion will be 20 years old very soon, isn't that classic? 

I wonder how anyone managed to tow with those old inadequate trucks back when they were new.    Certainly, upgrades like better brakes or an overdrive transmission wouldn't hurt.

Back in the day, a buddy and I drove his new 1974 F-100 from Minnesota to Yellowstone Park, and I don't remember it being uncomfortable.  The seats in most older trucks were probably pretty comfortable when they were new, but the foam and/or springs have broken down over time.  Replacing the foam and fixing the springs would probably get them back to where they should be.

Don't forget the National 55 MPH Speed Limit Law went into effect in '74.  In '87 allowed some 65 mph but was not until '95 that we really saw a full return to 70mph and State Assigned limits.

With that in mind, anything from say '75-'88 era will be geared more for a cruising speed of 55.  You might find the engine heavily worked at 70mph even when unloaded.  

Ford split the F150 and F250 around 1999, calling the F250 The Super Duty.  I would seek out a F250 of just before this like '97-'98.  That will get you the last of the boxier Fords.  Similar to the Ford Dually shown above.  Those older F250's also seem to be a bargain point.  It seems most shoppers want the '99-'07 look of the Super Duty version.  

Also note, the older the truck, the more it will "ride like a truck".  As the years progressed and people used trucks more as "cars" they made the trucks more car-like with better aero and creature comforts.  

In reply to stuart in mn :

Speed limit in 1974 was limited to 55mph nation wide right? In California the towing speed limit is 55, that E36 M3 sucks. 

'89 d350 with a 6bt/727 was my daily and tow rig for a while. It was terrible at both. I found a 2013 Chevy 1500 with the HD suspension package to be a much better tool for the towing I did. Modern half tons are that much better than 80s 1 tons. I can't imagine how much better a modern 1 ton is.

Jaynen said:

So I feel like I know that the easy button on the tow rig is the GMT 800 burban or trucks, or the sequoias where you pay less of the truck price premium, but I find myself starting to really like it when I see a clean 80's 90's classic looking truck especially. 7th-8th gen F-series, 3rd gen c/k (4th I feel like I would just go GMT 800), 1st gen RAM etc. If I am going to buy a vehicle that is going to sit most of the time and get used to tow and not rack up a lot of miles are there any good chassis/engine options out there for older rigs?

 

My idea of cool is a Peterbuilt 379 cab on a late  model 1 ton  diesel chassis.  

I love the creative spirit we have here. If only I had money to burn and could try building some of these projects. I worry a little about a higher mileage/older sprinter because my benz has the same engine and it's cost me a fairly pretty penny on a couple big repairs. Otherwise I can see the practicality of a larger van vs a truck as a tow rig especially when going to the race track

There was a Dodge Semi for sale near me. I could throw a flatbed on it or a gooseneck.

Sadly it was single axle so I don't think it came with the 318 Detroit. Might be a good thing considering how often I would go BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAing around for no reason.


I have thought about it before and my ideal old tow rig is just a D300 or one of the rarer bigger models with as much stuff from a 2nd gen 2500/3500 under it and probably a v10 instead of a cummins because it'll still get better mpg than the 440 or 400 that would possibly be in the original truck and wont cost as much as the diesel to buy.

yupididit said:

In reply to stuart in mn :

Speed limit in 1974 was limited to 55mph nation wide right? In California the towing speed limit is 55, that E36 M3 sucks. 

When we were driving through the middle of nowhere in North Dakota and Montana we weren't going 55mph.   Although that's not really germane to the discussion, trucks back then could go 70mph just like they can today.

In reply to yupididit :

55 is still set for most non-interstate roads.  Heck VT is 50.  The majority of interstates are 65.

5 over over generally is accepted on highways.   10 over + is generally acceptable on IE's.

Years ago I remember hearing a NYS trooper, when asked, tell a trucker they would give him 5 and he could steal 5.