I have a 98' E-250 that i just finished building to haul a open car hauler and my 3400lb race truck to the drags.

it has a 5.4 bored .030, decked block .040 (9.6:1), PI swap, LT headers, cat-less dual 2.5 exhaust, and a tune.

E-250 weighs about 5500-6000lb and has 3.73 in a dana 70.

i also built the E4OD with a trans-go Tugger Kit and a heavy duty lock-up torque converter.

as for the suspension i will probably add some air bags to the back to make it ride level. the brakes are larger than a 01 f-350 and all the other ford i looked at, at orielly's.

Question: My dad is looking to buy a 24ft enclosed trailer to haul the truck in and i was wondering how my 5.4 would handle it? not sure on the weight of the trailer but the race truck weighs about 3200-3400lb. the trailer also comes with sway control.

the van is rated to 7400lb trailer. how much does a trailer like that weigh? the outside walls are aluminum. if i have 700lb gear and 3400 truck that leaves 3300 on the table.

 

As long as you're not over loading the trailer with cement or landscaping block, or a elephant...should do just fine....just make sure the trailer has sway control hitch.

 

With my sig truck i tow a 24ft enclosed race trailer that weighs 7000lbs regularly. Probably more on some weekends.

It will tow it, 50-70mph gets a bit slow. But the truck pulls hard at lower RPM, and tows great at 70mph in 3rd, due to the truck being at peak tq.

 

With your modified van setup, your on your own as far as what weight you pull.
Here is the "normal" way it's figured.
The van in stock form has a max gross combined weight rateing.
If your sure it only weighs 6000 lbs, then many 24' trailers weigh in the area of 3500 lbs.
Take your race truck of 3500 lbs and extra gear at your stated 700 lbs and add them all up for example.
6000 + 3500 + 700 + 3500 = 13,700 lbs goss weight of everything.
The total may well be more than the above example.
The question for you is, is the truck equipped for that total weight?
Get all the weights known so you know what you are dealing with and decide if the whole setup is equipped or need more changes.
Good luck.

 

i know the six cyl. non extended vans weigh 5200lbs and the 700lb gear was shooting pretty high i think.

 

we hooked up our newly acquired 24ft enclosed trailer and put our 5000lb dakota in the back and it's nothing for this truck, with the weight dist. hitch and sway control the E-250 may have squated only an inch or two. we hold with everyday traffic just fine shifting at 2-2500rpm and will hold speed in OD at 65 no problem, hardly tell it's back there. stops excellent also.

i am amazed how well this truck handles the trailer, you feel in complete control and never have to push it. i'm really glad i did the pi swap and headers. no need for a diesel for me.