dose pulling a light camp trailer do harm to them? just got a 12 ft. vintage shasta trailer, plan to do some long trips in oregon, an wash. has worked fine for 13 yrs.but never run under any heavy loads. are they built strong ? 40 merc. sedan 48 59ab engine,an 411 gears. reguards dick t.
columbia rearend ?
- Thread starter merc40
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1931 flamingo
Well-known member
How heavy is that Shasta??
Paul in CT
Paul in CT
blucar
Well-known member
As I recall the earlier Columbia's, '36-40 where a little more fragile than the later units..
I converted my '36 from a '36 unit to a '42-48 for that reason..
The engine in my '36 is built-up quite a bit... I drag raced, (street) for many years, never had a problem with the Columbia, blew up several ******'s... My rear axle ratio is 3.78.1
I would suggest that you not start out in OD, with or without the trailer... DON'T try to shift the rear end into low range going down a hill. with or without the trailer... Shift the axle into low range before the down slope.. If the diff does shift out of OD on the down hill, it usually can't overcome the downhill speed, therefore it will just ratchet on the gears until the vehicle is stopped... This is also true of the trucks that had two speed rear ends... A good way to destroy a rear end. Been there done that..
I would suggest that you have a good receiver hitch installed on your car in lieu of a bumper hitch... A receiver hitch will transfer the load to the frame in lieu of the light bumper.. You should also use a "Reese" equalizer bars on the trailer tongue to minimize sway and "tail dragging" of the tow car.
I converted my '36 from a '36 unit to a '42-48 for that reason..
The engine in my '36 is built-up quite a bit... I drag raced, (street) for many years, never had a problem with the Columbia, blew up several ******'s... My rear axle ratio is 3.78.1
I would suggest that you not start out in OD, with or without the trailer... DON'T try to shift the rear end into low range going down a hill. with or without the trailer... Shift the axle into low range before the down slope.. If the diff does shift out of OD on the down hill, it usually can't overcome the downhill speed, therefore it will just ratchet on the gears until the vehicle is stopped... This is also true of the trucks that had two speed rear ends... A good way to destroy a rear end. Been there done that..
I would suggest that you have a good receiver hitch installed on your car in lieu of a bumper hitch... A receiver hitch will transfer the load to the frame in lieu of the light bumper.. You should also use a "Reese" equalizer bars on the trailer tongue to minimize sway and "tail dragging" of the tow car.
Last edited:
blucar
Well-known member
I have a '63-64 12' Shasta trailer, it weighs less than 1,000. lb's..
blucar
Well-known member
A general rule of thumb to follow when driving in mountainous areas with a two-speed rear axle... Columbia or otherwise..
The gear range required to go up the hill, is the same gear range used to go down the hill.
Columbia's and generally speaking any two-speed rear axle, will shift to the low range on an up hill pull, if the shift is made before the engine is "lugging", once the engine is allowed to lug, vacuum is lost, as is the ability to shift the rear axle...
In the mid to late '60's, large trucks with two-speed rear axles went to an electric shift system, in lieu of vacuum...
Anytime a vehicle that is equipped with an OD is being driven in mountainous areas, this includes modern cars/SUV's, the trans/diff should be shifted out of OD before down hill travel is encountered.
The OD transmissions that Ford used starting in '49 worked great for light trailer pulling, that is if the operator took the time to read the owners manual.. The manual advised that the OD feature should be dis-engaged in mountainous areas and when pulling a trailer... This guideline is still true on the late model vehicles..
The gear range required to go up the hill, is the same gear range used to go down the hill.
Columbia's and generally speaking any two-speed rear axle, will shift to the low range on an up hill pull, if the shift is made before the engine is "lugging", once the engine is allowed to lug, vacuum is lost, as is the ability to shift the rear axle...
In the mid to late '60's, large trucks with two-speed rear axles went to an electric shift system, in lieu of vacuum...
Anytime a vehicle that is equipped with an OD is being driven in mountainous areas, this includes modern cars/SUV's, the trans/diff should be shifted out of OD before down hill travel is encountered.
The OD transmissions that Ford used starting in '49 worked great for light trailer pulling, that is if the operator took the time to read the owners manual.. The manual advised that the OD feature should be dis-engaged in mountainous areas and when pulling a trailer... This guideline is still true on the late model vehicles..