I wouldn't condone what I did last weekend... but it IS a testament to the capabilities of our older F-150 pickups...

I invested in a 3-horse gooseneck trailer several months ago so that my buddy (Nafal, my Arabian horse) and I can participate in endurance horseback rides more comfortably (the old 2-horse bumper pull was just giving us all sorts of fits).

When I took delivery of the trailer, I told my cousin (a fellow rider) that I would NOT under ANY circumstances pull more than one horse until I get a bigger truck. Current rig is a '91 F-150 with 302 and auto. K&N FIPK and towing gears.

WELL, she had some kids who wanted to come along this weekend to a race... and needed space for 2 more horses, so I was "volunteered" to trailer not only Nafal but the other two horses 150 miles through the Georgia hills to our race near Augusta last weekend.

Trailer weighs in at an estimated 8600 pounds, with horses and all equipment. Another 300 pounds of miscellany on the truck.

Pulled the entire trip out of overdrive, averaged about 7 to 8 miles per gallon (which strangely enough is no worse than I got with the 2-horse bumper pull on flat road). Handled hills fairly well, but kept catching my cousin's 4.9L I-6 on every hill so had to slow down to about 50-55 (she was pulling about 5500 pounds and w/couldn't keep her revs up so lost speed on the hills).

In noticing the performance of the two trucks, I'd wager that the 4.9 is a low-end monster, but has trouble at highway speeds (higher RPMs). The 5.0 does better at highway speeds with slightly less pull off the line (tough comparision between the two trucks though--I was 3000 pounds heavier).

I've added overload springs to the truck (to handle the 2-horse bumper pull), then added air bags to that when I bought the 3-horse gooseneck. No sag at all under load and handles well.

With the exception of fuel mileage, I was happy with the truck's performance. Definitely would not seek to run an overloaded truck this way again, but surprised it handled the load so well with relatively few modifications to engine and suspension. I think the newer (97+) trucks would have a hard time doing what our older, more "trucky" (i.e., less "suburban") trucks can do. Oil still golden, tranny fluid still bright red.

-Mike

 

Glad yours withstood that tremendous load. I hope mine will too if I ever need to tow that much. Since we quit racing the only thing I lug is trash to the dump. And a frig recently.

 

My uncles f 150 with the 4.9 hauled three large cows on a 4 tire bumper hitch trailer, i'm not sayin it was an easy task but it did it

 

Mike,

I agree 100%, these older trucks are tougher than most give them credit for. Though I haven't made any longer trips with much over 5000 or so pounds, I have towed close to 10,000 for shorter distances.

The 302 vs I6 is also very accurate. With my 3.31s I can knock down to second if needed and pull up to about 70 mph. Not that I do this towing, but if I get stuck behind traffic I can let it drop down and bring the revs up. Off the line the 302 isn't a monster for sure. Towing around town a lot might be more fun in the I6.

 

Glad your truck made it them old FORD trucks are hard to kill that is why you still see so many still on the roads.

 

That was a good read, thanks for sharing! i know that when I was towing a ski boat a couple years ago, the truck felt great in town, and good on the highway. It was so-so on the rollercoaster like roads around the lake, but the brakes were warm by then, and dampened the whole experience. Without a trailer, though, my truck gets up and goes at any speed. I've scared the crap out of some (probably) very nice people on the freeway when I'm mad at something.

Take care,
-Chris

 

One more thing... trailer has its own brakes. Did you think I'd be trying to stop 13,000 pounds using the truck brakes alone?!?!

;-)

-Mike

 

I'm sure there are some dumb@$$es that have trired that and some that will try it most likely they will be a Chevy owner as that is the kind of thing they would do.

 

Good point on the brakes Mike. One of the few areas I feel is somewhat lacking in our trucks.

As Chris mentioned they tend to fade under hard use. I have noticed this loaded down. Even empty they don't have a really good feel. I have found on my truck that even though they feel a little mushy that they are not as easy to lock in a panic stop situation.

I had a close one getting on the interstate about a week ago. Just as I got on the gas and exiting car had to jamb the brakes as traffic in front of her stopped quick. As she did she stayed in the center of two lanes to control her stop. I somehow managed to scrub off enough speed to dart to the left at the last second, but I still can't believe I didn't nail her. No need for a visit to the doctor for a heart check.. already had one..

 

Might have needed a pants check after that one, though...

I have heavy duty pads on my truck and they feel very strong. Bought them from NAPA. On my '98 F-150 (traded in for this '91!) I would get grabby brakes every time I pulled a trailer (about 3500 pounds back then). With the '91, I have not had that problem--particularly after the addition of the NAPA HD pads... might want to check into them and see if they improve your situation.

-Mike

 

Thanks for the tip Mike. Might be worth a try as my pad change should be coming up soon regardless.

I have also considered a rotor upgrade or replacing the end front line section with a braided line hoping it will flex less. My truck actually stops OK, I just want a little more feel. Seems it takes a lot of pedal travel to really find the stopping power.