Tow Bar for Grain Truck

I know this is the tractor transporting forum but I figured you guys may have a answer to my question. I'm hauling a older 1960's GMC 4000 cabover with a 16ft steel box with a single rear axle. I would like to make a tow bar to pull this truck home since the motor is shot and needs replacement. I have a 100 mile tow across rural gravel and 2 lane roads. How sturdy of a tow bar would be needed for this job if I kept the speed at or under 35mph. I'd tow the truck with a 87 chevy 3/4 ton with a 4 speed and 4.11 gears.

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! That is a bad wreck looking for a place to happen.
To keep things under control you need to tow with something that weighs 1 1/2 to 2 times as much as the load.
Only two ways to tow that truck, hire a heavy wrecker or hire someone with a heavy low boy trailer. It will be a lot cheaper in the long run.
Willie

as willie said, dont even think about it that gmc will take you and make like a dog with a old rag in its mouth , plus you wont be able to stop the thing even if you can pull it, this is a case of biting the bullett and paying somebody with the equipment to haul it home for you

tho0se fellas are probably rite ,depends o nn where you are ,.. a lot can and will; happen on a hundred mile trip,,, you mite find a heavier truck ,,m or pull the motor out and set it in the back of tow vehivle for ballast .. you must find the wt of the truck , the pullin vehicle should weigh morethan the pulled ,, and build accordingly, the speed is smart ...btw ,, I have a farm kept low hiliage 58 chevy Viking 60 with a 283 ,since ,new and kept in the family since 1958 ,, I am in Louisville area .aqnd I want to sell ..

Ok, I don't understand where this "1-1/2 to 2 times as much as the load" comes from.

18 wheelers routinely tow loads that are 3 to 4 times the weight of the truck.

RV trailers often weigh 2 to 3 times as much as the truck, and there isn't even a professional driver at the wheel.

This is reason why I asked is because I've read on other blogs about people towing 5 ton military trucks behind a 1 1/2 ton truck using a special military tow bar. Sounds like some have done it but it wasn't recommended. Here I would be towing a 6500 pound grain truck with a 5000 pound chevy truck. Seems to me if I kept the speed very slow and took it super easy on corners and leading up to stop signs I would be ok. problem is here in western ND, there are no haulers to be found because they are all making 6 figures out in the oil patch. Other option is to swap the motor out where it sits but I'm not excited to preform a motor swap on a cab over in the middle of a field. So far thanks for everyones input.

Like I said, 40-ton tractor trailers haul a$$ down the road at 65MPH every day. The tractors weigh around 8-9 tons empty, so the load is around 32 tons, or 4 times the weight of the truck.

A 6500lb grain truck with a 5000lb pickup at 35MPH is very doable.

You need a rigid A-frame tow bar to keep the truck following behind you.

A 2" square, 1/4" wall mild steel tube is enough to tow a 10,000lb trailer with a 1250lb tongue weight. Two of those between the trucks, along with at least two safety chains as backup, will be plenty.

Do the brakes work? I'm on the fence about recommending that someone ride in the towed truck to operate the brakes, just to help you in stopping and in case of a breakaway.

True BUT the trucks and trailers you mention have brakes.

A 4000 series Great Mountain Climber (GMC) with a 16 ft steel box more than likely also has a hoist under the box, pushing the weight to close to 9000#. Add no brakes or steering & you have the tail wagging the dog.
Bumper pull RVs typically don"t weigh more than 6000-6500#, they all are required to have brakes, & carry 15% of that weight on the hitch. Bigger RVs with 5th wheel hitch might go up to 8000, but carry 40% or so on the hitch.
Typical big rigs gross up to 80000#, but carry 12000# on the steering, 34000# on drive tandems, 34000# on the trailer tandems. They also have brakes on all wheels. Add it up, 46000# on the tractor & 34000# on the trailer.
You say 35 mph is doable. Put a decimal point in there, make it 3.5 ( three & a half) mph might be a better figure.
End of rant.
Willie
diesel pilot-retired with over 40 years experience

I can't claim to be an expert, but I used to drive a 1998 c6500 with 18' flatbed and it scaled at 12500 when empty. I think you may be underestimating the weight. If however, the weight is only 6500, the truck could likely be loaded on a flatbed gooseneck behind a properly equipped pickup. That rig may be easier to find than a lowboy. At 6500 most medium duty wreckers could transport it as well. More cost up front, but way cheaper than an accident. I can't see the pickup getting good traction with that load and minimal tongue weight from a towbar, and using only the pickup brakes to try and stop that whole rig would scare the he!! out of me! Hate to be a doubter, but would hat worse to hear about an accident!

Even weighing in at 12500# empty a good tandem dual
trailer will handle that all day long. I too vote
for finding a trailer (if your truck has a gooseneck
ball) or talk to a neighbor. Pay his fuel and buy
him a good steak dinner.

Casey in SD

I've been over a good bit of ND most of it is fairly flat, and not much traffic on county roads. I would consider it. The truck will probably weight more than 6500 though. I see guys pulling wagons that weight much more than 6500 with pickups going to the elevator. A 120bu wagon will weight more than 7500 with it full of wheat. Nobody says boo about that for seed to plant in the fall. Pulled with pickups. Not even 3/4or ton pickups either. Those transfer no weight nor brakes. Are pulled at 15-30MPH.

We routinely pull two anhydrous wagons with 1/2 pickups. What I would do is put about 3000 lb in the bed. A tow bar tends to want to scoot the pulling truck sideways on turns. At the elevator year before last I was behind a guy who was pulling 2=600bu wagons of corn behind a 96 F250 powerstroke. He had a couple ton of weight in the bed. Said had to put a trans in it a couple of times. 1200 X 56= 67000 lbs. just in grain. It is flat land. The wagons did have surge brakes. Vic

You can find anecdotal references to hauling
large vehicles behind pick up trucks ....

You can also find accident reports, tickets, fatalities by folks stupid enough to try it.

If you cannot trailer it - leave it.

The highest weight rating on a tow bar you can buy
that is commercially produced and marketed is 5000 pounds.

With all due respect to t6he other folks that have sent you an answer, I have to add a few practical things here....

1) Towing with a tow bar requires the front (steer) wheels of the towed vehicle to track properly behind the towing vehicle in turns. On a dry concrete or asphalt road, this is usually not a big problem. On a dirt or gravel road, the wheels will tend to "plow" rather than follow. This will require you to stop, turn the wheels on the towed vehicle accordingly, and then proceed slowly. Cambered roads also present difficulty in getting the towed vehicle to follow.

2) In most states, it is highly illegal for a person to ride in a towed vehicle. The potential for disaster there should be obvious.

3) the towing vehicle.... the rear end of pickups is notoriously LIGHT!! Keeping the rear wheels on the ground and where you want them could become a problem.

4) The weight differential. Typically the towing vehicle for most flat towing should be heavier than the vehicle being towed. Considerations like brake and tire loading come to mind.

NOW....having said all of that, let me try to put to rest any comparison to LCVs (tractor trailers). A road tractor is DESIGNED to carry a significant portion of the cargo and trailer weight. A road tractor also has brakes and suspension designed to carry the intended loads - and sized accordingly!

I speak from years of towbarring and tractor trailer experience.

My recommendation would be to rent a tow dolly and an appropriately sized truck from Penske or U-Haul and leavde the pickup at home. You will more likely be successful and live to ride another day.

I worked for Penske for over 20 years and the tow dollies are not big or heavy enough to haul that size truck, Full size pickups don't fit between the fenders on the tow dolly without rubbing the fenders. Some times it is worth the $$$s to get some one with the right equipment to tow it to your place? Hate to lean the hard way. Good luck!

It's been a month since the original post.

I would assume he either towed it home or is dead by now. Either way he's not going to come back here and report the results.

Can't haul a 30lb small square bale of hay these days without a $75,000 crew cab diesel dually pickup and a 10-ton goosneck trailer...

I know the safety cops will be all over this but I/We have towed/pulled a lot of heavy trucks home from the field with a 25ft chain and a pickup. Granted this was over farm roads and 2 lane paved roads in rural areas. If there is little to no traffic and you take your time 100 miles can be done with no problem.

This was also done before ROP and seat belts and may not be safe but just saying.

Yeah, and most of the self-appointed "safety cops" did the EXACT same thing as you at some point in their lives. They lived to tell about it and nothing bad happened.

Bad things CAN happen no matter what. You could be running down the road with that grain truck chained on a 10-ton gooseneck, pulled by a big bad F350 King Ranch, all fat happy and DOT-legal. A dump truck in the oncoming lane drifts across the center line, too close and too quick to react. BAM! You're dead.

Guess we should just stay in bed and not do nothin'.

I am not saying it is the thing to do . I am saying that we seem to have lost a lot of COMMON SENSE and if you are careful and assess the conditions you don't have to have major equipment to get a job done and done safely. Would I pull anything through a city street ? NO. Would I pull a broken down farm truck home using rural roads and much care ? Yes.