Whats up guys... 2005 F150 5.4 4x4 and I wanted to know what experience you guys have with towing with a charger. I am looking at a Lightning swap or other roots style blower (whipple etc) into my truck for more power for towing. What kind of effect will that have on reliablility etc? I tow a 7500lbs Toy Hauler and I want the extra power so I can go to a 35" tire and still be fine. Thanks...

 

well even with a charger i strongly recommend getting geared for the 35" tire. There is even more stress on the tranny when not geared and supercharged.

 

you will tow just great with a blower but if you add 35s you need to really think about gears. and you cant do a lighting swap on an 05

 

How big is your toy hauler?
I had a Procharger on my 97 and had plenty of power to tow. But I only got 5 mpg while doing so.

When I towed my toy hauler (about 8,500 lb...a bit more when loaded up for a longer trip), some of our trips had long, steep grades. I had e-fans, aux tranny cooler & 4.10s on street tires, but it ran hot; has to pull over on a few grades to keep from overheating. I was over the tow limit of the truck, which certainly put added stress on the cooling system. You likely won't have such cooling issues with your truck while towing within the truck's limits, but you will put out more heat when you're in the boost.

Eventually I got a 3/4 ton diesel and will never tow heavy with gas again... I now get 12+ mpg while towing. I'd rather have too much truck than too much trailer.

If you're going to pull that much weight with a blower on 35s, IMHO you are asking for tranny trouble if you don't regear.

 

Here from your other post on the same topic.

Towing with a Supercharger is fine as long as you do not beat the truck there is no reason you cannot get normal life out of the engine. As long as you stay with the stock boost and a good tune you will be fine.

I would suggest a Twinscrew or Roots style blower, although the Procharger is nice. But like a few of us have said a gear swap still is something you need to do running those 35's. The supercharger will make that tranny wear out even faster if you do not do that.

 

yeah i tow with my 97 4x4 expy and I have the kenne bell twin screw setup. I'm also running a water meth kit too. It does use a lot of water/meth when towing but sure keeps it cooler than stock! I would heat up some on long steep grades but with the water/meth I don't. i tow a toyhauler too, 23 foot.