I'm stepping up to a heavier trailer and while i am happy with the performance of my 5.4 with my old trailer i am considering some mods to keep my charging uphill.
My truck was a daily driver for work for a number of years so i was reluctant to make any changes to it. Now i have a truck i use for work and my F-150 is parked most the time.
I dont want to spend many thousands of dollars but would like to know everyone's opinion on what mods they think would be the best investment to get a bit more hill climbing power without breaking the bank.
I just picked up an Edge Evo programmer to help with towing heavy loads and it made quite a noticable improvement in the low and mid range torque. I'm sure the custom tunes are better but so far I am impressed with the towing improvement the Edge has made. I had a Magnaflow catback installed and it helped alot in the upper RPM's but seemed to hurt the lower RPM torque on my truck so I put the OE exhaust back on.
One of the things that will help your ability to tow is 4.10 gears if your truck doesnt have them. The only thing is regearing your FX4 is going to be in the $1500 range for the gears and install from what I have seen so far. Other than that I would get an X-Cal3 with custom tunes and a cold air intake matched to the mods you have on your truck. Or do what I am trying to do right now which is retire my F150 from tow duty and upgrade to a Super Duty in either a diesel or V-10.
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2004 F150 FX4 Scab
Flowmaster SISO Force II Cat Back Exhaust
Westin Signature Series Tube Steps
3IN AF1 CAI
XCal3 running TP 87 Tow tune
2-1/2IN NCD leveling kit
(SuperCab V8) Do i have a problem? No, it's a sickness and it feels so right
I tow a 6000lb+ travel trailer regularly and couldn't live without my Gryphon and PHP custom tunes. The Gryphon also allows me to see what the truck is doing in terms of what gear it is in and whether the TQ is locked up as well as critical engine and tranny temps.
A friend of mine tows a trailer roughly the same weight with a stock Evo and my custom tunes were 10x better to tow with.
__________________ 2005 FX4 5.4L SCREW PHP Gryphon with custom tunes
2" Leveling Kit
Magnaflow 16616 Side Exit Exhaust
Reflex Spray-in Bed Liner
ACI Vanish Bed Cover
LED 3rd/Tails/Front Signals
35% Front Tint
Prodigy Brake Controller
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Certainly the one i would like the most. Getting the wife to go along with it though would be a serious bit of work.
Depends upon the weight of what you are towing and how much you tow. No matter what you do to the vehicle, legally the GVW, GCW, and GAW are what the truck can handle. Go over any and it becomes a safety and legal concern if you are in an accident.
You never did state the GVW of the new trailer. Without it, we are all guessing.
The "tow rating" is really only a nice marketing gimmick to 'one up' the competition.... If you read the fine print for it, you will also note that it states you can't exceed any of your trucks other ratings too... Those being the GVWR of the truck and the front and rear GAWR.
The "tow rating" is a simple subtraction of the trucks listed GCWR (which is yet another figure that is used for marketing) and the trucks listed 'curb' weight. This makes up the "tow rating".. Also the "if properly equipped" means more then just the tow package... It really means a stripped down work truck with the tow package!
In most cases and for most people, they will exceed the trucks GVWR long before they get to the trucks 'tow rating' figure and then wonder why the truck doesn't perform very well and say "Well, I'm under the trucks tow rating, but I do have the truck loaded up to the gills and my wife, kids and the dog are inside too..."
Good luck with the shopping, but try not to fall in love with that #8000 GVWR 32' double slide, quad bunk bed rig and think that because it's under the 'tow rating' you'll be fine if you add a few bolt on mods!
Mitch
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97 F150 XLT 4x4 Super Cab 5.4. 190,000 miles, trans code "E" (E4OD). 3.55 LS, LT265/75/16 TOYO AT's. Autometer Water/Trans temp gauges. Bosch + 4 plugs that have 120,000 miles on them and they still have not skipped a beat!
I didnt state it because i dont know it yet. I am still in the shopping stage at the moment.
I wont be exceeding the tow rating of my truck, that much i do know. Of the trailers i am looking at, most have a GVWR of aprox 6400-6800lbs.
I made the thread because i just want ideas on what will keep my truck towing and hill climbing the new trailer like it did the old trailer.
If you stay in that range, you should be okay, assuming you do not load the truck down with a bunch of stuff. You will need a WD hitch for that weight (anything over 5k).
I tow a 6000lb+ travel trailer regularly and couldn't live without my Gryphon and PHP custom tunes. The Gryphon also allows me to see what the truck is doing in terms of what gear it is in and whether the TQ is locked up as well as critical engine and tranny temps.
A friend of mine tows a trailer roughly the same weight with a stock Evo and my custom tunes were 10x better to tow with.
I couldnt maintain a highway speed with the EVO tunes... drove me nuts. Truck kept having to shift into 2nd gear all the time.
I just pulled our trailer for the first time with the custom Gryphon tunes and it made the world of difference. love it!
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