I bought a new toy hauler last year and im still pretty new to the towing game. I have a 98 F250 light duty 5.4L 4x4 and the trailer fully loaded weighs in around 8000lbs. The hill I tow the trailer up most the time is very steap, im not sure on the grade, but my truck will only due about 45 mph up the steeper parts. Can anyone help me out on a few performance tips that might get me the extra power so I dont have to put on the emergency lights and watch everyone pass on the way up the hill.Should I do the exhaust first or would gearing be a better solution?



thank you,
98 F250 light duty XLT 4x4 5.4L
K&n filter element, and trailer brake control.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 01-13-03 AT 10:42 PM (EST)]I don't know what rear end or transmission you have on your truck, but you could certainly benefit from a manual transmission. Get the best gear ratio you can for your truck.

A good rule of thumb when choosing a tow vehicle is to buy a vehicle that can tow more than you need it to. This leaves room for the larger boat or RV you buy later on and leaves a safety margin for the truck and engine. If you need to modify your truck to tow a certain weight, you should not be towing with that setup to begin with. I'm assuming since you are talking about upgrading the gears that you have the 3.73 now. The maximum tow rating for that setup with your engine is for 7400 lbs (regular cab 4x4). You are exceeding this now which is why you are having problems. The 4.10 gears with a manual transmission will bring you up to 8900 lbs, but I suspect it will still be a lot of work for your truck. Either the V10 or the diesel would do the job a lot more efficiently.

 

Thanks for joining us in the Towing forum!

I would think changing the axle ratio would have the most benefit. It would help get the engine rpm up in the sweet spot of the powerband where you could better use the horsepower available.

Only thing is, with 4wd you're talking double the expense and it doesn't come cheap. The money spent on axles would be better spent on a trade for heavier duty truck with a bigger engine, IMHO.

You're not going to gain a whole lot of power with aftermarket accessories either.

One other thing. If you are running oversize tires like 33's on your 4wd, that will have the same effect as lowering the axle ratio. So you could gain towing power by going back to stock size wheels and tires.

 

Actually when I bought the truck I already had the trailer and chose
the F250 light duty because it has a rating of 10,000lbs. Which I thought was a good margin for the motor and the truck. On normal driving conditions It tows like a champ its only the big hills that
make it strain. When I was looking for a tow vehicle my budget was very tight ($12000) I was able to find this truck used for only $12,995. If I had more money I would have chosen a Super Duty.



98 F250 light duty XLT s/c 4x4

 

>Actually when I bought the truck I already had the trailer
>and chose
>the F250 light duty because it has a rating of 10,000lbs.
>Which I thought was a good margin for the motor and the
>truck. On normal driving conditions It tows like a champ its
>only the big hills that
>make it strain. When I was looking for a tow vehicle my
>budget was very tight ($12000) I was able to find this truck
>used for only $12,995. If I had more money I would have
>chosen a Super Duty.
>
>
>
>98 F250 light duty XLT s/c 4x4

What gears do you have? I have a hard time believing that the tow rating is 10,000 lbs. Look at the tow ratings I listed above from Ford for regular cab configurations which give the highest possible towing capacity. What cab, gears, and transmission do you have?

 

Im gonna go check inside the door right now and I'll get back to you with all the correct info.



98 F250 light duty s/c XLT 4x4

 

Im not sure exactly what im looking for on the truck to get this info.
Can you help? By the way it was the ford dealership near me that told me it was rated at 10,000.

98 F250 light duty s/c XLT 4x4

 

>Im not sure exactly what im looking for on the truck to get
>this info.
>Can you help? By the way it was the ford dealership near me
>that told me it was rated at 10,000.
>
>98 F250 light duty s/c XLT 4x4


Gear ratio is on the rear differential somewhere I think. Should be 3 numbers. Is your truck an automatic or manual? What cab type?

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 01-14-03 AT 11:32 PM (EST)]Its a supercab and has an automatic. I think the rating comes from the fact that it has a heavier duty chassis, bigger brakes, bigger radiator than the F150 it also has a tranny cooler and power steering cooler. My dad has a 99 F150 and I believe it has about a 7,000lb tow rating.

98 F250 light duty s/c XLT 4x4

 

>Its a supercab and has an automatic. I think the rating
>comes from the fact that it has a heavier duty chassis,
>bigger brakes, bigger radiator than the F150 it also has a
>tranny cooler and power steering cooler. My dad had a 99
>F150 and I believe it has about a 7,000lb tow rating.
>
>98 F250 light duty s/c XLT 4x4

I think the chassis is the same as the F150 for the light duty F250, but I could be wrong. The reason I say that is that their were no F250 Heavy Duty or F350's produced in the 1998 model year at all due to redesign. As I said in an earlier post, with 3.73 gears you have a maximum towing capacity of 7400 lbs and with the 4.10 gears 8900. These specs were all based on the current towing capacity of a new Super Duty with Regular Cab, so your actual towing capacity is less than this because you have a super cab. Also, I don't know it the light duty means that you subtract less or not.

I would rethink towing as much weight as you are with your current truck. Your much better off trading it in for one with a larger engine. Check www.autotrader.com and do a nationwide advanced search. I live in CT but bought my current truck in FL. The plane fair down last summer was worth the savings. I bought a 1997 F250 Heavy Duty 4x4 Super Cab Long Bed diesel with 110,000 miles on it for just under $13K. Find a diesel with around 100,000 miles on it, it's barely broken in.

 

I called a few different ford dealers today to find out you are correct.The info I was givin before was wrong.The actual tow rating of my F250 light duty is 7,900lbs.I reestimated what im towing and this is what I came up with.

4800 dry weight of trailer
765 wieght of 90 gallons of water
600 1 dirt bike 1 large quad 1 small quad
200 generator
400 me the wife & kids
500 misc. (clothes, gas, kithen utensils, & food.

total of 7265lbs.Im pushing the limit alot more than I thought. But I have to remember this was the same ford dealership that told me I didnt need a trailer brake control because it was part of the factory tow package. Do you think im going to be ok? I dont think the wifes gonna let me trade this truck in after only having it for 8 months.



learning the hard way
98 F250 light duty s/c XLT 4x4

 

>I called a few different ford dealers today to find out you
>are correct.The info I was givin before was wrong.The actual
>tow rating of my F250 light duty is 7,900lbs.I reestimated
>what im towing and this is what I came up with.
>
>4800 dry weight of trailer
> 765 wieght of 90 gallons of water
> 600 1 dirt bike 1 large quad 1 small quad
> 200 generator
> 400 me the wife & kids
> 500 misc. (clothes, gas, kithen utensils, & food.
>
>total of 7265lbs.Im pushing the limit alot more than I
>thought. But I have to remember this was the same ford
>dealership that told me I didnt need a trailer brake control
>because it was part of the factory tow package. Do you think
>im going to be ok? I dont think the wifes gonna let me trade
>this truck in after only having it for 8 months.
>
>
>
>learning the hard way
>98 F250 light duty s/c XLT 4x4
>

Live and learn. Make sure you have the largest tranny cooler you can put on your truck. It would also help to get better gears for the rear end, and make sure the tires you're running are the stock size, not larger. Be careful, don't overload, and try not to win any drag races while towing.

 

I'm definetly going to look into the biggest tranny cooler they make. The tire size for my truck stock is 245/75 16. What I have on it now is 285/75 15. Are the tires I have now taller or wider?

98 F250 light duty s/c XLT 4x4

 

>I'm definetly going to look into the biggest tranny cooler
>they make. The tire size for my truck stock is 245/75 16.
>What I have on it now is 285/75 15. Are the tires I have now
>taller or wider?
>
>98 F250 light duty s/c XLT 4x4

Taller with smaller wheels.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 01-16-03 AT 02:19 AM (EST)]if you actually have what you listed
245/75/r16 is 30.5 inches and
285/75/r15 is 31.8 inches.
or 662 revolutions a mile vs 634.
Thats not much of a difference but it is reducing your gearing
slightly(bad for towing but its not much of a difference).

You might check to see what the tires are rated at(weight)... you should have at least Load range C tires(I think), D or E wouldnt hurt just a stiffer sidewall and higher rating. Also remember to inflate them when towing.
Ex. if the max pressure is 44psi and you normally have 32psi.. The more air you have in them the easier it rolls and less heat the tire generates.

Rand
Oh if you have the stock tranny cooler from the tow package I hear its pretty good so I wouldnt worry about that either.