I recently bought a used 2003 E-150, with the 5.4 engine, to tow my 26 foot sailboat. It has the tow package. It has plenty of power, compared to my older E-150, with a 5.0 ltr eng. The boat and trailer weigh about 6500 pounds, which is right at the limit for the E-150. I have read the towing section of the owners manual carefully, and it doesn't say whether I should tow in overdrive, or out of overdrive. My inclination is to tow out of overdrive. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

I would think you'd be alright. I tow a 9,500 lbs power washing trailer behind my van without any problems. And me 05 E-150 weighs about 7,200 with out my trailer. I always keep mine out of overdrive when I'm pulling my trailer. I only loose about 1/2 mile to the gallon versus having it in overdrive with the trailer.

1 thing you might want to look into though is the weight distribution hitch. It throws alot of the weight from the van back onto the trailer which makes a big difference. I'll let you know if I ever break my van in 1/2 though with that much weight on it. I put the add a leafs on it also. When I go through the scales empty of water in Arizona my van/trailer weighs in at about 11,000.

 

You can tow in overdrive unless the transmission is frequently shifting in and out of overdrive.

 

Once you are up to cruise speed and on mostly level ground you can go to OD. More important that shifting in and out of OD is torque converter engagement. The TC needs to stay locked up. As long as the TC stays locked you can tow in OD just fine.

I towed a 4000 lbs car on a 1800 lbs trailer almost 900 miles. My E150 Clubwagon did it just fine. Its a 5 liter with a 3.55 gear. I down shifted for the longer climbs but otherwise it did it just fine.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

As noted above its OK to tow in overdrive unless the trans starts shifting in and out of overdrive. I usually only turn it off when I'm on an upgrade.

 

I would suggest that you invest in a tachometer and a trans temp gauge, and use them both when towing that load with your setup. Also, confirm that your "tow package" has the aux trans cooler.

Rob

 

All good information. Thanks guys.