I wanted to rent an enclosed trailer to take my T to the OCF. The rental place indicated that the tow vehicle needed to be a 3/4 ton.
Do any of you haul your enclosed T trailers, fully loaded with a 1/2 ton pick up?

I have,but I prefer having a 3/4 ton for the extra heft in the tow vehicle and the larger heavy duty brakes. That said Ford,Toyota and possibly others offer a 1/2 ton rated at 10,000 lbs towing capacity. I think trailer renting places err on the side of extreme caution given the lack of experience most of their customers have.

I pull 2 Ts in a 26' long and extra foot tall trailer behind my 1/2-ton Chevy. It has "max towing package" and is rated for 10,400lbs. My trailer weighs about 8,000 loaded.

Sway control hitch was absolutely necessary. Pulls fine after adding that.

Depends on the truck, car and trailer. I can pull my T in an enclosed 14' trailer with my Toyota Tacoma. It has the towing package and I'm well under the truck's tow limit.

What does your trailer weigh fully loaded?

I pull with a 14 Ram with 5.7 1/2 ton quad cab with the 8speed transmission and 3.92 anti spin and use the sway control and load distribution hitch. Most trailers have electric brakes so all said if you drive safe and keep it slow 1/2 tons works fine. I like the one ton and 3/4 ton but I pull a 25 ft camper just home from a camping trip in the mountains of North Carolina. No issues and have probably pulled enclosed trailers 30-40 thousand miles to countless car shows and to the drag races no issues. Just returned two weeks ago from a 700 round trip picking up a new 20ft enclosed and this should be my last new trailer i hope. Just take it easy and slow and 1/2 ton will work out for you. JMHO Tim

Camper weighs about 6900 loaded and the enclosed car trailer weighs about the same with a Model A in it and less with a Model T in it...

I use to pull with a half ton pickup but saw the light and moved up to a three quarter ton. Diesel is my preferred tow engine but currently have a gasser. After towing my t up to Whitefish a diesel is my next purchase when i get back home.

If you have a long tail you might need a big dog.Never let the tail wag the dog!! What type of hitch are those big tow rates for?? Bud.

If you have a long tail you might need a big dog.Never let the tail wag the dog!! What type of hitch are those big tow rates for?? Bud.

This poor ol' 20 year old tired dog still wags the tail easily! 162,000 miles, only a quart of oil between changes. 10 mpg. towing the trailer empty or loaded. Newer trucks don't do any better. Fetched my '13 from Minneapolis in her, no trouble whatsoever.

Numerous friends of mine use 1/2 ton pick ups successfully to pull their car haulers. Over the years I have endured two towing mishaps which could have been prevented or have resulted in less "puckering" if the tail had been attached to a bigger dog. When I bought my enclosed trailer I also acquired a 3/4 ton pick up. Your results may vary. Bill

To Philip Berg:
Because you live in California you might want to reconsider going from 3/4 ton gas to 3/4 ton diesel pickup. The diesel engines require soot burners or urea injection for particle emission control, the soot burners use diesel fuel and the urea is something else you have to buy. Thanks to Governor Jerry Brown the tax on diesel is going up $0.40 a gallon in November the tax on gas is only going up $0.19. Of course the registration fees, which are based on vehicle price, are also going way up with the Jerry Brown surcharge much higher for expensive things like diesel pickup trucks. California residents get screwed by Jerry Brown again !!

Not if we pass the Gas Tax repeal act! (which the
Attorney General has titled " measure to repeal money for road repairs."--no hidden agenda there, eh?)

Kevin, I have no concrete evidence but I think pretty much all diesels now have that injection thing. I'm sure plenty are grandfathered, but I've seen them in several states that I've driven through this last couple of years. Not just Callifunny this time. I'm sure it's an EPA thing.

It's not really the weight of an enclosed trailer you have to worry about, it's pushing all that air that makes the difference.

Andy

Reading about the mileage with a vehicle that's only twenty years old makes me feel a little better about the stinking mileage with my 44-year-old Suburban.

I feel much better about my mileage in my 2006 E-250 when towing my 20ft enclosed I get 12.5 mpg if I keep it at 65 mph

21 y.o. Ford F-250 w/460 gas pot - 10 m.p.g. loaded or empty - passes everything but a gas station !!!

I was in a 4-hour pucker situation some years ago when I had to haul my JD-420C dozer about 90 miles. I rented a 20' heavy duty trailer to pick up my auction wins. This included the dozer, a 72" flail mower, two sets of gas welding tanks, and a bunch of other small items I don't remember but it was enough to fill the bed of my 81 C-10 truck.

I was over loaded, for sure, but never went over 30mph. The trailer was heavy enough to push the truck with all four tires locked up braking. It was like being on ice. The only way I could stop was to anticipate stops and barely press on the brake pedal. I made it home but I would never do that again. The white-knuckle drive will forever be implanted as my most stupid, Darwin award winning feat.

Just remember when towing that "towing capacity" takes stopping into consideration, not just pulling power.

"10 m.p.g loaded or empty - passes everything but a gas station!!!" I had a '68 F-250 with a 390 and a granny 4 speed. Many times I said the exact same thing about that truck.

With good trailer brakes and a factory brake controller, braking an 8,000lb trailer with my 5,500lb truck has never been an issue.

Crosswinds were another story, until I added the sway control hitch.

A general, but true, statement; The heavier and the longer the wheelbase is on the tow vehicle, and the slower you go, the better a towing experience you will have!
I have the long wheelbase Dodge 3/4 ton with a Cummins, with which I tow our 24' camper. That rig has stabilizers, and I have never had any pucker moments.
I also took my Jag to service and to the "Eyes on design" car show at the Edsel Ford estate in a borrowed enclosed car trailer. This rig did not have stabilizers, but there were no issues. I also think that a longer trailer is generally more stable than a short one.
FWIW

When you are towing a loaded trailer behind any pickup truck, consider loading the bed of the truck with something that weighs over 500 pounds. It makes life much easier.

Roar, a long trailer catches a lot more cross-wind than a short one, and it acts as a bigger "lever" when the sudden air-pressure change from passing trucks push it around.

I think most people buy the right truck they need and get along 99% of the time.I also think trouble may start when they think they can haul anything? I doubt few think of weather,hills,or passing trucks when buying a trailer because their truck has allways did it before? I hope everyone is right and i'm wrong! Bud.

I tow my T in an enclosed 16" trailer with my '82 Chevy C-10. I did replace the 130 hp 276 ft/lb torque 6.2 Diesel with a '66 Buick 425 Nailhead bored to 431 cubes. The engine has custom-made 10:1 forged aluminum pistons, a factory high-performance camshaft, MSD ignition, an overbuilt 700R4 transmission, aluminum driveshaft, tubular fabricated front end. But it tows great.

I forgot to mention that the Buick engine is at an honest 340 hp and 465 ft/lbs of torque. It's my other toy. And yes, I built it.

Tim Wrenn, You are probably correct that most, or all, other states require the particle emission control system on diesel pickup's now. The problem is that they work even if you are not towing, there for they cost you extra money all the time. In California the politicians want to make diesel even more taxed than gas because most everything is moved at some point by 18 wheel big trucks that use lots of diesel. If I towed more or all the time I would want a diesel pickup also, but I only tow once in a while and will have to make due with my 2015 Chevy half ton with a LS3 6.2L 420 HP Corvette engine.

You are probably correct about that, Derek, but I have not had an issue. The stabilizer bars and moderate speed have kept me out of trouble.
One mistake I made, was to buy a so called "time based" trailer brake controller. I recommend to stay away from those!

Derek...you hit on what may just be the biggest problem no matter what size truck is doing the pulling, it's the SEMI'S doing 80-85 blowing past you that cause the trouble. Friend of mine almost lost his a few years back from one of those idiots. And another friend's son and his buddies DID lose their RV trailer for the same reason. Ripped it right off the hitch, rolled trailer over, somehow trailer hit tow vehicle, the boys were lucky to be alive! The roadways are becoming the new "wild west" I swear!