Pulling a dead K1500 ext cab LB on a tow dolly

[Hipster]

Was it just a code brown or was metal bent?

It happened to me on 2 separate occasions. Once going around the shop and went from a paved area to gravel and slid out. The second time was much like Erik describes. I jumped on the brakes and the ass end lifted, not completely but enough . I let loose of the brakes, took the shoulder and ended up off the road.

 

[b454rat]

Uhaul has an extra wide dolly for trucks and bigger vehicles. I flat towed my Tahoe 5 hours one way, pulled driveshaft, strapped it down and went. I didn't set any land speed records, just took my time. It fit fine, tracked fine with no issues. I towed it with my 08 Tundra, lifted with 35s, did great.

 

[Supercharged111]

It happened to me on 2 separate occasions. Once going around the shop and went from a paved area to gravel and slid out. The second time was much like Erik describes. I jumped on the brakes and the ass end lifted, not completely but enough . I let loose of the brakes, took the shoulder and ended up off the road.

Those are code browns and your trophy was stained underwear. I had my 1500 go into a death wobble earlier this year. It got bad quick. Trailer brakes saved my ass there. It's never done that before, was very strange.

 

[thinger2]

Thats kinda sketchy because you are relying on the hitch and the straps entirely.
But, if you decide to do it, get some good ratchet straps and cinch that thing down in case the dolly straps break.
And pull over and check it and the hitch a bunch of times.
And, if were telling tow dolly stories,
many years ago I moved from Scottsdale to Denver.
The theory was to put my K5 Blazer on a trailer behind the 24 foot Ryder and the ex would follow me in my brand spanking new Jeep Cherokee.
Got to the rental place, K5 wouldnt fit cuz I had 32x11.5 BFGs on 10 inch rims.
The jeep would fit but she refused to drive the K5 cuz the A/C didnt work.
Ended up following in the K5 while she drove to Denver towing my jeep with a
24 foot Ryder.
We got to Rattan new mexico before she forgot about the jeep and offroaded the whole rig through the lounge chairs and landscaping down hill and around the swimming pool at the motel.
She ran the Ryder over a curb and the hitch broke off the tow dolly.
Pay for the extra insurance, its worth it

 

[Steve Addy]

I really can't recommend to tow anything with a tow dolly. Well, maybe a Honda. There's a lack of tongue weight involved with a tow dolly where the towee can push the tower. Been there, done that, got the prize.

The tow dolly has a surge brake so I would think that would deal with the potential problem of being pushed by the vehicle on the dolly...at least I would hope so.

Another pic....

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I can say without question that those straps are insufficient for the size of tire you have, the 'basket' portion is supposed to be over the top of the tire, not at the back. The Uhaul place gave you the incorrect straps. It's no wonder that the straps popped off.

I never did undertake this, at least not yet, but I did end up getting another truck. In addition to the 94 K1500 Turbo D I bought a 93 C3500 Turbo D with 101k miles. The candidate to be towed has since vanished and my interest in trying to find a replacement body / chassis for my rusty and dying K1500 has waned somewhat right now. It's still moving around but I'm not going to be doing anything more this year probably unless something super comes along.

If I do end up towing I will let y'all know how it went!!

Steve

 

[Steve Addy]

Thats kinda sketchy because you are relying on the hitch and the straps entirely.
But, if you decide to do it, get some good ratchet straps and cinch that thing down in case the dolly straps break.
And pull over and check it and the hitch a bunch of times.
And, if were telling tow dolly stories,
many years ago I moved from Scottsdale to Denver.
The theory was to put my K5 Blazer on a trailer behind the 24 foot Ryder and the ex would follow me in my brand spanking new Jeep Cherokee.
Got to the rental place, K5 wouldnt fit cuz I had 32x11.5 BFGs on 10 inch rims.
The jeep would fit but she refused to drive the K5 cuz the A/C didnt work.
Ended up following in the K5 while she drove to Denver towing my jeep with a
24 foot Ryder.
We got to Rattan new mexico before she forgot about the jeep and offroaded the whole rig through the lounge chairs and landscaping down hill and around the swimming pool at the motel.
She ran the Ryder over a curb and the hitch broke off the tow dolly.
Pay for the extra insurance, its worth it

Good lord...one reason it's better to handle the tow rig yourself. I never forget what's back there, but I can see how other people do. That would not have been a sight I would have wanted to see TBH.

Steve

 

[rags77]

What about flat towing......

 

[Steve Addy]

What about flat towing......

That would be worse I think, no option for braking assist at all with flat tow, and besides, the tow bar would need to be extra HD IMO.

I had considered this option and just going over county roads and very slow but I don't like the idea of no brake assist.

Steve

 

[Caman96]

I had the the bigger tow dolly and the straps were still too small. I also added a few extra ratchet straps and hooks bent. This was attempted in Virginia on the Kentucky border. If you weren’t going up you were going down, there was not flat areas so that was a huge part of the problem for me.

 

[Steve Addy]

I had the the bigger tow dolly and the straps were still too small. I also added a few extra ratchet straps and hooks bent. This was attempted in Virginia on the Kentucky border. If you weren’t going up you were going down, there was not flat areas so that was a huge part of the problem for me.

I'm ordering a set of straps capable of working with 265x16 tires just to have something large enough around to deal with a truck should I want to. I hate being grounded by not having the equipment necessary to do a tow home on short notice. There are occasions where you see something you want that 'needs to be off the property by Monday' and without the equipment you're left scrambling.

One nice thing was the acquisition of the C3500 truck, which has the JB8 brakes. With the tow dolly surge brake I would think this would handle a truck.

One of the nice things about being in Iowa is that there's a lot more flat than up / down, but I understand the issues with this.

Steve