Recomendation on towing?!
Thread Starter
|
New User
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Recomendation on towing?!
I have a 1990 Ford F150 Xlt Lariat 4wd. Rear end has 3.55 gears #19 axle. Motor is a 4.9l rebuilt with bigger fuel injectors. Dry weight is 6,400lbs on the camper hitch weight is 843lbs.
FTE Legend
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 31,930
Likes: 1,499
From: Ottawa, Ontario
What transmission?
You are at or possibly even over the limits of what one of these old trucks could tow and at that weight this would be white knuckle experience in anything but the best conditions, so it's not advised IMO unless this is just an occasional tow that isn't too far and doesn't involve any big hills.
I'm sure you were thinking that would help but all it's really going to accomplish is higher fuel consumption.
You are at or possibly even over the limits of what one of these old trucks could tow and at that weight this would be white knuckle experience in anything but the best conditions, so it's not advised IMO unless this is just an occasional tow that isn't too far and doesn't involve any big hills.
I'm sure you were thinking that would help but all it's really going to accomplish is higher fuel consumption.
Fleet Owner
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 21,437
Likes: 76
From: Gilbert, PA
95 f150 4wd 3.55 and 4.9 AUTO
has a GCWR of 10,000
95 f150 4wd 3.55 and 4.9 manual
has a GCWR of 7,800
Now just to clarify
GCWR is Gross Combined Weight Rating(what the truck & trailer weigh)
I would venture to say a F150 reg cab long bed 4wd weighs about 5000lbs
So deduct that from the GCWR
Fleet Owner
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 21,437
Likes: 76
From: Gilbert, PA
[QUOTE=Zack Field;17555014]Then that leaves you with a GCWR of 7,800.
So if your truck weighs 5000lbs then you can only tow 2,800lbs
So if your truck weighs 5000lbs then you can only tow 2,800lbs
Trending Topics
Temporarily Deactivated
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,859
Likes: 2
Think of your F150 as a big ugly car. If you have an equalizer hitch and good brakes on the trailer, stay on flat roads? Don't make a habit of this. Feel all of your tires and wheel bearings often and make sure nothing is getting hot.
Why do people with little trucks always get big trailers? The fun starts when the trailer is parked. You will have more fun if you keep it parked.
Why do people with little trucks always get big trailers? The fun starts when the trailer is parked. You will have more fun if you keep it parked.
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
10 Things Every Truck Owner NEEDS (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalytic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Most Expensive Ford Trucks Ever Sold on Bring a Trailer
Joe Kucinski
2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)
Brett Foote
Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies
Joe Kucinski
AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make
Brett Foote
Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!
Michael S. Palmer
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home
Verdad Gallardo
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 1,146
Likes: 17
From: Central Indiana
Think of your F150 as a big ugly car. If you have an equalizer hitch and good brakes on the trailer, stay on flat roads? Don't make a habit of this. Feel all of your tires and wheel bearings often and make sure nothing is getting hot.
Why do people with little trucks always get big trailers? The fun starts when the trailer is parked. You will have more fun if you keep it parked.
Why do people with little trucks always get big trailers? The fun starts when the trailer is parked. You will have more fun if you keep it parked.
The big think you mentioned is brakes. An F150 doesn't have the braking capacity for a trailer that big. Always keep in mind the trailer brakes might go out and the truck has to stop the load by itself.
Could be worse, though. The first generation of diesel Chebbies and JimCees were not allowed to carry or tow anything, per the owners manual. My shop inherited (for an owed bill) a very low miles 1987 Chevy longbed. Owners manual said no towing or hauling. Engine was rated at 125hp/225ftlbs of torque. We have a TH700R4 behind it to replace a blown up TH200. Not fast, needs a calendar to measure acceleration. I keep it around for a spare vehicle if needed. No smog needed in Kalifornistan, so far.
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 5,006
Likes: 72
From: Roseville, MN
Or my '85 F-250HD. Empty weight around 5500 lbs, GVWR of 8600 lbs, so a payload of around 3100 lbs. But with a 351W, 4 speed manual and 3.55 gears it had a GCWR of 7600 lbs. So if you loaded it to the max GVWR you need to be pulling a trailer that weighed -1000 lbs (full of helium maybe?)
(edit: oops, I looked it up again, the GCWR wasn't that low, it was actually 7800 lbs So I only needed to tow -800 lbs of helium)
(edit: oops, I looked it up again, the GCWR wasn't that low, it was actually 7800 lbs So I only needed to tow -800 lbs of helium)
FTE Legend
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 31,930
Likes: 1,499
From: Ottawa, Ontario
Wait.. scrap that you said 4-sp manual. So that has to be a typo in the manual then, my '90 owners manual says the 351/manual/3.55 combo is good for 11k combined.
More Turbo
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 501
Likes: 7
From: Deep East Texas
How far will you be towing? What type of roads, freeway, country roads? I know a couple of guys with the same last name as you. Where you from?
Senior User
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 121
Likes: 1
FWIW... Back when my dad owned my '91 F-150 302/5-speed 4x4 regular cab, he used it to tow his Ford 4000 tractor on a 16' utility trailer. With the fluid in the rear tires, the heavy spin-out wheels, and its later-model industrial diesel mill out of a backhoe, the tractor and trailer were somewhere in the ballpark of 6,000lbs. He said there was one stop sign on a hill where he had to put the transfer case in 4 Low to get it moving. He said the load was really too much for the truck, and if he'd needed to go more than a few miles, he wouldn't have done it, but sometimes you have to use what you've got. (He didn't do it very long before he moved up to an F-250 PSD.)
So, yeah, my recommendation would be don't tow that trailer with that truck.
So, yeah, my recommendation would be don't tow that trailer with that truck.
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 5,006
Likes: 72
From: Roseville, MN
That is bizzare, what is the point of a combined weight that is less than the gross vehicle weight. Does that thing have a ZF in it or a Mazda? If it's an M5 that might explain it.
Wait.. scrap that you said 4-sp manual. So that has to be a typo in the manual then, my '90 owners manual says the 351/manual/3.55 combo is good for 11k combined.
Wait.. scrap that you said 4-sp manual. So that has to be a typo in the manual then, my '90 owners manual says the 351/manual/3.55 combo is good for 11k combined.
I don't know what the deal was in '85. Going to 4.10 gears only bumped it up to 9000 lbs. A 460/manual/3.55 was 11,500 with the 4.10s giving that combo 16,000. So it must have been the 351 that dragged it down (and the 2 bbl 351 was no powerhouse)
In '86 the 351/manual/3.50 had a GCWR of 11,000 (and was still 11,000 with 4.10s). So I don't think there was a ton of science behind it all.
But the point is, as you said, older trucks didn't necessarily have very high tow ratings. And sometimes even ridiculously low ratings. But they are the ratings, so buyer beware!
(and I think the point of the GCWR below the GVWR was to get people to pop for the bigger engines!)