Has anyone had any real life experience towing a travel trailer with the new sport track with the v8 motor? I'm looking to buy a tow vehicle for a 3000-4000 lb 21ft ultralight travel trailer, and was curious as to if this rig could do the job?

I'm not expecting it to tow like and F-150 or better, but just want a safe reliable vehicle for the weekends we might take the trailer out, and I'm trying to avoid moving to a bigger truck because of size and driving in the city for 99% of the time.

Thanks

 

Welcome to FTE lots of good info and people around here.

You should be okay, depending on the configuration of your Sport Trac it has a GCWR or 10-12,000lbs depending on options selected. I could not find the listing of the GVWR but that should be on the drivers side door B-pillar.

Here is a link to the Towing Guide
http://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/r...trp20Aug06.pdf


http://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/r...07_default.asp

Hope this helps

 

The 2007 Towing Guide says:
with 4.6 v8 GCWR=12,000lbs Max trailer wgt 4x2=7160lbs 4x4=6990lbs
In my opinion those numbers are grossly optimistic. I wouldn't tow more than 1000-1500lbs. You could pull those weights but can you control a trailer in an emergency situation. The soft tires and short wheel base are a large disadvantage.

 

You have got to be kidding me!! Are you serious? I agree with the SWB issue, this is an issue with all of the smaller trucks. The soft tires argument is a crock. You just need to make sure your truck tires are rated for your load. Also thare are these cool things called WEIGHT DIST HITCHES. Which will releive sopme load on the back of the truck. Now back to the point.


rcclark, are you trying to tell this guy that he cant pull 2 jet skis with his truck safely? COME ON MAN... Not everyone needs a Damn SD

 

"I wouldn't tow more than 1000-1500lbs". Wow.......that's pretty conservative!!! Even some rice rockets are rated for 1000#.

Steve

 

In actuality, you can't control many trailers in an emergency situation. Nor a car, or truck or tractor trailer! They pretty much go where circumstances take them! Oh yeah, nor a train for that matter!

 

May I ask what you do tow with?

FWIW at the boat ramp yesterday, I saw a late model grand am towing a 2-3000lb boat,

 

I currently don't have a tow vehicle, and we haven't bought the RV either. We're just looking to get into the weekend warrior routine with the family, and don't want a super duty if we can avoid it.

I'm curious about the 1000-1500lb comments though??? I'm not expecting to pull the 6640 that a 4x4 V8 with trailer prep is rated for, but I thought I should be able to realistically get 1/2 to 2/3 of the recommended tow capacity out of the truck.

The dealers are telling me that if this thing couldn't pull what ford rates it for, then the lawsuites would be flying.

On the topic of wheel base I've heard that a 130-131" wheel base gets you about 26-28' of trailer, and every 1" more WB gets you one more foot of trailer. So at 21' max trailer length I thought the ST would be fine?

Any 07 ST owners out there????

 

I have an 02 ST and have towed a pretty heavy trailer (5,000 lbs) many times with it. It does just fine. You have to remember that safety has a lot more to do with the driver than the vehicle. You just have to remember that your braking and maneuvering distances are greatly increased with the trailer attached. In all my years of towing and camping, in each case where I've gotten a little squirrely was because my speed was too high for conditions. As soon as I backed off on the speed, everything is fine. Check my signature and you'll see I have a lot of experience with a variety of towing vehicles.

 

I haven't heard that wheelbase calculation Jason, but it sounds really high to me. I tow a 20ft gooseneck with my truck and it does it wonderfully, but I couldn't imagine putting a 30-35' trailer on the back. That just seems too big to me...

 

interesting how rclarke has not chimed in to help us understand his calculation.

 

jasonm1259,

Here are some time tested rules of thumb for towing safely.
The total wet weight of your tow vehicle and trailer combined with all passngers and equipment should be 80-85% of the vehicles rated GCWR.

As far as wheelbase of tow vehicle, the longer the wheelbase of the tow vehicle, the less it is effected by trailer sway. For RV type high profile trailers the rule is a 20' max trailer for 110" wheelbase tow vehicle and then for each 4-inch increase in wheelbase of the tow vehicle you can add 1-foot to the trailer length. So in your case a 25' foot trailer would be about max for an RV trailer.
Now for flat bed trailers, boat trailers, tailers with less area exposed to the wind you can use the formula of "The distance from the trailer ball coupler to the rear axle of the trailer" should not be more than twice the wheelbase of the tow vehicle. This will get you to about 28' foot trailer with a 130" wheelbase vehicle.

As for the "1000-1500Lb" comment posted earlier, just ignore that as it is ultra conservative. F150 pickups start at 126" wheelbase by the way and the tow ratings are similar to the Sport Trac if you look at the FMC towing guide.

When you are looking at RV trailers, understand that RV dealers lye through there teeth and would kill there own mother for a sale.
When looking at trailer specs and weight most are on the low side. The listed dry weight in the brochure is for the base model with No options, (ie awning, microwave,stereo etc), the options up the dry weight. If the brochure or placard on the trailer shows the GVWR of the trailer then figure this as the actual wet weight of the trailer when shopping.

Understand that the dry weight of a trailer can increase 1K-2K pounds when fully loaded. Water weighs 8lb per gallon, and you must figure for Fresh, Grey & Black water. Also consider the weight in the tow vehicle as this factors into the GVWR of the tow vehicle and the GCWR. If there are four people in the vehicle a good rule of thumb is 175lbs per person.

So when shopping for RV's keep these numbers in mind. Also once you have your trailer and tow vehicle and it is fully loaded and ready to go take it by your local CAT scale and weigh the entire rig so that you can make sure you are within the GVWR, GAWR and GCWR of the tow vehicle and that the tongue weight is correct.

Here are a couple of links to more info
www.rv.org/ (You can purchase good towing how to guides and RV trailer ratings)

www.rvtowingtips.com/

Hope this helps

 

In my comments above I never said you couldn't tow up to the Ford specs. I only said I wouldn't tow anywhere near that much. I have towed up to 1500lbs or so with an Explorer. A travel trailer is pushed around on the highway by passing trucks and a small vehicle like a Sport Trac is going to be pushed around with it. I don't enjoy towing with a vehicle that softly suspended. I tow with a E350 loaded to about 15,000lbs gross weight. The passenger tires on Explorer or Sport Trac are too soft for proper towing. I know many people tow with small and lightweight vehicles, but they would be a lot more comfortable in a heavier vehicle.

 

Oh man, I am getting tired of these "you need a 1 ton truck with a full tow package and at least a big block gas motor to tow your pop-up camper" replies. Some people read that and think you know what your talking about.

The 21' tavel trailer, in any configuration, is the perfect match for the new SportTrac, especially with the V8. You will find most RV dealers worth purchasing from will do a few specific things. They will tell you the price of the unit, not ask you how much you can afford. They will ask you what your tow vehicle is, and the good ones like to check out the tow vehicle before they start showing you the units you can tow. And the best will have there most seasoned trailer tow expert go for a ride with you in your tow vehicle, with the unit hooked up, and will only make the sale when they are comfortable with the setup. And yes people in my camping group have had these experiences, they aren't just pipe dreams.

I very safely and controlled towed 1500# of tent trailer with a V6, FWD 2002 Cougar 5-speed. Your RV dealer should be able to set you up with the hitch packaged into the deal, as well as the brake controller installed, if you so desire.

As for me, I am pulling a 24' Terry Fifth wheel with a 1999 Mazda B4000. Dry weight of 4100#, truck rated for 5900#. Its a pretty comfortable setup.

 

Have to ask Mr Cougar... what's your rear axle rating? I have a 2002 F150 that I haul a gooseneck horse trailer with and I pretty much max out my rear axle. I don't push the towing limits, nor the brakes, nor anything else, except for that axle rating. That really sounds like you might be very close or over yours. Wouldn't be a big deal if it was a tag-a-long, but with the gooseneck/fifth wheel setups you get a lot more tongue weight than the truck was designed for.