Trailering your square body

[Buck69]

All these squares on trailers in one spot, is going to make us look bad to those other guys.

 

[Dave Kay]

The trucks in question:

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[Dave Kay]

Have hauled my K30 twice in the past couple weeks on a tandem trailer. It was under power loading both trips. Engine forward. You can take a quick measurement of the hitch height unloaded and loaded to give yourself an idea of what your tongue weight is.

BTW: I have a CUCV too. Pretty much stock from the govt except I installed a Gear Vendors unit for hwy travel. She's no screamer but I can cruise at 65 nice and comfy. More on that one later...

 

[Buck69]

BTW: I have a CUCV too. Pretty much stock from the govt except I installed a Gear Vendors unit for hwy travel. She's no screamer but I can cruise at 65 nice and comfy. More on that one later...

Nice! Going to bump up the tire size a bit with mine and it has a 300hp 5.7 in it that doesn't mind spinning a bit faster.

 

[bucket]

Looks like you have an equipment trailer there. Or is it just the photo quality? I shopped for an equipment trailers before getting my car-hauler, only what they had to offer were mostly 12K trailers which were coming in at 4k by themselves. Too rich for my GMT!

Thanks for your input~!

It's a hydraulic tilt deck over trailer, rated for 14k. I got it for a steal, from my employer. Otherwise, it'd be way too rich for me too, lol.

Will load 'em head-in, got it, thanks~!

Okay, you guys got my hackles up now! Dug thru a bunch of paperwork and found truck titles. Truck weights are as follows: C20 = 4080lbs; GMC 3500 SRW = 4460.

Small block w/TH400 in the 3500, and C20 is a 292ci w/TH350. Other than that, there's not much else behind the cab on these stepsides. The floors of the beds are all wood too, actually a sheet of 1/4 inch plywood, so there's a lot less weight there than the Fleetside beds.

Both these trucks are D-Types with no frills, no AC, no electric windows, etc., bone-stock, work-trucks, bench-seats, fleet vehicles like construction companies would buy en mass. Heck I had to put radios in them myself if I wanted sounds! Even the fuse-box is minimal, unlike a Scottsdale or a Cheyenne, etc.

Potential diamonds in the rough for the lucky restorer or custom hotrod pickup truck-slammer~! Will be getting both home and running again and entertaining all offers.

This is not a solicitation.

Thanks again to all~! This has been a good learning experience.

Those weights seem correct. I weighed my shortbed stepside when it was still a small block, it came in around 3800#. I figured a longbed, even if a C20 or C30, couldn't have been too much more. With your 20 foot trailer, you'll be fine hauling the rigs backwards if it's easier. Just get them more towards the front of the trailer.

 

[Grit dog]

Towed mine with my 2021 Toyota Tundra from Garden City, Kansas back to south Louisiana, 800 plus miles one way, I rented a U-Haul car hauler for 3 days and went and got it no problems whatsoever, don’t think you’ll have any problems with a 3/4 ton truck Good luck to you

You got lucky. I towed a long bed 75 Dodge 4x4 home on a Uhaul recently and it sucked. Not enough tongue weight.
Guess it was ok for you since you had an empty truck bed (in the towed). This truck had an aluminum topper and probably 500lbs of crap in the bed and it was tongue light.

 

[Magna86]

I didn't see the hitch pic. With that being said yes go get a weight distribution hitch and you will be fine.

 

[Dave Kay]

Nice! Going to bump up the tire size a bit with mine and it has a 300hp 5.7 in it that doesn't mind spinning a bit faster.

Me too~! (not the 300hp 5.7!) Taller tires/wheels wasn't something I had planned until now that I see guys going with 17 inch wheels/tires on square-bodys. So I'm going to investigate that option for my M1008. The tires currently on it are still fairly new, 235/85/16's, and they are 33inches, so it seems going with 17's might gain me another inch and fewer RPM's on the open highway.

Heck, I've been everywhere with the current 16's I have on the truck, like really soft sand, hellish washboards and all, by just airing them down to 20lbs, I never get stuck.

There there's the old adage: Never say never~!

It's a hydraulic tilt deck over trailer, rated for 14k. I got it for a steal, from my employer. Otherwise, it'd be way too rich for me too, lol.



Those weights seem correct. I weighed my shortbed stepside when it was still a small block, it came in around 3800#. I figured a longbed, even if a C20 or C30, couldn't have been too much more. With your 20 foot trailer, you'll be fine hauling the rigs backwards if it's easier. Just get them more towards the front of the trailer.

I always wanted a shortbed stepside set up with a 292-six and a Clifford carb/intake/exhaust, NP4500/205TC and couple of bulletproof axles to go with it... off-roadin'~!!!

 

[Oldguy]

Hey all~! Haven't found anything here yet on how guys/girls might trailer their square-bodies--- or if they do at all--- as I'm about to retrieve (2) longbed stepsides, weighing appox 4000lbs or less. One at a time of course! The location is about a 500 mile round trip.

Note: Both vehicles are totally stock, complete w/tires-wheels and BOTH VEHICLES ARE IN-OP which means they must be winched on & off my trailer.

Got my 10k car-hauler fitted out with winches, tie-downs, etc. Trailer has 2 tandem-axles w/brakes on both axles and in-cab brake controller installed on tow vehicle. Tow vehicle will be my 2007 Silverado 2500HD w/factory 9200k tow-package to pull it all. All works together just fine, with no-load!

Since my trailering experience is somewhat limited for this kind of hauling, what I'm wondering about is if anyone's car-hauled their fullsize 1-ton or 3/4-ton squarebody and which way might be best to load them: head-in or backwards?

My main concern is getting the right tongue weight (got a scale) and I might spring for a weight distributing hitch. Any thoughts, ideas, complaints or flaming welcome!

Dave

I’ve trailered them both ways. As others have said the length of your trailer is important. My trailer is a bumper I’ll with a 20’ deck.
I found that (with my setup) backing the truck on put the majority of the weight over my axles and made for a much nicer ride.

 

[LJ69]

Hey all~! Haven't found anything here yet on how guys/girls might trailer their square-bodies--- or if they do at all--- as I'm about to retrieve (2) longbed stepsides, weighing appox 4000lbs or less. One at a time of course! The location is about a 500 mile round trip.

Note: Both vehicles are totally stock, complete w/tires-wheels and BOTH VEHICLES ARE IN-OP which means they must be winched on & off my trailer.

Got my 10k car-hauler fitted out with winches, tie-downs, etc. Trailer has 2 tandem-axles w/brakes on both axles and in-cab brake controller installed on tow vehicle. Tow vehicle will be my 2007 Silverado 2500HD w/factory 9200k tow-package to pull it all. All works together just fine, with no-load!

Since my trailering experience is somewhat limited for this kind of hauling, what I'm wondering about is if anyone's car-hauled their fullsize 1-ton or 3/4-ton squarebody and which way might be best to load them: head-in or backwards?

My main concern is getting the right tongue weight (got a scale) and I might spring for a weight distributing hitch. Any thoughts, ideas, complaints or flaming welcome!

Dave

When towing a trailer you always want to have more weight in the front (on the tongue) of the trailer. If the load is heavy in the back and light in the front, the trailer will want to speed wabble at high speeds. So load trucks front first to keep more weight in the front. I just trailered home an 86 K20 from Florida to New York a couple months ago loaded front forward on a U-Haul car trailer with a 1/2 ton truck. The K20 just fit on it. It handled like a champ on the highway.

 

[Dave Kay]

I’ve trailered them both ways. As others have said the length of your trailer is important. My trailer is a bumper I’ll with a 20’ deck.
I found that (with my setup) backing the truck on put the majority of the weight over my axles and made for a much nicer ride.

I've been wondering about that myself, as I have a 20ft trailer and taking measurements of the vehicles, both are almost 18ft long bumper-to-bumper, and loading them backwards then crowding them forward 'til I get the correct tongue weight would put the heaviest part of the truck pretty much over the trailer axles.

Problem is these trucks are both IN-OP. So if loaded backwards and the tongue weight isn't right or real light, I gotta' unload them again and all that hassle. This adventure will be by myself (and wife) with no other help.

 

[Frankenchevy]

You will be fine. Iirc, my CUCV (k30 longbed) was approx 5200 when I had to weigh it. You’ll be good to go on a 2900lb dovetail.

 

[bucket]

I've been wondering about that myself, as I have a 20ft trailer and taking measurements of the vehicles, both are almost 18ft long bumper-to-bumper, and loading them backwards then crowding them forward 'til I get the correct tongue weight would put the heaviest part of the truck pretty much over the trailer axles.

Problem is these trucks are both IN-OP. So if loaded backwards and the tongue weight isn't right or real light, I gotta' unload them again and all that hassle. This adventure will be by myself (and wife) with no other help.

Imho, just load them backwards and don't worry about it. Just get the trucks strapped down well so they are stable and you'll be fine.