Does anyone know how much a 1976 F-100 can tow? Mine is a longbed with a 302 and a C6 automatic transmission

 

the question should be, how much weight can your truck stop...are you talking about how much it can pull on a trailor, or tongue weight, or overall weight?? when it comes to trailors i wouldnt tow anything bigger than a 16' trailor that's moderately loaded..and thats only if you have good brakes...if you want to tow more than that look into overload springs and most importantly upgrade your brakes with quality parts....and make sure to distribute the trailor load so the trailor axles are holding the weight, too much tongue weight will lift weight off the front wheels and can make steering pretty scary...i hauled a 16' trailor with a ditchwitch. 2 1000' spools of 1" plastic conduit, ladders, tools etc with my 76 F-150 for a couple years...the first thing i had to do was replace all the brakes..i just went with the stock replacement and it worked fine, but now just a couple years later i wish that i bought better quality parts because its time to change em already.....ok i rambled enough, sorry i dont now specific weights, hope that gave you a general idea...

 

Doing a little research and found a 76 f100 with a 302 had a GVWR of 5400lbs

Madmike33

 

I would say 2000 LBs tops and you better have brakes on that trailer.

You have a 302....in the big scheme of things .... they tow squat

Plus you never said what rear gears you have.

I suspect 2.75's.

 

I put a ton of sod in the back of my 1/2 ton once with a 302 and 4 speed , no problem but went real slow , never do that again.

 

Here's something to think about.

The owners manual doesn't even list the 300 or the 302 in the towing chart.

Just the 351M,400,460

The 351M -F100-4x2 is listed at max 2000 lbs.

 

Well what's the curb weight of a 76 f100 2x4 302? just subtract that from the GVWR 5400lbs and it should be roughly what your truck is meant to haul.

Madmike33

 

Maybe I'm confused here. Since I too have an F100, I had been told various towing caps and such. Now when one says towing cap they don't mean what weight they can put in the bed right?

Also the way I had thought to be correct in what any truck can tow is not just by the braking ability and engine size, but also the strength of the rear axle and it's components. For instance my F100 has overload springs from Ford. Does this play a part in what the tow rating is and not just the in bed load hauling ability?

I already understand the gearing and engine size issues, I am just not clear on components that affect towing outside of that.

 

It has to do with

Engine
Transmission
Rear Gears
GVWR
Class of Hitch
Cooling system
Trailer weight and brakes


All the pertinent info can be found in the owner's manual.

 

My truck has 3.95 gears in the rearend I am going to put a heavy duty reciever hitch on it and an eletric brake controller and the trailer it would be pulling has electic brakes

 

Towing is a very debated subject, it seems, for some reason, there are many answers to tow capabilities (not capacities) of lighter trucks.

Here are some FACTS to consider when towing with an F-100-150. The rear axle is a semi floating axle. This means the axle "floats" in by the gears, but is mounted to the housing, through a bearing, on the outside. On a semi floating axle, that one bearing, is carrying all the weight. As you load the axle and bearing down, it will put a lot of stress on the axle, the one bearing, and the housing where the one bearing sits. This is a very inferior set up for heavy work. I've loaded down 1/2 tons and basically wore them out with little use. I have broken axles, and when an axle breaks, it breaks between the bearing and the wheel mounting flange. When this happens, the tire, wheel, axle flange AND BRAKE DRUM, seperate from the truck. Now a pretty site hauling weight. I also have axle housings, on parts trucks I bought, that are wore out where the bearing sits, becouse the bearing moves around and hammers on the race and housing.

Another thing to remember is, you have, in most cases, LESS braking power than some full size cars of that era! Not good for hauling weight when you are already as heavy as a full size car.

So, IMO, it's not safe to haul more than about 1000lbs and tow more than 2000lbs with an F-100. If you upgraded to much better brakes (not just brake pads, the whole brake system), I would say the numbers could go up to 1400 and 3500. F-100's are good for towing smaller fishing boats and getting a few sheets of plywood and 2x4's from the store, that's about it. It may offend some to hear an F-100 or 150 is not good for working, but that's reality.

 

Some folks are getting "payload" and "towing" confused.

Payload is the difference from the GVWR and the weight of the truck. As an example: My '76 F150 4x4 has a GVWR of 6250. The weight of my truck is 4700lbs with me, full tank of gas, and tools. So the result is my '76 should be able to handle 1550lbs in the bed as payload.

Now towing is something different. Find out the GCWR for your truck. This it the gross combined weight rating, the maximum your fully loaded and fueled truck, including passengers, plus your loaded trailer can weigh. Now, weigh your truck on a truck scale, add the weight of the people and personal stuff you'll carry, and you'll know the weight of the loaded trailer you can tow. Remember, this is the max, and it's never prudent to tow the max for very long.

Hope this info helps...

biz

_______________________________
1976 F150 LWB 390FE NP435 NP205 4x4 3.50s

 

Pre'80 -- I have to respectfully disagree with you. The '73-'79 F100's and F150's are work animals. The 9" rear is one of the best rear-ends ever designed. Actually quite strong for weight capacity due to its not having the rear diff cover be removable. Also, if going with the 31 spline upto the 35 spline...very strong indeed.

On your experience with 1/2 tons and loading them down. If you kept the weight within the capacities, then I do not see how they could be worn out. I suppose if you exceeded the weight capacities on the majority of use, then that should fall under operator error. But that holds true for any truck and its capacities.

To actually break a FORD 9" rear at the axle...IMHO would be difficult...and would have had to been REALLY over-loaded.

biz

_______________________________
1976 F150 LWB 390FE NP435 NP205 4x4 3.50s

 

You are fully welcome to your opinion, but, I own or have owned 3 dozen of this era trucks. I have everything from 150's to DRW 350's. I ALWAY'S use the right truck for the right job, or use a bigger truck than needed. Make no mistake about it, the Ford 9 inch is NOT a "work animal". It is a passanger car axle put under a truck. Yes, they hold up quite well pushing higher HP cars down the 1/4 mile, but ask any experienced axle builder about the condition of 9 inch housings that come out of trucks. Don't believe me?? Call places like Currie enterprises. Ford 9 inch axles being good for carrying or pulling weight is purely a myth.

 

I have a '79 F150 with a 302/C6/9" with 2.75 gears. This combo is not listed in the owner's manual in the towing section. I can tell you that 2,000lbs. with this setup seems fine and mine has towed that much around the country several times. It has also flat towed a couple of cars(separately) from CA to SC, 2300 miles. It would slow down on the hills to about 45, but otherwise was fine. It definately could use more engine with that weight(about 3500lbs). It also has towed a +-5,000lb. boat around locally. My grandfather (original owner) said that it barely could make it up the boat ramp. 2.75 gears and a 302 don't make a good low end combo. The truck itself has survived all this abuse and with 130k on the clock, no part of the drivetrain has been ever been cracked open. Even the u-joints are original.