I am new to the truck and towing ordeal and need some help. If this is a repeat posting forgive me...I can't find what I'm looking for. I have a 1994 F150 4x4 with 5.0L, 3.55 gears and E4OD tranny. I just bought the truck and the tranny went a month later so I had no time to check the trucks capabilities. I've now had the tranny rebuilt with upgraded parts including a shift kit. It also has a cooler. I need to know my towing capacity for this set-up. My GVWR is 6100 #'s according to the sticker in the door jam. I am looking into a 29ft fifth wheel that has been gutted and would need to get it home to remodel. That will be the most the truck tows the camper( about 250 miles) one time. Of course the camper has brakes and I have a brake controller in the truck. Is it even possible to tow this camper with this truck? I appreciate all knowledge that can be passed my way. Thanks.

 

Hi buddy! Welcome to FTE! Sounds like you got a really nice truck besides the transmission puking!

How much does your 5th wheel weigh?

From what I've read here you should be able to tow 4,000 lbs safely by way of factory towing specification ratings.

Is there lots of hills or mountains where you live?

PLEASE make sure your brakes are in good working order if you do attempt this.

Personally I think for one time your truck will be fine - assuming your brakes are good. Keep it slow, keep your transmission out of overdrive, and keep an eye out for your engine or transmission over heating. I would let the truck cool downevery so often pulling something that heavy. Just me.

Whatever you do BE SAFE! There are mom's and dad's and son's and daughter's on the roads with you!

Post a picture of your truck if you can. I'd like to see the ole' girl!

- Bill

 

Thanks for the welcome mat. I'm not sure the weight of the 5th wheel, the guy is supposed to get back with me on that. I googled 29ft 5th wheel camper weight and the general concensus says about 5800#'s. That may be to much for my truck. How do you think the 3.55 gears will perform?

 

Well, the 302 does MUCH better with lower gears. 3.55's are okay but not ideal with your 302. It's a great engine but pulls much harder with 4.10's.

If it's no more than 5,800 lbs I would personally still attempt it if I had no other options. Do you have a buddy with a 3/4 ton truck?

Like I said 3.55's are fine but the 302 would pull a lot better with 4.10's. Just keep it out of overdrive and go slow.

 

The only way that you can figure out what your actual towing capability is, from at least Ford's, Legaly, DMV and insurance coverage points of view is to take what your truck weighs, as it is normally loaded. Take that weight and subtract it from the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight (GCWR) that is found in yor OWNERS manual and the difference is what you can legaly tow. The 6100 lb number you poster (GVW) is for only the truck, and has no bearing on what you tow behind!

Remember, there is NO set tow rating, but a "can tow up to" rating by Ford. A lighter regular cab 2wd truck will tow more than a heavier extended cab 4wd truck, given the same model, engine, trans and rear axle ratio.

Point - all of Ford's maximum tow ratings generaly require certain axle ratios, certain cooling upgrades, trans cooler upgrades - etc. Your OWNERS manual will let you know what is required equipment to tow at the highest rating.

And remember - it is your truck and your load, if you are close to the GCWR then you will HAVE to weigh your truck and trailer, there is no way that anyone on this board or any other can tell you exactly what you have weighs - ballpark is about as close as anyone can come.

Now that you have figured out how much weight you can tow, now it comes down to individual axle ratings. You also have a Gross rear Axle Weight rating as well, fifth wheelers on 1/2 tons tend to push this a bit as there is a fair amount of hitch weight.

You may find that the truck and trailer combo is within the GVWR, but that the rear axle is overloaded, this is a common occurance on 150's and fivers, at least if they are on the larger size. No easy fix for this, about the only thing you can do is get a F250, but even then can run into thelimitations of the SRW F250, so that is why you see Duallies pulling the largest fifths.

Good luck with your project!

David

 

You have to worry about tires also.
I don't know if Ford specifies a higher load rating on trucks fitted with a tow package or not, but I do know that you may have regular (35 psi) LT or passenger tires fitted to your vehicle, where the tow package install might have originally called for more plys... (50 psi).
I know on my vans, I can go to the tire shop and if I don't specify load range "E" (80 psi), they will often just look at the tire size and try to throw on the lesser tire. The same exact style, size, tread, and brand tire can be had in a few different ply counts. If you don't watch it, they will give you the bottom load range. Point is, some time in the past, during a tire replacement, the truck you have may have been fitted with lesser tires than it should have to carry a load or tow heavy.

Some food for thought.

 

I second both of the above posts. Really if your considering towing a 5th wheel I wouldnt suggest trying it. I pull a 6k gooseneck (empty weight) of which about 1400-1600 of it rides on the rear axle of the truck. Id haft to say you would be over your axle rating as well as your GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) You may want to look into finding a F250 or larger to pull it. Just my .02 after plenty of towing.


FYI the total weight of the gooseneck loaded tips the scale at about 13k.......behind a 96 F350

 

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I've got a lot of info to digest. The seller hasn't got back to me with the weight but according to the info you guys provided I'm sure it will be to much. The 5th wheel was an idea for a business project I'm working on. It wasn't exactly ideal for what I need but for the price it would work. That being said, buying another truck doesn't fit the budget so I'll keep looking. Ether way I may have to get another truck because I'm figuring even with a smaller trailer I'll be towing about 7000#'s loaded.

 

I'm glad we could help you! Sorry to hear the idea may be falling through for the time being.

 

It's not a problem, it's a work in progress, lol. Once I find a good trailer or trailer frame to build on things will come together pretty quickly. Thanks again.