Hi all,
I posted this in the towing forum too but it does not seem to get the activity that this forum sees. I have a 68' f-250 2wd, 390, 4bbl, c-6 auto, 410 geared Dana 60 and the truck is in excellent shape overall. I want too look at a camper trailer for occasional trips and wonder what this truck can safely handle. It does have a trailer brake controller and the previous owner has used it for cab-over campers as well as a 5th wheel tow rig. He told me his trailer was about 6,000lbs and the truck had no trouble with this but I am skeptical. Any opinions out there? Thanks in advance for any input

 

The new F-150's are rated at 11000#, 6000# would be easy for yours. I've pulled more than 6 with mine, with a load leveler hitch. As long as you have good trailer brakes it's no problem.

 

the only thing that might limit you is where your ball is, is it a bumper ball or a reciver hitch ball, the bumper ball is not the greatest, if you dont have one i would say invest in a reciver hitch, there are about $100 to $150 depending on a lot of different things. but i would say that a 250 should be just fine pulling something that size.

 

Good question. It would either be a reciever hitch or a 5th wheel/goose neck setup. I don't like bumper towing anything over half a ton.

 

Which every way you go, make sure you have a Ball that is rated for the load. The 5th wheel will be easier on the truck. And will give you better control when it comes to backing.

 

Last year TigerDan pulled my crippled '70 F250 Highboy from Elko, NV to Vallejo, CA. Dan has a '68 2wd F250 Ranger with a 360 4bbl and 150K+ miles on it and a np435 4spd transmission. The trailer is a triple axle that weighs close to 3k. My truck weighs around 4700 lbs.

The distance one-way was about 430 miles and included a big mountain pass (Donner Pass in the Sierras at over 7000 feet and some seriously steep grades) and a few smaller ones. We averaged around 10-11 mpg with an empty trailer and around 9 mpg fully loaded.

Dan's truck had a special receiver hitch and trailer brakes. I still thank him for giving me a helping hand getting my stranded truck home from Elko.

Here is a couple of photos of the event.

 

Why did he have the truck pulled so far forward. The load a has the 250 squatting pretty good.

When I load something like that behind my 100, I only let the bumper drop 2" max. Makes the trip much easier.


John

 

Agreed.. the truck should be farther back to level the load more over the trailer axles and less on the truck pulling. Are parked on the trailer in reverse if thats what it takes with how the trailer is built...

 

Man, my F250 didn't squat that much with my new 72 parts truck on the trailer, and my trailer is only a dual axle.
It was kinda funny putting the truck on, though- the whole rig almost rolled away since it picked the rear of my towing rig off the ground.

 

I know what you mean, Jared. My bro-in-law described to me watching a guy unload a backhoe off a trailer behind a Dodge, on a slight hill. When he got the 'hoe to the back of the trailer it picked the back wheels of the truck up off the ground and the whole mess started rolling. The guy floored it and got the 'hoe onto the ground in a hurry, only a slight mess was made...could have been ugly!

I was sort of forced into putting the truck that far forward by the design of the trailer. It has ramps which fold straight up and won't lock into place if the vehicle on the trailer isn't far enough forward, and they're a PITA to remove. We debated taking the truck back off the trailer and turning it around, but I decided to let it ride as it was since it was a lot of work to load without a winch and only a slight hill to help us get it on there. I was also worried that turning it around might take too much weight off of the tongue and make the unstable. Most likely wouldn't have been a problem since the trailer has so much tongue weight to begin with. We were also pretty tired after the long drive and just wanted to get to the motel and get cleaned up...

I had a lot of tools and equipment in the bed of the truck, we took a lot of it out and loaded into the back of Karl's truck and that helped some. Next time I think I'd just go ahead and take the ramps off and move the truck back some.

But I thought this thread was about how much a '68 F250 could tow, not about bashing the moderator's trailer-loading abilities... So here's another example:



As you can see, I took the ramps off for this one and it still had a good bit of tongue weight. After fighting to get the things off I wasn't really looking forward to doing it again in Elko. The trip with the MH wasn't so bad, I only took it about 8 miles. I sure did know it was back there...

 

Wow, thanks all. My fears have evaporated. My truck is very sound mechanically and I feel it will haul and 20-25 foot travel trailer just fine now.

 

I've towed an older Aristocrat travel trailer behind mine a couple of times. I think it's only about a 15-footer, but my truck doesn't even know it's there. I really don't think you'd have a problem.

 

My family and I towed a 29" prowler loaded with water, food, and supplies all over Montana with my '70. It pulled the passes well.

Here is a photo of it loaded with 3000 lbs of hay. The horse is trying to lighten the load while the dog drives.

 

We pull a 28' Trail-Lite (#4400 empty) with a load leveling system, sway bar (one), and a Prodigy brake controller. If it was not for the curves, we'd never know the trailer was there! That old 390 does great!
'72, F250, 390, AT, stock over-load springs removed by the previous owner.

 

I've seen the end result of it getting ugly, but it was kinda funny. Inexperienced equipment delivery tech (AKA fresh dropped out of his third senior year), unloading a Bobcat on a hill. The truck started rolling, so the guy threw the bar up on the Bobcat and tried to head for the truck. He tripped, and luckily didn't get run over, but the whole thing went through a row of hedges, through a very nice wooden fence, and into a pool.
Would have been funny if it wasn't for all the expense of the cleanup.