I have a 1990 Bronco XLT with the 351W and an automatic transmission. I am looking at buying a boat soon. I know the Bronco can handle towing, but does anyone know what the max safe length of a trailer would be with the short wheelbase on the Bronco? Also, other then the hitch and mirrors, are there any other things I should look at upgrading (like a transmission cooler, etc.) before trying to haul anything? Thanks...

 

Good question! Most manuals talk only about weight. As long as the boat has a good balance of 10% tongue, 90% trailer, I'd say you'd be ok. With a Bronco, 6000lbs would be close to the max. A tranny cooler would be a good idea. Install it on the return line. It might also be a good time to have the tranny serviced. Radiator too.

 

I have an 87 and I do occasionaly tow our Travel trailer with it and it seems to do fine, the Travel Trailer is 28' 7500lbs, loaded. I will however admit that for the long trips our f350 Crew pulls it better/easier.

 

i have a 1989 eddie baour ford bronco 5.8 ltr. 3.55 gears I tow 3 horse 4 horse trailers that weight 6,000 at the most , 27 foot boat thats 4500 pounds and theres no problem. but the ediie baour helps a lot with the over sized equiptment. my truck pulled a 11,500 pound travel trailer for a half hour but thats almost over doing it. just make sure u check your fluids.

 

I am setting up an 88 bronco to be my dedicated tow vehicle The max weight is 5500lbs I am sold on the f-350 brake retro as good insurance however I woul like to hears so engine and suspention mods that woul help as well., my typical tow is about 45miles I do however make some 5hour trips the truck currently has a 302 and think I would like to drop a 351 in as well thanks ,,, Bo

 

The tranny cooler is a must. Get the biggest one you can squeeze in, you can't run a tranny too cool under load. I'd definitely get a weight distributing hitch as well. It makes towing a lot safer by keeping enough weight on the front wheels for steering and braking. Upgrading your brake pads to Performance Friction "Z" compound is another good idea, they're expensive but you won't believe the difference. You may want to upgrade your tires to either "XL" or "C" load rating. The higher rated "D" and "E" tires are fine if you run loaded all the time, but they really ride hard when you're empty. You didn't mention gear ratio. With a Bronco, I assume it's a 3.55 or bigger. If it's not, you may want to consider changing it, although with a 4X4 that's $X$.

 

 

I have a 96 5.8 and tow our 25ft trailer. We use sway and lift hitch and never really had a problem. Trailer is about 6,000lbs. Never pushes but does still sway and speeds past 65 really bad. But at 60- 65 not to bad. Great truck