66 Custom Camper

[studeclunker]

I took home a '66 Custom Camper on Sunday and have a few questions about it. First of all, is this a C-20 or C-30? The suspension is coil springs with the strangest leaf helper springs in the back I have ever seen. The old man has eight-lug rims, 350, power (assist?) steering, power brakes and an automatic. My plan is to use it for towing my goose-neck horse trailer and occasionally a 40ft Spartan travel trailer.

I bought the truck because my Studebaker was a half ton and I haven't been able to find a one-ton in California. So, that left me without a tow vehicle. Now I have one. Also, this truck reminded me of my Father's.

The power steering doesn't seem to be of much help when I'm not rolling. Is this normal? I remember in the cars it wasn't. I've never driven a pickup of this vintage that had power steering so I wouldn't know.

How burly are the automatics on these?

Would it be a bad idea to install a Vintage Air Air-conditioner on this? Would it overload the motor? As I recall, back in the sixties the fastest way to kill your car was to install air conditioning.

Thanks in advance.
Ron
Fawn Lodge, Ca.

[WorkinLonghorn]

Yeah, 8-lug = 3/4 or 1 ton.

That 350 was added obviously, maybe trans too. DO you have a 2-speed or 3?You are dreaming if you think you will haul a 40 foot trailer (did I read that right?). I suppose you could haul your horses around locally, but you'd have a very hard time pulling your travel trailer and if anything happened, it wouldn't look good being thousands of Lbs. over max.

[Lil Loafer]

I think a custom camper is a c20.

[Clyde65]

The specs for a 65 C20 are ~6000# with equalizer.

A 40' Spartan can weight up to ~8000#

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=629019


http://www.myvintagetraveltrailer.co...rtan-trailers/

[oldusafmsgt]

The half leaf helper springs that were optional on C20-30's are actually pretty common. They could be ordered from the factory or dealer installed. I believe all Custom Campers were C20's.

[Captainfab]

For what you are wanting to do, you really need a 1 ton dually with a big block or a diesel, front disc brakes or 4 wheel disc brakes with a hydroboost.

[studeclunker]

Originally Posted by Clyde65

The specs for a 65 C20 are ~6000# with equalizer.

A 40' Spartan can weight up to ~8000#

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=629019


http://www.myvintagetraveltrailer.co...rtan-trailers/

Actually the furnished-dry weight of my coach is rated at around 8100 pounds from the factory. I move it empty, but that doesn't give my truck much relief as it still weighs well over 7k. I plan on putting in a two-stage AC system and this will add even more to the curb weight. The tongue weight on my trailer is around 1200 lbs.

One thing I have considered is swapping in a 472 and HD ton-and-a-half tranny currently sitting in a derelict motorhome that I have. It has less than sixty thousand miles on it. Problem is the danged thing got only 5 MPG! Well, that and figuring how the devil to get it out of the motorhome without cutting it up!

[AcampoDave]

I don't know much about towing, but I did put Vintage Air on my 283 powered 1/2 ton and I like it a lot. The key is having good weatherstripping and insulation. It's also important to seal all air leaks, especially in the firewall. A/C has a lot to overcome on these old trucks and it won't be able to freeze you out, but it will make things pretty comfy. As for the motor drag... the system features a modern Sanden compressor just like the modern cars and it's not a big drain like the old school types. The only negative is that the system uses recirculated air and the fan (which is above the passenger's feet) is kinda loud, but still way quieter than rolling with the windows down.

[LVPhotos]

This is reference pic. 35ft 5th wheel 1ton diesel. So if you are 5 ft longer on a bumper pull, Would say you dont have enough brakes. At 40ft most trailers have 3 axles. The tounge weight will be too much. Equlizer bar to keep it straight. I drove a 350 c50 tow truck with 4spd and 55 was top. Split rear gears not allowed to use per boss.
What does the blue gvw plate on kick panel say? My c10 is 5200.

[studeclunker]

Okay, I'm going to attempt uploading pics of the old man. Don't laugh too hard please. I used to run my photos from Photobucket, but since they've taken to holding their customers hostage, I have to do these things differently.

Okay, it won't let me.

Here's another try. I started a new account with Flickr because Photobucket is giving me trouble. Let's see if this works...








Well good golly gosh, I think that worked as the preview shows the old man and the other old man!

[50bomb]

WOW!! Love your truck very nice!!

[my04]

For what it's worth, I pull a 28' camper (#6500 empty) with my '66 Custom Camper with a 327, 3 speed while utilizing a weight distribution hitch.
A little under powered, but the biggest concern is that the trailer literally pushes the truck all around even on a calm day. On a windy day with traffic passing me on the highway it's white knuckle driving. Drum brakes all the way around make for a little pucker factor too in an emergency stop situation. Therefore, we only use the truck for shorter trips.

[64shortbox]

My 04 is only a 1/2 ton & as my04 stated I tried towing my 28' travel trailer, 8,600 LBS loaded for travel, equalizer hitch, dual sway control bars, rear air bags at 95 PSI, power steering & front disc brakes, the trailer pushed my truck all over the road at anything above 50 MPH and that was on calm days. I did lower my equalizer hitch so the trailer sat level after that picture was taken & before I took it on any test ride. Oh, my truck have an added Vintage Air A/C system in it.

[JJ660]

You could do something like this...

[studeclunker]

Originally Posted by JJ660

You could do something like this...

Ah... no. No, no, no, NO!

Well, I'm going to take my Terry (29L) out for a spin around the block then. Perhaps that will help sort things out in my mind (what happens to be left of it). I was considering taking it to the Medieval Knights show in Chico this coming October.

[studeclunker]

Originally Posted by 64shortbox

My 04 is only a 1/2 ton & as my04 stated I tried towing my 28' travel trailer, 8,600 LBS loaded for travel, equalizer hitch, dual sway control bars, rear air bags at 95 PSI, power steering & front disc brakes, the trailer pushed my truck all over the road at anything above 50 MPH and that was on calm days. I did lower my equalizer hitch so the trailer sat level after that picture was taken & before I took it on any test ride. Oh, my truck have an added Vintage Air A/C system in it.

I will take your experience as a warning as my trailer is about the same weight.

How does the Vintage Air system affect your engine? Any heating issues, how much mileage drop?

[64shortbox]

I definitely need to proof read my replies before I post. what I posted read like a 3rd grader was writing it. As for the Vintage Air I really can't say about the milage drop. It was already installed when I purchased my truck but I can tell you while idling when stopped for any length of time it would start to get hot. My truck did NOT have a fan shroud in it. I opted for a Lincoln Mark VIII electric cooling fan tripped by a Volvo fan relay - all purchased on 1/2 off day at Pick N Pull. I'm running a 160 thermostat and need to go to 180 it's actually running cooler than I want - IF my factory gauge is reading correctly that is.

[AcampoDave]

My '66 ran hot after the addition of a/c too. I had the factory radiator and shroud with a flex fan. I ended up going with an aluminum radiator from speedcooling.com and an 18" six bladed clutch fan. I chose a heavy duty Hayden thermo clutch and combined it with the oem shroud. Problem solved. Even in triple digit heat the motor doesn't overheat and neither do I.

[TJ's Chevy]

How much do those trailers weigh? Or is it the sheer size of them that pushes the truck around? Length?

I've towed 10 to 11K with my 64 GMC 3/4 ton and never had any issues. Difference for me was that it was a double axle trailer and decently big Kubota tractor. Then some wood in the bed. Never had a problem doing 55 and with factory p/b and drums all around it wasn't terrible to stop. Should get trailer brakes though. lol

[studeclunker]

TJ, I love your sig. line!

I also have another truck that should have been mentioned as well. It's also a C-20, 6'-bed (but with a flat-bed) however acts and drives more like a one-ton. This one is a '65 and has leaf springs all round. I have towed 12K with it and no issues at all. However, we weren't cruising down the freeway either. At the time we were hauling junk. The worst load was hauling that three-ton Cat motor down the hill with no brakes on the trailer!

[my04]

For me, the weight only becomes a factor when having to brake suddenly, even with the trailer brakes. Otherwise, it's the boxy profile of the camper and wind shear that causes havoc when on the highway. Even a minivan passing me tends to wiggle the trailer behind me.

[studeclunker]

Originally Posted by my04

For me, the weight only becomes a factor when having to brake suddenly, even with the trailer brakes. Otherwise, it's the boxy profile of the camper and wind shear that causes havoc when on the highway. Even a minivan passing me tends to wiggle the trailer behind me.

I LOVE this truck!

Out of curiosity; does your truck have leaf-springs or coil?

The lady I work for has a '96 3/4 ton and we haul a thirty-foot Goose-neck stock trailer with it all the time. Our trips are usually several hundred miles or so. It's usually rock-solid. Now we attempted towing a friend's slant-load-living-quarters 45' goose-neck and her truck went UGH! I would guess the difference is twice the weight. Neither gave us any problems with stability though, which might just be credit to he goose-neck config.

The reason I'm blabbering on like this is that the Boss' truck has leaf-springs as well as the truck I have in Fawn Lodge. Both are rock-solid with a trailer behind be it tongue, 5th wheel, or goose-neck. By the by, that old '65 hauled several tons of junk on a tongue (or bumper-pull) trailer without any stability issues at all. Of course, we always loaded it heavy-forward. But still... This is why I am considering pulling the big trailer with the newer (sic) truck. However, the C20 (newer) truck has coil springs. So it might not be as stable with a load like that? All the same, the wind-shear factor involved with a big, long box (The Long, Long trailer, hee-yuk!) is something to take in account too.

[my04]

Thanks, coil springs all around. Rides nice and level with the trailer hooked up, the helper leafs in the back aren't even engaged with the trailer attached.

[55-72 GM trucks]

Studeclunker, do you still have your Blue Custom Camper?