52 F1 Just curious

[adileo]

Hi guys

They just opened a large airstream camper dealership a couple miles away. My 52 F1 (all stock) has a trailer hitch already in place. I assume for farm work.

Anyone put a small camper on? How would the truck fair?

[Flathead]

How good are the brakes?

[adileo]

Very good. On my 39, I installed discs in front. If the 39 stopped as well as the truck, I would not have switched.

[JSeery]

The F1 has Bendix brakes, basically the same a most modern drum brakes. If the 39 was original it would have been Lockheed. Just change the 39 brakes for F1 or F100 or any other Bendix brakes would have been a good upgrade.

[adileo]

Originally Posted by JSeery

The F1 has Bendix brakes, basically the same a most modern drum brakes. If the 39 was original it would have been Lockheed. Just change the 39 brakes for F1 or F100 or any other Bendix brakes would have been a good upgrade.

As always your right. Had I known then, that would have been the right thing to do.

[tubman]

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If you aren't in a hurry, it will work. If you're old enough, you must remember the Lucy/Desi movie "The Long, Long Trailer". Basically they hauled a rather large house trailer across country with a '53 Mercury convertible (with Merc-o-matic).

They did cheat in the mountain scenes and substituted a Lincoln. I think that tells you something right there. Of course, there's "Lawrie", who drags a "Caravan" all over Australia with a basically stock '34.

[adileo]

Two flatheads, recently retired I’m in no rush��

We’ve traveled from North Carolina to Marblehead Ma. by boat. My family really enjoyed getting away from it all. Wife and kids (now in college) still not happy I sold the boat.Think pulling a small Airstream behind an old truck would be a great way to relive it in a small way.

I’ll have to stop in at that dealership and see them up close.

[estout81]

My F-1 has a 276ci engine with 8.5/1 heads and dual carburetors and 3.92 rear axle. My truck has very good power, though I've never towed anything. A friend has a modern GMC and he say's my '48 has more power. I don't know about that as I have never driven his truck. I wouldn't be afraid to pull a small trailer with mine.

[cmbrucew]

tandem axle hd trailer with a full size car was too much for my 1950 F1. I only towed it less than a mile but realized it was too much weight.
Bruce

[5851a]

How big of a trailer? Equalizer hitch with a sway bar and electric brakes on trailer would make it easier, even if it is a small trailer. You may have a problem if your F1 is still 6 volt positive ground. Trailer is most likely set up for 12volt neg.

[rotorwrench]

The old F3 my Pop had when I was young would pull whatever you wanted. The F1s we had would pull a light grain cart trailer with no problems but would grunt if you tried to pull a heavy dual axle trailer with 3500 lbs of car or equipment on it. Our 51 Merc would pull better than the F1s but it was a bit larger in CID and carburetion.

[Ross F-1]

I've long thought about getting a lightweight trailer to pull behind mine. I briefly had the trailer below (which weighed a little less than 1800# empty) and did a brief test drive. It wasn't a lot of fun. I have the LD 3-sp, which doesn't give you much flexibility on hills. (caveat: there is very little flat land near me) The aero drag of the trailer really knocked performance above 40 mph.

I towed that trailer with my S10, which weighs 200# more than my F-1, has 20 more HP, and a 5-sp. A much more aerodynamic truck, and with a longer wheelbase. Not a lot of fun, either, and with a crosswind, scary.

F-1's don't have anywhere near the frame stiffness of the S10, stock wheels/tires provide much less contact area, and you aren't likely to find a trailer with 6v electric brakes. A teardrop would be no problem, if you can live with that.

[oldford2]

Originally Posted by adileo

Two flatheads, recently retired I’m in no rush��

We’ve traveled from North Carolina to Marblehead Ma. by boat. My family really enjoyed getting away from it all. Wife and kids (now in college) still not happy I sold the boat.Think pulling a small Airstream behind an old truck would be a great way to relive it in a small way.

I’ll have to stop in at that dealership and see them up close.

Airstreams are heavier and more expensive than newer light weight trailers so compare the weights. Maybe heavy duty shocks on the back and you are good to go. JMO
John

[cmbrucew]

I would like to add the same F1 pulled a single axle boat trailer, with an aluminum 16 1/2 ft boat back and forth to lake Mead Arizona side 2 or 3 times a year for overten years. No issues. The difference is weight

[5851a]

https://www.airstream.com/travel-tra...pecifications/ I think this is the smallest one.

[chap52]

I thought about getting one of those little clam shell (?) shaped trailers years ago when I had my F1. I pictured how cool it would look until someone had to call the fire department to the campground to extricate my old minimally flexible body from the cute little trailer in the morning... "Enjoy the adventure"... Chap

[RalphG]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

Our 51 Merc would pull better than the F1s but it was a bit larger in CID and carburetion.

I thought we had decided a while back that the Mercury trucks did not have the Mercury engine. It was the same size as the Ford. Back when I was inquiring about the engine in my M68 truck.

[JSeery]

I think the 51 Merc he is referring to is a car and the Mercury engines were larger engines cubic inch wise.

[Zeke3]

The 16' Bambi model Airstream trailer starts at $49,600. There is one that sits down the street from my son's house and it is the cutest little trailer. On the Airstream website they show an old picture with a small Airstream trailer behind a '64 Falcon convertible.

[Ross F-1]

If this worked... an F-1 will be fine!