Today’s gallery is a mix of vintage rides in hauling action. Admittedly, some of these rides have more panache than others. Some don’t even have any. But yes kids, there was a time when people hauled stuff without the aid of trucks or SUVs. Who would have thought?
I love those Cadillacs with Airstreams!
Marketers have done a very good job of convincing us we need trucks to do any semblance of towing or hauling.
Here’s my getup today, still not a full-size truck but certainly not a sedan, either.
The size of trailers was limited by the ability of acceptable tow vehicles.
Trucks became popular not because they were needed, but because they were better, or became better, at the job of simultaneously transporting big crowds and pulling big loads. A 3/4 ton pickup was a miserable passenger vehicle 50 years ago. You would think hard before asking the family to go on a long trip in one. Now it’s as comfortable as a car.
I remember reading years ago that the Chevy Suburban didn’t really hit the big time with the Airstream crowd until Cadillacs became less suitable for towing following their 1977 diet.
That 60 Mercury convertible looks great, but it looks like a bigger boat than the one it’s towing. And I would love to know the story behind that 58 Plymouth towing the huge boat through the mud-covered streets.
The Plymouth looks like it may be stuck? Not surprising, given the condition of the “street”, which looks more like 1910 than 1960.
But then we still have a few unimproved gravel “streets” in Eugene, some of which have pot holes big enough to launch that boat in the winter.
I get the feel of emergency in that picture, like the boat is heading downtown to help with flood rescues.
My f-i-l had a 1971 Olds 98 (455 cu. in V8 and Hydramatic of course) with which he pulled a Wheel Camper pop-up. It wasn’t as heavy as a full sized trailer but it was stout for a pop-up. It slept six which was the number of people in the family. Two adults, four children, a pop-up trailer, full trunk and camping gear in the pop-up – piece of cake for the 98 and it was much more comfortable than a crew cab of the era.
The ’58 Plym is hauling an aluminium ’55/56 Lone Star CruiseMaster, we had one and it was an awesome heavy weather boat. We once rescued an overturned sailboat and crew with it on a very rough day on Lake Champlain. It’s a classic collectible now.
The ’65 Fury is pulling an OMC/Evinrude boat with 90hp StarFlite V4, very well built and also highly collectible today.
We pulled a 2 horse trailer with our ’77 Gran Fury with 360V8, often the only one doing so without a pickup or SUV. Air shocks on the rear made it possible.
The Mercury convert is hauling an ’58-ish aluminium Lone Star runabout with a 1958 Evinrude StarFlite 50 hp V4. Vintage boats and motors are another hobby of mine.
The old full frame cars seem like they would have been great at towing. Low center of gravity and less side flex than a higher up truck. Plenty of weight and long wheelbase to keep the trailer stable.
We never had a problem pulling a horse trailer even on grassy fields, or a 18 ft Starcraft cuddy cabin boat, with our ’77 Gran Fury. One of the best cars we ever had, despite the reputation of “malaise era” vehicles, and a great tow car.
They could be pretty good tow vehicles, especially when equipped with HD suspension and low axle ratios. Loss of power and then size in the 70s and 80s made them less suitable. We had a ‘77 Electra 225 Ltd with HD suspension and the 403. It towed our 6000 lb load, but not nearly as well as the’75 Estate Wagon or the’74 Caprice Estate. The 55 mph speed limit helped to make up for it. The 1/2-ton ’78 Suburban with a 454 was a great tow car, but not as nice to drive as the Buicks when not towing. It would be a long time before Detroit offered a better, more comfortable tow rig than that one for towing 4000-6000 lbs. And it would be another truck.
We had a ’77 Electra without the HD suspension, and a few trips with college gear made the rear springs sag, then the front did after the rears were replaced. I don’t remember if they offered level control on the base Electra, but we should have gotten it.
Some of these cars can use some air shocks.
In 1965 our next door neighbor bought a new 30’ Airstream. His 1963 Ambassador wagon wasn’t quite up to the towing task, but his next car sure was. A 1966 Chrysler Town & Country wagon with the 440 TNT. Easily towed that Airstream throughout the country. He had a steep driveway and I loved listening to that 440 as he backed the Airstream up into the yard.
My favorite pic is the blue Cadillac against the mountain and blue sky. Beautiful.
Agreed!
Mine as well!
Find me a passenger car currently sold in the USA that does not have a prohibition against towing in the owner’s manual.
Volvo S60 – 2,000 lbs
Good. One of those small boats could be towed.
Just curious, but what would that Caddy/Airstream get mileage wise? I’m thinking oh, about 5.
I’m going to guess you could hit 8-10mpg out on the road. A Cadillac 331 and Hydramatic are a reasonably efficient combo, and the Airstream probably isn’t quite as heavy as it looks. If the Cadillac is a later production 1953 that ended up with a Buick Dynaflow, ehh…
1953 Cadillacs with Dynaflows were the result of the complete loss of the Hydramatic plant by fire in May of that year.
A friend of mine imported a couple of 30ft Airstreams one is now a mobile wine bar the both weighed over 3 tons she had a F250 for towing them
If I had the money back in the day I’d go for the Wally Byam setup of a mid sized Airstream and an International Harvester Travellette. More realistically a Sero Scotty or a Shasta with a mid sized station wagon.
I still see people towing popups and the occasional fiberglass trailer with a minivan or crossover so trucks have not completely taken over
I think that the biggest problem using a truck as tow vehicle back in the ’50’s and ’60’s was that almost all trucks were single cab, suitable for only two people, or a crowded three. Transporting a family of four or five wouldn’t be possible. A large sedan like a Cadillac would be comfortable and could handle the job. A full size three row wagon would also be suitable.
Back then trucks were seen as very declasse, most middle class families didn’t want to use one for family transportation or even have it parked in their driveway.
The arrival of modern quad cab pick ups and three row SUVs made a passenger car tow vehicle obsolete.
Unit construction vehicles aren’t suitable for serious towing, though I’ve known people that have used minivans for that purpose. I think that many modern cars can tow from between 1,000 to 1,500 pound trailers provided that they have an adequate hitch.
Back in the ’60’s I worked at a gas station that also rented U Haul trailers. I shudder to think about those old “clamp on” bumper hitches that were rented along with the small trailers. I hope the customer frequently checked on the tightness of the connections! Still, I can’t recall having any customers return with a complaint.
My parents never towed anything, so I did not have any towing experience, although to make up for it, he was the king of roof racks, much to my mother’s dismay. Around 1970 I tried to rent one of the small trailers with the clamp on hitches, and they turned me down. I was driving my 1965 Austin 1800. I think they said the bumper was not solid enough, which was probably true. I ended up renting a very sad Econoline. Although I was sceptical, it did survive the trip.
That “sea of mud” pic, with the “late 50’s Plymouth” is interesting. The “impromptu, assembly, of onlookers”; the boats going in/out? lol The mud is really the “featured player” in the picture though. Yuck!
Great photos! Looking at the lead pic of the Cadillac and Airstream trailer, that was a very common sight in the 1970s. Saw so many full-sized cars, pulling large trailers on the Trans-Canada Highway, near my parent’s home.
I suspect, the owner would be towing the trailer and canoe to a campsite or cottage, to be located for the season. Either at a property they owned, or rental campground with utilities, for the summer. With the Cadillac being a summer car, primarily used for towing the trailer. While also having a regular daily driven car, to compliment the Cadillac. Parked at home, or they’d get the second car, on another trip home. Or someone else, would follow with the second car.
We lived on a secondary road that led to perhaps 30-40 lakeside cottages. And in May, we’d see several big campers and full-sized cars pulling trailers, arriving from cities. And around Labour Day, the same vehicles would be headed out. Annual events, when I was a kid. Long lineups on the Trans-Canada Highway, headed south from Algonquin Park on Labour Day, was common.
In Southeastern Ontario near Kingston, Trenton, and Gananoque, many of them were retired Americans from Pennsylvania and New York State, who loved to fish in Canada. With that generation passing on, this practice has dropped dramatically.
Great bunch of photos! I kept scrolling waiting for the panache-free tow vehicle and never found it. Some may not have been considered to have panache in their day, like the 58 Plymouth or the 57 Chevy wagon, but both of those cars are considered very cool today, even in base or wagon form.
What was the event that the 72 Thunderbird is bringing motorcycles to? Looks like serious fun is about to be had! Some kind of dirt bike jamboree with huge hill climbs.
Those were the days when cars shared the same drivetrains as trucks so they had no problem pulling a load. That Caddy would have a TH 400 trans and a 12 bolt rear axle, the same as any GM half ton
Premium passenger cars had way more powerful engines than available on pickups until the late 1960’s. 1965 Chevy pickups or suburbans only had a 283/Powerglide combo compared to a 396/TH400 for a Chevy sedan or station wagon. At least power steering and a heater were options. Power windows, A/C, AM-FM radio, carpeting? Forgetaboutit.
I think that having a separate CAFE standard for “trucks” is what drove Americans to want them. Suddenly you could only get “traditional” Power (and space) if you bought a “truck” so many people switched.
I towed a double horse float with a 3.3 6 Holden Commodore it did it easy, The 63 Holden special my ex dad gave me used to pull a horse float with two Australian ponies aboard and di Melbourne to Sydney towing that load in a day 800 miles of two lane blacktop, my current car is rated at 1.67 tonne towing capacity a bit over 3000 old fashioned lbs it only has a 4 cylinder engine, and tows well so far.
Duster or Dart hauling skidoos for winter fun!
In the top photo, canoe has a registration of OH (Ohio). Not familiar with this area, but would image them on their way to a camp with a nice sized lake.
Also, the supplement mirrors on the sides of the Cadillac. IIRC, these were called “Bonanza” mirrors???
Many great photos here, thanx .
-Nate
Ontario Provincial Police, 1969. Note the reversed colouring on the highway lines.
Cop-spec cars often made great tow vehicles. HD suspension, tires, cooling and a big engine. Hard to find one that wasn’t already worn out, though.