The truck: 91' F150, 5.0, 5-spd, 3.08 rear.

The trailer: 5x8 Uhual, empty weight 900lbs
or
5x10 Uhual, empty weight 1,250lbs

The drive: From southern New Jersey to Boston

I know the 5.0 with 3.08 is not the best truck for towing. I called U-haul and they said they would rent me up to a 5x10 to haul with my bumper-mounted trailer ball. I know a hitch is better but I would hate to install one for just one trip if I don't have to. The bed of the truck will be filled with disassembled ikea furniture, its light, and a queen sized mattress and boxspring. The trailer will have a sofa, chairs, and boxes filled with odds and ends.

Any advice or tips? Thanks...

 

Your truck will handle those trailers just fine. Just do not step up to the dual axle enclosed 6x12 (what I rent) as they can take some pulling power in wind on hills.

Bumper pull will be fine because of what you are hauling, the trailer probably will not weigh even 2000 pounds. Just make sure you put the safety chains in a hole on the frame.

If you have the room put pallets in the bed, that way if it rains everything will not be soaking in the bottom of a bed filled with water.

 

You will be fine with those trailers. Just use common sense and you will have no problems.

 

Just try to plan so you aren't driving through any major cities at high-traffic times. The interstates around there are not very forgiving (as I'm sure you well know), and you won't be setting any speed records with that rig. Not worth the stress of fighting that traffic with a trailer, IMO.

 

you'll be fine with that truck n trailer

 

just take a close look at the bumper mounting area on the frame. This is where I found out my 89 f150 frame was rotting, the bumper hitch broke the frame rail in half. If thats solid, all the previous entries are good advice.

As far as the weight and pulling power, the trip you speak of is free of most any hills of concern. if you can hit the GW bridge in the middle of the night, you would be free off almost all hills. If you can't, take the Tappan Zee and go up to I-84. There you will encounter a couple hills to pay attention to.

 

I towed a 6x12 U-Crawl from Seattle WA to Evansville IN using a 302 F-150 and a bumper hitch. The only time I had any trouble was going over the continental divide on I-90. I could only manage 35 MPH but that was OK since the road was covered with snow anyway! Wind in So. Dakota kept trying to convince the trailer it could pass the truck (blew over a semi about 5 miles in front of me) but otherwise it was a cakewalk.

 

I have a friend who did this same tow with a 94 Explorer and he is trying to discourage me saying that it was very scary. My thinking is that my truck is a much stronger and more stable tow vehicle. Any thoughts?

 

Your truck is a whole 'nother beast than an Explorer. You should be fine. Do you have a regular cab longbed? I've pulled a 6x12' with a Dakota, but it has a Reese hitch.

 

Yes, its a regular cab long bed with 2wd.

 

I would say go for it. that is plenty of truck and you should have no problem as long as you don't overload the trailer.

 

Trailer handling can vary greatly, largely depending on tongue weight. You want about 10% tongue weight for decent handling - a netrally loaded trailer can be a handful. This may have contributed to your friend's trouble. While it's tough to weigh to get it perfect, you can be sure to notice that the rear of your truck sags a bit when it gets the tongue load.

 

Thanks for the help guys...

I've got a 5x8 reserved. But, I've been told it is very common for Uhual to be out of this size and give you the 5x10 or the 6x12 for the same price. After reading the posts here I feel comfortable and I'm going to drive slowly and carefully. What speed would you keep it at with these trailers?
Truck is '91, F-150, 302, 3.08 rear, 5spd, longbed, regular cab

Appreciate the advice here...

 

I just hauled just shy of a ton of top soil with a 5x8 uhaul trailer with a 94 Ranger super cab 4x4 4.0 5 speed 4.10 gears. Starting and stopping was a bit interesting, but otherwise no problem. Your truck should out pull mine easy. Just use common sense and all will be good.
Good luck.

 

YOu will find a comfortable speed in the 1st 10-20 miles. Just don't get too over-confident. Speed is easy, STOPPING is much more difficult!!