1986 GMC Camper Special 1 Ton Dually: Max tow capacity?

Power wise I don't think you'll be happy. It would be great for a truck camper, but I think it has less power than my 2003 F-150 5.4L. Now that truck did just fine towing my 6500-ish pound TT, but 12000 pounds?

I'd look at 90's something fuel injected big block. Can you get into a 2000+ 8.1L?

I would pass on this truck.

Way too many affordable mid 90's 454 and 460 equipped dually trucks that will be affordable and pretty comfortable.

Plus the paint job screams "shoot and sell" quick to me.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Unless that 454's been worked over some time in the last 30 years, you're not going to be going very fast towing 12,000lbs unless everywhere you plan on going is dead flat.

Being able to keep up with traffic to some degree is important these days. The roads are a lot different now than in the '70s and '80s. Back then you could slog along at 35MPH and get from point A to point B without hundreds of crazies texting away on their smartphones swinging into the oncoming lane on a blind double-yellow to get around you, or simply plowing into the back of you because they "didn't see."

I made a living towing heavy GN trailers in the '70s and '80s with 454 one ton DRW trucks like that one. They all had the TH400 tranny.
Folks simply didn't worry about tow ratings back then just as trucking doesn't now days.
I see my '90 chevy truck manual shows up to 13.5k lb tow rating with a 4.56 gears and around 10.5K with 4.10 gears.

As mentioned fuel mileage is gonna' be badz. I ran up to 28k gross combined with the carbureted version 454 DRW trucks at 4-6 mpgs...all day long at those weights.

The truck is one the beast pickups of that era.

That's a sweet truck. I love that body style. I would have to bet the transmission is a TH400, not a TH350.
If it towed 12,000 for years safely I wouldn't be afraid to keep doing it.
If you're talking about a FW i would think you would want no more than 3,000 pounds on the pin. That's about a 15,000 pound trailer. However, I would suspect that truck to be very slow and drink gas like mad with that kind of weight.

If that was a 4x4 crew cab I would be all over that .

Hi,

The GVWR for that dually is only about 10,000 pounds, about what a 2005 and later F-250 SRW is. They have really improved the trucks over the years, and this one did not benefit from those improvements.

The fuel mileage will be something to worry about - perhaps 5 or 6 MPG while a slightly newer truck with 4 speed will get 9-11 MPG towing an equal load. Sure you will save a lot on insurance and buying it, but will spend a LOT on gas and perhaps a replacement transmission or other major parts.

Good luck,

Fred.

You have a 7500 lb grawr for the rear.
About 4200-4500 for the front.
Total gvwr per GM 10,000 or 10,500 if it has a C7 HD payload pkg.

GCWR for a 454 rig and 4.10's is 16000 lbs. Frankly, from having an 89.....could not go up ANY hill over about 15% in grade fully loaded. TH400 tranny is a tall first gear trans, same as the later 4L80E, at 2.49-1, with TC around 4-1 overall low. Pretty tall 1st gear for a truck. I went thru the trannies every 30K like clockwork!

If you can find a muncie 4spe with 3.42 gears, you would be WAY better off frankly. That is equal low and tall gearing to a later model with an NV4500 and 4.10 gears. 3.73's would be ok too. Really do not need or want 4.10's with a direct drive tranny.

Marty

I don't know about towing capacities, but if you are thinking of purchasing this truck, you really need to inspect it carefully. Every GM truck I've owned has been notorious for rust. Seeing this truck is in Florida, I wonder if it has been exposed to sea-salt.

The truck look like it's been freshly painted. If it has been, then under that paint, especially around the doors, is a rusted out hunk of metal about to fall apart. Once rust forms INSIDE those doors, it cannot be stopped by simply sanding the outside of the door and applying a new coat of paint. If so, the rust will pop through that new paint in less than a year.

I see too many signs of underlying rust trying to pop through already.

My previous 3500 diesel dually (Silverado) had rust forming on the bottom of the doors. I desperately wanted it sanded out and repainted. The body shop I went to refused to do it. (They were 100% honest with me, and I'm glad they were).

They said, they would not do the work, because the rust (inside the doors) and inside the walls of the bed, and the tail gait was the problem. Not the outside rust. If repainted, within a year the doors would be completely gone. It was better to leave them alone. All that sanding to fix and applying Bondo would simply cause those spots to crumble and it would look worse than in the beginning in a very short while. They refused to do the job because they were concerned they could not guarantee the work and people are just too sue happy.

I trust this repair shop because they have been a family run shop for over 60 years, and are VERY good at what they do. I grew up with them in my memory from the day I was born.

I ended up trading that truck for a new one. At the dealer lot, I went back and found my old truck a few days later (just curious). The price tag as $10,000 more than what they gave me for trade, but they also did a quick and dirty repaint to make it look good. All I could do was shake my head and be thankful I traded.

I'm just saying, that truck looks like a new paint job, and that paint is hiding the rust!

In those days Camper Specials were designed to take 11.5 foot campers, but without slides and basements like they have now. Likely a heavy one would run 3500 pounds, and loaded up with stuff over 4000. Tanks were a lot smaller without basements so carrying 1000 pounds of water/black/grey just wasn't possible.

But towing.. I think you would be limited by the transmission and your desire to make it to the next gas station for the most part. 12,000 sounds very generous with the limits of slowing the beast downhill and braking.