SHE was weighed today.....Opinions needed.

James Fischer

James Fischer

PCS Member
Just curious what the general concensus is here on the board regarding trailering...:confused:

My 72 Superior hightop was weighed this morning.....with all equipment and full tank of gas she came in at..........6860lbs.......

I have a custom dual axel tilt-bed trailer.....its GVWR is 7000lbs.......
The trailer itself weighs about 1800lbs.....

My question is: Can the trailer safely carry the ambulance ?? :smiley3:

I have gotten several answers from local people but would like input from someone who is familiar with towing pro cars.......

I plan on attending an emergency vehicle show in October ..it is co sponsored by the California Highway Patrol.........and would like to be safe.....

Thanks all for your input !!!!
 
No you will be over the GVWR. The weight of the trailer and cargo is combined when figuring GVWR wieght. You are going to need a heavier GVWR rating probably 10,000. You can most likely have the axles and springs changed out. The trailer may carry the ambulance as is, but if a situation arose that involved litigation you could be in trouble.
 
I do a lot of trailering. I race on the National NHRA circuit and go all over the country. What you have is 3,500 lb axles. You need 6,000 lb axles and heavier springs. This will give you a 10,000 lb GVWR (The reason it's not 12,000 lb GVWR is because it puts your trailer into a different class that you don't want to be in). It will haul that much, but stay under 10K GVWR on your title and tag. I believe I would try to drive the car wherever you go, it would save you a lot of trouble. That 72 is new enough to be very reliable and you would not have to deal with all the trailer issues.

WHAT BRUCE SAID!!!

:my2cents:
 
Jim: If you are taking about the Ripon Event the 1st Saturday of October... I would drive it as close as you are. We drive our units clear from Southern CA that well is over 400 miles each way. There are a lot CHP, Sheriff and other LE Agency Officers there both in and out of service and of course it's better overall for representing the hobby that everything is order too.

Unless they were a "nephew" of Tony Soprano and "weighted" certified truck scales..... our former 1973 S&S-Cadillac Medic Mark-I that Bruce-B has now and is pictured on his avatar "tipped the toledos" as Canadian Evan Butchers would say at 8003 lbs fully loaded with a full tank of gas, medical supplies, oxygen tanks, strechers, spare tire etc., when it first weighed in for the CA-DMV. Because it wasn't 25 years old yet and I didn't want to change the registeration to omit the "AMB" designation, I paid commercial weight fees on it for the 1st couple of years. MM
 
I tow Mine a lot so My pets have a place to stay. My 72 and 75 come in around 6200. The 64 I have not weighed but is way heavier. I use a 20ft. 14,000 GVW trailer. Trailer weight is 3000 lbs. A lot has been said about only using the HD rivited rims on these cars. Now Some want to haul the car plus the trailer on a standard rim. I drive a big truck for a living, and always lean towards having too much than having too little.
 
Mike Burkhart said:
I do a lot of trailering. I race on the National NHRA circuit and go all over the country. What you have is 3,500 lb axles. You need 6,000 lb axles and heavier springs. This will give you a 10,000 lb GVWR (The reason it's not 12,000 lb GVWR is because it puts your trailer into a different class that you don't want to be in). It will haul that much, but stay under 10K GVWR on your title and tag. I believe I would try to drive the car wherever you go, it would save you a lot of trouble. That 72 is new enough to be very reliable and you would not have to deal with all the trailer issues.
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Mike,
THANK YOU for your input and information.....I will keep that in mind and have it done at some point.....but being the show is only 58 miles from me,I will just drive it.....
Thanks again !!
 
Mike McDonald said:
Jim: If you are taking about the Ripon Event the 1st Saturday of October... I would drive it as close as you are. We drive our units clear from Southern CA that well is over 400 miles each way. There are a lot CHP, Sheriff and other LE Agency Officers there both in and out of service and of course it's better overall for representing the hobby that everything is order too.

Unless they were a "nephew" of Tony Soprano and "weighted" certified truck scales..... our former 1973 S&S-Cadillac Medic Mark-I that Bruce-B has now and is pictured on his avatar "tipped the toledos" as Canadian Evan Butchers would say at 8003 lbs fully loaded with a full tank of gas, medical supplies, oxygen tanks, strechers, spare tire etc., when it first weighed in for the CA-DMV. Because it wasn't 25 years old yet and I didn't want to change the registeration to omit the "AMB" designation, I paid commercial weight fees on it for the 1st couple of years. MM
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Mike,

Yes, that is the show I a referring to.....:biker:

Will you be there ??

I am planning on driving since it is only 58 miles from me.....but I still wanted some input on the trailer situation......

Thanks again !

Jim
 
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Raymond Armstrong said:
I tow Mine a lot so My pets have a place to stay. My 72 and 75 come in around 6200. The 64 I have not weighed but is way heavier. I use a 20ft. 14,000 GVW trailer. Trailer weight is 3000 lbs. A lot has been said about only using the HD rivited rims on these cars. Now Some want to haul the car plus the trailer on a standard rim. I drive a big truck for a living, and always lean towards having too much than having too little.
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Raymond,

What type of rims are the HD rivited ??

Thank you for the information and I totaly agree with you regarding the "too much" rather then "too little" statement......

Jim
 
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Sounds like you have similiar trailer to mine. It is a 22ft tilt trailer and had the 3500 axels when we ordered it but we made them put 6000 under it as trailer weighs close to 3000 and as you said car may weigh up to 7000 so that is 10,000. Has worked great for me. Just get a big truck to pull with next, not a half ton but at least 2500 or better 3500.
 
Danny Ryder said:
Sounds like you have similiar trailer to mine. It is a 22ft tilt trailer and had the 3500 axels when we ordered it but we made them put 6000 under it as trailer weighs close to 3000 and as you said car may weigh up to 7000 so that is 10,000. Has worked great for me. Just get a big truck to pull with next, not a half ton but at least 2500 or better 3500.
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Danny,
Yes sounds like the same set up...as mentioned I will be doing that soon.....
I usually trailer a 60 Impala or 60 Caddy with it....and it has worked great....not having to deal with "ramps".......
I am towing with a 05 Ford F250 Super Crew Diesel.....and dont even feel the loaded trailer behind me....so I am good in that department......

By the way...That is a AWESOME looking "Miss Daisy" vehicle you are bringing home !! Congratulations !!

Thanks again !

Jim
 
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James Fisher said:
Danny,
Yes sounds like the same set up...as mentioned I will be doing that soon.....
I usually trailer a 60 Impala or 60 Caddy with it....and it has worked great....not having to deal with "ramps".......
I am towing with a 05 Ford F250 Super Crew Diesel.....and dont even feel the loaded trailer behind me....so I am good in that department......

By the way...That is a AWESOME looking "Miss Daisy" vehicle you are bringing home !! Congratulations !!

Thanks again !

Jim
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On my trailer 18ft tilts with front 4ft stationary. Have got alot of use out of it over last five years. Yes, you have the truck part covered sounds like.
 
big thing is the tires. if you check the rating on them you will discover that the trailer and ambulance are way over the rating on the tires. each and every state has a different way of taxing things. but here in SD the gvw rating means nothing. unless it commercial. take the trailer down trade it get one at least 10,000 gvw. but14 is safer. the less moving parts you have the better. the caddy will thank you and the Chevy will be happier. you add them up and you'll find that 60 caddy had that trailer maxed.
 
James, your '72's weight is nearly the same as mine. Twenty years ago right after I got my '72 54" Superior, I took her to the then-new weigh station on the interstate nearby and weighed in at just over 6800lb, 1/2-3/4 tank, no driver.
 
Danny Ryder said:
Sounds like you have similiar trailer to mine. It is a 22ft tilt trailer and had the 3500 axels when we ordered it but we made them put 6000 under it as trailer weighs close to 3000 and as you said car may weigh up to 7000 so that is 10,000. Has worked great for me. Just get a big truck to pull with next, not a half ton but at least 2500 or better 3500.
Click to expand...

I hauled my '75 S&S Victoria home 200 miles on my 22 ft. tilt bed trailer with 3500 lb. axles behind a half-ton 4x4 Dodge truck with a 360 engine. I will NEVER do that again!! Talk about white-knuckle!! Never got over 50 mph and there were still a couple of times where I got it whipping and nearly lost the whole shootin match! Not smart on my part.
 
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