Thanks to Matt, I have been spending more time than I should building trucks. That has given me insight into the price of the truck I test drove. I think they are giving me a pretty good deal.

Although the 150 always pulled fine, I never really challenged it with so few hills where I live. I hope to make it work a little more this summer which is why I was thinking about the 250.

Mark's story about needing to be able to stop quickly, while pulling 6,000 pounds is what gives me nightmares!! Pulling live animals and worrying about their safety (as well as your own) really puts the fear of God in you!!

Thanks again to everyone, I feel more educated about this big decision.
Claudia

 

If your current F-150 pulls the trailer to your satisfaction, I would not even consider getting another F-150 just to add inches to your wheelbase with the addition of the super cab (now if the dog needs the super cab that is another point). If you are going to bite the bullet and get a new truck, go with the F-250! I had a ‘99 F-150 super cab short bed, 4.6L V8, auto, 3.55 LS (similar to what you have) before my current truck. The F-150 did fine with a small 2-horse bumper pull and 2 horses, figure 5000 lbs max. I upgraded to a 2-horse gooseneck trailer, which put the total trailer weight at about 6000+ lbs. and the truck suddenly seemed like it was not up for the job. As you know, with horses, it is not how fast you are able to start and stop, but that you are able to maintain control when half of the weight attached to your bumper starts moving around like their tails caught on fire (this is where the longer WB for stability comes in). The F-250 will give you some room to grow as far as the amount of stuff you bring. The extras can add up real fast when horse camping (hay, water, supplies, your gear, your friends, etc). Also, I hope that you are happy with your current trailer, but if you keep the truck for a long time you may be likely to get a new trailer, and I have never known anybody to "upgrade" to something that is smaller than what they currently use.

Wow this is getting to be a long post. Sorry.

Anyway... stick with your current truck or get an F-250. Just my $0.02.

 

I thank you for your reply. Especially since you use your truck to pull horses. For a trailer, I have a new Sundowner and am VERY happy with it. My attempts at finding a new F250 that is the color, etc and price I can afford, doesn't seem to exsist.

Tomorrow they are going to have my plan B, F150, for me to look at. It will be silver, XLT, with the extended cab which I have always been sorry I don't have. (some of us carry a purse and need a place to stash it!) The dealer has agreeded to move my braking equipment and extra plug into the new truck at no charge. This spring weather really has me ready to go and have fun with it.

Thanks again,
Claudia

 

Good move Claudia! I've towed just about everything on the planet with a 1/2 ton 4x4 truck and now I have a F-250 XLT 4X4 Extended cab, Diesel that I love towing with! What a difference even the the 1/2 ton truck had granny gear to start with the trailer. I have both a <a href="http://motorhaven.autoanything.com/">bumper</a> pull and goose neck horse trailers, the two horse or fora quick hitch to get a horse to the vet if needed, and the Gooseneck 5 horse trailer is great to go horse camping. Plus, I can get the kids and wife in it!
Love my F-250 so far...only my second Ford and the first was an Explorer that we out grew....the Suburban is in a shop now...broke down in TN today. Hmmm...diesel Expedition?
Anyway, long wheel base is best for towing and 3/4 ton has much more braking power.

 

One more "stupid" question. Why do some of the trucks advertised as F150 with the tow package have 17" wheels, and others that are fully loaded as a tow vehicle have 16" wheels?? Is there a reason to pick one over the other? thanks

 

Claudia

Let me start by saying the bigger the better when it comes to towing... that said, what you are towing is not a whole lot. You are well inside what i consider the safe envelope for that truck.

I assume that this truck is a daily driver this being the case then you need to look at the trade offs. first of all your bigger truck is going to cost more, get crappy mileage(between 6 mpg and 18 depending on the truck and motor) and your insurance/tags will be more. it has a better suspension and better brakes.

It depends on how much you tow, as to if it makes sense for you to trade up. I do have to say that if i were you i would rather stay with the truck i have rather than buy another one with a longer wheel base... while theoretically safer i do not think that there is enough difference ... unless you are already ready to get rid of your truck.

that being said, you may want to throw you rig on the scale, first empty(no trailer) then the trailer and then with the horse/s in it. i think you will find that you are well within even the limits ford sets out for your truck.

as far as the braking ability of you rig, unless there is something wrong with your trailer brakes, your truck brakes, or your brake controller setup, you should be able to lock up all your tires in a stop, and outstop most cars, in fact your largest concern imho is that you do not have enough weight over the trailer axles to really take full advantage, but still your rig should stop on a dime.

i would really suggest getting some airbags, front and rear this will counteract the crappy car ride your truck has from ford and make it a much better tow vehicle, for less than a $1000, i would do this long before trading up to a "bigger" f150.

PS 16 inch wheels are a truck wheels, with a good load E range tire you can put 7.5per axle way more than you will feel comfortable driving in that truck, 17 inch wheels are more for show, but with the load you are towing if you want them and you can afford them you will probably be able to get them with no issues, just look at the weight stamped on the sidewall. keep in mind that the tires are almost always the weakest link in the equation.

anyway good luck...


nickolas

ps what kind of horse to you have that tips the scale at 1200 lbs? that must be a light draft or one heck of a stalky quater horse...

 

Nickolas, thanks for the really informative reply. I am in the process now of going with the new F150 with the extended cab. With rates what they are, I am getting the truck I had before with the extra cab which will be a luxury to me. That gives me the little extra on my truck, no milage, and a payment about the same as I had before.

Thanks for the tire info. I will stick with the 16" that come with this vehicle. Try as I might to do my homework on all this, i could not find tire information.

I like the idea of finding out all the weights, maybe they will let me use the scale at the local dump??

I don't want to hear any fat horse jokes. My husband always says he pictures her in butcher paper in the freezer. She is a big girl (not fat). An "old style" Skipper W, on both sides, Quarter Horse.

Thank you again so much,
Claudia

 

I don't know all the details but the FX4 4X4 has 17's and it also comes with Rancho shocks. It is a much stiffer ride than my 97 f-150 extended cab 4x4 was. I just traded Thursday the 2nd and the ride is totally different than my 97. Right now on a new truck the FX4 package has a 500 or 700 deduction on sticker price. In other words it's a package that's being offered at that much less.

Price: I bought a 2003 f-150 Supercrew 4x4 (I now believe this is my dream truck). FX4, tow package, 5.4 for $30,000. This was about $250 below invoice. They wouldn't budge on Kelley Blue book on my trade but they were up front about it. Minus the $2,500 rebate I paid 27,500. With 5.25% financing through another bank the rebate was the smart answer. Good luck.

 

P.S. I forgot to mention the one I bought was $1100 more than the base XLT with a 4.6L. The options came out to $2500. I had no intentions of an FX4 5.4L w/tow package but $2500 worth for $1100 won me.

 

The dump will cerainly weigh the truck for you...and in my county we are allowed to dump 2k lbs. per year before we have to start paying. My F-250 weighs 6670 w/o a trailer....
Speaking of trailers, be sure that you get the truck weight plus hauled and/or towed weights on the registration. I went with 14,000 lbs. for us and our horses, tack, and etc.
Recently a friend was hauling cattle to market in his brand new f-350 and got pulled by DMV for a weight check. His registration read 4000 lbs. GRVW.... Mind you the truck weighs more than it is registered for! He got a $350 fine on the spot, the DMV guy was a city slicker, (so my friend says) and wouldn't cut a farmer with a new truck any slack even though the tag office personel should have had a clue that an F-350 weighs more than 4,000 lbs and can tow a house!
Enjoy the new toys!

 

Oh my God!, I have no idea what my registration has on it for towing weight! I will be checking that as soon as I get home. I will take truck and trailer in to be weighed ASAP. Thanks for the heads up.
Claudia

 

Most of the time I will not be using it for towing and really did not want a diesel.

I would stay with the F150, definitely. If you towed full time, then yes, F250 would be necessary. If 95% of the time it will be running empty, I would either keep what you have or get a bigger V8, like 5.4L. The old 5.8L is another good one. Extended wheelbase is a good thing, full size bed + X-cab.

You can also get the rear end of 3.73 or even 4.10 to increase your towing capacity.

Weight you trailer, then look up the towing capacity of your truck. For example, 1990 Ford F150 2WD, 3.55 rear, 351W engine, with the regular cab is rated for 7,900 lbs. With Xcab, that drops to 7400.

I dealt with almost the same issue as you, except I wanted to tow considerably more, between 8 and 9K lbs. I really wanted to get a base 3/4 ton truck with the old 351W engine. Realized it was slightly outside of its scope. Ended up with a full 1 ton truck rated for 12,000. I wanted both fuel economy for daily driving and the towing capacity for 8500 lbs. I think with a base 3/4 ton I would have gotten neither. With 1 ton and 460, I get 10 miles per gallon.

But the weights you are pulling, the 1/2 ton is fine. I pulled almost as much with a station wagon and 350/3.0 rear. It wasn't that good. Need a lower rear of at least 3.55.

 

The load that you are talking about is no sweat and quite safe for the truck you have. Save your money and enjoy the truck.

Make sure you look after and maintain truck and trailer well. Pay particular attention to braking systems.


Have fun with your horses.

 

You all have really reduced my apprehension about pulling the trailer with the 150. Thank you for such great information. You just can't always believe a car dealer when his lips are moving. This site has really made it possible for me to make the decision on my own. Here I am stuck at work and I would rather be out driving my truck!!
Thanks again!
Claudia

 

I just bought a 2003 F-150 7700. I do not tow much (a boat a couple of times a year) but it had everything else I wanted. The 7700 pkg is a little beefier than the straight F150 and is rated to tow about 8200lbs which seems right near what you need. I didn't compare prices to the 250 but this might be an option.