Re: [VACList] Re: VACList Digest V3 #33

[John Anderson <janderson@xxxxxxxx>]

Hello David, My older brother was a regional sales rep for IH when I was 
a kid. The company always provided him a loaded (with options) 
Travelall, and after riding along with him a few days on his dealership 
visits I gained a lot of respect for these vehicles. So in time I wound 
up acquiring a few of my own. A 1975 4X4 392 cid with a Thermoquad and 5 
speed manual transmission (5th gear was overdrive) became my personal 
work and play vehicle for about 6 years, including service as tow 
vehicle for our 1966 31' Sovereign.

Without question, the Travelall is a great tow vehicle, although, 
sentiment aside, I have to say that my current rig, a 1994 Dodge B250 
van with a mere 318, does the job almost as well, and is a lot more user 
friendly and a little more economical.

A mint or restored Travelall looks really great pulling an Airstream, 
but if you use it seriously, plan on mid-single digit gas mileage and 
one or two spare vehicles for parts. Parts availability is a major 
headache. My collection of 1970's vintage IH vehicles now runs up to 
about 11 in number, primarily as parts machines. I plan on keeping only 
2 or 3 in an operational condition; the rest will be slowly scavenged.

All the light IH trucks from the 60's and 70's seemed to suffer from 
premature rust (at least in the snow belt); some of the engines tended 
to leak oil, especially from the rear main;  after 1972, the anti-smog 
add-ons robbed some horsepower and killed the gas mileage (which wasn't 
great to begin with); also, starting in 1974, IH bought some engines 
from American Motors and used on some of the light trucks. They bought a 
400 V8 (actually 401 cid) which was inferior to IH's own engines, ITO 
durability.  The IH engines came in 304, 345, and 392 cid.

For towing you would want at least the 345, preferably the 392. Avoid 
the 400 completely if you ever run across one.

Hope this helps--good luck!

John Anderson