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Stepping up my tow rig game

Gbkeith said:
I’ve never really understood why it irritates people so much. There are gawd only knows how many different 5 and 6 lug patterns and wheel sizes. It’s not any worse than going to a metric 8 lug pattern once they started making super duties.
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It’s just like dealing with 16.5” wheels/tires.

They’re around but your tire or wheel options is very limited.
 
They are 8 lug. Not the metric pattern neither.

I'm going to see if the MFA manure place down the road has a scale and run all the vehicles over there if so and then do a couple test loads this weekend.

I did take it to local diesel shop and have them give it a once over and she came back with an excellent report so that makes me feel better.
 
Gbkeith said:
I’ve never really understood why it irritates people so much. There are gawd only knows how many different 5 and 6 lug patterns and wheel sizes. It’s not any worse than going to a metric 8 lug pattern once they started making super duties.
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5-lug is way worse than 6 in that regard.

For 6-lug you've got a couple small metric sizes on newer stuff and then you've got 5.5 and a couple big older truck sizes.

For 5-lug you've got half a dozen inch sizes and half a dozen metric sizes as well and then you've got a couple big old truck sizes.

If I were dictator you've get 4x100, 5x4.5, 6x5.5, 8x6.5, one of the big truck 5/10 lug patterns in the ~8" range and then the bigger of the two semi truck sizes. I'd be willing to compromise and say that off-highway shit gets the same bolt circle diameters but with the prior sizes number of lugs but only if throwing that bone to the clipboard and safety vest dicks is politically necessary. :laughing:
 
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It's irritating because by the 90s there was absolutely no reason to add any more lug patterns to the mix.

the only reason 8x170 isnt bad is because there is a shit ton of trucks out there eith it now. Shit, i think its inly been the last few years very many guys have been ok with running it on crawlers.

Ford was/is the worst. Before the 7 lug and 8x170, they had the 10x7.25" or whatever on the F-superduty. Then change the F150 to metric 6 lug. The F450s and 550s had an odd 8 lug, then changed to 10 later. They also had to create a different pattern from those and the 8x170 for the F350 dually :homer:

Surprisingly, they chose 6x5.5" for the new Bronco, could have been an opportunity to come up with something really unique :laughing:
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Surprisingly, they chose 6x5.5" for the new Bronco, could have been an opportunity to come up with something really unique :laughing:
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Ironically the Bronco and Ranger have a larger lug pattern than the F150 :laughing: 6 on 5.5" vs. 6 on 135mm :homer:
 
YotaAtieToo said:
It's irritating because by the 90s there was absolutely no reason to add any more lug patterns to the mix.

the only reason 8x170 isnt bad is because there is a shit ton of trucks out there eith it now. Shit, i think its inly been the last few years very many guys have been ok with running it on crawlers.

Ford was/is the worst. Before the 7 lug and 8x170, they had the 10x7.25" or whatever on the F-superduty. Then change the F150 to metric 6 lug. The F450s and 550s had an odd 8 lug, then changed to 10 later. They also had to create a different pattern from those and the 8x170 for the F350 dually :homer:

Surprisingly, they chose 6x5.5" for the new Bronco, could have been an opportunity to come up with something really unique :laughing:
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Pretty sure the 10x7.25 pattern was used by GM also.
 
Gbkeith said:
Pretty sure the 10x7.25 pattern was used by GM also.
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10x7.25 should never have existed. It should have been whatever 8" bolt circle diameter the ancient 5-lug stuff ran or it should have been the huge 5" that all the import cabover MDTs run.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Ford was/is the worst. Before the 7 lug and 8x170, they had the 10x7.25" or whatever on the F-superduty. Then change the F150 to metric 6 lug. The F450s and 550s had an odd 8 lug, then changed to 10 later. They also had to create a different pattern from those and the 8x170 for the F350 dually :homer:

Surprisingly, they chose 6x5.5" for the new Bronco, could have been an opportunity to come up with something really unique :laughing:
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They also did that shit with their cars too.
 
pennsylvaniaboy said:
Those are usually aftermarket hubcaps...my guesss is its a way around copyright stuff.
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Those are factory Ford 7 lug hubcaps. The wheels underneath are just standard Ford steel 8 lug. I know because we had a 96 F250 with them and a 97 F350 srw on Alcoas. I noticed it seeing them both parked by each other when I was just a kid.

Personally I dont like those hubcaps. I like the bare Ford steels more. My dads F350 was a balebed cattle truck that lived on the steelies with 235/85 mts and the Alcoas with the factory Firestones were only put on for vacation use.
 
arse_sidewards said:
I love those hubcaps, solely for the troll factor. :laughing:
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I've got a set sitting in my shed from my old super duty.

Screenshot_20230617-082637.png
 
Small update. Didn't pull two rigs to Hot Springs... so no real update on that but I got them all weighed today except for the OBS

Power wagon 7k half tank

30ft GN 5340 (bare, no tiedowns, etc but includes spare)

CJ 3760 1/4 tank full doors and hardtop, no spare or cage

LJ 3660 half tank full doors, softop(prebuild so it'll go up with bumpers, cage, winch, armor, rubi running gear and a LA with 37s)

JKU 5600 on E, no doors or top. So it'll go up, less depending on weather and trip since it usually wheels no doors or top.

Bags came in today for the PW so a test haul isn't far off.

Giving a little added weight of 4k for either 2 Dr and 6k for the 4 plus trailer and a medium pack out I'm sitting around

10k on trailer, 15.5k on truck and 23k total

I think I'm 100% fine with the 2 drs but add the JKU and it pushes me over that 15k mark I had set in my mind as a max.
 
NDCjeepsmith said:
I think I'm 100% fine with the 2 drs but add the JKU and it pushes me over that 15k mark I had set in my mind as a max.
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I think you’ll be within the 15k you set as a max with 2 rigs.

What scale did you used?

CAT scale is too easy to not use them to get weight numbers. Steer, drive and trailer axles’ weights. They have an app you can get on your phone to pay and receive weight results, all without stepping out of the truck. Don’t even need to roll down the window.

Swap heavier and lighter rigs front/rear as needed to get good axle weight numbers.

Watch your rear axle weight as you may overload your truck’s tires’ load rating, typically about 6,300lbs for load D or E tires.

I towed my old 35’ bumper pull trailer triple axle (5k lbs on the dot by itself) with my 2nd gen srw dodge. 2, sometime 3 rigs and it’s doable. My dodge doesn’t even have air bags. If I can, you should be able to, to stay under 15k max mark by to make it tongue weight heavy.
 
NDCjeepsmith said:
Small update. Didn't pull two rigs to Hot Springs... so no real update on that but I got them all weighed today except for the OBS

Power wagon 7k half tank

30ft GN 5340 (bare, no tiedowns, etc but includes spare)

CJ 3760 1/4 tank full doors and hardtop, no spare or cage

LJ 3660 half tank full doors, softop(prebuild so it'll go up with bumpers, cage, winch, armor, rubi running gear and a LA with 37s)

JKU 5600 on E, no doors or top. So it'll go up, less depending on weather and trip since it usually wheels no doors or top.

Bags came in today for the PW so a test haul isn't far off.

Giving a little added weight of 4k for either 2 Dr and 6k for the 4 plus trailer and a medium pack out I'm sitting around

10k on trailer, 15.5k on truck and 23k total

I think I'm 100% fine with the 2 drs but add the JKU and it pushes me over that 15k mark I had set in my mind as a max.
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I'm going to assume you didn't completely unhook the trailer to get a perfect weight? So maybe add 5-600 lbs for tongue wieght. Still pretty light for that long of a trailer really.

I think you're still being optimistic on your rig wieghts when they're actually trail ready. The LJ will probably gain closer to 1k lbs being built vs 350lbs.

Go load them up like you were ready to hit the trail, full of fuel, parts and tools, that's the only wieght that matters.


Even if you can be around 16k trailer wieght, that old truck will hate you :laughing:
 
Yeah when the LJ is built I'm sure it'll be over 4 and I'll get it weighed again then.

I scaled at local MFA and weighed them all separate then truck and trailer on a split weigh so I had the base weight of truck at 7040, then truck with trailer at 8280, then trailer at 4100. Flat ground so no ramp to throw numbers off.

I know it's not great weight for a 5.7 but like said earlier the PW brakes and engine braking are better than the OBS so I'll try a couple hauls and most likely flip the OBS.

If I get to where I'm hauling two rigs more than 4 or 5 times a yr then I'll look at 99-10 powerstroke or a second or third gen Cummins. Which ever way I'll be looking for pre Def and all that crap.

Also good point made by watching numbers for not overloading rear tires. I've always ran E rated minimum on the trucks
 
NDCjeepsmith said:
Yeah when the LJ is built I'm sure it'll be over 4 and I'll get it weighed again then.

I scaled at local MFA and weighed them all separate then truck and trailer on a split weigh so I had the base weight of truck at 7040, then truck with trailer at 8280, then trailer at 4100. Flat ground so no ramp to throw numbers off.

I know it's not great weight for a 5.7 but like said earlier the PW brakes and engine braking are better than the OBS so I'll try a couple hauls and most likely flip the OBS.

If I get to where I'm hauling two rigs more than 4 or 5 times a yr then I'll look at 99-10 powerstroke or a second or third gen Cummins. Which ever way I'll be looking for pre Def and all that crap.

Also good point made by watching numbers for not overloading rear tires. I've always ran E rated minimum on the trucks
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Gotcha, thays very light for a 30 footer, my 22' bumper pull tilt is almost that much :laughing:

I agree that it's all in how often. If it's once or twice a year, id just use the PW and take it easy. Maybe throw a few upgrades at it to keep stuff happy.

Good luck with the older diesels, it's a crap shoot at this point weather it's beat down or a cream puff. I love my 97, but at this point I have enough into it, I could have bought something newer :laughing:

I'd be looking for a 05+ V10 ford or an 8.1 chevy. When you pay the diesel truck premium, the mileage will never make up for it.
 
Update. Had a veterans event at SMORR and took the big JKU and the CJ7. Surprisingly it did just fine.

Was around 16k, just under but I rounded up conservatively.

Kept it out of 5th, 7.3mpg whole round trip, monitored trans temp the whole time. Only hit 173 on one grade, the rest of time it stayed at 160.

Braking distance definitely increases with this load and I don't feel as much help from the trailer.

20231103_144008.jpg


Still waiting on the meth head for a title to the 96 F250 so I still haven't touched it. Will probably start abandoned vehicle claim soon which will take another 6 months.:barf:
 
NDCjeepsmith said:
Was around 16k, just under but I rounded up conservatively.
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16,000lbs combined gross weight or gross trailer weight? I’m guessing the latter.
NDCjeepsmith said:
Braking distance definitely increases with this load and I don't feel as much help from the trailer.
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Normal. Just don’t tailgate anyone!

I’m glad to read that it went well!
 
NDCjeepsmith said:
Update. Had a veterans event at SMORR and took the big JKU and the CJ7. Surprisingly it did just fine.

Was around 16k, just under but I rounded up conservatively.

Kept it out of 5th, 7.3mpg whole round trip, monitored trans temp the whole time. Only hit 173 on one grade, the rest of time it stayed at 160.

Braking distance definitely increases with this load and I don't feel as much help from the trailer.


Still waiting on the meth head for a title to the 96 F250 so I still haven't touched it. Will probably start abandoned vehicle claim soon which will take another 6 months.:barf:
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What size tires are those? Pw comes with 37s? Was going to suggest a set of stock non pw size tires for when you tow double, but those don't look like 37s.

16k behind a stock obs 7.3 will be screaming 2nd gear on the hills :flipoff2:
 
YotaAtieToo said:
16k behind a stock obs 7.3 will be screaming 2nd gear on the hills :flipoff2:
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Mine (non obs) wasnt bad but had to drive by the egt guage and not the speedometer at the higher elevations across texas and new mexico. Pulling any grade above 4000' i was limited to 55-60mph.
 
Tires are metric 33s. I had 35s on it until this year.

16k with trailer and Jeeps.

I ran 70 mph tops, I'd say 65 mostly.

Although I did pass a numbnut doing under the speed limit at 85 but that was more of a "omfg, fuck this asshat, I don't care how long it takes, I'm using this passing lane"
 
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