My wife and I made a 2500+ mile tow from California to Tennessee in 1980, with everything we could haul with us. She drove a 59 Suburban that was loaded up to the point there was barely room for her in the driver's seat, and pulled a 72 Datsun station wagon on a tow bar that was loaded clear to the roof. The Burb ran a Chevy 307 V8, a SM-420 4 speed, and a 3/4 ton Dana 60 rear axle with 3.73 gears. She had no trouble at all other than dealing with a drafty cab, a poorly performing heater, and January weather.
I drove a different rig- - - - - a 1970 Cadillac Fleetwood, towing an 18 foot 3-axle backhoe trailer with a 6 foot tall plywood box built on it, loaded to the roof with furniture, household goods, and a big chest-type freezer full of food and 10 pounds of dry ice. The Cadillac and trailer scaled at 16,700 pounds when we had to stop and purchase an over-wide permit in Arizona. The Caddy got 5 miles a gallon and the Burb got 10- - - -drive 100 miles and fill up both vehicles! The trip still cost less than renting a big U-Haul truck and trailer would have! BTW the freezer did its job- - - -the food was still well frozen after a week on the road. We left the power cord sticking out of the back of the trailer and plugged it in every night with an extension cord to our motel room.
Jerry
