Pushed the towing limits

[Probity]

Lots of people called me nuts for towing 3200# with a hybrid.

Not so nutty now, is it?!

Trailer brakes, yes.

Definitely not nuts. My all-time favorite on what you can (not should) tow (when you know what you're doing) is this:
I am pulling a 3200lb hi-lo popup with my 2019 niro HEV, and I will be doing the SAE J2807 tow rating tests with it. | Kia Niro Forum

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[oysterville]

Technically OP is pulling the limits.

 

[GaryTerry]

Hmm.. according to GROK.ai:



The first unibody pickup truck produced was the Ford F-Series "integrated pickup," specifically the F-100 and F-250 Styleside models, introduced in 1961. These trucks featured a cab and bed welded together into a single unit, mounted on a traditional ladder frame chassis, often referred to as a "unibody" or "unitized" design. However, the design was not a true unibody in the modern sense, as it still used a separate chassis. Production ran from 1961 to 1963, but the design was discontinued due to issues like body flex and door jamming when heavily loaded.


It seems likely that the first true unibody pickup truck, with no separate chassis, was the Subaru BRAT, introduced in 1978. This small, four-wheel-drive pickup was based on the Subaru Leone station wagon, which used unibody construction, making it a pioneering example. While the 1961 Ford F-Series is sometimes mentioned, research suggests it still had a separate chassis, so it doesn’t qualify as a true unibody.

 

[Gray Goose]

I did not know unibody tech was that old.
Interesting.

Unibody technology is over 100 years old. Huge advances were made by Henry Ford with the Fordson tractor in 1917. One the first tractors with modern unitized design (engine, transmission, axel all bolted together, no frame). The design is the modern standard for tractors.
https://fordauthority.com/2019/07/origin-fordson-tractor/

 

[SpaceCowboy]

The big advantage with what you were towing is the aero. I also didn't see what speed you were pulling at. I'd imagine a 4k travel trailer would pull much harder.

 

[TomBill]

I imagine that pulled fine, but I personally would not want to haul a 3k load in an enclosed trailer very often though.

 

[Phimosis]

I did not know unibody tech was that old.
Interesting.

 

[First Sergeant]

Ranchero and El Caminos were. Also F-100 61 to 63. Chevy had the Corvair based pickups in the 60s.

Weren't they on a typical ladder frame though? The Fords F-100 I think were unibody and still built on ladder frame. That begs the question of the true definition of "unibody", as our Mavs are not on the ladder frame of course.

 

[Russ B.]

Google Corvair pickup. My brother had one of those with a side gate, no tail gate.

I can see the room is not filled with old guys. Does anyone remember the Ford Falcon pickup? I had one. Only made with that name in 1960. Ultimately it became the Ranchero and some had a 289 V-8 with a 4 speed manual trans. The Falcon, using the same internal unibody became, wait for it; The Maverick.

 

[Maverick123]

VW Beetles weren't unibody.

 

[Phimosis]

VW Beetles weren't unibody.

https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/secrets-of-the-volkswagen-beetle/

 

[Maverick123]

https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/secrets-of-the-volkswagen-beetle/

I don't know where that info came from, but it's inaccurate. VW Beetles were body-on-frame and you could unbolt and remove the entire body and drive the bare frame around, or use it to build a dune buggy or a kit car. I even built one ...

 

[Phimosis]

I don't know where that info came from, but it's inaccurate. VW Beetles were body-on-frame and you could unbolt and remove the entire body and drive the bare frame around, or use it to build a dune buggy or a kit car. I even built one ...

Maybe you should write to the editors at Hagerty and let them know that they don’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to classic and collectible cars.

And I’m not sure why you can’t figure out where that information came from. The image shows the web address and I posted a clickable link to the article.

The Beetle doesn’t have a ladder frame. It has a skateboard for the engine and running gear, similar to modern EV’s where you can put interchangeable bodies on the skateboard. It’s still considered unit-body construction, even if the ancient WV was bolted together instead of welded.

if you welded the body of an F-250 to the ladder frame, it would still not be a “unibody”. If you welded the body of a beetle to its skateboard, it absolutely is a unibody.

 

[Maverick123]

To me, a car where you can unbolt the BODY and be left with a fully driveable FRAME is "body on frame". Maybe there's a semantic that specifies it has to be a ladder frame? Anyhow, whatever.
I think we've derailed this thread enough

 

[imboden013]

Ford made the F-100 from 61 to 63 and the Ranchero (which is the name they should have brought back) in the 60s until 79. " Older unibody trucks, like the Ford F-100 and Ranchero, generally had towing capacities ranging from 5,000 to 8,100 pounds. The exact capacity depended on the specific model year and engine configuration. " " Ford F-100 trucks from 1961 to 1963, were characterized by their unique construction where the cab and bed were integrated into a single, seamless body, unlike traditional body-on-frame trucks. This design created a more streamlined look and improved handling, but it also led to structural issues that ultimately led Ford to discontinue the unibody design. " So I would say Ford did their research 60 years ago on what not to do this time.

Ford made the F-100 from 61 to 63 and the Ranchero (which is the name they should have brought back) in the 60s until 79. " Older unibody trucks, like the Ford F-100 and Ranchero, generally had towing capacities ranging from 5,000 to 8,100 pounds. The exact capacity depended on the specific model year and engine configuration. " " Ford F-100 trucks from 1961 to 1963, were characterized by their unique construction where the cab and bed were integrated into a single, seamless body, unlike traditional body-on-frame trucks. This design created a more streamlined look and improved handling, but it also led to structural issues that ultimately led Ford to discontinue the unibody design. " So I would say Ford did their research 60 years ago on what not to do this time.

the ranchero and the F-100 were single piece body on steel frame not unibody. Unibody means body and frame are all in one. I wouldn’t trust the Mav to tow as much as a body on frame vehicle. I’ve learned from experience that the Mav has limitations. I was coming back from LR on I-40 and I ran over a 6 foot piece of 18 wheeler tire and it ripped out one of those fiber body shields, evap canister and more important the pegs that the shield fastened to leaving little holes in the floor board. $2000 damage. Thankfully I was only doing between 60-65 mph. Just think what it would have done at 75 speed limit.

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