I am the original owner of a '97 Lariat with the triton v8 and the manual 5 spd trans. i recently bought a boat and found out that my truck can't pull itself out of mud puddle, the towing capacity is something like 1800 lbs. My boat, motor, and trailer is 4700lb. Is it worth while to upgrade aspects of the truck to get that kind of towing capacity, or is it just cost prohibitive. I'm ready for a clutch anyway and don't mind upgrading to a serious model, but what about the trans, rear, brakes, radiator, springs, shocks, and/or sway bar?

 

I towed 5k lbs with an S10. Your truck should be able to handle that weight.

 

I had the same problem with an older straight six W/manual trans.
Put my boat in on a major hill/ramp in Pittsburgh and couldn't pull it out. My buddy pulled my truck and boat out with his one ton Chevy (Embarassing). I bought a new truck!!

 

Your max tow rating wouldn't be below 7700 lbs. Why do you think it is 1800 lbs?

 

you're right, i was mistaken. the manual says its a whopping 2400 lbs.

 

problem number 1. you have a 5 speed. problem number 2. you gotta have 3.08 gears for it to be that low. you can tow whatever you want, but will the truck handle it? my little 4.6 auto towed this.... put the GCWR at 12,000.

 

I have towed over 30,000 pounds with my 4.6L V8 equipped F250LD, and I regularly pull somewhere around 10,000. You should have no problem towing any reasonably sized boat. Just remember that your ability to stop will decrease as your weight increases.