I currently have a 2004 F150 extended cab with the 5.4 V-8 and the towing package. Can't remember if I have the 3:55 or the 3:73 but I do have the limited slip differential too.

I tow a 3300 lb 2 horse trailer, with an animal that is 1100-1200 lbs plus tack and other things that is around 50 lbs. The vehicle weighs around 5400 lbs if I remember correctly. Anyway, I am towing just under 5000 lbs. I remember the sticker said my truck can pull 8700 lbs. I have electric brakes on the trailer and a brake controller inside my truck that I had installed and hooked up. SOOOOOO-why is it that I feel my truck
drags when I am towing? I tow on flat roads and 1-2 times a week.

I actaully was thinking of trading the truck in for a used F250 (I can't afford the new F250s even though I would love to have one!!). Any thoughts on this?

Also, is the tow package standard equipment all F250s regardless of year? Is diesel or gasoline better? I just found out that oil changes are around $50 for the diesel, whereas I spend 18-24 on it now with a gas engine.

One more thing-I see that the F250s have a 5.4 V-8 but so does my F150-so how can the bigger of the two trucks be any more powerful if it is the same size engine? Wouldn't it be the smae for me as far as towing capacity then and power?

Thanks

 

Hey there Brix,

I'll give you my opinion and maybe someone will flame me afterward and give this thread a heck of a jumpstart For starters, I tow a 7,400 lb boat with a F250 6.0 PSD at high elevation. The load & the truck weigh about the same (unless I have the whole family in the truck). I'm planning to get a 10,000+ lb boat someday (next year?).

With a 1/2 ton truck towing 5,000 lbs you will definately feel the load... I would be able to feel your load behind my truck although I would be able to accelerate a lot faster and maintain just about any speed I wanted (the horse might not like that).

Your 5.4 is a good engine but will never win any races hauling 10,000 lbs. In 3/4 ton trim or a SD, the 5.4 wouldn't accelerate any better but would be more stable because of stiffer suspension & tires, beefed up frame, heavier duty components etc. I believe all SD's come standard with tow package-

IMO a stock diesel will pull better than a stock gas- Plus, my truck flat out hauls!!! I use synthetic oil and extend the change intervals to compensate for the extra cost but also get better mpg and easy cold starting.

 

You will feel the weight, that's a given. I have a 99 F150 outfitted similarly to yours, and I do it often (horses), and its comfortable but you know its there. If you are looking at staying with the 5.4L its not worth upgrading. The weight you are feeling is due to the engine and gears, not the suspension, which is the only major difference (bigger brakes too). But I too will highly recommend a diesel engine. The power that they have will make the trailer disapear.

 

Utahtom is close. The F250 or 350 would be a much better set up. They do not come standard with the tow package, so make sure you order it, then put a larger tranny cooler on it anyway, in series with the stock cooler. If you can definetly get the PSD as you cannot beat it. As for the increase in cost on the oil changes. Many places offer lifetime oil changes for diesels for about 500.00, I got mine through Fletcher's They use the Heavy duty delo oil for the diesel, so make sure that wherever you take it has the right oil. This made my Diesel purchase all the better. The diesel will outlast and out haul any other out there. You cannot go wrong with a PSD.

Fire Rooster

 

I'll go ahead and bite. Its all in how you load and drive. My GM 8100 Gas would smoke my buddies PSD up any hill till he dumped 4 grand into Banks. Diesel vs. gas is always a fun debate, you can get alot better gas milage out of a diesel, but for power and torque its how you build the motor. I tow 7K with my 04 150 regcab 5.4 and 3.55's, I don't have any problems. On a flat tow I don't feel much trailer unless I'm heavy on the tongue. I'm going to try a WDH to see if it gets rid of the rest. Anything you attach to the back of a vehical you are going to feel. I used to pull the same load behind GM 3500 CC dually and felt it tug. I could swing my trailer around hills at 70mph, where as now I am more cautious. If you have a older horse trailer(steel) you may be a little too nose heavy and that's why your feeling it more. Try a WDH. For 5400 lbs I wouln't waist the money, I did for 7K and I'm much happier with my F150 plus I get 18MPG unloaded and 12 loaded alot better then 11 and 8. I won't even mention when I would use 4x4, talk about GPM.

 

Thanks everyone...

My trailer is 3 yrs old and is one with aluminum skin and some steel, so although it isn't as light as an all aluminum, it isn't heavy like an all steel one. I actually had a 30 yr old steel one I used to tow on my 6 cylinder Explorer. I can see the looks now!! Actually, I did pay the price for doing that stupid thing by blowing the head gaskets. Not my proudest moment in driving. That is why I want to get this towing right.

Is the weight distribution hitch the one that bolts onto the frame of the vehicle or to the tongue of the trailer? I know there are 2 things out there to distribute trailer weight and one is more expensive than the other.


Obviously, I don't want to go fast with my animal in the trailer-I can get up to 60 and do that. But at lights, when when the light turns green and I accelerate-a VW Beetle can pass me. Plus, it does feel sluggish somewhat at times.

Thanks again.

 

I just upgraded from a 150 to a used 250 Super Duty for the same purpose in towing. Both have the V8 engine. The biggest difference that I see is in the sturdier suspension and stopping power. I really wanted a V10 but could not find one at the time. Both the V10 and PSD will do fine, depending on your preference of gasoline vs diesel. I would suggest that you go with either the V10 or PSD if you do any amount of towing.

 

There's not too many other trucks that I'd give Clyde up for but I'd have a real problem passing up an F150 with the 7700 GVW package. The later ones, (~98-99 to 03) had the same 5.4 as the SD, the same 4R100 tranny and the same 3.73 axle ratio. Before I would buy one I would want a Ford Dealer to run an Oasis check for build information to verify the tranny. In addition, over the regular 150, it has a heavier frame, larger four wheel disc brakes, an auxillary oil cooler, 7 lug 16" wheels and is factory set up for snowplow service. Basically a SuperDuty in 150 "clothes".

My fifth wheel camper is lower riding and I would definetly have a problem hooking it up to a SD 4X4 without suspension modifications. I know a couple people pulling 24-27'ers that are extremely happy with these 7700's.

Roger

 

There are two parts to a weight distribution system, the part on the truck and the part on the trailer. The truck starts with a Class III or bigger hitch. This hitch is several feet deep. You rarely see it unless its not mounted or you are climbing underneath the truck, but it is actually kinda big, and has four bolts mounted almost 1.5' apart. This combines with the WD drawbar which has a very long shank. This shank goes deep into the reciever and allows drastic leverage to be applied. This leverage is communicated through the wide hitch to the frame of the vehicle, lifting the rear end and dropping the front.

To apply this pressure to the hitch and the truck, the trailer is set up with two levers. These levers attach to the WD drawbar (the thingy with the ball on it that slides into the reciever), then once the trailer is hooked up, the levers are attached to the tounge of the trailer with chains. When these are tightened, the leverage is directly transfered to the hitch and to the frame, where it relieves some of the stress on the rear axle and puts more on the front, leveling the load.

In summery, there are several components that make up the system. The Class III or bigger reciever, which most people have already; the Weight Distribution drawbar; the two levers attaching to the drawbar; and the mounts on the tounge of the trailer that accept the lever's chains.

This is the ONLY weight distribution system. All varients use the same idea and roughly similar parts.

The only other thing I can think of that you might be thinking of is a anti-sway system. All this system is is a standard drawbar with a tiny little ball off to the side (either side or sometimes both, you can have two of these systems set up, one on each side) of the main ball. This small ball has a little arm attached to it which is also attached to the tounge of the trailer. There is a spring somewhere in that bar, and somehow that absorbs the sway, but I couldn't tell you how. This system has nothing to do with a Weight Distribution system other than you often see them together.

 

if you go with the f250 with the 5.4 your trailer load is less about 7,200 lbs gross because the truck is alot heavier. make sure you check into that first.i had a 2003 f250 hd 6.0 lit. deisel and it towed great until they reprogrammed it and then it was very bad. not to metion the milage went from 16mpg in town and 22hw and 14.5 towing to 11 in town 16 on the hw and 7 towing, they said that was normal. not to me it wasn't they robbed me of a good truck. and at $200.00 for oil and fuel filter change (imo) isn't worth the cost if your not saving in the fuel.