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I have some quick towing questions that I hope I can get some help with.
My truck is a 1985, F150, 351W with a C6. I love the truck but are learning more about it (and what it can do), so please bear with me
My questions:
Will that configuration truck have any issues towing a 21ft, 6,500 lb boat on a dual-axle trailer (weight is boat and trailer combined).
Brakes - I have a new master cylinder, brake booster, front rotors, calipers and pads. Rears have not been touched. Will this vehicle be able to STOP that much weight behind it, without too much effort?
Brakes cont. - I believe I have a brake controller, located just below where the steering column meets the dash - which I think is for trailers (maybe I'm wrong - if so, please correct me!). How does that hook up? My trailer does NOT have trailer brakes, but more importantly, I can't see any type of a connection point towards the rear of the truck. The bumper just has the license plate in the middle and the light-gauge tow ball in front of that with lights either side.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a tow hitch to suit my truck that will be safe for a 21ft boat? I was looking online and saw this: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hit...leid=198513658 . Is that overkill or ok?
How can I wire in the trailer light connector? Where does the harness bolt into?
I have a 4 inch lift on my truck. Will I need a custom ball mount kit?
I have some quick towing questions that I hope I can get some help with.
My truck is a 1985, F150, 351W with a C6. I love the truck but are learning more about it (and what it can do), so please bear with me
My questions:
Will that configuration truck have any issues towing a 21ft, 6,500 lb boat on a dual-axle trailer (weight is boat and trailer combined). That might be over the tow rating for that truck (if you care about such things). You don't say what your axle ratio is or whether you have a 2- or 4-barrel carb. If it's 4.10:1 4-barrel then your GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating = max truck weight + trailer weight) is 12,500 lbs. 3.55:1 4-barrel is 11,500, 4.10 2-barrel is 11,000, 3.55 2-barrel is 10,000. Subtract the weight of the truck and whatever it's carrying for the max trailer weight. The loaded truck weighs probably 4500 - 5000 lbs, so the max rated trailer weight would be roughly 5,000 - 7,500 lbs, depending on your setup. If you don't care about tow ratings, I'd say it's not out of the question to tow that much, but it is an awfully big tail for that dog, so I wouldn't do it unless I was pretty confident in my ability to control a big trailer.
Brakes - I have a new master cylinder, brake booster, front rotors, calipers and pads. Rears have not been touched. Will this vehicle be able to STOP that much weight behind it, without too much effort? No, not even close, at least without good trailer brakes.
Brakes cont. - I believe I have a brake controller, located just below where the steering column meets the dash - which I think is for trailers (maybe I'm wrong - if so, please correct me!). How does that hook up? My trailer does NOT have trailer brakes, but more importantly, I can't see any type of a connection point towards the rear of the truck. The bumper just has the license plate in the middle and the light-gauge tow ball in front of that with lights either side. You NEED trailer brakes on a trailer that heavy to be legal or to be safe, behind just about any truck, let alone a half-ton. There are two styles of trailer brake. Surge brakes are hydraulic, with a mechanism in the trailer coupler that pushes a master cylinder and works the brakes. Those are simple and barely adequate for a trailer that heavy. Or electric brakes that use a signal through the electrical connection (it'll need more than the standard 4 pin connector). Electric brakes are poor to great, depending on the controller. It sounds like you have an electric brake controller. If it's a decent proportional controller, that's good. If it's one of the timer-based ones you need better for that trailer. And obviously you need electric brakes on the trailer to work with an electric brake controller.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a tow hitch to suit my truck that will be safe for a 21ft boat? I was looking online and saw this: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hit...leid=198513658 . Is that overkill or ok? That's just a little overkill, but overkill is OK here. That trailer needs at least a class 3 receiver with a weight distributing hitch. You could also use a class 4 or 5 receiver without a weight distributing hitch, but on a half-ton you probably want a weight distributing hitch. The one you link to is class 5.
How can I wire in the trailer light connector? Where does the harness bolt into? Too involved for me to try to answer right now
I have a 4 inch lift on my truck. Will I need a custom ball mount kit? Custom? No. But you will need to get a ball mount that puts the trailer about level. There are lots of options available, you just need to find the right one. Although there might be fewer options for a weight distributing hitch.
Most if not ALL STATES say trailer brakes at 3000 lb and up, some might be at 2500 lb.
Now for boat trailers I don't think I have ever seen electric brakes, water (salt?)is not good for the magnets.
I can tell you trying to stop even 4500lb with no trailer brakes is not fun!
Did you buy this boat / trailer from a dealer? if so go to a different dealer and ask about trailer brakes for a boat trailer.
Dave ----
Forgot to ask how far will you be towing this boat?
May want to install the largest ATF cooler you can, pulling that weight will be building heat in that trany.
Dave ----
The 351w will leave a lot to be desired so far as power. My '86 F-250 had the 351 HO and it sucked towing a lighter boat. I built a 460 with about 425 HP and 550 ft/lbs strictly for towing around 5500 lbs. A 351 will get the job done though, heck even a 302 will.
Half ton brakes suck, and that's with functional trailer brakes. Towing with a half ton in general sucks unless it's a very light load. Hopefully your truck is at least a long bed and preferably SC or CC. Longer the wheel base of the tow vehicle the better, and the heavier the better too.
Put brakes on that trailer, do not tow 6500 lbs without trailer brakes and only wee little half ton brakes on the truck. Get a surge brake master cylinder and put brakes on both axles. Electric brakes could be problematic on a boat trailer. If you go electric it's probably best to do electric over hydraulic, that is to say an electric master cylinder. I've had trailer brakes fail with my 5500 lbs load (debris took out a brake line) and it really sucked even with one ton brakes. The risk is not only greatly increased stopping distance but also jackknifing the trailer. Been there done that when a selfish ***** pulled out in front of me in a distance that would have been cause for evasive action if I was in a small car. This is a good reason to also always strap down the transom of your boat, if I didn't my boat would have likely been on the ground. Fortunately nothing bad happened, barely, but if it can go wrong it will. You want as much safety factor as possible. Big brakes, quality friction material, everything properly adjusted, quality hitch, ball mount, and ball.
Get a quality drop ball mount, rated for the load. I use an 8" drop to tow my boat with my stock height F-350 4x4. Before that I used a 10" drop to tow the same trailer with my F-250 lifted 4" with D60 swap. I suggest eliminating the lift if you'll be towing heavy. 4" leaf spring lift with one ton axles is the most I'd ever want to tow with and the factory F-350 suspension tows better. I hated towing with a half ton and I'm sure there would be a lot more pucker factor with a lift.
Bottom line for me is I wouldn't be towing a 6500 lbs load, trailer brakes or not, with a lifted F-150, unless it was just moving it around the yard or a very short tow at around town speed just to move the trailer in a pinch. I think you should be looking for a F-250 or F-350.
The truck is an extend cab with a 6 ft bed and the engine is the 351W High Output with the 4-barrel carburetor. I'm adding aluminum heads and some other things shortly which will take power and torque up to around 400 hp/ft lbs.
I'll also look into trailer brakes and in the meantime, I'll use the wife's Sequoia to tow the boat.
I bought the boat off an old guy who had it sitting for a while, and the engine was seized (5.0 Mercruiser). So, I pulled out that engine and have been rebuilding a 5.7 Mercruiser to replace it.
Driving is just to the boat ramp and back - about a 5 mile round trip on flat public roads (no hills) where the speed limit is around 45 mph.
I also just re-checked the weight of the boat on the manufacturers website - and I was off a fair bit. My apologies. The hull weight with the engine is 3,200 lbs. An estimate for the trailer would be 1,200 lbs, bringing it all to roughly 4,500 lbs.
What is the difference between the F250 brakes and are they a retro-fit for my F150?
Re: installing the trailer light plug.....there is a plug and play harness you can buy, you unplug a connection underneath and it goes in between....no surgery required.
Thanks 82 F100, that should make the install a little easier!
Brnfree - no, it's just a 2WD. I looked for a long time and wasn't able to find a rust-free example (in my price range), so when this one came up, I grabbed it. Also, I live in FL and as it's pretty much flat everywhere and we don't get snow, a 2WD made sense.
Most boat trailers have surge brakes. Are you positive your trailer does not have brakes? If it doesn't, I think someone took them off, it would have had some sort of braking system from the factory. Look for a complicated looking thing at the front hitch of the trailer, and hydraulic brake lines running to the rear, or remnants of such a system. Besides the trailer brakes, you should be good to go.
Had a 5000 lb setup without brakes and it was a handful. At the time I did not know how heavy it was.
Added a set of GM car disc's to the front axle with the override (surge) master cylinder and they would pull the whole combo to a stop while there was even slight override pressure.
Now the rules have changed here and you require brakes on all axles plus a break away setup for that weight of trailer.
Dunking the brakes in seawater, fresh water hose off after use and the disc's last around 3-4 years. Last longer if it is used regularly.
Cheers Steve
Franklin - I don't recall there being any drums or discs when I changed all the wheels (as I mentioned earlier, the boat had sat for a while and all tires were flat or going flat) and there is definitely not a hydraulic-surge type of box near the gooseneck of the trailer. However, I will have to crawl under the trailer to see if there are any remnants of brake lines, as I may have missed something.
Blackduck - thanks for the tips. My biggest hurdle right now is getting the parts that I need - dual axle brake set ups are pricey!
You'll be fine with that weight if you put brakes on the trailer. It'll be dicey without, I wouldn't want to be towing regularly at 45 MPH without just F-150 brakes.
One ton rear is more or less a bolt in. Springs are 1/2" narrowing on a half ton I believe, a couple ways to deal with that. Not sure on the front for a 2WD truck, never messed with them but a D44 TTB is a bolt in swap and I suspect a solid D44 (78-79) is a bolt in swap too with the right parts, it is for a 4WD 80-97 F-150. That may give more brake options. Basically 1 ton brakes are bigger. Sterling drums are 12"x3", not sure on D50/60 size but they're bigger than D44 TTB brakes. With the revised weight you mentioned don't bother with axle swaps for brakes. Just get good quality pads, rotors, and shoes. I run Wagner Severe Duty pads on my D60 and they definitely stop better than the cheap generic pads from wherever.
Thanks 82 F100, that should make the install a little easier!
Brnfree - no, it's just a 2WD. I looked for a long time and wasn't able to find a rust-free example (in my price range), so when this one came up, I grabbed it. Also, I live in FL and as it's pretty much flat everywhere and we don't get snow, a 2WD made sense.
Pic attached for reference.
That's a very nice looking truck, Quarterwave.
I am a big fan of that style of side trim molding, and I have it on my own 1985 truck. Take good care of it, because you cannot replace it. It was only used on the early 1985 models and no one reproduces it.
03-20-2018, 02:42 PM
