I have an 84 F150 4x4 with a 302HO and granny gear 4spd tranny. Would this truck be able to tow a 24' boat and gear? Would helper springs be needed? Thanks

 

the towing capacity of your truck is determined my the GVWR or the gross vehicle weight rating and is usually on a sticker on the door. As a lifelong boater I have quite a bit of experience in this area. A 24' boat can weigh anywhere from under 2000 pounds for an ultra-light displacement racing marconi rig to 8000 pounds for a twin inboard power cruiser. If you know the total weight of your boat, this includes trailer, motor (if equipped), fuel, battery and all the associated gear; you sould be able to determine if your truck is capable of the task. if you post the brand of boat (including type of engines so I can determine the weight), what kind of trailer you have, how far you have to go with it, and the type of trailer hitch you have, i should be able to give you good idea. hope this helps

Captain Tim Bland
1986 F150 LWB 2WD
300 I6 1bbl
3.08 geared 9"
three w/od

 

actually, we havnt got the boat yet, but i am mosy likely going to get a walkaround around 23 or 24 feet.

 

My own experience is hauling a 21' boat around with my F150
2-wheel drive.It was okay on the flat but struggled on the hills.
I recently bought a F-250 /351 ,no problem.
If you intend to do a lot of towing I would look a boat in the 20' range, 23/24' is a real struggle if you are on your own at the launching ramps.
Good Luck
Davie BC.

 

Sadbuttrue, There are several things you need to look in to. 1st thing is defenetly keep in mind what the truck can handle in the way of gross vehicle weight rating, as mentioned before. As for the trailer, I would suggest a tandem trailer. Single axel trailers do have a tendancy to wander when it is windy. When you get a boat and trailer, make sure that the trailer rollers are set properly and that the boat is positioned properly on the trailer. Too far forward on the trailer will put too much weight on the hitch, or pin, of the truck. too far back will have not enough weight on the truck and possibly too much on the rear of the trailer. I would also suggest a receiver hitch setup instead of using the rear bumper.
Now, my brother has a 94' f-150 4x4 and he pulls a 92' Maco center console (21') boat with a 200 Merc engine. His boat trailer is a tandem. The truck is standard cab, 8' bed, 302 v8 and auto trans w/overdrive. The truck pulls the trailer and boat no problem. He uses the bumper and does not have a receiver. He has been using this set up since he has had the truck. Before, he used our 89' f-150 two wheel drive. He never had a problem with that truck either and we still have it in our fleet. He is an avid striper fisherman and he will travel an hour plus to get where the fishing is good. Hope that this will help you out. Good luck.

Jakegypsum // Ford fleet, soup to nuts.

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 18-Dec-00 AT 11:30 PM (EST)[/font][p]Hey there...i finally got around to responding...just to give you an idea, I tow a great deal of boats both for work and pleasure. the truck I have now (listed below) has been subjected to towing long and short distances. I have regularly been towing a 24' Grady White CC with a single 250 Yamaha to Cape Cod almost every weekend. The truck is certainly loaded down with this boat and has some trouble on long highway hills (i mean it's only a 3.08 in the rear and a 3/od) but it does the job. At work this truck has yanked a 30' wellcraft from a steep launch ramp; it only went 10 miles, but impressive anyway. To answer your question, I think you current truck will happly pull an average sized 24' power boat with the right equipment. You may not be the fastest rig on the road, but she'll pull it. that size boat will have a maximum toungue weight of maybe 300 pounds give or take which sould not warrent the instillation of helper springs. Also the earlier post regarding number of axles is important. That size boat, with it's beam, freeboard and LOA needs a tandem axle trailer equipped with at least surge brakes. hope that helps

Captain Tim Bland
1986 F150 LWB 2WD
300 I6 1bbl
3.08 geared 9"
three w/od