I am in the process of buying a light 5th wheel (3800lbs) for my 02 F150. I believe I have the factory towing package (Hitch mounted to frame and 4 pin wiring harness) which would make I hope will make installing the brake controller easy. I would like any other advice you may have on how to make the job of pulling easier on my truck. Most of the pulling will be in the mountains of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:State><st1lace>New Mexico</st1lace></st1:State> and <st1:State><st1lace>Colorado</st1lace></st1:State> with some steep grades. I was thinking of adding a cat back exhaust, Intake and getting a custom program. I was also considering adding some additional cooling for the automatic transmission. Any help ideas and advice will be appreciated.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>


Thanks
Daniel

 

You will need the 7 flat round rv plug for electric brakes.

The 4 pin is for turn ,stop, tail and ground
If you don't have the factory 7 pin you prob don't have the tow package
You may need to run the wires back and install a 7 pin

Trans temp would be the second thing to watch
Get a good trans temp gauge and you will prob need a bigger air to oil cooler

If you don't pull with it that often you could get by if you take it easy but the trans is the weakest link when towing.

You said its a F-150 ? You might want to rethink that part .

 

yeah, almost sure you need the 7 pin so you have brakes and charging to the trailer.

A 150 is a bit light but I think the heavier duty versions will handle over 5,000# OK. Doe the tow package have anything for tranny cooling, bigger brakes, heavier axle and springs etc?

Also remember that the rating on the trailer is usually low and normally doesn't include options like furniture, air conditioner, microwave etc. Weight adds up fast, especially if all your tanks are full so watch the weight and you will probably be OK with the 150 assuming the weight ratings are well above what you plan to tow. Check the manual and door sticker to be sure. You can get the ratings and things like axle type and ratio from these and interpreting from the book.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

By the time that trailer is loaded with propane, water and your gear, you are going to be right at or over your CGVW. At this point, pulling the trailer is NOT the issue. Stopping IS! If you are planning to pull in the mountains, plan on many scary rides.....as in "Can I stop this rig at the stop sign at the bottom of this mountain?"

I don't care what trailer dealer tells you that the 150 will pull it, ask him if he's positive that that 150 will STOP you!

Bottom line...you need a 250 or an Expo. Something rated at 3/4 ton.

 

There is no way the factory installed a seven pin on an F150 for an obvious reason - they don't think an F150 is up to it. You will find it true of all F150's. Thus the four pin...

It is assumed that with an F150 the most you will pull is a travel trailer, not a fifth wheel or goose. These are the only ones definitely needing a seven way plug, and that is why it isn't there.

To put a seven way on, you need to wire the controller with a SOLID GROUND (that right there is the most important issue!).

12V to the controller. (Use a self resetting 20 to 40 amp breaker in between)

All of your lights, of course.

The blue BRAKE VOLTAGE wire all the way back to the trailer connection in the seven way.

AND - your brake signal coming TO THE CONTROLLER must (repeat: MUST!!!!) come from the brake switch at the pedal - and go direct to the controller.

F250 and above may be factory prepped for a seven way. Wiring plugs to go right into the breaker/fuse panel are commonly sold at most RV dealers. There is a pre-wired plugin for it on FORDs. NOTE: If you have a seven way, but no brake controller installed - the truck is prewired

F150's ARE NOT SET UP THIS WAY!
So it all has to be hardwired (IE: SOMEONE has to string those wires)

PS: Please dim your headlights, I don't know how you typed that but your high beams are on....

 

Mine has a factory installed 7 way and 4 way, and it's just a lowly STX. I would never consider pulling a fiver with it. Pulls my boat all day long though.

Oh, it came with the harness for a brake controller too, it's currently in my glove compartment, being as I have no need currently for a brake controller.

 

As did my screw, including a tranny cooler.

 

Greywolf there is 7pin factory on the F-150 with the tow package . My buddie has one he uses to pull an inclosed trailer for his motorcycle.

 

The newer 150s have a higher tow rating that the 90s models. The old mid 90s were not recommended for steady use above 5,000#s. I think the 2000s+ are rated pretty high, I think upto about 9,000#s??!!

I would want a 250 just for the weight to prevent the "tail wagging the dog" effect. Plus extra margin on all systems.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

Wow slightly off topic, but this turned into a 150 bashing post. You guys making all the negative comments about the 150 done any research lately? The F150 with the tow package is prewired with a 4 and 7 pin connector. The tow rating on the 06's is up to 9900 for a 2wd longbed. And as to the tail wagging the dog? Ever seen what one of these new 150's weighs? Mine is 6000 empty. Probably damn close to what a 5.4 superduty weighs. All I can say is read and educate yourself on the topic before you make your (negative) comments. As to a 5th, I've seen it done, but wouldn't do it with mine.

 

Check out the original post. He was talking about an '02 150.

 

yeah but my superduty has a much much much tougher suspension on it than any f150 out there...not to mention the huge 4 disc brakes on the thing...and the tire loads...lets not forget about how much more i paid for it than the f150 too =) just my .02 cents..they dont call it a superduty for nothin!

 

Best advice I can give is to do yourself, and the rest of use on the road, a favor and trade up to a newer F250 (with tow package).

A F150 is a weak platform, at best, for towing a 5th wheeler. Add in it's an '02 with, more than likely, quiet a few miles on it and even with the add-ons you want you're probably not going to get the performance you'll need for pulling steep grades.

 

Dan... I fifth wheel is too much for an F150 in most cases but, i noticed you said it would be 3800lbs which is pretty light. If you put 1000lbs of gear and food and other supplies in it, you are still under 5000.
I didn't notice what engine you had so that would come into play. The other thing would be the pin weight. The pin weight is the amount of weight the fiver will put on the hitch/truck. If you have the capacity (gvwr), you should be fine. you also want to be aware of the gcvwr of the f150.
Let's say (I don't know that actual numbers so, I'll make some up) your truck has a gvwr of 6600 and weighs 5000 loaded and ready to camp with people fuel, etc. you would have 1600 available for pin weight. Let's also say the truck has a gcvwr of 13000, as long as the truck and the fiver together, fully loaded, ready to camp are under that, you would be fine. In this case with a 5000 fiver and a 6600 truck, you'd have 11,600 of gcvw which gives you a cushion of 1400lbs.
Like I said, these numbers are from my imagination and for illustrative purposes only but, with a lightweight fiver like you are talking about, you should be OK. Definitely check your weights though.

Tim

I almost forgot.. The performance mods you are talking about will make things easier but, they won't legally change your capacity.

 

I guess I must be missing something but there are lots of F150s and 1500s towing smaller fithwheels up to about the 26ft range. They do just fine and they can stop just fine. Any trailer weighing more than 5k lbs is gonna have trailer brakes, the trailer will stop it's self! I would worry far more about the tail wagging the dog as in the trailer weighing in at 7-9k and the truck weighing say 5k lbs. Stopping is a null point and depends more on how the truck and trailer are set-up and what type of controller you running and if one or both axles have brakes. I have yet to find where even the lower model fifth wheels still have brakes on all axles. Heck I can slide all 4 tires at 65 mph if I really tried!

Anyway, back to the originall poster! I would say to buck up and have a reputable shop install a 7 pin conecter and the brake controller, you won't have any of the wiring in place from the factory to do this, it'll be all new! If this is being used primarly in the moutains I think you may find that you'll want a bigger truck so I would try it acouple of times before adding a bunch of performance mods. It's not that your F150 won't get the job done but you'll find rather quickly that you overall pace with the surrounding traffic will be considerably slower going both up and down. The 5.4 will get you to the top and back but you'll spend an awfull lot of time at 45-55mph in 2nd gear for long periods of time. I wouldn't say this had your primary area of travel not been in the mountains. good luck