Towing with a 4.9L

I'm eventually planning a move 'cross country and hope to be able to trailer my '59 Rambler behind my '85 F150 with the inline 6.  I'm guessing the car is about 3K pounds in curb weight and what, another 500lbs for a trailer?
Willie Makeit?  

I think you are underestimating the weight of the trailer.  I'll bet it is closer to 1200 lbs if it'll hold the Rambler, so you'll surely be over 4000 lbs.  And if your truck weighs around 4000 lbs your Gross Combined Weight Rating will be over 8000 lbs.

You don't say what the rear axle ratio is, but that is important - as you can see from the page below from the '85 owner's manual.  Only if you have the 10,000 GCWR will you be legal.

Will it make it?  If you have brakes on the trailer and don't need to go very fast then you should make it.  But if you have an accident you could be in serious legal trouble.

very interesting. this may be a little misleading if you only go by this chart. according to this my std cab shortbed  will be a better towing truck than my f250 camper special. yes, it will pull more! I made sure of that when I built the engine. but stable and controllable are much more important than power. come down black mountain with a trailer and you will understand. having just moved 500 miles I was aware of this. my short bed 86 pulled a light trailer. my flareside pulled a box trailer and I felt every passing big rig. my expedition pulled the car hauler with the bronco on it. each has its limits.  trailer brakes are very valuable.

Thank you both!  Good information and I'll look into the numbers.
Might be smarter to let a professional do the hauling, than regret the adventure.

These charts are rather puzzling.  Look at where my '85 F-250HD with 5.8L-2V 3.54 gears and a manual trans falls.  That truck had a GVWR (maximum weight on the truck alone) of 8600 lbs, but a GCWR (maximum weight on the truck and trailer combined) of 7800 lbs.  So I guess I could only load the truck to its GVWR if I was towing a trailer filled with helium!

But whether it makes sense or not, it is the rating.  Whether the rating actually matters is a matter of opinion.  But as Gary says, if you get in an accidents and lawyers get involved it won't be your opinion that matters.

Yes, that's the issue - the numbers.  And they don't always make sense, but they are the numbers.

We had an accident near here this week where a trailer came loose, crossed the center line, and badly hurt two people.  I have no idea why it came loose, although it is fairly obvious that it wasn't properly secured, but you can bet the lawyers will be checking out those numbers very closely.

On the other hand, the 300 is capable of pulling the trailer.  The big question is the brakes.  I'd want brakes on the trailer and a controller on the truck.

I tow regularly at the max MCWR for my truck. It's mostly highway with only light to moderate up/down grades.
In terms of hill climbing performance I'd be losing speed if I pulled any more. Coming down from highway speeds without trailer brakes, the trailer gives a good push and can make for some uncomfortable and dicey handling (I don't like towing without them).

Gary, your story reminds me if when I bought the Rambler.  I'd borrowed a tough old Chebby pickup from my workplace that had plenty of power & braking.  I rented a Uhaul trailer and the Uhaul guy attached it.  When I got to where the car was, halfway across the state and was driving it onto the trailer, the hitch popped off the ball.  I about had trouser-chili at that moment.
Secured it and told the counter guy about it when I returned it.  Never again will I take anyone's word or actions for granted when it comes to something as important.  Definitely a "thank you, God" experience to learn from.

i had the exact same thing happen. my daughter broke down 400 miles away so I got my excursion and and a u-haul trailer and went to get her. when pulling the car up onto the trailer the tongue popped up and nearly took out the back glass. their policy was to hook it up themselves for insurance reasons was what I was told. as it turns out, I drove all the way to mobile alabama  with the coupler locked sitting on top of the ball. yes, I filled out a report when I got back and may or may not have been less than a desirable customer for a minute.

I had a friend latch my trailer up to Big Blue while I did something else to get ready.  Got to the corner and it came off, but luckily was held by the safety chains.  Yep, it had been sitting on top of the ball.  Never, ever again.  It is my job to connect up or at least check everything.

These are good learning experiences, no matter how many times you’ve towed.

When I got my new trailer yesterday, they went through everything with me. They demonstrated that the coupler was attached by lifting the truck up with the trailer jack.

I thought that was a good idea for future hook ups.  

I always did that with small trailers but as I get older, and trailers get heavier I'm not certain that I would lift it off the ball anyway.

You shouldn't have any problems at all.  the 300 was built to pull.  My truck, Brutus 300, C6, 3.08 will pull just about anything.  I can tell you stories about what this truck has pulled that others just could not

The 300 six engine and the F150 truck are both capable enough. The main considerations I would look at are the state of maintenance of your truck and the route you will have to drive.

Both pictures above show tow loads that I have moved, including 6% grades. Both have trailer brakes. The camper I actually drove up, then down a long 8% on the west side of Death Valley and I don’t think I would do that again without upgrading the trailer brakes in the 1960 streamline.

My truck had thorough maintenance and my routes were rural and/or highways with plenty of opportunity for traffic to go around me. Towing like this is slow on any kind of incline. It’s never Willie makeit, it’s just when.

I don’t really want to kick the proverbial ant hill of discussing weight rating and street legality. My tow combinations shown above are pushing 9,500 lb gross. I am familiar with my equipment and I drive very carefully. I wouldn’t drive that heavy just anywhere, and I would not drive the full speed limit in a lot of places even if the engine would do it. The GVWR numbers on the chart cannot guarantee that any given load is “safe” any more than it guarantees what I did with my truck was “unsafe”.

love the streamliner. my brother actually has one now.as it was originally. I think the kids call it "vintage" Haha.