Hello Gang -

I plan on towing a small popup camper with my '95 F150. It has 221,000+ miles on it. It has the 302 engine, with a 3:08 rear end (I think) and a 4r70w transmission. The loaded weight of the camper is about 1800# and a tongue weight of about 180#. Generally, I will stay within 3 hours of home, but may travel in some mountains in western NC. Under normal circumstances, is this truck set up to tow this small camper?

Thanks for your responses!

John

 

I would think any vehicle with a V8 engine should tow at least 3,500#.
Ford gets a little weird. They rate their auto trans pick-ups to tow more than the manual trans (comparably equipped), at least in recent years. The 3:08 rear-end is geared on the high side. Not the best choice for towing. Obviously, the high mileage engine should not be pushed too hard.
1,800# is nothing. The 180# of tongue weight is similar to a grown man standing on the rear bumper.
Unless your truck is in really poor condition, you should be fine.
Good luck.

 

You should be fine with that weight. I used to tow a boat and trailer that went between 2000 and 2500 lbs with a 90 F150 with 308 rear and a 351 engine. I Didn't even know it was behind me.
I would suggest that you get an aux trans cooler if you don't already have one. Even though it's not a lot of weight, it is putting more stress on the trans.

 

I had an 88 with the 302 and 3.08 gears and I pulled trailers all the time. You barely felt it until the load got over 2500 lbs or so. I was doing landscaping and tree work so I hauled a lot of trailer loads across the dump scales. Assuming the truck is running properly, a 1500 lb trailer should be like nothing.