Back then, people did use their trucks to pull their trailers. My parents regularly towed their 35 foot trailer house with my grandfather's
1950 F3 cattle truck.
The issue with using an older tow vehicle is the faster pace, and lack of patience and consideration of the current time. Instead of waiting until it is safe to pass, most people will now dart around you, see their turn is 25 feet ahead, cut in front of you, jam on their brakes, and exit right (usually without even using a turn signal). The trucks of the 1950s were great at hauling and carrying things, but at a slower speed. The
1950 F1 I had contained the high horsepower V-8--all of 90hp. They also had 6 volt electrical systems that are not compatible with modern
12 volt equipment, single chamber 4 wheel manual drum brakes that will eventually stop the truck, manual steering that would give you a real upper-body workout when parking or connecting to the trailer, and many of them didn't even have turn signals. My F1 had turn signals, my grandfather's F3 did not, nor did my neighbor's 1951 Chevy dump truck.