Colorado to Kentucky. Kansas was a pain in the butt because the wind, but other than that I took it slow and steady. Took me exactly 24 hours, and the truck did great.

The trailer probably weighs in around 6100-6500lb. Truck bed was full too. I use a stabilizer hitch, wouldn't even attempt without one. Axle is H9 but truck has a body lift and 33 inch tires. Done before I purchased.

Gas mileage was anywhere from 12 being the highest to 6 being the lowest in Kansas with high headwinds. Averaged 8 mpg over the whole trip.

Made sure all my fluids were fresh before starting. ALL fluids. Also replaced anything that could possibly be a weak link in my cooling.

I used overdrive after Kansas on the highway. Worked well and saved alot of gas.

Transmission Temp only got to 200+ a couple times on really steep climbs or in high winds and then dropped back down quickly enough when I let off the gas pedal.

just thought I would post my experience in case anyone searches for this kind of information. The truck was incredibly stable throughout the entire tow. While it's not the most ideal truck for this situation it felt good pulling into camp where everyone else has 50000-10000 dollar trucks to accomplish the same thing.

 

Nice to see you got there safe. Not to flame or hijack, but what does your username mean?

 

Llamas versus Robots. Random acts of awesome. Etc.

 

That looks like an F-150. is that right? And what about trans and rear end ratios?

I used to have a '95 F150 with 351, E4OD, 3.55 gears and 33" tires. Several times I carried my slide-in camper, towing mt J**p CJ5. Along with people and gear I probably had about 2K - 2.5K on the truck and 4K in tow. A little less load than you, and maybe a little less frontal area. I hauled that out to Colorado and the Black Hills a few times, never any troubles. It easily held the 65 - 70 mph I wanted to drive on all but the steepest hils, and almost always in OD. And yeah, right around 8 mpg.

Yes, 4.10s would be better for that load, but the 3.55s were fine, and were a better choice for the 95% of the time I didn't have a load.

 

6500 is a heavy trailer?

 

Gettin' there if it's a half ton

 

Yessir it's a F150 E40D 3:55. I really like the color combo on that f150! Thanks for sharing your story. I started this thread because I get so many people that insist on telling me I need a bigger rig.

But I rarely went over 65. I like a good mellow 55-60mph. 4:10s are on my list for the future. I think I'm gonna shop junkyards for a bigger rear axle with them already in it. Maybe even 4:56 because I think I'm going up to 35 inch tires for camping out in MOAB this spring.