I was just wondering if anyone knew the towing capabilities of a 302 engine in a F150 pick-up. I have a tranny fan and heavy duty suspension. We have a 2300lb horse trailer combined with the weight of two horses comes to close to 5000lbs. I am just getting a 5000lb hitch installed so have not tested it out yet. Soon we will be hauling the trailer on a 4 hr. trip through some mountain ranges, loaded with one of the horses. My girlfriend wants reassurance that things will be ok as her friend blew the (305 )motor in her chevy pick-up by hauling to much weight( horse & trailer)
I'd appreciate any imput,
Thanks

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 05-Jun-02 AT 02:30 PM (EST)]i just pulled 2 warmbloods through the mountains with a Heavy duty 88 f250 with the 351w and is was a dog going up the steep inclines. i have the 3:55 rear-end gears. what gears do you have - it makes a big difference. my engine is a bit tired at 160,000 miles and was limited to about 40 MPH up those hills. i would say your 302 will have some trouble on those hills. take it easy. do you have a tranny cooler as well as a tranny fan?
you really need a bigger truck and motor if you are going to be hauling alot. having the right truck makes it easier on the horses too. you are going to have to be very careful coming down too cause the brakes on an f150 are not the HD ones on f250 and f350's. i would be worried about stopping as much as going with your rig.
what year is your truck, what gears do you have, and what kind of tranny?

hope this helps a little.

Rusty.

 

My neighbor on Sunday dinged up his F-150 towing 3500lbs+. Car trailer
loaded with junk. In his words the trailer kept pushing. He was trying
to take a tight turn, braked at the last moment,was not enough. Front
right fender,brush bar, grill,hood are beat up pretty bad. Plus the
trailer dinged up the rear. He's got it parked out behind a barn so no one can see.
One thing I noticed. The truck's tread was way low. Might of kept him
from sliding once the load started pushing. (No brakes on trailer)
My F-250 302 5 speed(M50D) is rated for 3600 lbs towing capacity. I think its the clutch(11") tranny combo giving it that rating as where the automatics are 5000lb(or higher). Gearing + tranmission and the general condition of motor+drive train will determine how hard the engine is working.
If you decide to tow that load check your tread and make sure your
truck can stop the load beforehand. Do a short test drive heat of the
day, hit some hills and see how everything behaves. If its lugging and running hotter than normal you might have found the answer to your own question.Now that I have kids I error on the side of caution.(leave the horses home? whoops honey I think we forgot something)

Good luck,

Ray
88 F-250 302 5 speed

 

Simply put: I think it's a bad idea. I've drug a 5,000 lb+ trailer around with a 302 and an automatic before. It is not pleasant. Definitely not for four hours through the mountains. I hope there's an open parking spot next to your friend's Chevy, because as much as I hate to say it, that may be where you end up. I agree with these guys. For a long haul, you're going to need a bigger truck and powertrain.

 

Electric trailer brakes right? The new brake pads on my 95 F150 went up in smoke (literally) pulling about 3000 pounds down a single steep hill. Caught me completely by surprise. Not pleasant when the brake pedal goes to the floor and you aren't stopping. I have also pulled 4000+ pounds 950 miles with my 95 300 I-6 and AOD. Included somewhat mountainous terrain across PA. I needed an F-250 that weekend. Pretty hard on the truck at times.

Dewayne

 

I've towed over 9,000 lbs with my Bronco and no trailer brakes (not my smartest move but I didn't have a choice), commonly pull about 6,000 lbs race car trailer with no problem, if you use common sense there no reason why you can't pull 5,000 lbs, tranny cooler and trailer brakes are a must.