I have a 04 Screw w/ 5.4 and 7,500 miles. I just pulled my snowmobile trailer this weekend and my truck could hardly pull it. The trailer is an 8'x10' aluminum v-nose. The trailer weight is 1,200lbs and my sleds probably weight about 1,000lbs together. I drove to my place up north and got a whopping 7mpg and the thing would shift down into 2nd gear to make it up (I use this term loosly) hill. I couldn't believe how bad it was. I talked to my dealer and I am going to get it into see them this friday, but has anyone else seen or heard about this problem. I can tell you what. If they say their is nothing wrong with the truck, I will have it at the local dyno shop to see the actuall hp & torque numbers. I had a screw ranger before that pulled the trailer so much better. Help......

Chad

 

Hey Chad. Check you axle code on the door jam decal then check it against the info on the SD FAQ page. You may have the 3.73 rear end. The 5.4 does not tow well with 3.73 gears.

 

This is just my own personal opinion and nothing else, but I feel that the Super Duty truck (especially anything more then the regular cab) is way to large of a truck for the 5.4 motor. I test drove a regular cab with a 5.4 in 2000 and thought it was kinda peppy, but I also knew that it was not loaded at all and I was afraid that it would have been to small a motor to pull my car and all my gear to the track so I opted for the $500 V-10 and never worried about it.

 

Hey Chad welcome to the forum..how about a little more info? Maybe a signature or something. An Screw is a term used for a F150 Super Crew. Us SuperDuty folks have Regular Cab, Super Cab, and Crew Cab with either long or short wheel base, Single rear wheel or Dual rear wheel, 3.73:1, 4.10:1, or 4.30:1 rear ends.

Long bed gets 38 gals fuel times 6.8 lbs per gallon is 254 lbs, four adults is another 800 lbs, toll box and gear in the bed is whatever lbs, plus your trailer. The long bed Crew cab ( four door) can weigh in at around 7000lbs. and you trailer is at 2400lbs.

Your 3 valve V8 is rated at 300 HP and 365 Foot pound torque at the FLYWHEEL. Peak torque is around 3700 rpm and unless you drop out of overdrive and get her spun up a little, she probably does seem sluggish, especially if you have 3.73:1 rear gear and even more so if you lifted and increased the tire diameter.

That all said, it is too late to do the V10 option. I would imagine that the load you describe is well within the V8 capabilities. Your MPG is also not suprising if you were hauling as fast a possible and up and down mountains.

I have many aquaintences here who think I am crazy for having my V10 F350 LB 4x4 to haul the trailers I do. That is because half have PSD and Half have V8s. The V8 half seem to be very happy with their trucks hauling modest 4000lb trailers and all their gear to the lake every weekend.

 

Oh leiterch.. you have a f150? this is the superduty forum... wrong one bud.

 

I have a 2002 F-250 Reg cab 5.4 and automatic 3.73's and it pulls good. I have towed up to 14000#'s with it, sure it was slow to get up to speed but on flat ground it would hold a gear with the overdrive off, at about 2200 RPM. I'd say that it is your particular truck rather than the 5.4's and 3.73's in general. Good luck

 

I have a new (to me) 2001 F-250 4x4 supercab longbed 5.4 3.73 with 34" tires. My first tow with this truck was through COlorado towing my toyhauler weighing approx. 6500-7000 lbs over some monster passes. While I didn't set any speed records, the truck did great and didn't miss a beat. While I would have loved to have the v-10 or a diesel, I make that trip once-twice per year. Rest of the year, I'm just running around the state 1-2 hours away from home every 6-8 weeks. Overall, I'm happy with my choice.