First time out with new tug

[ruscal]

I have been working on this old truck for about a year. We took her out for the first pull last week to a nearby camp ground in Escondido, CA. The trip went without any drama, which made me happy. I built the truck for cornering and a fun driving experience, but did a few trailering mods as well. She is a '67 Chevy C10 half ton. 350 ci v8, about 190 hp, 6 speed manual trans, 4.11 gears, limited slip, 4 wheel disc brakes, onboard air compressor and air bag overload springs, aluminum cross flow radiator, twin PWM controlled fans, power steering with cooler, custom trailer hitch, under construction is a custom rear steel tube bumper.
Towing characteristics:
Stiff ride. Corners well. Adaquate power. Excellent braking. No sway. Poor fuel economy. Stuff in trailer flies all over the place. Very stable. First gear requires a little clutch feathering during take off. Flipped the draw bar to get the lifted trailer level. Truck is 7" lower than stock.
Russ

[David B.]

Very nice job Russ.

[Borrego Dave]

Sweet looking tug Russ .

[Carl Pa]

Nice

[Jon in AZ]

Beautiful truck, Russ! Wondering about the trailer.. Stuff shouldn't be flying around. I assume you've been towing with something else before and it was fine... Any ideas?

[charlsara]

Cool ride!


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[DeBreez]

Sweet looking Chevy!

[ruscal]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Beautiful truck, Russ! Wondering about the trailer.. Stuff shouldn't be flying around. I assume you've been towing with something else before and it was fine... Any ideas?

Thanks all for compliments!

Jon,
Our previous tug was a lifted Wrangler on air bags. it has much more suspension travel and is "looser". The C10 only has about 3.5" of travel to work with and is firmer. I really hadn't thought about the tug suspension having much to do with the trailer ride, but it appears to be the case.
A few years ago I switched out the Scamps stock axle with a Flexiride which improved the trailers ride, but now we are back to square one. There are a few trade offs when using a multi purpose vehicle.
Russ

[David B.]

Russ, could your driving style be the cause? A healthy V8 vs anemic Lifted Wrangler and a TV that corners much better than the lifted Wrangler? I know that since I replaced our 3.8 V6 with a 5.7L Hemi V8 in our lifted Wrangler, the "fun factor" has changed how I drive.....fun, fun, fun
Dave & Paula

[ruscal]

Hi Dave,
Hmmm, maybe it was that autocross on the way to the campground? Seriously though, I did a few "stability checks". I think the trucks firm suspension travels through the hitch changing the frequency of the whole assembly to a degree causing some bucking.
I'm envious of your amply powered Jeep. A hemi would make ours much more fun on the highway, but almost impossible to have in California. The C10 is old enough to be smog exempt, so engines can be swapped. The fuel injected Jeep is getting about 3 MPG more than the 1000 pound lighter carbureted Chevy. I suspect the fun factor you speak of is to blame! I have yet to break 10 MPG with the truck. She is just stupid fun on mountain roads, and hard to not drive aggressively.
Russ