Posted on 12/21/2019 8:27:22 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT
No, this wasn’t a PR stunt for Chevrolet.
Just because you can do a thing, that doesn't mean you should. That's especially true when it comes to towing a 53-foot-long trailer using a standard-issue three-quarter-ton pickup.
What would you do if you saw this rig on the road? Call the Police (29%) Applaud the driver, then get out of the way. (71%)
(Excerpt) Read more at caranddriver.com ...
I doubt the guy knew about any of that, it was in Redondo Beach, Calif. after all, so go figure.
At the bottom is a question what would you do if you saw this rig on the road 29% call the police 71% applaud the driver an get out of the way.
Most of our stuff was built for Ww2 but never deployed overseas.
One of the funniest things I heard about while in my short stay in North Carolina was about a chop job. Seems the junk yards down there are more than a bit shady. Apparently this guy, who thought himself a pretty sharp customer, bought a "cherry" 57 Chevy from a yard.
Brought it to the garage of a friend's dad and they put it on the lift to check it out.
Immediately visible were all the weld lines where two cars had been sawed apart and welded together to make a new on.
I guess the guy lived in humiliation for having been sold "put-together car". The tale was how they would all run out to the road when he passed.
53’ foot trailer on a pin hitch???
Plus 8’ between the pin and King pin
Would have gotten dicey REAL QUICK if that started swaying.
Imagine trying to make a turn with that.
The point of the article is trying
to tout the prowess of Chevrolets’
3/4 ton pickup. (although a mid
2000 model). Both Ford and Dodge
could easily meet or exceed the
Chevrolet’s towing capacities,
given similar GVW’s, powertrains,
and axle ratios. With 10 years
experience purchasing fleet
vehicles for a major power
company, I can honestly say that
none of the big three is ‘better’
than the other. They all perform
their required task equally. If
they didn’t, they wouldn’t sell.
What I’ve observed is a die hard
personal preference. I’ve test
driven them all prior to purchase,
for 10 years. Putting them thru
the paces. My personal preference
is Ford, but is more for comfort
than anything else.
Yeah, but sometimes those things aren’t what they appear.
When the Marine Corps got rid of the Gamma Goats there was a Gunnery Sergeant at Lejiune who bought a surplus engine and with a little finagling (I believe he had to move the firewall several inches) stuffed it into one of those wide bed Rams.
Even if he runs out of air in that cylinder the system is safe.
Air pressure is required to release the emergency brake on a truck.
Yeah, if you lived up in the Snow Belt, the first thing we learned about buying a used car from someone was to get on our back, and shimmy up under the car to look for frame welds and slag. The road salt up there will eat into a car frame like nobody’s business, and a lot of shady types (private owners AND dealers) would fill in all the pockmarks and the like where the frame had corroded out. I’ve seen plenty of cars driving down the road that looked like they were a folded poker card because the frame gave way and snapped. Down here in the South where I live now, it’s a different story. The sun cooks the hood, roof, and trunk lid on cars. I still have my old ‘03 Pontiac Sunfire 2+2 sports coupe I bought new, and the trunk lid and spoiler looks like it was hit with God’s hair dryer. The whole finish has peeled off from a sun-baking. That old thing has been through two engines and a lot of abuse (mainly because my wife is a lousy driver) but it still makes for a good backup car in a two car household.
When the first 4WD SUV types hit the market they were basically a pickup with a cover over the bed, and in the case of the ‘newer’ Broncos, fiberglass from the ‘old’ cab area back...
First question when looking at them
HOW is it plowing snow.
Any answer other than ‘I don’t know, never tried it’ meant you should ‘walk away’...
I have had SUVs or at least the ‘fancy pickups’ since the 80s and I have yet to own an SUV that jumped the curb and ran down pedestrians.
Also, I have concealed carried since early 90s (after I stopped drinking) and my weapon has NEVER just shot anyone and my Ruger has never taken on the roll of ‘assault weapon’.
What am I missing???? <: <: <:
agreed
I passed one of these rigs on I-10 in Florida a couple weeks ago. Maybe the same one. I assumed the trailer had to be empty. It was struggling in any case.
Most of those caravans are headed for Central America where there’s a big market for spare parts. Their biggest problem is running the gauntlet both ways through Mexico without getting robbed.All that junk is mostly cosmetic to make it too much work to rob them.
There’s no weight on that setup, just lots of push & pull. With the airbrakes working, it’s doable. Not smart, but doable.
I knew that was going to be that song!
McKenzie
McKenzie
Me too!
Air pressure is hooked up to release the emergency brakes only, no service brakes on the trailer. Bluetooth brake lights with no electrical hookup for the trailer so marker lights aren’t energized. That pin... OMG, that pin...
Basically, the pickup’s brakes are handling the entire load, a load being transferred to a 3/4” piece of low grade steel with two pivot points. A rolling traffic accident waiting to happen.
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