My wife and I are starting a concession business this year and part of my job is to make sure the truck is ready to tow a trailer full time. I have read on here how some of you use your trucks a lot for towing and need to some help/input on what I need to do to make sure my truck is ready to go.

We are going to get a 8.5' x 18' concession trailer. I have looked up estimated weights since we don't know the exact weight of ours yet. Between several websites and talking to some trailer companies, we are going to be in the ballpark of 6,000 to 7,000 pounds.

FAQs | Custom Concessions

"How much does a concession trailer weigh?

8’ X18” tongue weight of approximately 6000 lbs = Actual weight of approximately 1500-2000 lbs"

I'm looking at getting rear airbags for the truck since the trailer will be hooked up to it most of the time and gauges to watch my EGT and trans temps. Riff Raff sells a kit with those gauges plus a boost gauge. After reading some threads about fuel pressure problems, I'm leaning towards a fuel pressure gauge instead of the boost gauge.

Any suggestions/ideas/personal experience would be greatly appreciated.

 

Put the gauges on it & go, I agree with your thinking on the fuel press instead of the boost. You can put the air bags if you like & is probably a good idea but my truck is pulling a 10k horse trailer 75% of the time w/o bags & does fine.

That's what these trucks were made for (pulling) so I don't believe you will be asking too much from her

 

gauges, dont have to have air bags, and spare CPS, fuel filter, air filter, some oil, tools to work on it.
if you would like some good tow tunes.

 

Gauges,a chip from one of our custom tuners(I run a DP Tuner,but don't order a chip till you know how much weight you're towing),you mentioned a trans temp gauge so I assume its an auto(I'm on FTE Mobile so I can't see your Sig),so you need a good trans cooler,a 6.0 trans cooler is best,but a tru-cool from napa is better than stock...

 

synthetic oil. You can always do a quad pillar, so you have then a boost gauge (will let you know if/when you develop a leak). I dig the idea of the airbags, sure helped my ride ot with them. Synthetic diffs oil, p/s fluid change with syn ATF and new syn brake flid....along with whats been mentioned above...good luck.

 

Can you tell us a little bit about your truck? SRW/DRW? Tow Package? Manual/Auto Trans etc...

I think the FAQs on the concession trailer page is a little backwards because the tongue weight should never exceed the trailer weight....I think they must have made a typo there.

You'll need a receiver hitch ball that is 2 5/16" dia. I carry around one that has all 3 of the popular sizes and made of solid steel. High Strength Steel is best. Avoid stainless steel receiver hitches, they are more brittle than HSS and not as strong. Here is the hitch that I would use for your application.
Ball Mounts - Reese
This is a solid shank vs a hollow tube so it will certainly be strong enough for your purpose.

For load leveling, you have a lot of choices but the two most reasonable systems would be airbags or weight distributing bars. I prefer the airbags because they are much more flexible and easier to use in my opinion. Airlift makes a complete system with an on board compressor for a little less than $500. If your truck is a SRW without the auxiliary helper spring than airbags are a great alternative. If your truck has the additional spring and the trailer comes set up for WD bars then you might just want to go with a WD hitch to minimize upfront costs. Here is an example of a WD hitch.
Common Weight Distribution and Sway Control Questions | etrailer.com

To assist in lining up the hitch ball, I carry around a 5" convex mirror that has swivel bracket with a magnetic base. I simply stick the mirror onto the front of the trailer or tongue jack and use it to help align the ball to the hitch. Works great.

Get yourself a trailer plug tester and see if your trailer lights are working. Sometimes you might need to install a relay or two to activate your trailer plug. If you bought your truck new, then you should have a bag in your glove box or behind your seat with the relays. That same bag would also have the trailer brake controller harness which you will need if the concession trailer has electric brakes. I use this brake controller in all my trucks because they are simple to operate and reasonably priced.
Brake Controllers - Tekonsha

If you have the tow mirrors, then you will love these things. I have a set on all my truck. They are a little pricey but worth it in my opinion.
C-Betr Mirror Set :: C-Betr Mirrors :: QWorks Corporation

A good set of wheel chocks are a must. I like the solid rubber kind that are shaped like a pyramid. You can find them at your local trailer supply store. If they are too expensive, then these are a good alternative.
Solid Rubber Wheel Chock

You will want a fire extinguisher for the truck and one for the trailer. If you are using a generator, then you might want to locate the fire extinguisher nearby in case of emergency.

A set of orange cones will be handy as well. You can use them to block off a parking space or two just ahead of your truck. That way you can minimize the chance of someone blocking you in while you are parked. You'd be surprised how thoughtless other people can be...

Like the others have already said, these trucks like to tow so you should already be good to go. There are a few issues that seem to be more common than others so you might want to read through this thread and learn about those items.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...on-thread.html

Hope this helps.
Happy Towing!

 

where do you live that never happens here.

 

LOL. This time of year we are 'blessed' with the Snow Birds (all the retired folks from northern climates). They love Arizona during the winter. They play by their own rules though....
Yesterday we had an elderly couple walk right through our construction site. We had the area barricaded off with yellow caution tape and everything but it doesn't matter to them. The nice elderly guy was a gentleman and even lifted up the caution tape for his wife to pass under. I guess when you are that old then you've earned the right to take some risks now and then...

 

all good points, i would check what kind of brake system is on the trailor, will you need a brake controller? i would carry extra fuses that are used on the trailor side. when you get parked use the trailor dolly to take the wieght off the truck, a block of wood comes in handy for this. it is also handy if you have dual axles on the trailor for changing tires. pull the good tire up onto the block lifting the bad tire up to be changed.

 

Really great suggestion. A block of wood has saved my bacon once or twice. Super handy to have just for the reasons you mention. I carry one with me all the time now.

 

As mentioned before, there is no way that trailer has 6000 lbs on the tongue. Tongue weight should be 10% of trailer weight. You will need a brake controller and should be good to go with a light trailer like that. Although the stuff listed here is never a bad idea.

 

The trucks is auto, SRW, with the tow package. I say it has the tow package because it has all the hookups (receiver, trailer light plugs). It doesn't have a trailer brake controller though. I'll definitely look into those. The truck doesn't have the tow mirrors.

The trailer will come with brakes. It will also have a generator and gas bottles mounted on the front. Its a dual axle and will have the flat front. I wanted the v nose but it wouldn't leave room for the generator/gas bottles on the tongue.

There's a great list of things (cones, block of wood) from everyone. I get to justify buying a toolbox to go on the truck too now! lol

How difficult is it to change out the CPS? I saw a local auto parts store has one for around $26. Is it better to just change it out now?

I already have some good tunes for towing. Some Jerry Reed, Mel McDaniel, Crystal Gayle, George Strait, Eddie Rabbit, and so on. My wife always laughs at me when we start driving to GA from here (LA) because I start the trip off with "East bound and down" by Jerry Reed (aka, The Snowman)lol

 

the CPS should be bought form Ford or International. the other are junk.
a 10mm socket and driver and you good. see link
Welcome to guzzle's CPS R&R Web Page<

 

Hahahaha Jerry Reed, Mel McDaniel, Crystal Gayle, George Strait, Eddie Rabbit, and so on.

These guys are talking about a chip that has custom tunes on it for the truck, you could have a 60 hp tune, a 75 hp tune, tunes to give you more power!

But hey George Strait is never a bad tune!

 

Oh, yeah. Well, at least I didn't make myself look stupid........right? Lol

Now that I'm on track, how do you change the tune? Does it replace the stock computer or plug in?

Sorry if I sound unintelligent about this stuff. I drove a 1952 F3 before so the computer stuff is confusing to me.