QUOTE(vanjr @ Jan 15 2014, 07:08 PM)
I gotta say your set up for deer camp looks classy! Love the retro.
Thanks, I've owned that old Ford since new (39 miles on odometer when I took delivery in 1985). With 8600# GVW it's actually a 3/4 ton truck on a 1 ton chassis. I've towed a 32' 5th wheel RV, several smaller camp trailers, & hauled 5 different cabover campers on it. In late 1980's I bought a near new 12.5' Real-Lite side entry cabover (may have seriously overloaded the truck), added 'Air Lift' air bags, cabover 'shock absorbers', frame mounted tie downs (brand??), & fabricated an extended 'ball mount' for the hitch receiver. Wife & I retired in May '92, & at the end of June '93 we began a 2 1/2 month trip to Alaska with the 'big' camper & towing a small, single cab Toyota 4wd P/U. Had no problems except after several days I experienced some 'brake fade' on the Ford. Upon checking I found it was the rear drum brakes; I then realized that I hadn't been doing any backing up with the Toyota in tow (the 'self adjusting' brakes on the Ford require regular backing up to keep the drum brakes adjusted
). I then 'pulled into' a 'lay-by', unhitched the Toyota, & spent 15 minutes or so repeatedly driving the Ford forward, & backing up a distance of about a city block. We continued our trip with no problems, occasionally repeating the 'backing' exercise. We were 'on the road' from about Jun 29th to Sep 10th, 1993, put almost 13K miles on the Ford, all of it hauling the big cabover & towing the Toyota (with an additional 3K miles on the Toyota, sightseeing). Before starting the Alaska trip I had a Banks Power Pack (not a turbo) installed on the Ford. The Pyrometer which came with the Power Pack enabled me to adjust my speed/engine rpm to keep exhaust temp below 1200 degrees on long/steep grades, improving my performance as well as fuel efficiency. Think our 'fuel mileage' throughout that trip was between 14-15mpg which I still consider excellent, taking the 'load' into account. I think I'm a little more knowledgeable (& a lot more cautious) these days & wouldn't try that again but the old Ford's performance exceeded my expectations. I've tried to keep it 'maintained' properly & with just over 166K on the odometer I'd not hesitate to start a trip tomorrow (with the Sun-Lite camper) to any destination I could drive to...