Dodge Van tow vehicle ??

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
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ok, so I know some of you here on FABO have a ton of experience towing.

So is a Full size 70s B van a good tow vehicle ??

The one in question is an extended wheel base (it's a big boy for sure). It's a Passenger van (15 pass?) being converted to a cargo van. (windows deleted and metal panels welded in)

It's a 3/4 ton chassis with the big wheels ( I think 8 lugs)

Will this tow a 20 foot car trailer with a Duster or Dart on the trailer with no issues ???
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
ok, so I know some of you here on FABO have a ton of experience towing.

So is a Full size 70s B van a good tow vehicle ??

The one in question is an extended wheel base (it's a big boy for sure). It's a Passenger van (15 pass?) being converted to a cargo van. (windows deleted and metal panels welded in)

It's a 3/4 ton chassis with the big wheels ( I think 8 lugs)

Will this tow a 20 foot car trailer with a Duster or Dart on the trailer with no issues ???
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yes, a lot of racers do this. :)
 
i towed a 32ft travel trailer no prob with a maxi van 3/4 ton. 360 minimum required.
 
el5dart said:
i towed a 32ft travel trailer no prob with a maxi van 3/4 ton. 360 minimum required.
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I was thinking the same thing on the engine. Right now it has the original 318 which actually surprised me to no end that such a big vehicle would have a 318...wow

But I have a 440 setup out of a 77 Ramcharger so, it seems pretty natural what to do :)
 
One of my customers uses a van to haul his big camper.
He just bought a diesel van to drag it now. I have to keep reminding him i dont do diesel though.

Chassis,gearing are in your favour
318 would pull it. Just not at 80 mph.
55 all day long with a 318 revving at? 3300? Curious.
 
Should be o.k. as long as you don't hammer on it . Drive conservitively and you'll be fine . Put the biggest tranny cooler you can find in it and the best brakes available . Your gonna' need 'em to avoid all those idiots texting out there . good luck
 
My buddy and I used to tow a race car in a mid 70s dodge van with a 360. It towed well. And was actually reasonably quick. The local track used to do fun things between rounds. They would have the tow vehicle drags. We won one of those running mid 16s with the van, Then we hooked the race car back up and drove it home!
 
Also with all the big block powered class c motor homes out there, heavy duty components and 440 swap is easy.
 
My dad towed his 24" boat with his 1/2 ton '77, no issues.

With the 3/4 ton you will do fine.
 
Alaskan_TA said:
My dad towed his 24" boat with his 1/2 ton '77, no issues.

With the 3/4 ton you will do fine.
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We towed to St. Louis one year in a dodge swinger motor home, it had a 318 in it . It was a full size, "dodn`t remember how long" , but it pulled a heavy home built trailer and the 67 hemi belvedere , all parts and tools w/ no problem at all. It did slow down going up hill a little more than we liked , but wasn`t real bad.
 
Just curious, will taking the windows out make it too light in the rear?
 
Yes, Rani, they tow pretty well. I used to tow all kinds of heavy trailers with my '77 B200 that has a built 360 and the 9-1/4" diff with a 3.55 ratio, until I got my '79 D300 dually with a 440.
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I'm not sure of you plans for towing, but I'm in the northeast with lots of hills and trailer trucks on the interstate. I own an 18' full deck open trailer and wind does effect it. So a big wind on a big van, I'm not sure I'd want to tow something light with it. Just my opinion of course but I like the pickup truck type deals if it's a smaller lighter rig.
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
I was thinking the same thing on the engine. Right now it has the original 318 which actually surprised me to no end that such a big vehicle would have a 318...wow

But I have a 440 setup out of a 77 Ramcharger so, it seems pretty natural what to do :)
Click to expand...
this post got my attention ….. :)
'77 Ramcharger with a 440? This sounds like a nice project. Pictures? Details?
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
I was thinking the same thing on the engine. Right now it has the original 318 which actually surprised me to no end that such a big vehicle would have a 318...wow

But I have a 440 setup out of a 77 Ramcharger so, it seems pretty natural what to do :)
Click to expand...

That's actually what I was going to recommend. The 440. Because when towing, the mileage between a 440 and 360 will not overshadow the 440's torque difference, so do the 440 slam.
 
A 3/4 ton will have better gears ( I bet), will have heavier brakes, better spring rates, stouter frame, always a better choice for a tow vehicle than a 1/2 ton. Pulling a trailer loaded will make any gas engine a gas hog. Maybe the modern FI not so much a factor but we ain't talking that!
I say it has plenty of guts and cool factor. Everyone does not have to fly down the interstate 90 mph!
 
I have a few years back like 2000, I had a 1/2 t., slant, 833 OD , I would pull a car trailer with a B body on it, and some parts in the bed,.... NO brakes on the trailer, ONLY problem was getting it rolling, once going it went with no problem, even in OD! I always wondered when I would roast the clutch!
 
I pulled a 20 ft trailer and B body with a 15 pass for years and had a 318. Need a trany cooler and a heavy built hitch. I don't remember a factory built hitch that was built very good so I had a machine shop build and install one.
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
I was thinking the same thing on the engine. Right now it has the original 318 which actually surprised me to no end that such a big vehicle would have a 318...wow

But I have a 440 setup out of a 77 Ramcharger so, it seems pretty natural what to do :)
Click to expand...
You will be surprised how well the 318 will tow. A friend has a Mopar camper with a teen and it pulled a car trailer handily!
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barbee6043 said:
A 3/4 ton will have better gears ( I bet), will have heavier brakes, better spring rates, stouter frame, always a better choice for a tow vehicle than a 1/2 ton. Pulling a trailer loaded will make any gas engine a gas hog. Maybe the modern FI not so much a factor but we ain't talking that!
I say it has plenty of guts and cool factor. Everyone does not have to fly down the interstate 90 mph!
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Dodge B vans were all unibody so frames wouldn’t be different. 3/4 and 1 Ton vans will have bigger brakes, spring rates , and axles.
 
In '74 I bought a new B300. It had a 318, auto and a dana 60 with 3.73 gears. I believe that back then only B300s had 8 lug wheels. They also had quite large front rotors and rear drums. One thing that helped a lot was headers, the exhaust pipe connection on the manifolds was tiny, something like 1.5 in. Also a lighter advance spring in the dist. I put a deep sump cast aluminum trans pan on for more fluid capacity.

It wasn't real fast, but it did OK. The 1 ton suspension and big brakes were a major plus, just what you need for handling a load. And I did a lot of car hauling in the 70s and 80s, race cars, moving cars for people, sometimes out of state, and junking cars. The place I hauled the junk cars was strictly a crusher, he didn't care if you added stuff to the load, as long as it was metal, he paid you by the pound. I was always on the lookout for heavy scrap metal to put in the next junker.

Vans were different than pickups back then. I believe that both 1/2 and 3/4 ton vans got the same brakes, both 5 lug rotors. Vans were a big thing back then, I saw a lot of them around and noted differences in them. I kept mine plain, no murals or shag carpet interior, I wanted an all purpose utility vehicle, not a useless show truck. It got some insulation and plain plywood inside. Just a basic long wheelbase, but not extended body, panel van, tinted windshield, chrome bumpers and mirrors, and 8 lug aluminum slotted wheels.

Lots of people used them for towing, then as now, the heavy duty ones would handle it better.
 
The van will pull a trailer just fine. Like RRR said, you won't notice a lot of difference in MPG between a 360 and a 440 while towing. The difference you will notice is the big block will roast your leg because the exhaust manifold is so close to the dog house. There may be a difference in the dog house for a big block and small block? Not sure on that one? The van will need a passenger side manifold that dumps in the back, not the middle. If you get that far along and need one, let me know. :)
 
I believe they first offered big blocks in '75. I have owned a '74 and a '75, the opening where the dog house fits on was definitely wider on the '75.

The '74 with 3.73 gears got 12-14 mpg, no matter how you drove it or the load. The '75 with a 360 and 4.10 gears got 9-11 mpg, no matter how you drove it or the load.

I swapped a Cummins into the '75 and changed the gears to 3.54. After that it always got at least 15 mpg, 22 mpg with no load at 70 mph. I did get 17-18 mpg going 70 mph hauling a car on the flatlands, getting mileage like that while towing was a routine experience.

I towed cars out to Bonneville several times starting in '88. The 360 worked hard to cross the Rockies, the Cummins barely broke out in a sweat.
 
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