Hi all, to start my first post I'm going to first introduce myself. I'm Kristoff, 22 years old and currently employed in the EFI tuning field. Now as the tittle above says, I have a 1997 4.2L V6 E250 that I have some towing concerns about. I currently live on the East Coast and got a job opportunity out West so I need to pack up and leave. I want to know if my E250 would be up for the task. The van would be needed to tow a 3,000lb enclosed car trailer, a 2,800 car and some of my personal belongings such as clothes, tools etc. I've read that the van can handle 7k safely but I don't want to be halfway across the country and burn up the trans with my luck. The van is in good shape with about 115k on the engine and trans. I'm not sure if this van came with a tow package or not but it does have a rear bumper hitch which is rated for 5k towing. Trucks and towing isn't my field whats so ever so I came here to ask the experts! Thanks a lot in advance.

 

I used to have a 03 E250 with that V6. I used it many times to pull a 1500lb trailer with a 3200lb race car on it. Also a full load of bins, tools, etc inside the van.

The van was working hard. My longest trip like this was an hour.

I believe your situation and my situation are both over the rating for the vans.

So with the idea that your van is 6years older, probably has more miles, and your trip is like 30hours and 1,000lbs heavier: I'd say NO WAY!

Keep us posted, friend.

 

Haha, that reply blew my whole morning. That sucks, I wonder why in the heck they would give these vans a 7k tow rating then? So pretty much with you not sugar coating anything for me which is a good thing I am probably looking to do some engine damage / transmission failure if I was to take this trip with that load capacity. Would it help if I mounted a decent size trans cooler if there Isn't already one? Cruising along at 60mph with OD off and a big trans cooler wouldn't cut it? I know I'm stretching it here thanks for the input though!

 

What is the factory GCWR? That would give you what Ford says you can tow. Do you know what your rear end gearing is? What transmission is in it?

For that long of a trip I would definitely install a couple of gauges to keep an eye on trans and coolant temps. Make sure all of your maintinance is up to date. Brakes in good shape. Are there brakes on the trailer? Do you have a brake controller?

 

The basic "Regular Van E250" with the 4.2 engine has 3.73 ratio. The maximum GCWR is 10,500lbs and the max trailer weight is 5,200. The ID card on the drivers door says the vehicle GVWR is 7,200. If I subtract my loaded vehicle weight 7,400 from the max GCWR of 10,500 that leaves me with 3,300lbs. That would be the maximum trailer weight my vehicle can tow. Now does that mean my van can pull a 5,200lb trailer with 3,300lbs of weight on it making it a total 8,500lbs? The last step is where I am confused. The trailer is 3,000lbs give or take, 3,200lbs max for a 20ft. My car weighs 2,800lbs.

The vehicle is in pretty decent shape. I just replaced all gaskets including from and rear mains because of an oil leak. While i was at it I did plugs, wires but nothing major like head gasket and studs. I have faith in the truck, I just dont know if its physically possible.

The trailer does have brakes and I will be buying a break controller to control the trailer brakes. Tomorrow I will take a peak under the van and double check the diff and see if it has a trans cooler.

 

You will want to actually weigh the van on a scale to get an idea of thw actual weight of the vehicle. The GVWR is the max weight allowed for the van and its cargo. The tongue weight (usually 10-15% of the trailer weight) counts toward this. The max trailer weight is the GCWR-the weight of the loaded van. It is also important that you insure your hitch etc are up to the task.

 

Alright thanks for all the tips. I'm going to go weigh the van tomorrow so I can get a idea of what I'm working with when I punch some numbers. I am still very lost though haha. I will have to research how to factor in tongue weight etc. And I was also looking to buy a bolt in class IV hitch. The trailer is brand new so everything will be up to par on that end.

 

Tongue weight on a properly loaded trailer is usually 10-15% of what the trailer weighs.

You should also look in the towing forum for tips. They have always been very helpful with my questions.

 

I'm not claiming to be the EndAll Be All of this discussion, but I wanted to chime in again.

Based on the numbers you presented above: it seems you are exceeding the ratings.

Couple that with my real world experience, and I think you have a recipe or failure.

Bet case scenario: you'll spend 2,000 miles of the most stressful driving of your life. I promise you will "feel" the van being overworked. Engine, suspension, transmission, brakes. I promise. Especially if you travel over mountains.

Also your idea of trailer brakes is very much in your favor.

Last point, then I'm out- my example in my post above was using an open trailer with a race car. Your enclosed trailer will have the added stress of wind resistance.

 

Thanks for all the inputs. Tomorrow I'm going to get the vehicle weighed and then crunch my final numbers. I'm either going to be very close or over the limit. I agree that the ride will be pure hell haha. I'm just so tight with money to go out and buy a tow specific vehicle but I guess that would be better than me being broke down halfway across the country. Lastly what I would do is go where I am going to purchase the trailer and ask them for their opinions.

 

The enclosed trailer is going to cause more drag (as others have stated). The e250 frame can handle the weight fine with the correct hitch/brake controller setup. The van is heavy enough that it should be able to controll the load without issue. I have an '88 e250 that I use for a tow vehicle.
The issue is that I am not familiar with the engine/trans setup you have, so I can't provide any insite. I do know that if you are planning on doing any type of towing a trans cooler is a good idea.