Short towing experience

[NautiWeasel]

A little back story...
Ever since I've gotten my old truck "Daisy Ray" back on the road, I've wanted to tow the Nauti Weasel with it in some way. Aspirations were to tow it to the lake when we go camping, and have my wife follow me in my newer truck, towing the camper. However it was pretty quickly realized by me that the wife wasn't interested in pulling the more difficult trailer (our 30' camper) and she definitely wasn't interested in towing the boat with Daisy Ray ('82 GMC C1500) without A/C in the middle of summer. But... I still wanted to see if the old truck could tow the boat.

Last weekend, it was time to bring the Nauti Weasel III out of winter hibernation, and I thought I'd see right off the bat if the old truck could do it. Much to my surprise, and to my oldest daughters' surprise, it did fine. The truck has an open rear differential (one wheel wonder) and the floor in this part of my "barn" goes from gravel, to concrete, back to gravel. Add to that, the door is about 6" wider than the boat trailer with the side guides, and needless to say, it was going to be a challenge right from the get go. There was a little wheel spin to get it over the hump in the barn floor, but after that, the old truck really did better than I expected. About 95% of my 1/4 mile long driveway is gravel/asphalt millings, so traction would be the biggest issue. After some carefully thought out maneuvers, and some cautious use of momentum, I was able to get the boat in position to successfully get it hooked up to the hose for my routine un-winterization.

I still would like the sight of me pulling the Nauti Weasel III to the lake with 'ol Daisy Ray, but I'm not going to force myself to. Regardless if I do or not, there will NEVER be any attempt to put the boat in the water with this old truck. The boat very easily out weighs the truck, and with the lack of towing ability these old half ton trucks had, I'm not willing to risk my boat or life in doing so. But the occasional pull to the gas station for fuel, or transport to the local lake isn't out of the question.

[AsLan7]

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Awesome pics and an even more awesome story. Thanks for posting that NW.

[NautiWeasel]

I want to add another dimension to this thread.
Back in late December, I ended up purchasing a GMT400 (88-98 Chevy/GMC truck) for my daughter. She likes trucks, and the only stipulation, besides price, was that it had to be a 96+ for the front driver and passenger airbags. After a little shopping, we found this '97 in a field. After a closer look, it is the same truck I remember from about 20 years ago, when I worked at a local LKQ yard. One of the salesmen there at the time purchased the truck in TX, and modified it to pretty much how it sits today. Same color, wheels, hood, bumper, etc.
A price was agreed upon, and months of work ensued to create a dependable daily driver, and secondary boat pulling rig for my daughter.
Long story short, she got a nice experience using her truck to pull the boat to a semi-local fuel station, then about 60 miles to the lake a few days later. Although the truck looks tiny compared to the 242, I assure you, it is within the stickered limits, albeit very close. The truck did great, and I'm happy that I now no longer have to double drive when we go camping (once to get the camper to the lake, and again to get the boat to the lake).

[kas232ca]

Good looking truck!

[NautiWeasel]

Good looking truck!

Thank you. My daughter sure loves it, and I've always like the looks of the OBS - GMT400 body style as well.