Hello. I have a 2009 F-150 supercrew. Its the XLT and also has the tow package. I have a question regarding towing a tandem axle car trailer loaded with an 88 F-150 reg cab 4x4. My ? being... Is this too much weight? I'm guessing it will handle it as I'm guessing the 89 weighs around 4000-4500lbs??? not sure but a guess. I'm guessing the car trailer weighs 2000 lbs?? thats 6500lbs if you use the heavier end of my guess. These things are rated at around 10000 lbs max right?? Also if it will handle it, should the pickup I'm hauling be backed on the trailer or drove on forward? These questions probably seem really simple, but I've never towed another vehicle, usually just lumber and the occasional horse. Let me know your suggestions.

Thanks!
Ben

 

Should be able to without any issues unless you have a real oddly equipped truck.

 

I think you're under estimating the weight of your 88. Once upon a time, I had an 89 302, regular cab, long bed 4x4 and it was just below 5000 pounds on the scales. At least that's what I sort of remember, it's been gone since the mid 90's and my memory for that sort of detail isn't as good as it once was.

You didn't offer up what your supercrew XLT has for a motor, gears or bed length, so I would suggest you look in the tow guide below, just to be sure.

Here's the Ford towing guide see page 17 for the F150, https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...9RVTTguide.pdf look up the specifics for your truck. Just to be sure.

What about the trailer, does it have electric brakes, does your truck have a brake controller or are you renting a uhaul auto transport with the hydraulic inertia brake system? Regardless of the set up, remember to give yourself some extra braking room. There's going to be a lot of weight pushing you in ways you may not be used to.

While I'm sure your truck will get the job done. our trucks are very capable. Sometimes it's just easier to rent a truck/trailer to do a job like this. It probably wont cost too much and you don't have to worry about wear and tear. Just pay, work and walk away. There's merit to that sometimes.

Hope this helps

 

Here is some pretty good information.

 

Easy way to make sure you are in weight range, is to find a certified scales or a feed store. Weight your truck with empty trailer unless you know from the mfg the ship weight (trailer). You can pull up from Ford web site the weight of your truck. Then run to the scales fully loaded, you got CGVW. Certified scales will charge from $10 and up but most feed stores are about $5 or less. The place I go charges me $2 but then I am there every other week or so. Chris

 

The registration card on my '86 and '88 F-150 4x4's V-8 reg cabs had them listed at shy of 3900 pounds. GVWR on my '88 was 5500 +/-.

So with a 4000 lb truck and 2000 lb trailer, the OP should be fine even with a 4.6L 2V and 3.73 axle.

 

You will need to pull the truck up on the trailer front first.
Recently,I rented a U-Haul Car hauler to transport a Honda CR-V from Louisianna,to Memphis.My 07 has the 4.2,automatic,long box.
The trip wasnt bad,and the trailer had the inertia brakes.
As stated earlier...your probably good to go.If you are planning to rent the U-Haul trailer,you can go to their website,and view a video about loading,and securing the load.
I was really concerned about that long of a trip with the 4.2,and did a ton of research before comitting.Turned out flawless.....

 

Thanks everyone for your posts! My f150 has the 5.4 and 3.31 gears. I dug out my manual "which I should have done in the first place, lol" and found that I can tow a max of a little over 8000 lbs. I figure only 8000 for a little extra safety margin. My pickup does have the integrated brake controller and the trailer has brakes. Thinking back on it, the most I have hauled with this pickup was 2 ton of coal in a small horse trailer. So, 4000lbs plus about 1500lbs for the trailer, thats 5500lbs. It handled it fine. Thats less than what I'm planning to tow now and I know that a 1000 or 1500lbs can make a big difference. Now that I've done some reading and research, I think I'll be fine. Let me know if you think different!
Thanks again for all your feedback
Ben