[A/S] Towing a '72 Overlander

[Stan Nicholson <stan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Chad -

Our '72 Overlander has a GVW rating of 6800 lbs., if memory serves 
(it's in the storage lot at the moment). It has the frame 
reinforcement kit, and new 3500 lb axles, and loaded for traveling 
weighs 6,540 lb including the Hensley hitch (that's trailer only). 
We're pulling it with a 1996 3/4 ton 4wd 454 Suburban, and my 
seat-of-the-pants sez we're on the ragged edge of what's OK. That's 
confirmed by the Suburban owner's manual, which lists the max trailer 
weight as 7,000 lb. The engine has plenty of power, but things feel 
pretty much at the limit of comfort in terms of chassis stability in 
some situations. Your Suburban, even as a half ton, has a very stiff 
chassis and 4 wheel disc brakes, plus a slightly higher tow rating, 
so it's a good starting point. My fantasy puller is a new 3/4 or 
1-ton diesel crew cab. One of these days . . .

Anyway, my guess is that you can indeed squeak by pulling your 
Overlander with your Suburban for 18 months, but don't expect the 
diesel lust to subside.

Since you're looking at the Overlander, two things to consider are 1) 
whether it's had the frame reinforcement kit put on, and 2) whether 
it's had the reinforcements for rear frame/shell separation. The test 
for the latter is to stand on the rear bumper and jump up and down a 
bit. If you see ANY movement of the bumper/hose carrier that's 
different from the shell, it's time to get a proper job done of 
securing the body and shell together. The sign of a properly done fix 
usually is a set of "elephant ears", rather large quarter-circle 
panels riveted on both sides of the rear access door, where the 
workers cut away the body panels to gain access to put in "L" 
brackets which solidly bolt the frame and floor together.

The frame reinforcement kit is a complex large piece of formed sheet 
metal that reinforces the outside of the frame rails above the axles. 
It's bolted or welded to the frame rails. If it's been installed by 
experts on the trailer you're looking at, you'll get many decades of 
service from the trailer without the dreaded frame droop that 
sometimes causes problems with "Beatrice years" trailers. Signs of 
frame droop are the tail drooping noticeably, and/or the skin 
buckling noticeably around the rear of the wheel wells. One step in 
correcting the problem is to suspend the trailer overnight from jacks 
at each corner, so that the frame can resettle into proper alignment. 
The first step in the factory procedure of installing the frame 
reinforcement kit is to remove the axles, which makes it a great time 
to update the axles. We did this to our trailer, uprating them from 
2800 lb to 3500 lb, and "clocking" them to get maximum ride height so 
that we would have maximum clearance at both ends.

Hope this doesn't discourage you from adopting a great trailer. We 
didn't exactly plan on investing this much in repairs/upgrading of 
ours, but figure it's well worth it given the years of pleasure we've 
already gotten, with many more to come.

Stan