Outing For Big Blue or Blue?

[Gary Lewis]

My wife's cousin just called and is taking me up on my offer to come get his 1960 C10 and take it to my paint/body man. And, along the way we'll move his '65 Malibu to a storage facility. But, that will mean a 250 mile day, with a lot of winching as neither vehicle runs.

So, I'm thinking through what vehicle I want to tow with, and would like your thoughts. First, here are my thoughts regarding taking Big Blue:

• Good opportunity to use him

• But the brake controller needs to be rewired slightly so the brakes work on the trailer, although I really need to do that anyway

• Gas mileage will be poor - after all, its a 460/7.5L

• Winching a vehicle on/off the trailer will be easy - attach the trailer to the front hitch and do it,

  and there's two "ons" and two "offs"

• The dual batteries give gobs of reserve, but the 1G alternator won't charge them very fast

• Both vehicles are in a pasture, and the tires on Big Blue will handle the possibility of soft ground well

And, here are thoughts about using Blue:

• I'll have to drill the winch stand on the trailer to take the winch

• I'll have to move the winch over to the trailer

• I'll have to remove the auxiliary battery from Big Blue, find a battery box, and then wire it up when I get there - each time I want to use it

• Easier to tow with the torque of the Ecoboost 3.5L

• Lots of comfort

What are your thoughts?

[85lebaront2]

Gary, I personally other than maybe being an automatic, think the ecoboost will tow that much better than the 460. The gas mileage will be much better though. Alternator, yes the 1G is what 60 amps, it will take a while.

Winch on the trailer, probably needs to be done, battery charge, get some long welding cables so you can hook the winch battery to Blue's battery for fast charging.

Both are 4WD correct? Advantage I can see using Big Blue, that 1960 Chevy pickup is probably fairly heavy, but you hauled Big Blue from Florida, so it should be doable with Blue.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, I personally other than maybe being an automatic, think the ecoboost will tow that much better than the 460. The gas mileage will be much better though. Alternator, yes the 1G is what 60 amps, it will take a while.

Winch on the trailer, probably needs to be done, battery charge, get some long welding cables so you can hook the winch battery to Blue's battery for fast charging.

Both are 4WD correct? Advantage I can see using Big Blue, that 1960 Chevy pickup is probably fairly heavy, but you hauled Big Blue from Florida, so it should be doable with Blue.

The Ecoboost makes towing child's play. We brought Big Blue back from Florida with Blue and got 9 MPG running 75 MPH. In Tow/Haul mode you get engine braking at the touch of the brake, making stopping easy.

But, it doesn't have the rear spring capacity of Big Blue, and the Chevy will be heavy, although not as heavy as Big Blue was. However, the rear of Blue sat down a bunch with the F250 on the trailer. And, for that matter, it will be my new trailer and it weighs more than Brandon's, so tongue weight will be more. From that standpoint Big Blue would be the better choice.

Yes, both are 4wd. At least Blue is supposed to be 4wd. But a year ago I took him to CO and got into some snow and his 4wd didn't work. Turned out the Integrated Wheel Ends were bad. They've been replaced, but I trust Big Blue's manual hubs more.

Right now I'm leaning to taking Big Blue as it will be a fun outing. And, there's less to do to get ready. But, I do need to hook him up to the new trailer and make sure the winch line clears the front rail. And, fix my wiring error on the brake controller.

Anyway, thanks for the input. I'm still thinking so keep those cards and letters coming in.

 

[Ford F834]

The Ecoboost makes towing child's play. We brought Big Blue back from Florida with Blue and got 9 MPG running 75 MPH. In Tow/Haul mode you get engine braking at the touch of the brake, making stopping easy.

But, it doesn't have the rear spring capacity of Big Blue, and the Chevy will be heavy, although not as heavy as Big Blue was. However, the rear of Blue sat down a bunch with the F250 on the trailer. And, for that matter, it will be my new trailer and it weighs more than Brandon's, so tongue weight will be more. From that standpoint Big Blue would be the better choice.

Yes, both are 4wd. At least Blue is supposed to be 4wd. But a year ago I took him to CO and got into some snow and his 4wd didn't work. Turned out the Integrated Wheel Ends were bad. They've been replaced, but I trust Big Blue's manual hubs more.

Right now I'm leaning to taking Big Blue as it will be a fun outing. And, there's less to do to get ready. But, I do need to hook him up to the new trailer and make sure the winch line clears the front rail. And, fix my wiring error on the brake controller.

Anyway, thanks for the input. I'm still thinking so keep those cards and letters coming in.

I think you have two good options here, so no wrong answer really. I was thinking Big Blue for the reason you mentioned of having less to do to prepare. As far as preference I know what I would pick ;)

[Gary Lewis]

I think you have two good options here, so no wrong answer really. I was thinking Big Blue for the reason you mentioned of having less to do to prepare. As far as preference I know what I would pick ;)

I think we are on the same page. Blue would make it child's play, but Big Blue would be more fun.

And, it gives me the impetus to get some things fixed, like the brake controller. And maybe even put the glass run in to cut the wind noise - although then I might hear the glass packs drone.

[Gary Lewis]

I think we are on the same page. Blue would make it child's play, but Big Blue would be more fun.

And, it gives me the impetus to get some things fixed, like the brake controller. And maybe even put the glass run in to cut the wind noise - although then I might hear the glass packs drone.

Well, it is time for Plan A.5, which is Big Blue with the winch located on the trailer. As I was sitting on the porch drinking coffee this morning I noticed that there are a few things in the way of the winch line if it is mounted on Big Blue. Yep, the jack is positioned dead-center, right where the line would need to go.

But, as it turns out, even if I'd asked for the jack to be mounted to the side it still wouldn't work. The deck height on the trailer when level is 28", but the winch line comes out of Big Blue's bumper at 24". No way it should go up 4", snake across the trailer, and then go down the dovetail to the vehicle - not good on a winch line or the trailer. So, the winch has to mount on the trailer. No problem, that's the way I planned it originally. And, that means there's little chance of drag of the line on the deck.

But, I need to do some wiring as I want to connect the winch to Big Blue's wiring. As luck would have it, a guy came to get my mower for warranty service today, and his trailer had just the right kind of connectors. So I went on-line and found them, but they range from 50 amp capacity up. As it turns out, my winch can pull 330 amps at 12,000 lbs, so it looks like I need the connectors shown below, which are in stock at Grainger in Tulsa. They are good for 350 amps and they take the 2/0 wire I have for Big Blue's transformation. I'm thinking I'll pick 4 of them up when we go to into town on Friday. That way I can put a pair on the existing wiring on Big Blue and then make a jumper with the other pair. Move the winch to the trailer, plug in the jumper, and away we go.

Thoughts? Better ideas?

[NotEnoughTrucks]

Well, it is time for Plan A.5, which is Big Blue with the winch located on the trailer. As I was sitting on the porch drinking coffee this morning I noticed that there are a few things in the way of the winch line if it is mounted on Big Blue. Yep, the jack is positioned dead-center, right where the line would need to go.

But, as it turns out, even if I'd asked for the jack to be mounted to the side it still wouldn't work. The deck height on the trailer when level is 28", but the winch line comes out of Big Blue's bumper at 24". No way it should go up 4", snake across the trailer, and then go down the dovetail to the vehicle - not good on a winch line or the trailer. So, the winch has to mount on the trailer. No problem, that's the way I planned it originally. And, that means there's little chance of drag of the line on the deck.

But, I need to do some wiring as I want to connect the winch to Big Blue's wiring. As luck would have it, a guy came to get my mower for warranty service today, and his trailer had just the right kind of connectors. So I went on-line and found them, but they range from 50 amp capacity up. As it turns out, my winch can pull 330 amps at 12,000 lbs, so it looks like I need the connectors shown below, which are in stock at Grainger in Tulsa. They are good for 350 amps and they take the 2/0 wire I have for Big Blue's transformation. I'm thinking I'll pick 4 of them up when we go to into town on Friday. That way I can put a pair on the existing wiring on Big Blue and then make a jumper with the other pair. Move the winch to the trailer, plug in the jumper, and away we go.

Thoughts? Better ideas?

I've got that style of connector on a snowplow. Works well. Also seen them before on UPS battery packs. Should be just the ticket.

So, how far is this haul? (Went back to read post 1, so 250 miles it is!) I know the 460 likes gas, but I would vote for the fun factor here. Nothing like a shakedown cruise opportunity.

[Gary Lewis]

I've got that style of connector on a snowplow. Works well. Also seen them before on UPS battery packs. Should be just the ticket.

So, how far is this haul? (Went back to read post 1, so 250 miles it is!) I know the 460 likes gas, but I would vote for the fun factor here. Nothing like a shakedown cruise opportunity.

Ray - We are in sync.

The round trip will be about 250 miles. It'll take a tank going and coming, and when bringing Huck home I learned that it needs 91 octane. Nothing but the best, and lots of it.

As for the connectors, Grainger has 4 of them on hold for me as well as 25 10mmx1.50x35mm 10.9 fasteners that I need to secure the winch to Big Blue's bumper. Heretofore I've not quite had full thread engagement on the captive nuts, and don't like that. Plus, I can't use lock washers w/o longer bolts.

But, I got the trailer's winch stand drilled for the winch today and the winch moved over. (Pics tomorrow.) However, I discovered that the winch hook won't go through the fairlead. So, with that hook on I'll have to run the line completely out and remove it from the winch, move the winch, and then re-install the line - with at least 2000 lbs of tension on the line. Not fun. So, I'm going to replace the hook with an aluminum shackle, which is the black bit in the pic below. (The fairlead is the aluminum-colored piece.)

The shackle has a pin held in with snap rings and I can remove the shackle by removing the pins. And I can install the existing hook to the shackle with a D-ring. So, I think I have a plan.

[Gary Lewis]

Ray - We are in sync.

The round trip will be about 250 miles. It'll take a tank going and coming, and when bringing Huck home I learned that it needs 91 octane. Nothing but the best, and lots of it.

As for the connectors, Grainger has 4 of them on hold for me as well as 25 10mmx1.50x35mm 10.9 fasteners that I need to secure the winch to Big Blue's bumper. Heretofore I've not quite had full thread engagement on the captive nuts, and don't like that. Plus, I can't use lock washers w/o longer bolts.

But, I got the trailer's winch stand drilled for the winch today and the winch moved over. (Pics tomorrow.) However, I discovered that the winch hook won't go through the fairlead. So, with that hook on I'll have to run the line completely out and remove it from the winch, move the winch, and then re-install the line - with at least 2000 lbs of tension on the line. Not fun. So, I'm going to replace the hook with an aluminum shackle, which is the black bit in the pic below. (The fairlead is the aluminum-colored piece.)

The shackle has a pin held in with snap rings and I can remove the shackle by removing the pins. And I can install the existing hook to the shackle with a D-ring. So, I think I have a plan.

Here's proof I actually got something done yesterday:

[1986F150Six]

Here's proof I actually got something done yesterday:

Looks nice!