I have a 92 W 250 12V, with a upgraded NV 5 speed (getrag crapped out at 190K). It has a steel flatbed on it, with the gooseneck hitch under the bed that I have never used, but the previous owner towed a horse trailer sometimes. I am looking at possibly moving some heavy, largish boats in the next year or so, and I'm wonderng what you guys think the practical towing limits are of this truck, and what upgrades I could do to get more out of it for towing. I've hauled pretty heavy loads of lumber and logs on a 7000# car hauling trailer a few times. In fact, I'm pretty certain that at least once I've put 9000# of lumber on that trailer, which probably has something to do with it's sagging floor that needs rebuilt now. And I've towed numerous cars and small trucks and my portable sawmill (only 2800#) many many times. I do know that I'm over due for new rotors, as mine are somewhat warped, probably from hauling too heavy of loads in the mountains.

Advice?

thanks!

Mark

 

I won't nitpick the legalities of towing weights; I never paid much mind to laws nohow.

Your truck most likely can pull anything you can manage to hook it to; stopping the load is another matter entirely, dependant upon the trailer brakes, truck brakes, your sense, or the lack thereof.

With electric brakes, I would be hesitant to gross much over 18 - 20,000.

I ain't afraid of any amount with vacuum-over-hydraulics on the trailer.

All this is with the truck in excellent condition.

I just noticed you are SRW; so, back off on these projections to about half.

 

This load grosses out at about 23,000. As always, its not what you can pull, but what you can stop. I have a 1982 crew cab international going on the road next year so I can load up and not worry about stopping it so much.

 

How hard is it to put the one ton dually rear axle in this truck? Is the frame on the one tons heavier? I assume I would have wheels sticking out from under the bed. IS there a narrow version of that axle?

Thanks

 

For several years, Dodge did not offer a 1-ton chassis-cab, so about all you will find is wide dually rear-ends.

BUT, there is no reason you can't use a Dana 70 or Dana 80 from a 1-ton FORD chassis-cab, of which the country is full of; they are somewhat narrower.

If you can manage it, the extra width of a dually is a bit more stable than a standard ton rear-end; but, the standard ton is way more stable than SRW.