Hauling a Ford F-250 7.3L Diesel in for repair.. Only one equipt failure of the day!

[sledge]

Ok so I got a call from a friend to haul another friend of his F-250 7.3L Diesel. Have to say my Chevy did just fine. Little Bit of Squat considering 6800lbs on the trailer:





Only one hiccup. Pulling the truck off at its repair shop, the rail ramp on my trailer had a serious FAIL! Bummer!:

[JohnC4X4]

Any damage to the F250?

[Ironhunter]

What is the front strap attached to??

[scrapping4ever]

Yep Ford needs the Chevy to back-it-up again!

[sledge]

No Damage to the F-250

Both Front Straps are axle strapped and tied down to "D-Rings" on the front of the trailer.. what you see is the excess strap that was just closed into the hood so they didn't flap in the breeze as I went down the highway!

[Ironhunter]

Ahh, I was sure you knew how to tie down a load lol just looked funny in the pic!

[Ironhunter]

Also the 7.3 was a beast, last good diesel Ford made IMHO they have been crud ever since the pollution police changed the setup..

[sledge]

Ironhunter-
I always put my excess strap in the doors, these guys had the hood open and said "Ahh we can just put em under the hood" I was like "Umm ok" I always like to tie/strap down my own loads start to finish because it is my rig and my arse if something goes wrong. But I double checked their work. They had only strapped down the front axles, I started pulling the straps out for the rear axles and they said "Ahh you going to strap the back too huh?" I was like- "6800 lbs- yeah- if this were a scrap truck it would have an additional 2 straps on top of these 4- one over the hood to a pocket and one over the bed to another stake pocket." Since this wasn't- just had to go with (4) 3,333 lb rated badboys

[Dermestid]

Wow I would've guessed that weighed more than 6800. Just curious how long is your trailer? Is that a long bed F250? Incase I ever come across one wondering if it will fit on my trailer.

[sledge]

Wow I would've guessed that weighed more than 6800. Just curious how long is your trailer? Is that a long bed F250? Incase I ever come across one wondering if it will fit on my trailer.

Well you think like I do! I had to Google the wheelbase to ensure that it would fit before I ever started the trip. It is an Extended Cab with a 6.5" Bed. My trailer is a 16 foot deck, It fit, but this was really the longest and heaviest thing on the trailer I have hauled. I hauled an F-350 Standard Cab Dually on it once- but it had no where near the weight of the diesel- the diesel outweighed it by about 800 lbs.

[Dermestid]

Well you think like I do! I had to Google the wheelbase to ensure that it would fit before I ever started the trip. It is an Extended Cab with a 6.5" Bed. My trailer is a 16 foot deck, It fit, but this was really the longest and heaviest thing on the trailer I have hauled. I hauled an F-350 Standard Cab Dually on it once- but it had no where near the weight of the diesel- the diesel outweighed it by about 800 lbs.

Must be just like my truck then, never would have imagined it would fit on a 16 footer! My trailer is also a 16' deck but has a 2' dovetail is that what yours is?

[sledge]

Must be just like my truck then, never would have imagined it would fit on a 16 footer! My trailer is also a 16' deck but has a 2' dovetail is that what yours is?

Mine is just a 16'.. no dovetail on it. The picture doesn't show it from a good angle but that truck was all of that 16 footer and it still hung off the rear of the trailer. Wheels on, Body- Over the back of it- it was a beast!

[Dermestid]

Mine is just a 16'.. no dovetail on it. The picture doesn't show it from a good angle but that truck was all of that 16 footer and it still hung off the rear of the trailer. Wheels on, Body- Over the back of it- it was a beast!

Ahhh gotcha must be the angle of the picture makes it look like a dovetail. Was it hard to get a good balance of the weight on the truck/trailer with not much room to move it forward or back?

[sledge]

Ahhh gotcha must be the angle of the picture makes it look like a dovetail. Was it hard to get a good balance of the weight on the truck/trailer with not much room to move it forward or back?

You are correct, it really was a tight fit on there.. But we made it. Trailer is now at my welders shop getting the rail rebuilt.

[Mechanic688]

You are correct, it really was a tight fit on there.. But we made it. Trailer is now at my welders shop getting the rail rebuilt.

You might move the toolbox a little further forward so if you do this again you can move the truck further forward if you need to for proper balance.

[sledge]

You might move the toolbox a little further forward so if you do this again you can move the truck further forward if you need to for proper balance.

Wish I could. Have you seen how this was put on the trailer? Dug up my pics.. it's "fixed" in place:

[sledge]

Well Gents. Got my trailer back today from the Welder. He and I spent a bit of time coming up with the design for a new rail. My boards are getting pretty creamed from the winch, so I had him fab me up a new rail and install pipe along the top of it so that it should hopefully curb the "winch rash" on the boards. The design was pretty simple- strong but not cumbersome, I wanted the ability to freely move the ramps wherever I wanted too without the old style "slats" that didn't give me much flexibility. I have to say the design worked, the functionality works, and the welder is an ACE.. Check out those beads he laid down! BOOM- This badboy is ready for anything I can throw at it! Just wanted to give you all an update on the "Rail Fail!"

He also extended out my ramps to 6 foot now instead of the old "4 foot" AHHH... Much Better!

[SquattingChevy]

What happened to the Ford? I had a 7.3 powerstroke for several years and found that almost anything that goes wrong with them is usually minor.. Most common was cranking but no start. Check #9,22 and 7 fuses. If the tach didn't rise to hit 200rpm I knew it was the cam sensor.

[JohnC4X4]

NIce job on the design and install
The pipe slightly raised should take care of the winch cable rash for sure

[sledge]

What happened to the Ford? I had a 7.3 powerstroke for several years and found that almost anything that goes wrong with them is usually minor.. Most common was cranking but no start. Check #9,22 and 7 fuses. If the tach didn't rise to hit 200rpm I knew it was the cam sensor.

Just a broken Tie Rod on the Driver side. Nothing Engine related