We’ll be towing a light trailer 900 miles on the freeway. We’ll be 8+dog aboard an extended passenger van with 5.4, 4R75, 3.73 diff, no trailer brake controller. Trailer will have empty dog crates. I don’t know the elevation changes between Dallas and Knoxville. What’s a safe tongue and trailer weight for this scenario? SWMBO will want to fill the trailer until it looks full. I’d like to keep it so the van doesn’t know the trailer is there.

Sixto
07 E350 5.4 179K miles

 

50% on weight both tow and tongue weight, you will not know it is there.

 

I put a Mustang on a Uhaul trailer, filled it Andy ext E350 with stuff and drove across the mountains of Tennessee into North Carolina, I have a 5.4 and 350 gears, no trailer brake, I was fine, tho the Uhaul trailers have that brake setup that engages as pressure is put on the tongue. I was amazed at the power and gas mileage, the van was newer with 74,000 miles at the time. I think you should do fine.

 

Uh trailers are to be 60/40 or you get the wag.

 

tabijan,
I agree with the 60/40 tongue down approach if you have no trailer brakes
Smokey mountains here we come
The interstate is not too bad for hills
Drive safe

 

Thanks but you overestimate me. What do 50/50 and 60/40 tongue weight mean?

Sixto
07 E350 5.4 179K miles

 

It means 60% on the tongue and 40% behind the axle, it prevents trailer wag, which will throw the tow vehicle out of control. The smokeys are when you turn off overdrive, I kept mine on until then, thats when it starts dropping gears, great place for photos too.

 

Thanks!

Is there any climbing between Birmingham and Chattanooga?

Sixto
07 E350 5.4 179K miles

 

Should be down hill, I used to drive it headed to Florida, first time I got 17MPG, coming back was different.

 

It was a 2300 mile round trip on I-40 to Little Rock then I-30 to Dallas. Returned on same route. We couldn’t find a one way rental so we took an empty trailer. Claims to be 1800lb empty. I’d say there was 1500lb in the van both ways and another 1500lb in the trailer on the return.

Definitely felt the weight on the return. I don’t like to bury the pedal or see more than 3000 on the tach so we were doing about 40 at the end of most on-ramp merge lanes. Traffic was kind. On a handful of climbs it dropped into second up to 5500rpm to hold speed. I was wincing. Otherwise it was happy at the limit with regular drops from OD.

Steering and tracking were a joy! I feel bad for those who can’t get their van to track properly. This rig went where pointed even winding at speed through construction zone mazes. Does weight offset crosswinds?

Ride was decent but some bridge and overpass transitions were too much for the Monroes. Wifey moved up the trip 2 days so I didn’t have time to install the Bilsteins.

Thankfully we didn’t need to test the brakes except for a couple of occasions in Dallas rush hour.

The damage is 11.7mpg outbound, 10.7mpg return at an average fuel cost of $4.58/gal.

Thanks for all the words of wisdom!

Sixto
07 E350 5.4 182K miles

 

We got some serious mountains, Monteagle has run offs for run aways on the side, its a long pull going up, its from middle TN to Chattanooga, no pulling up that in overdrive even in an unloaded van.
Yeah, these gas prices, 10MPG is absolute murder, can't afford any trips, by the time I get gas, I can'[t pay the entrance fee.