Check with Ken. He is the moderator on part of this website. I THINK he used an EDGE??? rear the post on Roush/Saleen blower on a F150 Thanks

 

Dpellicone..i think you will really like the F150. Is it the off road? If not...just add heavier rear shocks. My 2004 FX4 SC has never swayed with a heavy trailer on it! You can add Magnaflow stainless rear exit duals for around $500. Lifetime guarantee. Add K+N cold air in take...or add the Roush Charger!!!!!! I can't WAIT till my RoushCharger is done so i can go tow . I still have that 1942 Dodge 1 1/2 ton dump truck on my trailer. A little comparison is coming up!!!!!! Stay tuned. Joe

 

you'll find everything you could possilby want to know about tuners right here

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum46/

 

Some-o-you guys seem to expect this guy to trade up to an F450 just so he can tow better once or twice a year. Depellicone, your truck will do fine if you stay within it's rated capacity and drive with some brainpower engaged. Yeah, you will suck fuel, but a little fuel is cheaper than a new truck (well, at least it is today!). Feel good that, right now, gas is much cheaper than diesel (here in Ohio, diesel is $4.05 per gallon while gas is only $3.24) and that almost cancels out the diesel fuel economy advantage unless you haul stuff for a living. Truckers, BTW, you have my heartfelt sympathy at the moment. Go west! Go west, young man, and TOW!

 

The biggest problem you will have is trailer sway. even with trailer sway control the F150 sways a bit. As for pulling the weight it no problem . The people that say it has problems towing up steep grades so do most trucks. they all lose speed and slow down. I have 2 friends that I camp with one has a chebby 3/4 ton with a 454 and the other has a chebby diesel 3/4 ton They slow down almost as much as I do. If you don't over work your truck it will pull fine.

 

Just got back from towing my 28ft Shasta bunkhouse from Ann Arbor, Mi to Bristol,Tn for the races. 2004 FX4 Scab. Superchips tuner. Towed it down last summer with the Tow/Perf program installed, requires premium. This time I just used the 87 octane tune. Didn't notice a whole lot of difference. Truck does perform better with the tuner over stock. Biggest problem I had was with a trailer with about 800lbs tongue wt, the rear suspension had a tendancy to wallow in curves. New Ranchos when shocks were due. Best mod of all for towing was a pair of Firestone Ride-Rite air springs. About $250, no drill install on the new style 150. 60lbs inflation on both sides, adjusted the hitch height accordingly. Truck was rock, thats ROCK steady. Incredible difference. And believe me, I'm the biggest cinic in the world. Most of us tow large weights 1% of the time, and have to live with the tow vehicle the rest of the time. I can't afford to buy a 350diesel and park it. Had to anticipate the grades and give it throttle early and accordingly. With a little practice, got into a pretty good rythem and avoided sudden downshifts. Don't be afraid to stomp on it if you are slowing rapidly. Like a diesel, if you lose your rpm on a grade, tough to get them back. Truck and trailer was loaded with everything for the long weekend, so it was fairly heavy. We take everything including all adult beverages, so no once we're set up, nobody gets behind a wheel til its time to go home. (Just a race weekend tip) Truck would run at 70 in od on the flat, which was a surprise to me, but don't get used to it. Couldn't tow with cruise control, seemed to drop speed to far, requiring a downshift to get back to speed. Hope this helps.

Art Holland
Wayne, Mi

 

Buy a good weight distribution hitch, a sway bar and an electric brake controller. Be patient when going up steep grades. There are more than a few programmers out there , but I use the Diablo Sport. I run the premium tune, but before I tow, I change it to the 87 octane tune so I don't detinate the motor.The truck you are concidering will tow fine.

 

I recently traded away my 2005 F250 Crew Cab FX4 6.0 for a 2008 F150 Crew Cab 6.5 ft bed. I havn't towed far, but I towed my loader on an open trailer without any problem, but it did strain a little on the hills. With the cost of diesel, I felt that I was better off with a gas truck. I tow once in a while, but most use is without a trailer.

I will be towing a 22 foot enclosed trailer for 800 miles later this year. I hope that it is without problems.

 

Dpellicone,

I have an '06 SCrew Lariat. Same drive train as your vehicle. We towed a Jayco 29 BHS (5600 dry. 7500 wet) from Winnipeg to Prince George British Columbia and back. It was a great trip. The truck performed great. The only sway I experienced was the bow wave from passing semi's. Gas mileage, yeah it suffered, but what the hey, either that and stay at home and grumble about being bored. It's all relevant.

Get a thicker side wall tire for sure, the Goodrich's I have are ok, with the tongue weight, the equalizer can only do so much in leveling.

Mountain driving was fine, but I would not tow with my vehicle with said camper along the Lake Superior route (Hwy 17?), Just too much up and down, where in BC it was one up, flat travel, one down in most cases.

Too be honest you may find that you are pushing the limit tho, smaller camper or bigger truck.

Cheers

 

Bleh, shoulda kept the diesel and then made your own bio-diesel! I'm making it for my 1999 250 with the 7.3L in it and it cost 62 cents a gallon! HA!

 

Guys, I hear alot about programers and cold air intakes, K&n Etc. What does all that do to a factory warranty?

 

K&N wont void the warranty. I don't know about programmers though.

 

I downsized from a 05 f350 6.0 litre to an 07 F150 5.4l 3.73 last year. I pull a fifth wheel that has a dry weight of 6600 lbs. It pulls fine I don't use O.D. in the hills, I have not towed in moutains with new rig yet.
The F350 got 12 mpg average and the F150 10 mpg average towing. Since most of my driving is empty I for one am glad I got out of the diesel truck, by the way I have drove diesel pickups since 1986 6.9l.

 

Ok but what about a 9000# fifth wheel? how do you think the 04 f150 5.4 3.73 would handle?

I have a chance at getting one for dirt cheap. We only travel a few times a year and the longest distance has been 300 miles one way. We live in the mountains so steep grades are the norm. I don't intend on racing to the top.

 

A 9000# 5er will put your truck WAY over weight. If you have to pull hills, which, I see you live in Vermont so you will, you will not like the truck and trailer combo. 9000# is too heavy for the F-150 with hills. Think of 6000 loaded ready to go. My Trail Bay is a straight trailer. It has a #1000 tongue weight and ready to camp, it is right at 8500#. I have relatively flat land here in NC. I lived in MA for 21 years. VT is loaded with steep grades. You WILL cook your transmission and you will be on the side of the mountain broken down. It might be OK for a short time but you will break the truck. As far as the other posters.... Sway is induced by an improperly loaded trailer. If you don't have enough tongue weight, your trailer will sway. 12-15% is normal tongue weight for a travel trailer. Load it correctly, and double check yourself. Add in a good weight distribution hitch such as the Equ-a-lizer or Reese Dual Cam and stay within the trucks limits. A good rule of thumb is to not exceed 80% of tow capacity. I am right at my limits when hooked up. THe truck is at max GVWR, and the combo is 400# under CGVWR. It performs great for the terrain that I drive in most of the time. I do venture into the NC mountains and I have gone up 9% grades with this combo. Keep in mind, this was 25 MPH with the RPM's way up. 1st and 2nd gear all the way to the top....about 14 miles. No breaks, no flats, no kidding, just straight up. Coming down was a breeze.... lock it in 2nd and let it go. It maintained 35 all the way down with the RPM's up around 3500. This is not an opinion, it is hard facts. If you tow once in a while, on flat ground, you can get away with a heavy unit.