U-Haul Hitch, Tow Capacity Qs - 1969 D100 318

[GnomeSaiyan]

Hey guys,

Thanks for helping me figure out exactly what axle I have! I have more accurate info this time, but I still can’t quite find official information for my tow ratings.

Long story short: my D100 doesn’t qualify to tow my wife’s Camry using any U-Haul trailer, according to their company policies. It’s too damn light. Truck is somewhere near 3600-3700#, Camry is 3275#.

Truck:
- Remanufactured 318 roller motor, 270 grind cam
- 489 case 8.75 Chrysler rear diff, 3.55 gear ratio
- NP 435 tranny
- Stock suspension (will replace soon), 1400# rear spring cap
- 114” short wheelbase
- Front disc brake upgrade


Current trailer hitch is old, and rated for 3500#. My question is this: if I were to put a 6000# trailer hitch on the back, would my ‘69 D100 safely tow the Camry + trailer, which is 5485#? I’d use a trailer with trailer brakes. I can’t find an official GAWR for my rear axle, and vin plate just says “spec” for the axle ratings.

Could my axle and frame safely tow that weight? If not, I won’t bother upgrading the tow hitch; waste of money if I’m safer just keeping things below 3500#.

[PwrWgnDrvr]

Somebody is smok'n dope in regards to the D100 being "too light".
Think logically here.
Ever seen travel trailers of all sizes towed on the highway? Don't you realize that many of them far outweigh the car or truck pulling them? My grandfather hauled a 24' travel trailer all over the country with a station wagon. I haul a 14,000# dump trailer with my 8000# W300. Big rigs haul double and triple trailers up to 100,000# and the tractor itself weighs a fraction of that.
The primary consideration is the hitch capacity, trailer capacity and trailer brakes.
If you think the truck needs more weight, fill it with rocks, bricks, concrete blocks or buckets of water.
The 8.75 axle is rated at 3600#.
The D100 GVW is 5200#

[Jim100]

I used my 66 D-100 to tow a large stack of large logs to a saw mill. No disc brakes and no trailer brakes. I would not do it again but it really was not a problem.
That number for the weight of your truck seems low to me.

[Wildergarten]

Long story short: my D100 doesn’t qualify to tow my wife’s Camry using any U-Haul trailer, according to their company policies. It’s too damn light. Truck is somewhere near 3600-3700#, Camry is 3275#.

Current trailer hitch is old, and rated for 3500#. My question is this: if I were to put a 6000# trailer hitch on the back, would my ‘69 D100 safely tow the Camry + trailer, which is 5485#?

The first question is "tongue weight." Typically, a trailer is best balanced with 9-15% of the gross trailer weight on the tongue. 9-15% of 5,485lbs is 494-823lbs. So whatever you can do to position the Camry such that the tongue weight is about 600# would seem ideal. Stay toward the light end of tongue weight to keep a load on the FRONT axle of the truck so that you'll get the benefit of better weight transfer for steering and braking. Here,' Terry's point about bricks (sand bags) in the front of the bed or under the seat would help, but stay within 80% of the GVW.

Your truck's suspension and GVW are good for that but your hitch clearly isn't. If I were you, I'd go with a 10,000# hitch with a box-receiver and 2" ball (they're common and cheap). Get a good brake controller and do a nice job wiring it in (soldered joints with heat shrink, wire bundled into a tube, grommets for control wire firewall penetrations, and no winky splices or taps). That way, if anybody looks at it they'll get a sense of confidence about renting the trailer to you and will be less likely to be citing bureaucratic CYA and you'll be safer too.

[my5thmopar]

I agree that the weight you quoted on the truck is low. Go weigh it at the recycle place or truck stop. Are you saying it is a class 2 with the 1 1/4 receiver or is that the tongue weight is marked 3500 lb? Front disk, brake controller, maybe a new hitch, and you’re towing a Toyota Yaris right It seems to me you’re over thinking this but, you have to decide yourself. I’m not suggesting you do this. My 2002 Dakota with 4.56 gears would pull just about anything but, stopping is when the problem occurs.

[GnomeSaiyan]

Somebody is smok'n dope in regards to the D100 being "too light".
Think logically here.
Ever seen travel trailers of all sizes towed on the highway? Don't you realize that many of them far outweigh the car or truck pulling them? My grandfather hauled a 24' travel trailer all over the country with a station wagon. I haul a 14,000# dump trailer with my 8000# W300. Big rigs haul double and triple trailers up to 100,000# and the tractor itself weighs a fraction of that.
The primary consideration is the hitch capacity, trailer capacity and trailer brakes.
If you think the truck needs more weight, fill it with rocks, bricks, concrete blocks or buckets of water.
The 8.75 axle is rated at 3600#.
The D100 GVW is 5200#

Thanks for the useful information. I imagined that the D100 had plenty of tow capacity, but the old 60s manual only recommends up to 3500# (did trailer brakes not exist back then?), so I was wondering if someone here knew more about that than the manual.

[GnomeSaiyan]

Long story short: my D100 doesn’t qualify to tow my wife’s Camry using any U-Haul trailer, according to their company policies. It’s too damn light. Truck is somewhere near 3600-3700#, Camry is 3275#.

Current trailer hitch is old, and rated for 3500#. My question is this: if I were to put a 6000# trailer hitch on the back, would my ‘69 D100 safely tow the Camry + trailer, which is 5485#?

The first question is "tongue weight." Typically, a trailer is best balanced with 9-15% of the gross trailer weight on the tongue. 9-15% of 5,485lbs is 494-823lbs. So whatever you can do to position the Camry such that the tongue weight is about 600# would seem ideal. Stay toward the light end of tongue weight to keep a load on the FRONT axle of the truck so that you'll get the benefit of better weight transfer for steering and braking. Here,' Terry's point about bricks (sand bags) in the front of the bed or under the seat would help, but stay within 80% of the GVW.

Your truck's suspension and GVW are good for that but your hitch clearly isn't. If I were you, I'd go with a 10,000# hitch with a box-receiver and 2" ball (they're common and cheap). Get a good brake controller and do a nice job wiring it in (soldered joints with heat shrink, wire bundled into a tube, grommets for control wire firewall penetrations, and no winky splices or taps). That way, if anybody looks at it they'll get a sense of confidence about renting the trailer to you and will be less likely to be citing bureaucratic CYA and you'll be safer too.

Thanks for the solid advice. I’ll probably go with the 10,000# hitch then, and I’ll check out good brake controllers to wire into the truck.