Maybe I'm overlooking somewhere. Anyone know the tow specs for the "04, 4x4, 5.4, 3.73 SuperCrew?

Doug

 

i was told at a ford function that although they were advertizing 9500 lbs towing, in an effort to stay ahead of the nissan titan, the ford is actually capable (and now rated) for 9900 towing for the 2x4 models, and 9600 for the 4x4 models due to the added weight of drivetrain. this applies to my new supercrew with 5.4l, 2.73 gears. the bumper rubber trim has stamped 9500 though
( i guess it was molded pre the recent anouncement)

 

The current towing specs are here:

http://www.fordvehicles.com/Trucks/f...es/spectowing/

An 04, 4x4, 5.4, 3.73 SuperCrew has a tow rating of 9,200 pounds.

I don't believe Ford has yet made any official announcement about increasing their tow rating...if they had it would probably be on their website by now. Seriously, if someone is planning to tow anywhere near the maximum rating of the F150 they'd be much better off buying a Superduty - the F150 towing numbers are a bit exaggerated at this point, mainly due to marketing pressure.

LK

 

being an automotive engineer ( although I am not in drivetrain) my opinion is that the tow rating is derived from a specific validation profile. ie run at wot, on a x% grade in arizona proving grounds temperature, and maintain cooling temp.
since i live in michigan. i am confident that my ford will be capable of the rating that marketing is proclaiming, it just makes the conservative engineers at Fords squirm a little because they don't have their 10x safety factor ( the word safety not used here in the literal sense)

 

Since I'm one of the "conservative engineers", I'll explain my answer a little better. Actually, I don't work at Ford - but I'm an engineer at a tier 1 auto supplier that makes drivetrain components for Ford.

You are entirely correct that the numbers are based on testing, but the safety factor is not as large as you might think - not even close to 2x, let alone 10x. The safety margin on the new trucks is far smaller than it was on the trucks made 20 years ago. There is a lot of marketing pressure to inflate the towing figures, so that the truck compares favorably with the other trucks in its class - so the numbers you see nowadays are pushing the extreme limits of a truck's abilities.

Also, in my opinion the testing that is done has two major faults:

1 - It only looks at the short-term effects of towing, and doesn't look at how well the components will hold up to long-term towing use. Actually, you could look at the tow ratings like you look at your engine's redline - while the engine can hit that occasionally without damage, running your engine at redline all the time would shorten its life a *significant* amount.

2 - The ratings focus on the drivetrain, and don't really take into account the dynamics of trailer towing - like braking, stability, or handling during emergency maneuvers. I've talked to a number of people who bought half-ton trucks for towing, and then found that the suspension setups were not able to handle it...some to the point where pulling a trailer was downright scary. Sometimes the problems can be fixed with new shocks, airbags, and things like that...but most of the time they eventually ended up going out and buying a heavier truck.

Also, the "maximum trailer weight" isn't really what limits towing most of the time - the actual towing ability of the truck is usually limited by its GCWR. Of course, very few people bother to have their trucks weighed - and without doing that it is very difficult to determine a truck's true tow ratings.

I'm not trying to be a jerk or tell you that you bought the wrong truck - I just want to let folks know that if they are really planning to tow a 7,000+ pound trailer on a regular basis I would *strongly* recommend they buy a Superduty and not an F150.

LK

 

I agree with you Lk, hense the smilie next to the 10x number.

i agree that mostly the suspension dictates the capability. the superduty (non deisel) has the same 5.4 liter engine and tranny as the F150

in my case, my 01 F150 pulled my 6500 lbs boat and triple axle trailer at 75mph+ no problem. but that trailer with only 600lbs tongue weight pulls much better than an older camper with narrow tires.

for boat trailers, i feel confident my 04 truck with outboard rear shocks, 9 times stiffer fully boxed frame, larger brake rotors all around, and it's factory class v hitch will pull it's rating.

for big campers.........an anti-sway hitch and/or the super duty will pull better no doubt. (the superduty just rides like crap unloaded )