Tow rig build bench racing.

[Beat95yj]

Do you know roughly what gross weight was on that thing? Would be kinda cool to see that thing with some vintage graphics on it.


I think the big difference was when double overdrive came into play it decreased pump speed inside the unit too much. A stock 12v had roughly 440 ft-lbs at 1500 rpm. Josh had at least 600 ft-lbs. Assuming Y'alls was company truck, It might have have been 2wd, geared 4.10 and had might have been a stock intake. IDK if you hopped it up or not. Peak torque on that thing would be well below towing rpm of 2600-3000, even with the gear vendors. Also the more you spin it, the more it can lubricate itself.

from GV site.

I do not know. Truck would only be in LA for about a month out of the year while the trailer was being revised with new products. Otherwise it was parked at Tognotti’s in Sacramento.

It was the 2 Wheel Dr. we had both. It wouldn’t surprise me if it had a manifold and headers on it. Vic liked to have all his products on his trucks. But I’m just guessing.

 

[CarterKraft]

 

[East_coastTJ]

Starting to look into ford super duty chassis for a new tow rig build. Are there any major upgrades/ must have changes in the 05-16 F250/350 frames or suspensions. Going to be going down south this winter and bringing a chassis back up to build.

Mdts have become pretty popular here for the guys that only tow in the summer and are looking for cheaper options. Good friend of mine is running a early 2000’s international 4300 with a worked over dt466 for towing his 42 foot camper, his 3500 srw silverado didnt enjoy its life towing it.

 

[rockota]

Trying to talk the neighbor into an excursion… frame off it with 05+ suspension/axles, 12-16 interior, 7.3/10speed/atlas….

I think it could be done for $30-35k… and end up with a (basically) new X

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Trying to talk the neighbor into an excursion… frame off it with 05+ suspension/axles, 12-16 interior, 7.3/10speed/atlas….

I think it could be done for $30-35k… and end up with a (basically) new X

There is a company that builds 08-16 excursions. I think they just start with the truck and add the excursion portion on.

Why atlas?

Edit: they also do 17+ only $180k and you still have to supply the donor truck

New Ford Excursion ALUMA X EDITION by CABT

Aluminum Ford Excursion 2023

www.customautosbytim.com

 

[rockota]

There is a company that builds 08-16 excursions. I think they just start with the truck and add the excursion portion on.

Why atlas?

Edit: they also do 17+ only $180k and you still have to supply the donor truck

New Ford Excursion ALUMA X EDITION by CABT

Aluminum Ford Excursion 2023

www.customautosbytim.com

If we’re talking ultimate , a gear drive tcase seem appropriate, if not overkill

 

[CarterKraft]

Trying to talk the neighbor into an excursion… frame off it with 05+ suspension/axles, 12-16 interior, 7.3/10speed/atlas….

I think it could be done for $30-35k… and end up with a (basically) new X

Gas excursions were always pretty good starting points because they were cheap and still decent not beat to fuck like the comparable priced pickup.

 

[Beat95yj]

If we’re talking ultimate , a gear drive tcase seem appropriate, if not overkill

205 w/ reduction box would handle that weight a bunch better imo.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

When I think ultimate tow rig, the less custom parts the better. An NV271 is very proven and available if it does decide to have an issue. In this case I don't see a gear drive case having an advantage.

 

[350TacoZilla]

I think the big thing here is what we are each used to driving and therefore what we think is necessary for the tow rig. For me 4x4, manual trans, AC and decent MPG are the top of the list.

-My current DD (96 Subaru Impreza Brighton) has
-Manual windows
-Manual transmission
-No Cruise

I have the original window sticker and its options read as follows

+Air Conditioning

I am perfectly happy with this setup and have been driving vehicles with that same recipe for about 30yrs. Here and there I get luxuries like power windows or cruise control thanks to my wifes preferences and her current truck (03 ram 1500) even has heated seats added by the PO. I actually swapped in leather heated seats into my DD because the factory seat foams were destroyed and I had a $275 subaru outback limited come through local auction but never hooked up the heat... might have to do that this winter.

 

[arse_sidewards]

I hate to side with the morally bankrupt California ditch digger but he's kind of right about the 271 being superior to the 205 for anything that doesn't benefit from the short packaging.


They're like $100-300 at literally any junkyard in the country and are proved to pretty reliably despite coming in a generation of diesel trucks that didn't have electronic nannies and everyone and their brother turned up to fairly high power levels.

 

[arse_sidewards]

-My current DD (96 Subaru Impreza Brighton) has
-Manual windows
-Manual transmission
-No Cruise

I have the original window sticker and its options read as follows
+Air Conditioning

IDK about Imprezas but I'm not sure that it's even possible to order a USDM Subaru of that era without A/C

Manual windows shit is rare generally.

No cruise is really common for manuals though.

That said, that's a fuckin weird combo for a Brighton. The fuck does the Brighton trim even get you if not a bunch of things that would be options made standard?

 

[pinchegringo]

Gear vendors works fine,it just holds less than a quart of oil and should be changed with the engine. If you let off when you engage it and change the oil the cone clutch will last a long time.
New trucks suck and I've also thought about tow projects lately. Usually ten times harder than envisioned and half as good when finished. Pretty much just sucks if you're not a master fabricator or desensitized to older turds.

 

[arse_sidewards]

New trucks suck and I've also thought about tow projects lately. Usually ten times harder than envisioned and half as good when finished. Pretty much just sucks if you're not a master fabricator or desensitized to older turds.

If you have modest goals and stick to them it's probably fine.

If you've turned into a spoiled little shit from spending a decade in company trucks that were never more than 3-5yr old at the time you're driving them and never having to pay a cent of the upkeep you're probably never gonna be happy.

I think you can do really good if you're willing to give up 4wd and driving comfortably and/or quietly 80 unloaded. Decent condition cab and chassis trucks and vans from whatever decade you prefer are cheap. Do some basic maintenance, gear it deep, toss on hydroboost and rock out. You'll kill less tires towing at 55-65 anyway.

You gotta have the self control to pick some compromises and factors that you're just not gonna care about beyond a low minimum and then and stick to the plan. The only build I can think of in recent memory that even gets close to this is Provience's field ornament F350 (which has slightly different goals than max towing). But lord knows if he'd have had the self control to prevent scope creep had he not been pressed for both money and time.

When people try to also have their project tow rig be a capable 4x4, and go fast unloaded, and ride nice that's where either the cost or the man hours just go through the roof. Builds like this are all fucking over the old site.

 

[Provience]

If i wasn't pressed for money & time idve done the shocks, tailgate wrap and paint oh well, maybe in a decade

 

[arse_sidewards]

If i wasn't pressed for money & time idve done the shocks, tailgate wrap and paint oh well, maybe in a decade

$200 spent on a basic working sound system makes more difference in how pleasant it is to drive than $800 spent on shocks and exterior cosmetics you don't see from the driver's seat.

 

[Provience]

$200 spent on a basic working sound system makes more difference in how pleasant it is to drive than $800 spent on shocks and exterior cosmetics you don't see from the driver's seat.

Agreed, until the front shock mount broke

 

[350TacoZilla]

IDK about Imprezas but I'm not sure that it's even possible to order a USDM Subaru of that era without A/C

Manual windows shit is rare generally.

No cruise is really common for manuals though.

That said, that's a fuckin weird combo for a Brighton. The fuck does the Brighton trim even get you if not a bunch of things that would be options made standard?

Oddly the "Brighton" is the base trim. I think from there it goes to the "L" then "LX" then the "Outback sport" on wagons ( I believe I'm correct that while outback was a package available on both sedan and wagon bodies of the legacy the outback sport was only wagon.) I think you might be right though, I'll look at my window sticker tomorrow and see but I think AC was actually standard on this one, I must be thinking of my older subaru that it was the only option on it (89 2dr coupe)

Another wierd one where everyone assumes all subarus have is the AWD, had a buddy with a 95 Impreza that was a bastard year FWD auto instead of AWD since it was an option and his parents didn't see the need for it but is also the first year for the 2.2 which it had. I think my year is the first where the AWD became standard even with the little 1.8L.

 

[arse_sidewards]

Oddly the "Brighton" is the base trim. I think from there it goes to the "L" then "LX" then the "Outback sport" on wagons ( I believe I'm correct that while outback was a package available on both sedan and wagon bodies of the legacy the outback sport was only wagon.) I think you might be right though, I'll look at my window sticker tomorrow and see but I think AC was actually standard on this one, I must be thinking of my older subaru that it was the only option on it (89 2dr coupe)

Brighton and the other outdoorsy trim package (I want to say Wilderness but that's not it, that's the modern equivalent) are basically cosmetic packages. Rubber mud guards, interior colors, leather, shit like that.

L is the effective base and for all practical purpose has power windows, A/C.

There is some nonexistent base trim, manual windows, no A/C. This car basically doesn't exist. They made like a dozen each year to advertise a low starting MSRP. This eventually (certainly by the 92 face lift) got rolled into the L trim and they just started slapping the "value" option package on L trim cars by default.

The Impreza might be a little more spartan at the lowest readily availible trim level, because compact shitbox vs midsize flagship, so shit like manual windows might be more common on them than on the Legacy.

Sounds like you got a lower trim car that someone prettied up with the Brighton package for some dumb reason.

Another wierd one where everyone assumes all subarus have is the AWD, had a buddy with a 95 Impreza that was a bastard year FWD auto

That car doesn't exist. 93 was the last year for FWD Subaru anything in North Amercia (though a 93 imprexa would be visually indistinguishable from a 95)

 

[Snowy]

I wildly underestimated the ability for a tractor to get stuck on nothing in the snow bobtailed or lightly loaded until I ran a terminal in NW Indiana where it lake effect snowed like a motherfucker regularly. Chains perpetually lived in the shop pickup just to drag them around after I didn’t have them one Sunday working alone and was leaving trucks in gear, hopping out to push and then hoping back in on the fly once they were moving.

The dually is also as useful as tits on a bull in 2wd on anything but pavement or gravel with the enclosed trailer hooked up and the Tacoma inside. Wet grass is enough to get stuck without 4wd engaged since the trailer will sink in some and add a ton of drag.

 

[TrailTamer]

When I think ultimate tow rig, the less custom parts the better. An NV271 is very proven and available if it does decide to have an issue. In this case I don't see a gear drive case having an advantage.

271 next to 241 on ground is like comparing D30 and D60. Drastic difference in size and beef.

as a build bench racing thread, I’d like to add a note to this 271 tech that they have no provision for VSS. Thus this can limit selection on trans or rear axle for some.

 

[rattle_snake]

I built a '72 4x4 truck that is capable of towing 7k. 460 EFI 425hp, 525 tq, 6pd auto, 205, tons, excellent brakes, HD cooling system, custom leaf packs/coilover. Full sound deadening, modern wiring system, huge audio system, brake controller, back up camera, navigation, modern seat/belts, cold A/C, tint, power locks, LED lights, decent tools, full size spare. I have about $35k into it, it is basically 'new'. It's more or less my DD, it has issues, mostly minor stuff.

I also have a '14 6.7 Diesel CCLB that is used for primarily for towing. Kids, cab over camper plus trailer. 115*+ temps pulling 7% grades is not an easy task. The '72 doesn't support this use.

 

[TrailTamer]

The '72 doesn't support this use.

But the ‘72 sound WAY cooler.

Pics?

 

[rattle_snake]

 

[TrailTamer]

Fuckin love it.

 

[rattle_snake]

58 Apache 1 ton tow rig??

I have this long running build thread on PBB that I can't see myself adding to over there...kinda sucks. That was really the best way for me to keep what we're doing organized. I'm going to pull one pic from each page of the thread and add a brief (very brief) description here until I am...

irate4x4.com

 

[350TacoZilla]

I don't think thats the budget option lol. Both trucks are sweet though.

 

[Sean]

JFYI, Advance didn't recommend putting even a race case Atlas II behind my stock 5.9L Cummins.....doubt they'd say a 7.3L PS is a good option either. Recommended a 205 instead.

If we’re talking ultimate , a gear drive tcase seem appropriate, if not overkill

 

[YotaAtieToo]

JFYI, Advance didn't recommend putting even a race case Atlas II behind my stock 5.9L Cummins.....doubt they'd say a 7.3L PS is a good option either. Recommended a 205 instead.

I still stand by my point of an atlas being almost useless in a tow rig, unless just wanting something brand new?

I have a hard time seeing a stock 205 being as strong as a full race atlas? Or maybe roughly equal? I mean lots of U4 and bouncer guys still run atlas. Think a 271 would hold up to the same abuse?



Side note. Since this is a bench racing thread.

Say you run something like a Cummins/6speed manual 3.31 super duty axles and 35s (I think Projectjunkie has mentioned this combo before)

So now you have a highway cruiser, then you hit the mountains, or have to pull some wieght around town. What about a 1.5:1 atlas?

Nv5600/3.31s 35s 1:1 left 1.5:1 right (3.31x1.5=4.97s Fwiw)

 

[Projectjunkie]

Don't over complicate things

Sure, 2lo or 4lo for backing up trailers and moving stuff around yards, but a cummins with a 6 speed will get things moving fine in 1st gear on the street, no need to build a special transfer case... and go 271, it's a burly case and proven