Auto transport and loading a chassis

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

I need to move my 71 SWB for an exhaust system. The truck's not derivable, it's just a rolling chassis & drive train and suspension with no body. Any ideas how to accomplish that is appreciated.

At some point I "need" and auto transport anyway, so perhaps this is that time.
Any recommendations?


Topic of loading this chassis, the steering is only so far as the rag joint, and without looking I know the alignment is off. Any suggestions how to operate the steering manually?


Thanks

[mongocanfly]

when you say auto transport , I assume you mean you need a trailer?..for short term use theres always uhaul trailers...
about any dual axle, at least 16ft, car hauler style trailer will work..i prefer 18-20ft trailers,but 16 will work.for ease of loading, a dovetail is a bonus..but you lose some of the floor length with a dove..ramps are a must.. you can use a comalong to winch it onto the trailer..or use a small 12v winch....the wheels you should be able to turn with some effort,by hand, by grabbing the sides of the tire..if that wont work , a pair of vice grips clamped to the rag joint will spin the gearbox...if its power steering be sure to watch out for fluid spraying out of the lines

[Steeveedee]

If you have a tow vehicle, rent a tow bar from your local yard. If you plug off the trans, you can pull the driveshaft (if so equipped) and you won't have to worry about spinning the trans with no front pump running.

[FirstOwner69]

Similar to Steeveedee's suggestion...

Rent a tow dolly. I THINK you'd probably be able to tow the chassis without disconnecting the driveshaft if you'd put the rear tires on the dolly. Maybe someone can clarify if it'll track well. You may need to figure out a way to lock the front wheels in position. Your alignment probably isn't off enough to cause tire wear assuming you aren't going a ton of miles.
https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/Tow-Dolly-Rental/TD/

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

when you say auto transport , I assume you mean you need a trailer?..
about any dual axle, at least 16ft, car hauler style trailer will work..i prefer 18-20ft trailers,but 16 will work.for ease of loading, a dovetail is a bonus..but you lose some of the floor length with a dove..ramps are a must.. you can use a comalong to winch it onto the trailer..or use a small 12v winch....the wheels you should be able to turn with some effort,by hand, by grabbing the sides of the tire..if that wont work , a pair of vice grips clamped to the rag joint will spin the gearbox...if its power steering be sure to watch out for fluid spraying out of the lines

Correct, a flat bed trailer of some sort. 5Kish load capacity sounds about right, perhaps 18', enough room to mount a front guard I think I like the floor ramps best. Winch was my first thought, though perhaps a tow strap from the hitch on my other truck is an option? with tires well chalked of course. Yeah, probably a winch I'd do better than Harbor Frieght, but they have a 8K cable puller for $25. Think I'll need some tow straps of some sort, what a money pit

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

Similar to Steeveedee's suggestion...

Rent a tow dolly. I THINK you'd probably be able to tow the chassis without disconnecting the driveshaft if you'd put the rear tires on the dolly. Maybe someone can clarify if it'll track well. You may need to figure out a way to lock the front wheels in position. Your alignment probably isn't off enough to cause tire wear assuming you aren't going a ton of miles.
https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/Tow-Dolly-Rental/TD/

Great idea. I ought to be able to use a tow dolly on front. No drive-shaft, so I think I'm good. I don't care about the tires so much, I bought them in 1997, still tread and not cracked....Ha....The shop is about 5 miles from me.

Subject of turning, I realized all you need is a screw driver on the rag joint, perhaps with the tires off the ground some, I got a floor jack. The power steering isn't connected yet.

[special-K]

My '67 project begin with the '71 SWB rolling chassis I bought from Hart Rob. I hauled a set of 5-lug rollers 1,100 miles down to Pensacola, rented a car dolly, bolted the wheels on, and hauled it home. It was complete up to the rag joint. It all went well until...

Yes, I have a story. Maybe about half way home I stop for gas and the truck stopped a bit short of where I expected at the pump. I pull forward while looking in the mirror and the rear tires on the frame are turning both directions. It turns out the pinion nut was not tight and backed, which trashed the ring & pinion.

I pulled onto the empty lot, dropped the frame, jacked up the rear, and put the dolly under. I had two 3" ratchet straps for the bed I had planned to pick up in SW Virginia (cancelled that) that I criss-crossed on the steering to adjust and hold in place. Dollies are meant to carry the steer wheels, so it was a challenge. Making turns caused the steering to need re-adjustment, like getting gas, pee stop, or food. I'd get up to speed, it would start fish tailing, I'd stop and adjust, try again until it tracked straight. It was a white knuckle ride and my speed was kept way down. It turns out the front end was toed-in a lot, so dragging it backwards it was toed-out real bad. The tread scrubbed off the inside of the tires to bald. Wouldn't have gone another 50 miles I bet.

But you just need to haul to an exhaust shop. A dolly is the way to go. How far is the exhaust shop?

[68panelman]

Uhaul is your friend here, get the car carrier trailer,that $25 come-along will also work, I've turned wheels by hand, easier in gravel or dirt of course

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by special-K

My '67 project begin with the '71 SWB rolling chassis I bought from Hart Rob. I hauled a set of 5-lug rollers 1,100 miles down to Pensacola, rented a car dolly, bolted the wheels on, and hauled it home. It was complete up to the rag joint. It all went well until...

Yes, I have a story. Maybe about half way home I stop for gas and the truck stopped a bit short of where I expected at the pump. I pull forward while looking in the mirror and the rear tires on the frame are turning both directions. It turns out the pinion nut was not tight and backed, which trashed the ring & pinion.

I pulled onto the empty lot, dropped the frame, jacked up the rear, and put the dolly under. I had two 3" ratchet straps for the bed I had planned to pick up in SW Virginia (cancelled that) that I criss-crossed on the steering to adjust and hold in place. Dollies are meant to carry the steer wheels, so it was a challenge. Making turns caused the steering to need re-adjustment, like getting gas, pee stop, or food. I'd get up to speed, it would start fish tailing, I'd stop and adjust, try again until it tracked straight. It was a white knuckle ride and my speed was kept way down. It turns out the front end was toed-in a lot, so dragging it backwards it was toed-out real bad. The tread scrubbed off the inside of the tires to bald. Wouldn't have gone another 50 miles I bet.

But you just need to haul to an exhaust shop. A dolly is the way to go. How far is the exhaust shop?

I pondered Jim's suggestion hauling it backwards, it makes the most sense if I can get it there safely. The shop is 5 miles tops. There's a steep hill that runs 3/10s a mile, but from the intersection I get a bird's eye view before I hit it. On the way back is another story, but someone will follow me both ways. Hauling from the front is a pain, for starts my driveway is 80' on a turn. Otherwise the mailbox is taken out the 6-7 time

So unless I'm missing something I should be good to haul it backwards. I wonder if it's better to let the steering box roam free when doing so? The box has plugs where the hoses go, any considerations for the steering box? fresh rebuild, I'd hate to burn it up


I have a confession - I ran a U-haul center back in the 80s, our shop was first rate. U-haul is a greedy bunch run somewhat like military. Best employee I've ever known they wouldn't budge off 7 bucks an hour and I lost him. Dude was Filipino, probably the most honorable guy I've met. Anyway, for some reason I remembered tow dollies involved bracket assembly like the few kits we installed on motor homes etc.

So I'm rambling. We all like cars & trucks, I got three that run, or they're supposed to. I bought a battery to replace the original in my 2013 Tundra. Not cuz it's broke, I was going camping and it's probably due. The same day I drove home in my C20 with "brand new" wheels and two new tires. I didn't like how I parked it, but bummer, the battery is dead. Got me home at least, you have to like these trucks

Went camping, and yesterday sold the old C20 wheels for $150, cool. This morning I tried to open the Subaru to find the battery is dead. So I have four vehicles, at the moment one runs

Top of that Tundra which is new to me needs tires very soon, to the tune of $1400ish. Only bonus is I'm using the original TRD wheels that came with the truck, so I can sell the 20" for I don't know, maybe half the cost the tires.

When it rains it pours.

Anyway, backwards or forwards? From here I think backwards, though there are 8-9 turns on the back road. Good time to carry a floor jack. Until yesterday I'd never paid attention to a shackle, I'm picking up some soft shackles, and maybe a few pin shackles too.

[truckster]

I would not haul it backwards unless you have some way of locking the steering in place. As far as turning it to get it on a trailer, I was able to move my Blazer just turning one of the front wheels by hand. It takes a little force, but I've got 12.5x33 all-terrain BFGs on there.

[dajn]

Trailers are so dirt cheap if you have credit. You can get a nice 10k 18 foot trailer for $120 a month for 3 years. Just go get a brand new trailer and be done with it. It will last you the rest of your life.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

10K trailer for $120 three years? That's $4300...hmm, where do I sign up? Pretty cool trailer right here. Low profile. Only thing missing I see are brackets for side rails. https://www.prolinetrailersales.com/...-car-trailer-2

Another similar: https://allamericantrailer.com/produ...ailer-70dm-18/


Thanks for all the suggestions BTW. One way or another I'll get it there & back in one piece, or so is the plan.

[special-K]

I did the backwards thing on the interstate for 400-500 miles, no problem. I used ratchet straps crossways to secure the steering straight. My steering box is fresh, too. No worries, it is stationary through all this. Normal curves in the road didn't throw the steering out of adjustment. It was cutting sharper turns like making a turn at a stop sign. And that only mattered when I tried getting up to speed back on the interstate, say plus 50 mph is when it would start to wag.

[burnin oil]

Car dolly. I wouldnt go backwards unless you have to. It can be done but no sense changing it. If the wheels do turn you are screwed. Even if they are close to straight you will get a wicked wander.

[1976gmc20]

When the rag joint blew out of our VW bug and we ran off down into a field, I came back the next morning with the log truck and jacked up the front of the car with a hi-lift and just sort of chained it up to the trailer hitch and frame. It worked well enough to get it home a couple miles.

If you can weld, I bet in a few minutes you could throw together some sort of trailer tongue to just clamp to the front of the truck frame. Jack it up and hook it to your ball mount, and take off the front wheels for ground clearance if necessary. Then just tow it on the rear wheels like a standard trailer.

[joedoh]

i live 1 mile north of the city, and the tow companies LOVE THAT because out of city limits = $30 extra charge. when I had to pick up a rolling frame about 30 miles away, they loved that even more because it was south of town, then north of town, so $60 extra charge + mileage. for a bare frame with the regular tow fee it was almost $200. so I printed a 20% off coupon and went to cardboard freight and bought a tow bar. I drilled holes in the core support mounts for the attachments and bolted them on in a few minutes. ratchet strapped the steering. in our local area if its daytime and you can see the lights of the tow vehicle and you have a flag on the end of what you are towing, you dont need lights. tied an orange shirt on the rear frame rail, problem solved for under $50, and I still own the tow bar.

[1976gmc20]

Back in the 1960s before 4x4 pickups became common, it was a practice in AZ at least to tow a flat fender jeep with a tow bar behind a pickup and camper. I recall there was some discussion about the front wheels sometimes not straightening out after a sharp turn so I think most folks just let the jeep steering wheel float.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

Back in the 1960s before 4x4 pickups became common, it was a practice in AZ at least to tow a flat fender jeep with a tow bar behind a pickup and camper. I recall there was some discussion about the front wheels sometimes not straightening out after a sharp turn so I think most folks just let the jeep steering wheel float.

you can do it if you have weight and caster enough, i tried leaving the steering loose and the wheels went to the curb on the first turn.

[Ziegelsteinfaust]

If you a 1/2 good welder you can just build your own exhaust from a kit, and or a series of mandrel bends.

[1976gmc20]

I dunno if a u-haul dolly is wide enough for a pickup, but some years ago our friends broke down with their mini-van up in the mountains, and we rented a dolly from u-haul and retrieved them with our Suburban. It wasn't cheap even back then ($50 day?) but way cheaper than a tow truck. We used a come-along and people push power to get the front wheels up on the dolly.

[burnin oil]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

Back in the 1960s before 4x4 pickups became common, it was a practice in AZ at least to tow a flat fender jeep with a tow bar behind a pickup and camper. I recall there was some discussion about the front wheels sometimes not straightening out after a sharp turn so I think most folks just let the jeep steering wheel float.

I just pulled a bare frame up our gravel driveway the other day which is about a 1/4 mile. The frame with complete steering did not follow behind the truck very well. I had to constantly turn the wheels as it was being slowly towed up the mtn. Sometimes it would track and other times it would wander several feet, even in the ruts! The problem was made worse since it was being pulled by a strap. I was pretty tired after that walk and manual turning the wheel. The tow bar setup would minimalize this since it's triangulated but can do the same thing if the towed vehicle tries to accelerate or slow down compared to the tow vehicle. You can actually feel them shove the rear axle around on occasion. I have been around tow bars with vehicles weighing 40k each. Them suckers are heavy. Then again you do what you have to do and the tow bar isn't nearly as bad as blowing a tire on a trailer that also has the brake. Major swing action. Be safe out there since it is usually not you that gets you into trouble, its the other brain dead people on the road that cut you off and slam the brakes so that they can get off at the next exit.

[special-K]

Do you have a shop in mind? Describe the trip to the exhaust shop. I am picturing a simple tow across town max. Do you have to take a high speed hiway or city streets?

I've only used a tow bar for complete vehicles and those track right along with the tow vehicle. I never heard of anyone binding the steering. As far as the towed vehicle wanting to speed up or slow down goes, how? It is positively fastened to the tow vehicle and only moves as the tow vehicle does at matched speed.

We were talking tow backwards on a dolly due to automatic transmission concerns? Then a tow bar is out anyway. If using a dolly with the front wheels on the road is more practical for you, you can do it with little concern. I was able to travel at hiways speeds on interstate hiways from TN to MD w/o sway. It tracked straight like a trailer.

I'd never weld up an exhaust from pieces. Welds are the downfall of an exhaust system. If you want custom bent exhaust you need to have a custom exhaust shop make it and request minimal welds. I plan to haul my chassis to have exhaust made as well.

For my 4wds I keep pairs of pipe 5' long made up to run off the headers and get past the transfer case. I stick mufflers on the end and drive it to the exhaust shop. They do what they need with the simple pipe I provide to get it tucked, cut to length if muffler location is not good, and make up the tailpipes to complete the system. The exhaust on my '72 is shot. I had it done in '04. I never liked it because we had a communication issue. The guy just ran off my pipes which run on the angle the engine sits, or however they run off the end of the headers. The canister mufflers are turned at an angle, not laying flat, and they hang down all ugly from the frame like an exhaust that is falling off. I am so glad it needs replaced!

[burnin oil]

Special K, think of the inertia a trailer has when you tow it. Have you ever heard the hitch bang while you are driving? Just that little bit of play in the pin on your receiver or a Pintle hitch. This is do to the load trying to move at a different speed. Now if you catch this just at the right time combined with the tow vehicle hitting a pot hole or wierd spot in the road its possible for the towed vehicle to try and sway. It is usually made worse by the suspension on the towed vehicle taking a wierd hop. This is an accordion effect issue. It doesn't happen often and when it does 99% of the time you just drive right through it. Another way to view this is think of a tractors 3 point hitch. You can see them sway all the time while dragging an implement. Same principle for the slack. I have had brush hogs not follow the tractor many times when on a side grade. Granted the hitch has more slop but its a visual. I think a tow bar can be done in a pinch. A dolly is better. I pulled a jetta 1100 miles on a dolly a few weeks ago behind a dodge cummins. I could feel that move around behind the truck at times. Nothing bad but I could still tell I t was happening.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by special-K

I've only used a tow bar for complete vehicles and those track right along with the tow vehicle. I never heard of anyone binding the steering.

sure, tow bar on VEHICLES. vehicles have caster in the front suspension and weight to push the caster to self center the steering.

but towing a bare frame, there isnt enough weight to self center. I tried towing it unlocked, the first corner the wheels turned easily enough but stayed turned when I straightened out and it went straight into the curb. locking the steering with a ratchet strap was easy and only scrubbed the tires on a sharp turn, so once on the main street and once turning into my drive.

some vehicles dont have a lot of caster and it isnt easy to add any, like solid front axle trucks 4x4 or 2wd. tire size and load center of the tries is a contributing factor, wide tires and deep offsets dont self-center as easily. those vehicles could also potentially need the steering tied up.

[special-K]

I understand just a chassis would be different, such as your experience. I don't doubt that. I was saying I've never known of anyone binding the steering on a complete vehicle using a tow bar. I never have and I'm sure U-Haul would be advising people to do so if it was neccessary

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by special-K

Do you have a shop in mind? Describe the trip to the exhaust shop. I am picturing a simple tow across town max. Do you have to take a high speed hiway or city streets?

I've only used a tow bar for complete vehicles and those track right along with the tow vehicle. I never heard of anyone binding the steering. As far as the towed vehicle wanting to speed up or slow down goes, how? It is positively fastened to the tow vehicle and only moves as the tow vehicle does at matched speed.

We were talking tow backwards on a dolly due to automatic transmission concerns? Then a tow bar is out anyway. If using a dolly with the front wheels on the road is more practical for you, you can do it with little concern. I was able to travel at hiways speeds on interstate hiways from TN to MD w/o sway. It tracked straight like a trailer.

I'd never weld up an exhaust from pieces. Welds are the downfall of an exhaust system. If you want custom bent exhaust you need to have a custom exhaust shop make it and request minimal welds. I plan to haul my chassis to have exhaust made as well.

For my 4wds I keep pairs of pipe 5' long made up to run off the headers and get past the transfer case. I stick mufflers on the end and drive it to the exhaust shop. They do what they need with the simple pipe I provide to get it tucked, cut to length if muffler location is not good, and make up the tailpipes to complete the system. The exhaust on my '72 is shot. I had it done in '04. I never liked it because we had a communication issue. The guy just ran off my pipes which run on the angle the engine sits, or however they run off the end of the headers. The canister mufflers are turned at an angle, not laying flat, and they hang down all ugly from the frame like an exhaust that is falling off. I am so glad it needs replaced!

It’s 5-6 miles from me. Major highway, but I get a bird’s eye view before I hit the HWY, which is a very good thing, because soon there’s a steep incline for near a 1/2 mile. I can take the back road to the hwy, which will be a nice test. No traffic, perhaps nine turns before I get to the HWY.

Transmission isn’t a concern, I don’t have a driveline yet. Thanks for the tip on welds. The guy is supposed to be the best in the area for this. I’m onboard tow dolly assuming the tires fit, front tires on. Tempting to buy a trailer and get it over with.