Guys I have an 03 f150 v6. Great truck but not so great when it comes to hauling something like an old car.

I'm thinking of swapping it for an older heavier duty truck. If you were going to build/buy an older truck for this purpose, what would you do? I need to be budget conscious around 5k give or take. Most diesels from any era in that price range have close to 300k miles.

Would any 70s or 80's gassers be up to I it? I keep finding f150 5.0's but everyone says theyre just not up to it. Thanks

 

What are you towing? An "old car" doesn't tell us much. The size and weight of the trailer and the weight of the car would be helpful.

Also, where are you towing and how far? Short trips to local car shows or cross country are very different requirements.

And for what its worth I towed and open trailer with a car on it with an E150 Clubwagon 5.0 for years and it did just fine. Total weight was about 5K lbs.

 

1956 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. Longest distance maybe 3-4 hours on the highway, or I could do back roads (hilly) topping out at about 60.

The car was delivered to me by a Chevy 1500 350 Silverado (mid 90's) with like 300k miles on it haha.

 

 

I believe the car is somewhere between 4500-5000 lbs. She's heavy. Not sure how decipher my door jamb codes but here's a pic.

 

Assuming the car is 5K lbs, a suitable trailer comes in between 2000 and 2500 lbs, your totaling out around 7500 lbs. That's quite a bit of weight but cars on open trailers don't have a lot of aero drag.

You should be able to look up what the truck is rated to tow if there isn't a separate door jamb tag with the towing rating listed.

I would assume that 7500 lbs is at the very upper end of what a standard F150 of that generation is rated for regardless of the engine. Regardless of whether you tow with that truck or buy another you will need a trailer. I would get a suitable trailer, load the car and hitch to the truck and do a test tow.

Assuming you are going to upgrade the truck an F150 with the 5.0 will likely do the job as long as you don't have any mountains to climb, and its gear properly. You will want either a 3.55 or 3.73 final drive gear. Again, that much weight will have you at the upper end of the truck's capacity. So be prudent and be sure you have a good set of tires, good brakes and a proper brake controller.

 

If your truck runs good I would just stick with it. That V6 isn't a slouch but it will require you think a head when towing. You could always drop to a lower rear gear to get your engine up in rpm's sooner. The older trucks might have had bigger engines but the new trucks make power with smaller engines and have a flatter torque curve.

 

Your truck only has 3.31 gear. Not very well match for pulling 7500# trailer. It will do it, but strain pretty hard on hills as it downshifts a lot. A gear change would be cheaper then replacing the truck.

 

Once you go f250 you will never go back to a 150 for towing-- They ride a smidge rougher- but bigger brakes and bigger springs and lower gears really shape things up allot. just my $.02.

 

I tow on occasion with my '95 F150 SWB 4x4 (5.0 & 3.55 & 4" lift) and it works fine. If it was a long box, big block, 4.11's and a 3/4 ton, it would tow better I'm sure, but it works. If I was looking/going to buy a dedicated trailer puller, I'd get a 90's F250 over the half ton for sure. But a F150 is capable, but at the max end of the spectrum.

 

Just curious if you bought a new truck- if so what? and are you happy with it?