Vintage Tow Vehicles

[Longhorn]

I am in the midst of a restoration on my Caravel in anticipation of a 3-4 month trip this fall of the west, south and east coasts in that order, can't wait! This is my first airstream and will be doing some shakedown trips this summer and hope to meet some of you at the rallys

I am curious do any of you know of others who use Classic tow vehicles? Mine is a 72' Chevy 3/4 ton.

Also I would like to post some pics but don't no how to reduce the size...keep getting rejected for too big a file. Croping did not help.

Thanks to everyone for the great info found here!

[kposey]

I'll be visiting out west this summer. Plan to fly to Denver, then go to the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and anywhere I might want to go. If you know of a good hotel in Denver, I would appreciate hearing about it. Otherwise, we are shipping our camping gear.

I live in Chattanooga, TN, so if you plan to be in this area, let me know. I would be happy to help you with accommodations, etc.

[overlander64]

Greetings Jesse!

Welcome to the Forums!

Originally Posted by Longhorn

I am in the midst of a restoration on my Caravel in anticipation of a 3-4 month trip this fall of the west, south and east coasts in that order, can't wait! This is my first airstream and will be doing some shakedown trips this summer and hope to meet some of you at the rallys

I am curious do any of you know of others who use Classic tow vehicles? Mine is a 72' Chevy 3/4 ton.

Also I would like to post some pics but don't no how to reduce the size...keep getting rejected for too big a file. Croping did not help.

Thanks to everyone for the great info found here!

There are a number of us who tow with vehicles that are similar in vintage to our coaches. At nearly every rally that I have attended with a planned Vintage activity, there has been at least one and usually three or four participants towing with tow vehicles of near vintages to thier coaches.

I will be towing extensively this summer with my '75 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible (mated to the Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metre --the Overlander cuts too close to the car's trailer tow limit for my comfort). If I hadn't owned it prior to purchasing the Overlander in '95, I would have chosen something with rear wheel drive -- the limitation place on the Eldorado and its Tornado twin by the 2.70 Final Drvie (front wheel drive unit) is very difficult to overcome (upgrading to a 3.07 Final Drive costs in excess of $1,900 just for parts -- the same Final Drive utilized by GMC motorhomes that were front wheel drive). The photo of the Cadillac/Overlander combination was taken from the front porch of my former home in Mercer County, Illinois in 2003.

I have also attached a photo of my first tow vehicle that is in storage waiting for its restoration to be completed. It made an ideal tow vehicle for a number of years -- HO 383 cubic inch V8 with 3.93 differential gears and all of the heavy duty cooling and suspension equipment (I towed as much as a 25' tandem axle Nomad with the car, but it was happier with something in the 20' to 22' range). The photo of the Dodge and Nomad was taken at Cloud Nine Ranch near Caufield, Missouri in 1980.

I am sure that you will enjoy your autumn excursion -- a Fall clor tour is among my many planned adventures for after retirement in fifteen to twenty years.

Kevin

[Barbara Peerenboom]

My husband has a '55 Olds (I call it his girl friend, picured below) that could tow our GT, but he wont let me, can't understand why

So, in retaliation, I am looking around for, in order of preference
1. '67 Olds Vista Cruiser
2. '67 IH Travellall
3. '67 Suburban - either GM or Chevy

Barb

[Rodger with a D]

Hola


I use several vintage vehicles to tow our 1970 Overlander - InterNational Dbl. I had a 63 Le Baron and in December it was damaged by a bad driver. This vehicle is being replaced by a '62 Imperial Crown Coupe which has the 413 V8 which has 480 pounds of torque at 2800 rpm's. A 1966 Le Baron which has the 440 V8 and the same torque or a 1977 Dodge truck which has the 360.

I used the '66 Le Baron last July to go to the Rocky Mtn Meet.

Rodger & Gabby
Colo Spgs

[aztlanco]

I'm not completely done yet with the restoration of my '58 Airstream, 18 footer, but I am also working on a 1950 Ford F-1 pick-up which will be the tow vehicle. I have installed a Corvette 350 V8 with a 700R4 tranny and Lincoln 9 in. rear end and disk brakes all around. It still needs the body work, paint and wiring. I will ost pictures when I get closer to completion.
Ernie
'58 Traveler, 18ft.

[Coloradobus]

Barbara Peerenboom, We are going to tow our 1967 Globe Trotter with a 1969 Cadillac DeVille convertible once we get the hitch welded on. We DO have a 1967 Sedan DeVille for sale. It is Regal Silver with Dutchess Blue interior. It needs a paint job and minor body repair. It has new battery, radiator, shocks, exhaust. We had the seat cloth inserts replaced, refoamed the seats, some minor motor work. Everything works wells. The tranny may need its bands tightened. We are selling it for what we have in it. The classic car guides says the car is rated a "4" out of 6. Email me if you are interested.

[Coloradobus]

Does anyone have a recommendation for VINTAGE trailer insurance? We currently use our regular car insurer right now, and we are having trouble with them on "agreed value." The Classic Car insurance companies we use for our cars won't insure the Globetrotter.

[wkerfoot]

Originally Posted by aztlanco

I'm not completely done yet with the restoration of my '58 Airstream, 18 footer, but I am also working on a 1950 Ford F-1 pick-up which will be the tow vehicle. I have installed a Corvette 350 V8 with a 700R4 tranny and Lincoln 9 in. rear end and disk brakes all around. It still needs the body work, paint and wiring. I will ost pictures when I get closer to completion.
Ernie
'58 Traveler, 18ft.

Just curious, but why a Corvette engine in a Ford Pickup?

We tow with a 1973 Dodge W200 PowerWagon or a 1977 Lincoln Continental.

Bill Kerfoot
WBCCI/VAC #5223
1973 Dodge W200 PowerWagon
1977 Lincoln Continental
1979 23' Airstream Safari
and soon a 1954 double door Liner
Orange, CA

http://www.tompatterson.com/gallery/...th-1979-Safari

[aztlanco]

The old Ford pick-up had a tyered flat head motor with not enough horse power and I like GM power and love old Ford styling, so I guess to me , it's the best of both worlds.
Ernie
'58 Traveler, 18ft.

[safari57]

I use my 1957 Pontiac Star Chief Safari 2dr wagon to tow our trailers. This year it will be towing our '51 Flying Cloud. I'll post pics of the two together when I get them out of the garage. We love towing our trailers with the '57. Previous trailers (SOB's) were a '67 and 78, but the '51FC is the one we'd been looking for.


Barry and Donna

[moogie32]

Originally Posted by safari57

I use my 1957 Pontiac Star Chief Safari 2dr wagon to tow our trailers. This year it will be towing our '51 Flying Cloud. I'll post pics of the two together when I get them out of the garage. We love towing our trailers with the '57. Previous trailers (SOB's) were a '67 and 78, but the '51FC is the one we'd been looking for.


Barry and Donna

That's a very cool combination! I'd love to see pictures of them!

[MarkE]

Safari57!
Your post touched me in that I, too, towed my 1951 Flying Cloud with my 1955 Chevy Nomad (cousin to your Safari).
This was a great combination & never failed to get attention when on the road.
My 'Mad is powered by just a little 283 Power Pak engine (from a '65 Chevelle) but has plenty of power to haul the Airstream.
I used this combination from 1986 until a few years ago, when I sold the Flying Cloud and got a 1969 Caravel.
I still have the Nomad but haven't used it for towing for the past few years. If I can ever figure out how to scan & post photos to this website, I will add a couple pictures of my '51-'55 rig.
I used to tell people that the Airstream was born in '51, the Chevy in '55, and I was born right between them so I want to see which of us lasts longest. But, I'm afraid it WON'T be Me.

[Longhorn]

I love some of the vintage tow vehicles people have posted! I will get some pics up here of mine as soon as I get some software to make them smaller!
I would love to upgrade from the pick-up to a suburban of the same vintage, preferably 4x4 but they are increasingly hard to find in decent shape...Also looking for an excelent condintion tailgate for my 72' chevy 3/4 ton, thats proving very difficult!! I'll try to post some pic's of my Caddy too. Love the oldies but goodies

[Barbara Peerenboom]

You folks have some spectacular set ups! (Pictures, we need pictures )
I can only imagine the oooooo's and aaahhhhs!

Coloradobus-
Thanks for the offer, but I am going for the mid 60's- wagon-type-family-camping-look, and I just love the Vista Cruisers, but a decent one for a reasonable price is hard to find, seems that wagons are all the rage out west. However I am in no hurry...

Barb

[Longhorn]

This is my first atempt to post a pic....Thats my 1966 Caravel and 72' Chevy 3/4 ton with a rare factory wood bed that extends to 8'6" hence the Longhorn moniker. This was the day I bought the Caravel down in Colorado Springs. Happy day!

[Longhorn]

Hey Barb, I grew up in Grantham, New hampsire where my folks still live. I caught the old car bug from him, he's got them going all the way back to 1914! My round the country trip this fall/winter will end there. Good to see someone from the "Live Free or Die" state

[Longhorn]

It's a 63' with 62,000 oringinal miles, don't belive it's ever been out of Colorado. It was owned by only one family before I purchased it last year. Drive's like a new one but no hitch...yet anyway

[MarkE]

Jesse,
Yup, it looks like you're on the way to a great looking camping setup!
You know, last summer there was a 1971 Chevy Suburban ('gotta love that unique 3-door style) for sale around here.
It was a southern vehicle with no rust (rare, here in the rustbelt) and had been beautifully modified in only one respect that Barb may appreciate. It had the slightly raised, multi-window roof of an Olds Vista-Cruiser above the rear pass./cargo area.
It caught my eye and upon close inspection I was suprised how professional the conversion looked. It turned out that this was a modification performed by Superior (the folks that made school bus bodies, ambulances, limos, hearses, etc.
Anyway I was tempted to get it for a tow vehicle (350, Automatic) but didn't.

[Longhorn]

Wow, that really would be something unique! Yeah, I really like the visability out of those equiped with the tailgate/liftgate rear door as well, it would work perfectly with the see through front to back way the AS is set up. The vista windows would just be the icing on the cake