Trailering a WM300

[im02crazy]

Found a nice unit about 350 miles from me and now trying to figre how to haul it home. I havnt been able to find a commercial rental trailer even near the 8700lb GVW rating. I have a Suburban and tow a 27' Airstream, but this is a different animal. Any ideas?? thanks.

[OLD DODGE]

Depending on the equipment, the truck should weigh less than 6000 pounds. The GVW is the weight of the truck plus its payload.

[Kevin Mienke]

Rental outfits that deal exclusively in heavy construction equipment should have what you need.

Also, many trailer sales companies offer daily and weekly rentals.

Like Kevin said, the truck will weigh roughly 6000 lbs., but it should be hauled on a 12,000 lb. trailer for safety (2-6,000 lb. axles). You don't want to max out the trailer.

I would recommend a 20' trailer with brakes on both axles. 6000# axles will give you 8 lugs on the wheels as well as carry the weight better.

[im02crazy]

Trailering a wm300

Good advice on the 12,000 capacity. I've spent some time looking for a trailer that I could pull with my Suburban, but only found items for sale. I'll call a few local vendors and see if they might rent one I can use on a day rate.
Thanks guys.

[NNICKB]

This is probably bad advice, but I'll give it anyway.

Back when I was younger, dumber and poorer, I regularly moved dead vehicles semi-long distances with less than ideal equipment. You can get away with just about anything if you stick to rural two lanes, avoid urban areas, and keep your speed down.

If your are planning on tackling hilly terrain, bad weather, or plying the fast lane around Chicago or Houston, well, better make sure your machinery is the best you can make it. And, make sure that beast is tied down.

You didn't mention whether your 'burban was a 1/2 or 3/4 Ton. The rated capacity of the tow vehicle is, of course, as critical as the capacity of the trailer.

[im02crazy]

Trailering the beast

Good points. My Sub is a 1/2 ton 2 wheel with a 10,000 towing cap using a weight distribution hitch - lower with a straight hitch ~6,000??

I was hoping to actually try and drive the unit back from NY state area, but considering it hasnt been run in a while, it's gear ratio, and condition, it might not be great idea for that distance. 30 or so miles I'd take a shot at it, but I don't have a good rescue plan in case of disaster e.g. axle break, drivetrain or mill goes up.

I even thought of using a tow-along trailer front wheel type- but the weight seems to be just tooo much to safely make this work. I really need a small lite-duty low-boy I could tow with the Burb. I did find one at Kauffman trailer, but I dont want to buy one - just rent one for the trip.

Thanks again for your good ideas. I'm a total newbie with these units and I respect heavy things travelling fast!
Dave in Baltimore

[BrightRanch]

Don't know if it will help or not but we bought a suburban out of Tex. off ebay and had it shipped to WY.
Don't remember exactly how we did it but remember that it was all on ebay's web site. It was a comercial service not just for ebay purchases. Might check it out.
I remember I couldn't fly down there for the shipping cost. Much less pay to drive it home.

[NNICKB]

Hmmm, Dave, you got yourself a task here.

You 1/2T Suburban probably has the trailer package. This gives you 4.10 gears, a transmission cooler, and a decent hitch. A nice setup for most light duty trailers.

The WM300 is one heavy machine, at least 6,000 lbs, if it doesn't have a winch or other equipment. Most trailers of the type you have been discussing will be another 2,000+. Even though your vehicle may be "rated" to tow 10,000 lbs, you are going to find yourself very uncomfortable driving this rig, if for no reason other than that your towed combination weighs considerably more than your pulling vehicle. It can be done, but plan on driving 45-50 mph most of the way.

If you ever wondered why so many people are buying those crew cab 8 foot bed diesel powered trucks, which for some reason are still called "pickups," you will know after you have made this trip.

I have flat towed my WM, which does save trailer weight, but I don't recommend this for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which you will find the steering is not cooperative during tight turns.

I have nothing good to say about tow dollies. Some people like them for light cars, but my guess is that one of these will give you nothing but trouble.

Another factor is where you live. IMO the Baltimore-DC area has the worst drivers than anywhere in the country, and that includes Mexico. I am not saying that just to say that. Consider driving late at night, or early on a Sunday morning.

You mentioned that the truck is in upstate New York, but didn't say where. This means that most of your trip will be through my home state of Pennsylvania.

If you are coming through the east, there really is no other option other than major highways. Any other route will get you into hairpin curves and constant elevation changes, and believe me, going downhill with your combo will be worse than going up. Northeast Pa. tourist agencies bill this area as the "Endless Mountains," and they mean it. I was on I-81 through the Scranton area last week and the road is torn up with construction. The traffic in that area is heavy, pushy, and mean. US 15 down through Williamsport is probably a better choice. I-83 between Harrisburg and Baltimore is as bad as 81, as you probably know.

If you are coming from further west you are in better luck, as central Pa is all ridge mountains, and there are a number of flat, straight, lightly traveled routes. That is, if you don't mind traveling in a southwesterly direction! I-99 south of State College is a great road, with little traffic. I-80 isn't bad for east-west travel. Avoid the turnpike (76) if you can, unless you like nosy toll collectors and are friendly with police. I-68 through Western Maryland is a superb road, but probably out of your way.

I could go on about this, but if you need help picking a route, let me know. Also if you are traveling anywhere near Johnstown or Altoona, and think you might need help, shoot me a private Email.

All of this being said, you might consider contacting one of the many private haulers that have sprung up now that so many cars are being sold on the internet. It's as simple as Fedex...you just give them the two zip codes and your credit card number. Prices vary, of course, and seem to be based more on logistics, than distance. The fact that you live near a major city or terminal may help. It may cost anywhere from 500-1000, but considering the cost of the trailer rental, and running all that $3/ gallon gas through your Vortec V8, the relative cost might not be so bad.

Dependable Auto Shippers (DAS) is now tied in with Ebay. I have used them a few times and not had any problems, other than that they are very slow. But I have heard others have had complaints about them. You might pick up a Hemmings at a newstand if you don't get it already, as there are lots of regional haulers that advertise in there.

The biggest downside of using a mail order shipper is that you will not have an adventure or hardship story to chronicle in an upcoming PWA, or to tell to your grandkids...

[sixtyninegmc]

It can be done

Just to weigh in on the "bad influence" side of things, I trailered my B1-PW from the Washington-Oregon border to Palmer, Alaska, about 3500 miles. I towed it with a `69 GMC 1/2 ton 2wd with a 4 speed, 283 and 3.07 gears. The truck was in excellent shape, granted, and I carried spare parts. There were also many household items in the truck and trailer, and the truck never gave me a problem, and the only problems I had with the 7000# GVW trailer were 5 flats and one set of busted wheel studs, more likely caused by running the cassiar and alcan highways which are both rougher and hillier than any interstate I know of.

So I would not worry at all about your truck being capable of pulling the weight. As long as you have a brake controller and brakes to go with it, and are not to horribly stupid, your truck is sufficient. A light duty trailer like I ran would also work, I would concentrate more on the tires than the trailer, because I have seen the same tires I ran on 8-lug trailer axles. You won`t have to deal with the frost heaves that broke my wheel studs, so keep an eye on your tire temp.

And for the traffic nay-sayers, we came through the sea-tac area at rush hour and survived just fine.

Good luck.

[712edf]

You are not alone Dave. I have to get my newly purchased W500 from the seller's to my folks place, a 250 mile trip. The road is not an issue, just who's truck and who else's trailer I am going to borrow. 7-8 thousand pound toys with 175" wb can be a challenge.

Bucky

[BigSmoke]

Don't forget that your towing hitch should carry about 10% of your load. I tow all sorts of various, . . .you name it. You'll be fine pulling 6k. Just use common sense and always be prepaired for the worse.

[KRB64]

I've towed plenty of flat fenders on a 16' tag along. But that was with a weight distributing hitch and pulled with a 3/4T Cummins.

If I was concentrating on one aspect it would be brakes. Good brakes on a trailer make all the diffrence in the world. That and proper tongue weight can get you by.