Jlucas (John),
I bought the trailer to haul my Diamond T, which is similar in size and weight to the COE. Not having any experience towing I found it kind of frustrating at first. The truck is a 3/4 ton Silverado, Duramax with Allison tranny, standard factory hitch and the salesman knew nothing. The trailer people were knowledgable about their trailer but knew nothing about hitches. The hitch people knew nothing about trucks or trailers (or so it seemed). So I did my research, put a weight distribution hitch along with an anti-sway bar on the trailer tongue. The trailer people insisted that I didn't need a fifth wheel with the intended use and they were right. The trailer is dual 7000 lbs axles with electric brakes and it stops fine (I didn't even have it on the maximum braking setting). I have hauled my Diamond T and now the COE for over 8000 miles and I am really pleased with my rig. The Allison tranny has a tow haul mode which is most useful when slowing where it will automatically downshift, just like you would do if driving with a manual tranny.
John, with the COE on my trailer, the top of the truck was 11 feet high, so you would think it would handle awful in the wind but it handled nicely. At the end of the first day heading back to AZ, the wind and rain were so bad that I could hardly stand up in the parking lot when I got out. I was really surprised that the rig was so steady. I normally drove about 65 miles per hour but slowed a bit as I had a headwind. The entire trip back averaged 11 miles to the gallon of diesel, but when heading into the wind that dropped to 6-7 mpg. In addition to the pheasant episode, I was nearly broadsided by a rampaging cow on I-40 in northeast AZ. A semi was passing me, not paying attention to the cow, or cowboy on horse chasing the cow, in the median of the interstate. I had to do an emergency stop on the shoulder to avoid the semi (who just barely tapped the cow with his front bumper). The truck is 2004 with first generation Duramax and it had enough power. Part of the fun was people stopping and talking to me at the all too frequent refueling stops. I met a fellow ATHS member in Raton, NM who pulled up to talk when he saw my new find. I also got the usual waves from people, especially in Nebraska. All in all it was tiring (3days there, 3 1/2 days on the return) but well worth it. Now I will have the pleasure of a long restoration process but I am ready for it.
