I've been bitten by the towing bug, and I am trying to find a once-in-a-while tow vehicle to haul a variety of loads. Since it's only going to be a once-in-a-while vehicle, I don't see any reason to not go a bit bigger than I might otherwise.

I'm looking at a CL ad for a 1985 F350 4x4 Diesel.

It has a newer motor. He says 6.8L but I think he means 6.9L, and probably meant 4.10 rear instead of 4.11 which he also stated.

Presuming the truck is in sound condition and his comments are just typos (or he remembered incorrectly), is the GCWR for this truck actually 14,000 lb like it says on some older manuals I've found? I'm waiting to hear back from this guy on GCWR but since all ya'll are the experts...figured I'd ask.

That leads me into my next question. Is 14,000lb in 1985 units actually comparable to a lower GCWR in a year 2000 truck for example? Or is the 14,000lb actually not accurate by today's safety standards, and anything above 10,000lb would be a bad idea, for example?

Thanks!

Thanks!

 

Yes a 14k GCWR would be correct for a truck of this vintage, just goes to show how far things have come. You have to remember you are stepping back in time to a period when a truck with 150hp and single piston front disc/rear drum brakes was the norm.

 

When you say "how far things have come" I don't really understand.

Are you saying things haven't come far?

I feel like 14,000 GCWR is a crazy big number. What's the average GCWR for F350s nowadays, or even F150s?

Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree?

Basically, I want to tow 10,000lb without (much) issue. Something like this trailer filled to capacity: https://www.atozrentall.com/rentals/...4-6-400-lb-cap

 

GCWR is the Gross COMBINED Weight Rating, which would be the total weight of the truck and trailer including all extras, passengers and cargo. 14,000lbs is not a crazy big number for that rating, it's very much on the low side compared to todays trucks.

 

Gotcha. Yes, from what I've seen a F150 of the past 10 years or so has a GCWR of around 14,000lbs. So, the smaller trucks of today are on par with the big ones of yesteryear. Correct? So my question is whether I should chase a truck like this F350 or a ~10 year old F150. Or is it one and the same, but a newer F150 will just offer much more comfort and safety features?

 

An old 6.9 Diesel will be mighty slow towing 10,000 lbs, if you want an old truck that can tow that weight well your best bet would be a 7.3 Powerstroke or 5.9 Cummins.

 

And would a more current F150 or 1500 fair much better?

 

They will probably be quicker since they have more HP but 10,000 lbs is quite a trailer load for a 1/2 ton truck. You can probably get by with it if you only tow that much occasionally.

 

 

That's not a crazy number when you stop and think,your truck weighs at least 6k lbs.So with 10k in tow,your over your combined rating by as much as a ton.
It's not as if an old pickup with an old school IDI can't move a 10k trailer around but if it's N/A it will crawl 20-25MPH up "real" grades doing it.
A modern F150 with the larger gas engines can easily outperform the old IDI's in towing.We're talking well over 20 years here.They wouldn't sell many new trucks if they didn't put the old ones to shame.

Mind blowing isn't it? It took a medium duty truck just 20 years ago,to be able to handle such loads.



Only the F-Super Duty (PRE-F450) trucks came with the 5.13 gears.So back in the day,the F450 only had a max 18k combined gross rating.Mine weighs 10k lbs itself with a custom stretched frame,16' bed and 3k lb capacity crane.