Someone please help me unravel all of this information. I currently tow a '97 Terry 28J travel trailer with my 2004 F150 Supercrew 4.5L 3.73 LS with towing package. GVWR of the trailer is 8600# with UVW of 6783#. My wife and I are currently considering a 2004 Cardinal by Forest River 31RK which has a GVWR of 9980#, UVW of 8080#, and GAWR 0f 8800#.

My SCREW pulls the Terry with no problems, even in Texas Hill Country. Will I have MAJOR problems Towing the new Cardinal power-wise. I do not want to overload the drive train to the point of having the transmission downshifting into 1st gear at every overpass or small hill. I do not tow very often, so that is why I chose the F150 over a SD, maybe 6 or 8 times a year at most. The longest pull to date is only about 300 miles. To Garner State Park .

Anyone out there with the same truck, please let me know what you tow and how well it handles it. The rv dealer says it is close, but that my truck will handle it. Of course he does...... He wants to sell me the trailer .

I am just interested if anyone out there is pulling a 30' or longer trailer with a F150 Screw.

THanks.

 

Do you usually load you trailer all the way to the GVWR? IF not you should not have any problem with the trailer.

 

Do not pull an RV, but do pull a boat that weighs over 7K lbs. and has a total tow length of more than 30 feet. I have the 2004 4x2 Super Crew Lariat with 5.4, 3:73 LS and tow package. Pulls very nicely. The Lariat is specd at 9500lbs tow. This truck replaced a 97 Expedition with tow. 5.4 3:73 gears rated at 8000lbs. The F150 outpulls the old Expy. I was surprised how much better it did as compared to the EXPY.

 

If you pill your rig empty, no gas, no water, no stores, you will be about 200 pounds above Ford's recommended tow weight of 6,700 pounds. The effect of pulling a fully burdened trailer is reduced performance and shorter life cycle of your truck. How much effect would 6 300 mile tows in a year have on the truck is anyones guess but I doubt it will be noticable. On the other hand, if you are going to pull it through the Rockies be prepared to go slow and stop often.

Good Luck and Happy Camping.

 

i have a 2004 supercrew, 4x2 3.73LS Lariat with tow pkg 5.4 , tow a 2004 Baja 29 outlaw twin 496mags on a triple axel trailer. DRY weight with boat and trailer is 8500lbs mine tows fine but you know its back there. My boat and trailer pkg are perfectly balanced no sag at all on the rearend. I use a 2 5/16 ball with a steel shank rated for 11K lbs if you are pulling alot of weght spend the $$ on the solid steel shank and heavy duty ball not the hollow reciever, or you could be sorry. Mine will pull at 75mph all day straight with no sway and safely up very steep ramps of all kinds. The F250 would be better suited though ,Iam looking at a 2005 with the 6.0 or the v10. The F150 does a good job though

 

You will probably be O.K. although personally I wouldn't push my 5.4 that close to the max weight. (3.55, I believe 8500 lbs) I just purchased a new Palomino, 31 ft. It is an ultralite and comes in at 4800 lbs UVW and 7200 GVWR. Maybe you would want to consider an ultralite model. Almost every trailer manufacturere now days has an ultralite model in their line up. I traded a 26 ft. Palomino ultralite that had a GVWR of 3800 lbs. and pulled it all over the hills of PA with no problems. Haven't picked up the new one yet but do not anticipate any problems at all. Good Luck and good camping.

Mike

 

screw tow 2wd 9600, screw 4x4 9200. so the trailer is not a problem empty but loaded you would be over. eveyone has their own comfort zone.

 

CurtW48,
What's a 4.5L? 2WD or 4WD?
Here are some questions to ask yourself? Are you concerned about your insurance, etc. if you violate the tow ratings? Are you concerned about the safety of your family and others on the road if towing beyond the approved ratings? Is everything in perfect working order with no safety margin? e.g. brakes, tires, hitch, etc.
One good accident and you might regret inadvertantly exceeding the rated numbers. Not preaching just giving you food for thought. http://www.fordvehicles.com/Trucks/f...es/spectowing/
Bye,
Rick

 

You are getting close to the practical limit for sure.

I'm pulling a 5er estimated at 8,500 lbs with a Reg Cab 2004 5.4L 3.73 4X4.

The truck differences being my truck is perhaps 500-700 lbs lighter due to the Reg Cab, my engine is more powerful, but my drive train is less efficient.

The trailer difference being that a heavy 5er pulls far better than a heavy TT on the same truck.

I do ok in Wisconsin with my rig, but I don't use O.D. much in a headwind.

There are some really useful Excel Spreadsheets here http://www.rvtowingtips.com/ for estimating hp requirements and dealing with weight issues.

Before I purchased my trailer I did a lot of power scenarios with various head winds and hills. Be sure to use the horsepower at tow rpm rather than maximum rated hp for evaluation purposes. Your maximum rated hp is not useful for towing. Also, Ford is notoriously optimistic in their max hp specs.

 

Thank you everyone for all the input. By the way, I meant to say 5.4 L engine not 4.5

 

It's not so much the weight as far as pulling...it's stopping all that weight you need to be concerned about. As long as you maintain the brakes on the trailer you should be ok. Brakes, I do boats and when you get over 7000lb brakes on both axles are a good idea, but do moble houses have brakes on both axles??

Since you are pushing the limit on pulled weight I'd also be concerned about frontal area of the trailer being pulled into the wind. Don't they make wind deflectors for moble homes? Anyway if you were bucking a 20mph head wind it might be good idea not to try the drag the trailer at 70-75mph. That wind load on the front of the trailer could put allot more stress on the trans..

 

That makes a bit of difference. I was assuming you were off a bit and talking about a 4.6L. I hate to discourage anyone because people have different comfort levels, but I probably wouldn't tow 8,000 + with a 4.6L.

Now your talking about pulling perhaps 9,000 lbs with a 5.4L. It can be done and is reasonably practical provided you aren't going to get in a hurry.

Since you will be at the limit, factors such as weight, wind resistance, breaking, and ride (i.e. sway and bounce) all become issues to be considered and/or delt with.

I'm pulling an 8,500 lb. 5th wheel. One of the reasons I went with a 5er was for a safer more comfortable tow. My truck is rated for an extra 1,000 lbs for 5th wheel towing vs conventional.

Regarding weight, it's going to slow you down on hills, no two ways about it. Also with the rig your considering I don't think you'll have the power to go into the Rockies.

I don't have any hard and fast numbers, but I think based on seat of pants that a large TT behind a truck presents a bigger wind resistance problem than a truck and 5th. Even though the 5th is taller, it acts basically as one surface where a truck and TT both resist the wind separately.

Concerning ride, your TT will significantly outweigh your truck. Your going to need load levelers and sway control to get a decent ride. If the TT you buy has a tendancy to sway, you still may have an issue.

Part of the consideration is how far you typical trip is going to be, what the grades will be like and what the max altitude is going to be. Your driving skill and confidence behind the wheel also come into consideration here.