I currently pull a boat that weighs about 6000 pounds with my F350. I am thinking of trading the truck in and getting an Explorer for the wife. I will end up with a 79 F150 to try and pull the boat around. The truck has a 302 with an automatic tranny (C4) and I know it ain't gonna go like my powerstroke! I can deal with the power loss but just wonder if the F150 can handle the load?

 

3 tons is getting pretty far into the range of "too much" for an F-150. I often pull "too much" with my truck, but I'm pretty aware of each situation and I've learned (the hard way once ) what not to do. If you have some significant weight in the back of the truck (not exceeding the truck's capacity), you reduce your risk, but it's still there. Of course, it was there with the F-350 too, but you're starting to push your luck with a 1/2-ton.

6,000# is a pretty big boat... What is it - a little shrimp trawler?

My truck & what "too much" can do:
http://www.webphotos.com/list_photos.asp?mi=3&smi=1&a=13217

 

how far are you looking at pulling the boat around? short remote pulls might not be tolo bad but for long hauls this is not a good idea. too many factors that you cannot control that you are on the wrong side of the stick on.

 

I dont think i would chance it. Thats just too much boat. You fart and all sorts of nasty things could happen to you or other people on the road.

If it was like 5 miles MAYBE because you could go slow etc.
Rand

 

Trade in the F-150 on the Explorer.

 

Why not convince sweetie pie she would be better off with an Expedition than an Explorer?

Then order the Expedition with all the towing options.

Yeah, I know, you'll have to be extra nice to her every time you want to borrow it. But you're not go'in fish'in anyway without a kitchen pass!

If you take the whole family to the lake camping or water skiing, then so much better the reason for the larger vehicle.

Otherwise don't let that PSD go. Neither an Explorer or your F150 will pull the boat in a sane manner.

Scott

 

Thanks for the replys folks! Unfortunately I'd be stuck pulling the boat (23' Glassply) some pretty fair distances around a pretty congested area (Tacoma) I drove big rigs for several years and think I'm pretty tuned into the hazards but you guys are right too many things can happen and I wouldn't have any margin of error. The whole deal driving the trade is to get my #@%*& payments down as right now I'm paying about a grand a month on a mustang and the 350. Maybee mama's gonna have to go to work!

 

>Maybee mama's gonna have to go to work!

Whaaat? She's lay'in around eat'in bon-bon's all day while poor jearl has to work two jobs? Oops, sorry! You're gonna have some lumps on your head if you let sweety pie read this, LOL!

For me it would boil down to which vehicle I was least attached to. If the Mustang is sweety pie's, then maybe that's not an option to trade in. One suggestion might be to sell the PSD and buy a clean used F250-350 to pull the boat with.

Scott

 

would another option be sticking an F250 rear axle (I assume it has bigger brakes) under the F150? The rear end sounds like it's due anyway. The F150 chassis actually has my dad's old 73 F100 cab and box and is a project I am restoring. I've hauled this thing all over the country and it's a real clean rust free (Phoenix) truck.This is one of those sentimental deals that I gonna fall through even if it doesn't make sense. Thanks

 

The real problem with the F-150 is the frame. The frames on the 250s-350s are beefier than the frame of the F-150. It's just not built to do it.

 

Yeah too bad you have to trade down. Trailer Life Magazine and the Ford Truck Bible pretty much like to limit the amount of towing above 5,000 with a half ton truck. Essentially they both say you will wear the truck out in extended usage and you may be exceeding the rated tow capacity(check your manual or some websites). You also may have a hazardous condition with lack of sustained stopping power. Some states will also ticket you if you are pulling more than the truck is rated for. I would guess the cops aren't hiding in the bushes just to catch a lawbreaker like you, but if you have an accident, I bet the overload will become an issue.

The tow rating is based on a lot of things... frame, engine, tranny, differential, axle bearing, wheels, tires, brakes, cooling system etc. On a 150 all of these are geared towards the "sport" user or light duty. Towing a load over your rating(I am almost sure 6K is well over) will wear all these systems out faster than normal and could fail unexpectedly.

I also think that wear and tear on the driver is much less when he is using a properly rated rig. You won't have to fight the rig as much with a 250 or 350 versus a 150.

Also keep in mind that the dry weight is much less than loaded weight. Fuel oil, water, food, junk etc add up really fast in a trailer, so you may weigh more than you think unless you have put it on a scale.

If your truck is rated for what you actually weigh, you should definitely use a weight dsitributing hitch, sway bars(for the trailer), and I assume the trailer has electric brakes.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

Here's a new twist, but I'm sure that you've thought of it already. Can you trade down for a smaller boat (is that forbidden, like giving up horsepower, or painting over chrome)? Even if I had no kids, I'd sell my own truck if that's what it took to allow the wife to stay at home.
I have a cabover camper that is just way too big for my F150, and like your situation, it is on the high side of risk (and it's more than just sheet-metal at risk). I will be trading the camper in this spring for a light towable one. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do...

 

d9351,
now that has got to be the most adult grown-up thing that i've herd or read in 3 days! good decision:-)

 

Here is a pic of what happened to a small truck pulling a boat which appears to me to be too big for the truck: I dont know how to post it as a pic, so please click on the link, thanks.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/57047642/57047765crjQhQ
This pic comes courtesy of Bryan aka "DieselF350".

 

What's really scary is that the poor guy is still in the truck!:-staun