Hi, I don't hang out much in this area of FTE, but a friend just got a shortbed std. cab F150 from her brother, and asked if I thought she'd be able to tow her horse trailer with it. I figured it'd be fine, but thought I'd check with you folks as well.

It's a 2wd with the 4 speed stick, it has a GVWR of 5250# with a rear axle rating of 3166#. The axle code (ratio) on the door is 183, which I'm not familiar with -- does anyone know what this translates to?

Her trailer is about 2500# or so (we're going to weigh it), and with gear and a horse will probably come in at 4000 - 4500#. Oh yeah, it has those Helliwig helper "half springs" on the rear too.

So I think she'll be fine once we get all the other things on the truck checked out, but anyone have a clue as to the tow rating of this truck?

Thanks for any help you have to offer.....

 

I don't have the exact number, but it should tow it fine. Just make sure the brakes on the trailer are working, and if they are electric, install a controller on the truck. Stopping is what she needs to worry about, not pulling the trailer.

Look again on the door tag, or crawl under the truck and find the tag on the rearend. The door tag should have a 2 digit number or a one letter one number combo.

 

Franklin2: Thanks, that's what I was thinking as well. I figured it should at least be rated for 5k#. I'm going to give her a Tekonsha Envoy I have (hopefully her boyfriend can install it) -- that should be fine for an inertia controller.

Let me know if you find anything else -- I'd like to put her mind at ease that she has "enough truck".

on edit: I got the axle number from her over the phone and I haven't had the time to crawl around the truck. Headin' out for a camp trip tomorrow, so I'll do that when I get back...

 

I'm not so confident she's gonna enjoy this ride. Being a shortbed, reg cab F150 w/300, it's on the lighter end of the spectrum. The trailer/load may very well end up weighing more than the truck....that's a very dicey feel. If the 4 spd is an overdrive, getting it moving will be touch and feel with the clutch, and by all means, do not park on an uphill slope...you'll be smelling the clutch. I have the same truck except it's a long bed, Supercab....clutch and brakes were the weaker spots when I towed 4200#..

 

The truck per the manual is rated at 2,000 lbs,

 

The tow rating largely depends upon the rear axle ratio, and unfortunately it was common to see 3.08 or even 2.73 gears in the I6 trucks. Trucks with these ratios are not rated for towing much at all, so lets hope it has 3.55s.

 

I would counter that the axle has nothing to do with tow ability, unless it's automatic and the driver only uses "D". We have different gears to choose from...that's why theyre there.

 

Then you need to look at your owners manual more closely, the lower numerically the gear ratio the less these trucks are rated to tow, it's right there in black and white in the book.

 

My '86 with a 300 IL will tow 2K trailer easily - I have the 3.08 rearend. I pull a 1600# fishing boat with no trouble. A 5K trailer would be a big strain - you can cruise easily - but, it's a long time up to speed. Trailer brakes are a must - a 2wd short bed will get pushed so hard you won't think it's stopping.

Sorry -My experience is 4 to 5K trailer is too much for a 300 SB truck.

 

Actually, the factory recommends an automatic for towing. They are rated higher. I was trying to look for the tow rating in this brochure online
1981 Ford Pickup - The Old Car Manual Project

You can see in this brochure, the rating for most of the trucks is 2000, except if they have a tow package. I bet the tow package does come with a higher ratio rearend, and if you look on this page
1981 Ford Pick Up / 08.jpg
they recommend the "select shift automatic transmission" for towing.

I believe the other guys are correct, and you need to look the truck over a little more carefully if you are going to tow the horse trailer.

 

According to the 1981 F-150 Owners Manual.

Trailer Class I

tounge load 10 to 15% of trailer weight, 200LBS max.

Trailer weight, up to 2000LBS.

Cooling package, Extra Cooling.

towing package: LD

Trailer Hitch: Weight Carrying

GVWR MIN: 5020 / 5800 / 5450 / 6100

GCWR MAX: 7050 / 7600 / 7250 / 7900

Engine Required:

4.9L / 5.0L / 5.8L

min axle ratio 3.00

Automatic transmission required.

=========

Trailer Class II:

tounge load 10 to 15% of trailer weight.

Trailer weight, 2000 to 3500LBS.

Cooling package, Super Cooling.

towing package: HD

Trailer Hitch: Weight Distributing

Stabilizer bars: Front and rear

GVWR MIN: 5250 / 5800 / 5450 / 6100

GCWR MAX: 8225 / 8775 / 8425 / 9075

Engine required 4.9L / 5.0L / 5.8L

min axle ratio:
4.9L and 5.0L: 3.25
5.8L: 3.00 (3.25 Canada)

Automatic transmission required.

=============

Trailer Class III:

tounge load 10 to 15% of trailer weight.

Trailer weight, 3500 to 5000LBS.

Cooling package, Super Cooling.

towing package: HD

Trailer Hitch: Weight Distributing

Stabilizer bars: Front and rear

GVWR MIN: 5250 / 5800 / 5450 / 6100

GCWR MAX: 9500 / 9800 / 9700 / 9800

Engine Required:
5.8L

min axle ratio 3.00, 3.25 in canada.

Automatic transmission required.

You have to upgrade to a F-250 to tow more, according to the manual.


So according to the 1981 owners manual, it doesn't recomend you tow anything with this vehicle at all. (possibly due to clutch wear and warrantee) though in my personal experience, 2000LBS would be maximum without mods, IMO.

 

You said it - My experence - 2K trailer with a 300 and 3.08 rear end is about all you can tow.

I don't agree with the automatic - I did it with a clutch and a 3.03 3-spd. and didn't have any trouble.

 

I will say that, as far as being a short bed, towing in my 4x4 short bed F150 has been easy to tow with. I also have overloads. I won't go into the engine and drivetrain, we are different in so many ways there. I have 31x10.50 15's, just to throw in more info. As far as 'road control', 4,000 pounds is easy, but I go the speed limit and just drive cautious anyways. I don't know what another 1,000 pounds would feel like. A little hard for me in 4th at 1500RPM, I'm sure, lol, but that's 35mph for me. BTW, with my tools (50lbs) and a little gas in the truck, including me (240lbs), 'we' weigh in at a little over 4900 pounds. Suprised me.

Now, I don't know about 3.08's, but the point is, if you had to, you could pull 10,000+ pounds somewhere if you wanted. Just depends on the driver and conditions on how likely an accident would happen.

 

I have to agree with this too. It seems to me in my experience, a short tow vehicle with a long trailer is easier to back up than a long tow vehicle and a short trailer.

I just built a trailer, and copied the dimensions from a factory built one. The bed is 16ft, and the tongue is another 4 ft. I though this was a little long for the tongue, but now that I have used it, I can see it makes it easier to back up with the long tongue, and the trailer wheels set to the rear a little bit.

 

I don't care what the owners manual says about rear ends...that's for idiots like I mentioned. If I have a four speed overdrive....that's four gear ratios, I can get that puppy down the road no matter what rear end you give me. It's the final ratio of the tranny gear combined with the rear end that is important.