towing a 521

[DanielC]

Has anyone made a tow bar to fit a 521 truck?

 

I am working on a 521, and need to tow it to Clackamas Community College. It obviously is not running.

 

I have a frame with a bed, no cab, or engine or transmission. One thought is to bolt something on the frame where the front bumper attaches, but that is only 4 5/16 bolts. Another idea I had is getting a piece of steel long enough to reach the transmission mount on the crossmember, and also attach to the front of the frame to help hold the tow bar.

[wayno]

Has anyone made a tow bar to fit a 521 truck?

 

I am working on a 521, and need to tow it to Clackamas Community College. It obviously is not running.

 

I have a frame with a bed, no cab, or engine or transmission. One thought is to bolt something on the frame where the front bumper attaches, but that is only 4 5/16 bolts. Another idea I had is getting a piece of steel long enough to reach the transmission mount on the crossmember, and also attach to the front of the frame to help hold the tow bar.

 

I have a towbar set up to tow 520/521s two differant ways, but if the vehicle doesn't have an engine, I have doubts it will tow properly.

I have towed off the 4 bumper mount bolts more than once, but I have found for my peace of mind, once I have the setup bolted on, I add a rear axle U-bolt around the frame and tow bracket, and clamp the tow bracket firmly to the frame.

The other way is to use the sway bar mounts, as the bolts are larger, but I have also had issues with this way also, once I get the sway bar bolts out, which sometimes isn't easy, I have to chase the threads with a tap, as half the time, the bolts don't want to thread back into the holes they came out of.

I have probably towed 20 vehicles home over the last 6 years, the only time I ever thought I wasn't going to make it was when I had to go over Mt. hood pass, and there was ice/snow on the road, never again will I ever tow a vehicle when there is a chance of ice or snow.

One last thing, when towing with my 720 diesel truck, I found I was being pushed around when I used my non dually truck, pushed around badly, then I tried my dually 720 diesel, it was rock solid, I will only tow with dually trucks from now on, unless it is just around town, on the freeway, you should have a dually, IMHO.

[DanielC]

I actually do not want to tow a whole Datsun.

I want to tow the one in the foreground of this picture, the frame, and bed.

 

I need to hold the front end off the ground, it has no front wheels, upper control arms, or kingpins. The tow bar has to hold the weight of the truck frame, but it is not that heavy. I can pick it up, and roll it around the yard.

[DanielC]

I actually do not want to tow a whole Datsun.

I want to tow the one in the foreground of this picture, the frame, and bed.

 

I need to hold the front end off the ground, it has no front wheels, upper control arms, or kingpins. The tow bar has to hold the weight of the truck frame, but it is not that heavy. I can pick it up, and roll it around the yard.

 

Wayno, thank for the reply!

[wayno]

The frame rails are about 25 inches apart, the tow bars I have are about 24 inches wide, you should be able to clamp a tow bar directly to the frame by using U-bolts, otherwise use a flatbed.

Are you planning on using this frame?

[DanielC]

There is a possibility that I will eventually use the frame. It is slightly "racked". Cross measuring from the rear cab mount to the front cab mount has a difference of about 1/2 of an inch, and the transmission sits slightly off to one side when the engine is bolted to the engine mounts. It is a way long term project, a lot of parts from what was once a complete truck have been used in other 521 trucks I have.

 

I got a spare cab for Ratsun, from D510Addict. That cab needs a floor replacement. I am working on the floor of that cab, at a class I am taking at Clackamas Community College. The instructor of the class recommended that I put the cab on a frame, when I weld the new floor in, so I do not build a cab with a new floor, that does not fit the frame, due to warpage, or some other error.

 

Once the Addict cab is on Ratsun, I can use parts off the cab that was on Ratsun to replace the damaged parts on the truck where this frame and bed came from.

[wayno]

There is a possibility that I will eventually use the frame. It is slightly "racked". Cross measuring from the rear cab mount to the front cab mount has a difference of about 1/2 of an inch, and the transmission sits slightly off to one side when the engine is bolted to the engine mounts. It is a way long term project, a lot of parts from what was once a complete truck have been used in other 521 trucks I have.

 

I got a spare cab for Ratsun, from D510Addict. That cab needs a floor replacement. I am working on the floor of that cab, at a class I am taking at Clackamas Community College. The instructor of the class recommended that I put the cab on a frame, when I weld the new floor in, so I do not build a cab with a new floor, that does not fit the frame, due to warpage, or some other error.

 

Once the Addict cab is on Ratsun, I can use parts off the cab that was on Ratsun to replace the damaged parts on the truck where this frame and bed came from.

 

 

If your putting a whole new floor in a cab, I would do a 3 inch or so body drop, when else are you going to have a better chance.

[mklotz70]

A tow bar might work....I'd go buy a cheap one from Knecht's so you can modify it if need be.....then mount/clamp it to the frame. The bumper bolts work fine for flat towing. I would not use just the bumper bolts to suspend the frame from. maybe the bars could go under the very front cross member, then over the second cross member under the engine. I imagine u-bolts like Wayno suggested would work, but without seeing the tow bar in place, that's complete speculation.

 

For what you'll spend on the tow bar, you could rent a tow dolly and strap it to it.......but I'd probably go with the bar. Once modified, you can use it for the return trip as well.

 

My main concern is that you said the frame is tweaked. Are you sure you want to build your new floor to that frame?

 

 

I've "flat towed" (all wheels on the ground) several 521's, 320's and 520's with a tow bar. As Wayno mentioned....without an engine, they don't tow well. But, the way you're looking to do it, you shouldn't have any trouble. Besides....I'm pretty sure you have a bigger rig to tow it with anyway.