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renting a trailer with a 3/4 ton pickup

M

mmidlam

Member
when I went to rent a backhoe trailer, they said they would need to look at the pulling truck. They said an extended cab would be more likely to be acceptable than a short cab.I have never heard that before.Thoughts?
 
The length of the wheel base is related to directional stability. Short wheel basees (for instance a CJ jeep, are much easier to get into a swerving self increasing disaster than a stretch limo Navigator. 5th Wheel/goosneck, not so much. The strech cab also often have additional spring capacity and rate because the load in the bed is more concentrated on the rear axle. Jim
 
When people say that the pulling unit needs to be longer I call B.S. I then shake my head and wonder how in the world a single axel road tractor can pull a 53 foot trailer......
 

I own a one ton dually. Standard cab. 8 foot bed.

I also have a 1/2 ton, full 4 door cab, with a 5' 8" bed.

The two trucks are exactly the same wheelbase and over-all length.
 
The problem isnt a reality. The problem is their experts have the supposed answers on a piece of paper. That piece of paper states what they can allow for a towing vehicle for X amount of weight. Yes it is wrong as pickups are the same universal wheel length now. But some yuts some where felt this is what their liability agreement required.

It isnt right, yet there it is.
 
Reading between the lines a little: if the rental company is scrutinizing your tow vehicle that closely it's probably marginal or undersized for the job. Are you trying to tow a 10,000 to 16,000 pound backhoe a long distance with a standard duty 3/4 ton pickup and a bumper pull trailer?
 
HOLD it! You guys talking about a single axle truck pulling a 53 foot trailer, there is a HUGE difference between bumper pull stuff, and 5th wheel / gooseneck trailers. Handle completely differently. Bumper pull stuff gets hairy with a short tow vechile. We tried pulling stuff with our Tahoe and 20 foot trailer, and it is a little wishy washy. My ext cab truck (10 inches longer) is considerably better, and then the 4 door short box truck doesn't even feel like the trailer is back there.
 
(quoted from post at 11:35:22 06/22/16) When people say that the pulling unit needs to be longer I call B.S. I then shake my head and wonder how in the world a single axel road tractor can pull a 53 foot trailer......
Click to expand...

That's pretty simple. A road tractor is designed to haul a trailer. A pickup while capable of pulling a trailer is designed to carry the load in the bed.

Besides, I don't think it's a wheel base issue. I think it's a weight issue. Most people are not used to pulling any real weight down the road. The lighter the towing vehicle the easier it is for someone to get into trouble especially going downhill with the load chasing them. So if the rental company takes every possible thing into consideration the less likely they will be help accountable should the customer get in a wreck.

Rick
 
(quoted from post at 12:26:28 06/22/16) when I went to rent a backhoe trailer, they said they would need to look at the pulling truck. They said an extended cab would be more likely to be acceptable than a short cab.I have never heard that before.Thoughts?
Click to expand...

If you are talking about a bumper pull trailer then the longer wheelbase gives more control in curves or on bad roads by a bunch. The distance from the rear axle to the bumper gives a lot of leverage for the trailer to push the rear around which you don't get with a hitch in the bed (goose neck or 5th wheel). Been there! :shock:
 
I drove single axle a lot for the company I worked for. The single axle tractor will handle a 53foot trailer ok but the tandem axle with its longer wheel base rode better and handled a 53 footer better in a wind.
 
Agreed - the longer wheel base (like my extended cab long bed F150) ads a lot to the stability when using the bumper hitch - not nearly so twitchy as a regular WB or short WB. That's why I don't even think about towing with my son's Bronco even though it has some serious suspension an power.

I remember growing up we had a "short" wheel base F600 with quite a bit of the 16' bed hanging BEHIND the rear axle. That thing would turn into a real handful when fully loaded on a not so level gravel road.
 
When I tried to rent a U-HAUL trailer, I had to lie and tell them that I was using my brother's 3/4 . They would not let me use a 1/2T.
SDE
 
a single axle road tractor and a pickup have nothing at all in common, one is a truck, its designed to haul a trailer 90 % of the time, its designed to handle the weight of the trailer and its load thru its chassis,up to its rated capacity, or a maximum of 50,000 lbs when coupled to a single axle trailer ,unless the load is potato chips or something like that you wont see a loaded 53 foot trailer behind a single axle tractor ,that would place too much weight on the drive axle of the tractor. a pickup is designed to give a nice ride, and run empty 90% of the time, and carry or pull a load 10 percent of the time, its chassis reflects that design, different ratings among pickups mean different abilities, you wouldnt want more than a good fishing boat or small catagory 1 tractor behind a 1/2 ton, short wheel base, a 1 ton is considerably more able to pull a load but nowhere even close to a single axle road tractor
 
When I was in sales for a GM dealer, the most consistent mistake I saw pickup and truck buyers make was underestimating the capacity they needed for a tow vehicle. The flip side was overestimating what a particular vehicle was capable of safely towing.

Seemed a lot of "innocents" at towing always started out looking at 1/2 ton pickups when they obviously needed a 3/4, or looked at 3/4's when they needed a one ton. Of course, when I tried to sell them up to what they actually needed, they'd get huffy and accuse me of trying to sell them more than they needed just so I'd get a bigger commission.

You couldn't win. If you sold a buyer what he wanted, and it wasn't up to the job, then the buyer would come back at you.

I have an 18' car trailer that weighs 2,000 lbs. empty. When I had my own shop, people always wanted to borrow it. I'd ask them what they had to pull it with and they usually had an old van with a fishing boat hitch or something similar. I'd tell them, "Forget it". I finally started a policy that if someone needed something hauled, I'd haul it for them for a price, but I would not rent out or loan out my trailer.
 

One FACT to remember about the difference between a 1/2ton and a 3/4 Ton Pick-Up are that the 3/4 Ton has FULL Floating axles and Larger Brakes..

With the 1/2 Ton, All of the weight rests ON the axles.
If an axle breaks, you LOOSE that wheel..

On the 3/4 Ton, the Axle only turns the wheel and does NOT support the vehicle's weight..if an axle breaks, the wheel remains completely in place ON the vehicle..

The 1/2 Ton has brakes roughly the size of those on a similar Automobile..
The 3/4 Ton's brakes usually will appear to look like those on a FULL one Ton truck..

These are important considerations..

Ron..
 
(quoted from post at 20:13:40 06/22/16) When I was in sales for a GM dealer, the most consistent mistake I saw pickup and truck buyers make was underestimating the capacity they needed for a tow vehicle. The flip side was overestimating what a particular vehicle was capable of safely towing.

Seemed a lot of "innocents" at towing always started out looking at 1/2 ton pickups when they obviously needed a 3/4, or looked at 3/4's when they needed a one ton. Of course, when I tried to sell them up to what they actually needed, they'd get huffy and accuse me of trying to sell them more than they needed just so I'd get a bigger commission.

You couldn't win. If you sold a buyer what he wanted, and it wasn't up to the job, then the buyer would come back at you.

I have an 18' car trailer that weighs 2,000 lbs. empty. When I had my own shop, people always wanted to borrow it. I'd ask them what they had to pull it with and they usually had an old van with a fishing boat hitch or something similar. I'd tell them, "Forget it". I finally started a policy that if someone needed something hauled, I'd haul it for them for a price, but I would not rent out or loan out my trailer.
Click to expand...

One of my SIL's is a mechanic for a dealership. He says about the same thing. If a salesman tries to match a truck to needs they get accused of hunting for a larger commission.

Rick
 
I'm surprised they didn't want to see your registration to see if you're licensed for enough weight to tow the trailer and load.When I was dispatching concrete if
I sent out a truck that was over loaded and they we caught not only did the driver get a ticket I'd get a ticket also.The law is the same with quarries.I expect they
are required by law or at least by their insurance company to make sure someone renting a trailer has enough truck to pull it safely.
 
A bumper hitch trailer places the load way behind the rear axle of the towing vehicle, removing weight from the front axle. A single axle semi tractor carries the weight either directly above the rear axle or slightly ahead of it to transfer weight to transfer weight TO the front axle. BIG difference! A pickup has a squishy suspension. A truck has a stiff suspension.
 
My trucks are smaller being Dodge Dakota models, I had an extended cak that got totaled when a car did not slow down for a stop sign. With that i could tow my trailer without the load levling hitch and sway bar. The replacement is a regular cab model and it is one foot shorter and I have to use those load levelers and sway bar. That one foot does make a big difference. They were or are 2 wheel drives. I gust bought but have not yet been able to use a quad cab 4 wheel drive and it is exactly the same length as the club cab that got wrecked. I figure it will handle the trailer better than the wrecked one because being a 4 wheel drive it will be heavier in front and then I think that 4 door cab will be heavier. And I do run with the overload shocks with the helper springs on them. Did that with the full size Chevy befor the Dakotas and they are just about the exact same cab size Dakota to Chevy or also the GMC.
 
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