Car Hauler

[Rory McNeil]

I`ve been hauling my cars around on a 1974 Ford F350 ramp truck/car hauler since 1988, and its been a reliable and economical way to to get to the races. My truck has a gas 390 FE, with a NP435 "granny low" truck 4 speed and a Dana 70 with 4.10s. With tall 7.50R16 Michelins, it tachs 2600 RPM at 60 MPH, and on my 2200 mile round trip to California a few years ago, averaged 10.2 MPG, which included some pretty big hills in the Southern Oregon/Northern California Siskiyou mountains. My truck retains its factory 161" wheelbase, with a 16 foot deck, and and the factory GVW is 10,000 lbs, but depending how much crap I bring along, its usually between 10,500 & 11,000 lbs loaded. Suspension wise, the truck doesn`t seem to mind, although as mentioned, braking isn`t great, with all that weight on just 2 axles.Like anything, there are pros and cons.
On the Pro side:
Easy to drive.park, and back up. No trailer sway, overall length of 26 feet, albeit a fair bit of rear overhang.
At 26 feet, it is almost 1/2 as long as a typical 1 ton PU and 24' trailer. Leaves room in the driveway for other vehicles.
Decent amount of storage space. At least with mine. I have 2 4 foot long, 28" tall, 20" deep side boxes, plus a large 6 foot long, 24" wide, 2 foot deep (at the front)"cubby hole" in the deck, under the car.
Biggest Pro is COST! I doubt that I have spent over $10,000 over the past 25 years on this truck, including the truck chassis and deck, and every repair that I have done. I have put 60,000 miles on the truck in that time, only for race travelling,
There are a few Cons:
Obviously, your car is exposed to the weather and peoples eyes. The car gets wet and dusty, but to date, no bad guys have touched anything.
With quite a bit of storage, you need to dig for stuff, so the trucks deck tends to wind up with stuff spread out over it at the track.
As mentioned before, with all the weight on 2 axles, braking is weak compared to a truck and trailer, with brakes on 4 (or 5) axles. So you need to pay attention to traffic and following distances.
But it is a viable option if you are looking at costs, and don`t worry about "keeping up with the Jones."

[Pistol Pete]

My first tow vechicle was a 2007 1500 GMC crew cab 5.3l pulled a 24 ft enclosed no problem. I think even if you went to a 20 ft enclosed with your current pick up you would be fine. The car will be inside, most important if your towing in bad weather.
I had a brand new open trailer last may and sold that for my current 20 ft enclosed
Unless your taking tons of stuff than you need a bigger trailer.

[HandOverFist]

I pulled a 24' enclosed with a '97 Chevy dually and would not consider using a lesser truck. Enclosed is nice, but we really don't need the extra space or storage as the car has a home inside the shop when not racing.

[Rich Biebel]

A 3/4 ton single rear wheel pickup will pull an enclosed trailer with ease and very safely. All you need is a good equalizer hitch and sway control

I have had a 1/2 ton small block suburban and 2 3/4 HD pickups and enclosed trailers behind them all...

I would not even consider a ramp truck or an open trailer unless I raced close to home and only one day races.

I have a GMC Duramax Diesel pickup....lance camper....26' Classic trailer....and it tows like a dream....I have to check once in a while to make sure it is all still back there.....Duramax

I once had a ramp truck...home built back in the day when they were popular...No way I would have one today......Way to limited use

[HandOverFist]

That is my point Rich...it will be limited to only one duty. I like the simplicity of it and we are not likely to travel extensively.

[Larry Merk]

The limits of use for a ramp truck depend on how you go about it.

A few years ago my son decided to build a ramp truck. But he wanted it flexible enough to be used for other purposes. So we built it with a flat deck. This allowed us to use it extensively to haul building materials when he did a bunch of remodeling on his house. It was nice going to Lowes or Home Depot and letting them load a bunch of lumber siding, siding, or other heavy building material with a forklift rather than by hand. And yes, it does work very nicely for hauling cars.

The number of people who stopped him in parking lots and complimented him on the truck was nothing short of amazing.

[Dan Fahey]

Originally Posted by Larry Merk

The limits of use for a ramp truck depend on how you go about it.

A few years ago my son decided to build a ramp truck. But he wanted it flexible enough to be used for other purposes. So we built it with a flat deck. This allowed us to use it extensively to haul building materials when he did a bunch of remodeling on his house. It was nice going to Lowes or Home Depot and letting them load a bunch of lumber siding, siding, or other heavy building material with a forklift rather than by hand. And yes, it does work very nicely for hauling cars.

The number of people who stopped him in parking lots and complimented him on the truck was nothing short of amazing.

What fuel Mileage did you get?

D

[draginmopars]

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[Danny Ashley]

Rich:
There's a ramp truck in Muncie, In. Here's how the ad reads: 1988 Chevy 3500 Ramp truck. 139,000 miles. New Gen VI 454, turbo 400, Ac, PW, PI, great interior, 9,000# winch, lots of stainless on outside, rust free. $9,900 OBO. Will take pick-up of equal value on trade. Muncie, In. 765-702-8842. From the pic appears to be an extended cab but might be a crew cab. Can't tell from angle. It's advertised at autorv.com. Click on Browse Issues, then Browse Auto & RV Online, under choose publication click Indiana A Book, and find page 184. You can click the page to enlarge it. Danny