just load the darn thing up and go!

You forgot to put the tailgate up!

I like It!

During this years Canyonlands Tour in Kanab there was a guy that built ramps and a deck made from channel iron fixed to the bed of his truck. It looked like a very good set up with storage underneath as well.
I think his car was about a foot higher than yours. Probably had the ramps set just above the wheelwells. I think he had a late model 250 or maybe even 350 so it had pretty stiff suspension.

Would be a lot easier than towing a trailer with all the wind resistance and drag and of course California's stupid 55 MPH speed limit for trailers.

With my early brass car I really like my enclosed trailer but one could make a top over the truck bed.

How did you clear the wheel wells?

Clayton,
Your correct, sometimes you don't need a trailer.



Jim

Well that is the best accessory you can add to a Dodge!

Tim Moore

it was set in with a fork lift, chains will clear the aprons to go around the rails with out damage. blocks under the back so no weight is on the tailgate. i was in freezing rain friday night and damn glad i had no trailer wiggling around behind me. love those diamond t's jim, i used to have several, all gone now

COOL!

A member from Michigan had a similar set up using a Ford Pick up for his Fordor sedan.

He has a set of ramps for the tail gate and ones over the wheel arches, he just drove the Fordor straight on.

Did the same thing with my Bugatti

In 1979 I found a Jeep in Spearfish SD and hauled it home in my new truck.

Gene Hansard used to haul his T to the Montana 500 that way. Here is a picture from 1970.

I had ramps and channels built that I could haul my '02 Locomobile steamer in the back of my '79 Toyota long bed pickup. The steering was a little squirrely with it loaded, though! Can't find a picture.
The steamer wasn't 100% original, or I'd still have it, was built on a replica curve dash chassis back in the 1960s.

why not a trailer and a truck?
why not have a parade?

1956 chevy firetruck with a 1915 modelt t roadster & a 1920 davis in route to the 100th anniversary party in Richmond, indiana

OK, so what vintage (afFORDable) pickups could you drive a model T up onto? And clear the wheel wells.

Jim Davis, tell us about the Davis.
Who built the engine? Was it by Davis or some other company?
What years were the Davis cars built? Where?

I think Diamond T was the coolest p/u ever made, they were ahead of their time, Don.

They were also slow, rode rough and mostly were really uncomfortable due to the cab design and the low seats. They are the coolest looking but there is a reason they didn't sell a lot of them, I think.

Aaron, the Davis was made back east somewhere, in business up to about 1927 or 28 IIRC. The only thing I really know about them is they used a Stromberg R-1 carburetor. I think they used a Continental L-6 engine in most of them, at least the later ones.

Carl, just about any 60's or 70's pickup will haul a T in the box. If it were me I'd look for a 3/4 ton long box Ford or International. They are all going to burn a lot of gas and those two are as close to indestructable as you can find. Parts are cheap, easy to get and especially in the case of IHC -- if you get one with a 345 and 5 speed -- will go down the road all day at 70+ with a load in it and ride and drive good. Dodges are good, Chev and GMC are good but will be more expensive to find a nice one than a Ford or International and since they didn't have much for big engines in those days will be pretty gutless unless you re-power it.. They are all going to burn a bunch of gas, probably make 12+- hauling a load at 75 on the Interstate. Internationals will run forever, body probably not as tough as Ford but you can buy a nice old 1966-75 Binder for a couple grand that will run until you are in the ground cold and pushing up daisies. Fords of that vintage are fairly collectible, Dodge not much, Chevy in between. IHC is the bastard stepchild but if you've ever owned one you know how tough they are and how cool they've become in recent years. If you look around you can find a late 60's IHC 3/4 or one ton with a 9 foot box. Lots of room for a T. The cool factor is worth something, too.

IHC in those days had 304, 345 and 392 V8. Long stroke, lots of low end power, they will lug down a little on a hard pull and then set there all day long without losing RPM or having to shift again. Most ran with 2 barrel Holleys. Cheap to rebuild --and they will run all the gas you can buy through a 2 barrel; a 4 barrel won't help those engines. IHC engines should be good for 250,000 without pulling the heads. They came from the factory with Stellite valves and are better quality than anything else on the market was in the day.

Try to stay away from automatics in any brand. Old ones are weak and expensive to rebuild. GM Hydramatics of that vintage are good for about 75,000 before the torque converter goes out. Ford are much better pre-1985. After that --- not so much.

They will haul a T. My step dad and I hauled a Coop #3 Tractor home on the back of his IHC in about 1968. It was a pretty good load. I hauled a John Deere MT wide front tractor back from eastern Montana in my 67 half ton IHC in 1972. Didn't even know it was back there.

Putting a model T in the back of a P/U places the center of gravity high and weight distribution is poor. Not having enough weight on the front wheels for safe driving would worry me.

My Uncle used to take his 2 cyl. Maxwell in his P/U and that works out. However, the car fit much better in the P/U bed, and was much lighter.

Using a P/U to haul your car also requires long ramps which are high off the ground compared to most car trailers. By the time you make strong enough ramps .....they become back breakers to move around.

A T weighs about 1200 pounds with most of the weight concentrated about the center of the wheels -- below the top of the box. The heaviest part of the load is well ahead of the back wheels of the pickups. The engine/transmission is the only thing that really weighs anything significant. While I don't need to do it -- having several trailers and half a dozen pickups and trucks of various sizes to haul about anything I need to move -- I would have no qualms about hauling a T roadster or touring car in a 3/4 or 1 ton long wheel base pickup anywhere. Everything bigger than a Barbie doll in a coaster wagon presents its own set of problems. A trailer has its own problems, a haul truck has its own requirements and problems. Older pickups were built to haul loads. A 1 ton Ford or IHC from the 70's will easily haul 3500 lbs in the box and handle just fine going down the road. People haul cattle and horses in them all the time, 4 cows with a higher center of gravity than a T has weigh about 4500 lbs and they move around every chance they get. You don't see as many pickups hauling livestock as you used to here but I still have a set of slide-in stockracks for my Ford F-250. I've hauled a lot of loads in that heavier than a T.

All that said, I would prefer a new Featherlight enclosed trailer with living quarters in the front and a new Dodge with a Cummins in it to move my T around. Never happen but it would be nice.

A trailer with living quarters ....

Can be more comfortable than a night in the doghouse

When " Mrs. T " ain't happy with ya' ....



Jim

I haul cars to tours all the time like this. I carried my 16 touring to Kanab from Asheville,NC in July on the back of my truck and pulled a closed trailer with a touring inside.

Yes I bought a used ENCLOSED TRAILER for hauling my roadster to events greater than 75 miles away. I had an open trailer but after reading about a fire that almost destroyed a "T" by a carelessly tossed cigarette while being towed on an open trailer (I don't remember which issue of Vintage Ford it was) I decided better safe than sorry! Besides I have a BIG tool box inside!

My Diamond T is rated to haul 4000 lbs and I have hauled that much and more many times. Stan is correct, it in not a speedy truck (about 50mph) but it will handle most anything you can get on it. For hauling cars the box (made before 4x8' plywood) is too small at little less then 4' wide.

For a real classic hauler there are a few fancy Diamond T haulers around.


Photo from: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=198838

Jim

Must be a Chevy running gear under that Diamond T hauler, looks like it quit on the side of the road. =) =) =)

back around 98 or so i built a 48 diamond t with a 5.9 cummins, mack twin stick ten spd, and ford 450 axles. at the time that stuff was very expensive junk yard parts. i thought i needed a super hauler, but truth is i dont do near as much traveling as i did years ago. 15 dollar motels and 1.00 gas is over. sold the diamond as it was just sitting around dying

aaron,
the davis was mfg in richmond indiana until 27/28.
they used multiple different continental 6 cyl engines. i happen to have a 7R, 6Y,7U & 20L. My 20L is in a car that was exported to canada called a derby. i am looking for electrical parts (generator/ distributor & starter for the 7U which is sililar to the 6Y.

that is one fine looking diamond. i had started with the four door idea, even made one door then decided it was too much work. never have liked ramp trucks, they are only good for one thing, thats hauling cars period. i always had roll backs, then you have a flat bed to haul any thing