for those of you that tow your cars...please specify..

year, make, model, engine and type of trailer. I'm currently looking for a used truck that will tow my Cobra. I like the F250's but the 2002 I found has the 260hp 5.4.....I'm not sure on what to do. Towing is new to me. Thanks!

 

Welcome to FTE and thanks for joining us in the Towing forum!

Just to clarify... the 2002 you're refering to is/is not an F250? I'm sort of thinking you mean it's an F150 but not sure.

Here's my advice: If you don't currently own a truck and are looking to buy a truck specifically for medium/heavy towing, then don't even give the F150's a second look.

 

it IS a 250.....i wont be doing alot of towing...the car is the extent of it and itll be a couple times to the track (100 miles) and whatever else..nothing much though

 

Are you looking for an open or enclosed trailer? It makes a big difference.

I've got an 06 F250 crew cab long bed 4X4 with the 6.8 V-10. I'm pulling a 24 foot enclosed v-front trailer
with either my Saleen convertible or the FFR Daytona in it, gross around 8K with the Saleen and 7K with the Daytona.

 

If your loaded weights are under 9000 lbs, and you only haul 25% of the time, any thing more than a F150 is a waste IMO.

A mustang and a 18' enclosed car trailer don't even come close to taxing the limits of the newer F150's.

 

open trailer...doubt ill be able to afford a enclosed one of buying the truck...although I havent priced trailers yet.

 

well the car is 3450lbs. 25% of the time sounds about right. only thing is...I'm talking about pre '04 models that have less power. the 5.4 on the '02 F250 im lookin at only has 260hp/345tq? im sure the suspension is fine...but is the truck going to tow fine? I would do a '04+ F150 w/ the 5.4 is I could find one w/ the options I wanted...

 

I have a 96 F350 Crew PSD (7.3) pulling a 24' 1992 Haulmark Race Trailer. I pull around a 77 Buick Regal and a 1929 Studebaker President - not at the same time hehe. The trailer has extra height than most enclosed trailers do, it stands 11' off the ground- bad wind resistance. From what I have found once I bought that big trailer I always find a way to load it up to the max, moving friends, bobcats, cars, whatever. So even though you may not think you need a 250 or 350 one may come in handy, because you never know what you may want to haul. I had a 90 f250 with the 351 at first and it was way under powered and needed bigger brakes to handle the load, so then came the 350. I dont know the specs on the newer 150's, I'm sure they have better brakes than my old 90 had. But it is alot safer having the stopping power, and weight of the bigger truck.

 

Looks like you'd be in the neighbor hood of 6-7000 lbs with a 18' enclosed car trailer.

I used to own a '02 F150 Super crew with the 5.4L, 4x4 and 3.55 gears. It had a max trailer of right around 7200 lbs. For what I used it for at the time it did alright pulling trailers at that rating, however the tall gears really were a detriment if you wanted to tow in OD. Take it out of OD, and it'd pull all day long.

My '04 Supercrew has a max trailer of 9500lbs with virtually the same configuration except for a 3.73 ratio, the difference is in the brakes and the suspension. I also get better mpg with 3.73's than the '02 did with 3.55's. This truck literally pulls the wheels off in comparison to the '02.

IMO, since you are only planning on towing 25% of the time, you really need to decide what this truck will be doing in the mean time.

Do you need 4x4? How many people would you like to carry? Family? Children?

These questions will determine the type of truck that you are ultimately looking for. I for one like my family to ride in the tow vehicle rather than bringing an extra car to go to the lake because they can't all ride in the truck.

If you don't need or want 4x4, I'd buy the truck that you like, and re-gear it if necessary.

If I were in your shoes and came across an older F150 that was well taken care of, had a 5.4L and 3.73's, I wouldn't even blink at buying it.

I believe that Ford is still offering some pretty good deals on Certified Ford used trucks.

 

I tow my '98 Mustang on a 16' open trailer with my '03 F150 5.4 w/ 3.55s and it tows GREAT. I would not get a F250 (assuming pre-'04 model) with a 5.4, I feel the F250 is just too heavy for it. I have no complaints about my setup, I tow my mustang to NMRA races all summer long.

 

My thoughts exactally. That 5.4 liter is a decent engine and will have no problem pulling 9000 pounds. Sure its not going to be as fast as a V10 or a PSD, but it will still do the speed limit without a problem on the freeway. If you do a lot of towing in the mountains...then maybe consider the F250

 

I want to take BADASS03SVTs post one step farther as I am in the same boat (looking for a truck to pull my '98 CSVT). I'll be pulling about 5500-6000 lbs with an open trailer maybe four or five times a year. It seems that those of you that replied are OK with an F150 pulling this kind of weight. I have found a couple of F150s (used, 2001s, 4X4 w/ 5.4L auto) that claim they have a towing package. I have read that there is an "option code 535 - class III" the truck can have that gets it a larger GVWR, trans cooler, and other goodies. My question is how can I be sure what tow package the truck comes with? Is there some form of ID on the truck (not VIN for sure) that I can see that guarantees what package it came with?

 

I tow a Toyota Supra T2 car on an open trailer with my E150 Clubwagon. The van has a 5 liter with a 3.55 gear. Tows just fine. The car weighs 3150 lbs and the trailer (from TrailerSource) is a 16 ft and weighs about 1800 bls. So I am towing roughly 5000 lbs and I have another 500 lbs of stuff in the van.

I do a lot of long distance towing, a typical race weekend may be 800 miles each way. The 150 chassis does fine and the 5 liter does the job. I would prefer a 250 chassis with a 5.4 or a V10 but I bought this van almost new and it performs well enough that I never bothered to upgrade.

I am sure that the '03 5.4 in either a 150 or 250 would tow just fine. Just be sure you have good trailer brakes and a good controller.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

I think you are talking about the F150 7700 pkg. 7700 refers to GVWR. It used to be called the F250 Light Duty, looks just like a F150. Easiest way to tell if a truck is equipped with this package ( besides the little badge that says 7700 on it ) is the wheels. These trucks used an odd-ball 7 lug wheel, that is not used on any other Ford truck. Do not confuse this with the pre-Super Duty F250s and F350s that used a wheel cover that had 7 lugs on it, these trucks had regular 8 lug wheels underneath the cover.

 

I'm gonna piggyback a question on this-un:

How much overkill is an F350 PSD towing my GF's 02 Camaro on an open trailer while hauling my 700# MC in the bed? We're gonna move 2-4x yr.

The only reason we're considering the F350 is 'cause its basically a 4-yo brand new truck that the owner's willing to finance for us. 6000mi on the truck. Totally stock.

thanks,

M