I have a 5200# 28' boat on a 2000# trailer (3 axles w/ hyd brakes)what will it take to safely tow. Long hauls 500miles+ w/ family. I had been told that my E150 hi top (5.4l w/class IV tow package) could do this - after reading info here - I'll be looking for the guy that gave the advice.

 

Have you weighed your entire rig yet? You should. Make sure when you weigh it, have them both fully gassed and include all the stuff/clothes/toys/coolers/beer-pop-ice-more beer that you would normally have onboard the boat and van. Figure in the wife and/or girlfriend and all kids and pets. You may be surprised how quickly the weight adds up. Mine thought I was nuts stopping off at a local truck stop weigh station on the way to the ramp one morning.

According to the 2002 Ford RV and Trailer towing guide I picked up last weekend, an E150 is listed for a max loaded trailer weight of 6,500 lbs (pg. 23). You are probably over your trucks gross combined weight rating. It'll say what it is on the doorjam. At least the three axle trailer may give you some relief with respect to tongue weight.

Should you take your loved ones on a vacation with it? Your call, no one else's. Would it make it back and forth on a once in a while trip like that? Probably. If you do, can you say "big transmission cooler"?

FWIW, my truck easily pulls the same boat load as you (8500 and 3-axle trailer), but it is a much bigger truck (including bigger brakes and bigger fuel consumption). I'm pushing my trucks max as it is - fully loaded.

BTW, my CC doolie is getting cramped as the kids get bigger, and I've been looking at E350's - hence the new towing guide.

 

As my user name implies, I have a Chris Craft Sportdeck 262 which is 25.5' and weighs 4900lbs dry. The way it came from the dealer was on a tandem axle steel trailer that weighed close to 2000lbs. When I picked it up, I pulled it out of the yard with a 1989 Lincoln Town Car with a 5.0 EFI. The 89 Lincoln was the last one rated for 5000lbs towing. It pulled it great upto about 35 mph and wouldn't go any faster. I was maxed out in 2nd and didn't have power to maintain the speed in 3rd. We towed it 10 miles to a storage area that was 1 mile from the ramp. From the storage area to the ramp and back wasn't a problem and it towed out of the water without spinning the tires. You will have similar if not identical problems with your setup. My dad has an E150 Hitop Conv and tows a 24' travel trailer. It tows ok but he's had several brake jobs in 2 years. The 250's brakes are one of the things that are vastly different between the two models.

Three months later, we purchased the Excursion and have loved it for 50K miles in the last two years. Almost 20K has been with the boat on the hook. We've towed the boat from Atlanta to Key West 3 times, West Palm once, into the Tenn Mtns once and to Tampa to replace the Steel trailer with an aluminum triple axle trailer.

Even with The Ex, the steel trailer was a bear to pull as it was tongue heavy (840 TW 7240 GW) which burried my rearend. I tried a w/d hitch which caused the surge brakes to bind. On the way to Tampa to buy the aluminum trailer, I was on 285 and saw smoke coming from my bearings because the surge brake had not released. Since we were going highway all the way to Tampa, I removed the w/d springs and just towed it with my nose up.

I got a solid tongue on the aluminum trailer with electric over hydraulic brakes on two of three axles. I went up to three axles to balance the load and reduce problems if a tire blows out. I now tow 1000lbs less total weight and hardly know that the trailer is back their. I should have got the aluminum trailer from the start.

If you want to stay in a van, you need to go upto the E250 conversion or better yet the E350 to help carry the weight of the van and the boat.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 25-Feb-02 AT 10:16 AM (EST)]Good advice from Spordeck. I also agree with going to electric brakes with a brake controller although it is a little more expense. Surge brakes might be ok, but it seems that when I've towed with them there was a delay or even a pushing before you felt the trailer brakes bite. With a good brake controller you can adjust the time and stength of the delay. You might have to check the brakes more often or buy a marine grade electric brake if they make them. As for the tow vehicle, depending on the size of the family, you might want to consider a Crew Cab pickup also, although little ones love to roam in the back of conversion vans. You could try towing the boat with your E150 before deciding to trade, as I dont'know what upgrades ford did with the trailer tow package. They should have put a tranny cooler in and maybe heavier springs. But it seems that a 250 or 350 size vehicle is in order. I'd suggest staying away from a 3.55 rear end also unless you'd get a manual transmission with a pickup. A 3.73 rear end ratio would be ok in my opinion.
Safe Towing to you.
Tony

 

I tow at least 8000# with a 5.4 Expy and WAY MORE with my PSD F250. Most of my trailers for my business top out at 7500# but some go to 15000# and they are a real treat for 2000 miles. I can't emagine your F150 not being able to do the tow if the weight at the hitch is OK. I do it all the time.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 06-Mar-02 AT 09:41 PM (EST)]>I can't emagine your F150 not being able to do
>the tow if the weight at the hitch is OK. I do it all the
>time.
Being able to tow it is not the issue. Being able to tow it SAFELY is. And I have a difficult time believing that an F-150 could tow that much weight safely. If it were me, I'd go for an F-350 diesel with dual wheels.
See the post "What I saw.."

 

Come on,,,i towed an army tank with my F-150 the other day....built like a rock you know..:-X11

Seriously now...i wouldn't tow that boat with your van if i were you...and if you choose to, let me know where it'll be so i can stay far away. You might be able to pull it, but first off can you stop it, can you pull it without breaking or wearing things to the point of failure. You should look to tow that boat with a F-250 or 350 chassis vehicle. You could do one of a couple things, if you really like the van, upgrade to a E-350, if you wouldn't mind a SUV check out an excursion. The 2001 Excursion can tow up to 10000 lbs. Or if youd rather the ultimate tow vehicle would be a F-350 dually crew cab, but a F-250 crew cab sounds like it would fit your needs too.

Good luck and tow safe

Ryan