Went to the RV show this weekend and I am sold. was planning on getting a 14' Fleetwood Highlander Pop up but instead Should be getting a 19.5' Starcraft Antigua Light weight travel trailer. I would like to go bigger but I cant beat the price and my kids are still under 5 so the 19.5' should be plenty big enough.
Anyway, my truck is a 97 F150 s/cab 4.6 4x4. I have many mods, intake, exhaust, chip, e fans,pulleys, 75mm t- body, ported and polished elbow. Stock 3.55 gears (8.8 REAR END) with 305/75/16 tires. The trailer weighs dry around 2800#. I believe the GVWR rating is 5000# but the sales guy told me the trailer maxed out is under 4000#.
Will my truck pull this trailer?
The sales guy says yes. But of course he does. Do I have to do any other mods to my truck? I have a class III hitch, no tow package. I plan on adding tranny cooler and guage, weight distribution hitch system, possible 7700# suspension components. (ie: rear leaf spring pack and front torsion bars), I can also have 4:10 gears put in if needed. I would love to trade the truck in for a diesel, but I just paid it off and want to enjoy no bills for a while. Do you guys think I will have trouble pulling this trailer. My only concern is the larger tires dropped my gear ratio down to about a 3.30 ratio from the stock 3.55. Any advise, tips or concerns would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

 

I think you'll be allright with your truck. As you suggested, definately add a tranny cooler though.

My Expy has a 3.31 rear end , but I have 16" wheels and it manages the 4000# Airstream fairly well. I usually keep it out of O/D, and pull at around 60-65 mph.

 

Not a problem. With mods you have and the mods you plan on doing to the truck, I wouldn't think twice about it. Regular maintanance and your truck with sing all day long. I would tow in 3rd gear though, with the OVERDRIVE

 

OVERDRIVE should be OFF.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. From what you have said, I may hold off on the major mods like gear changes and the 7700# suspension upgrade until I actually tow it to see how it does. I will be doing the tranny cooler and temp guage before I pick it up.

Does anyone know a good tranny cooler to get, and where to purchase it. Also where is a good place to mount the temp guages. I was going to get a 2 pod A pillar mount (1 for tranny temp and 1 for water temp) but also want to add the driver side grab handle the 1999+ model trucks have. Can I have both the guage pod and the handle?
Thanks again for the info

 

Get a "stacked plate" type of cooler. Those are just like the factory ones and while they maybe physically smaller then your run of the mill "tube and fin" coolers, they are much better at removing the heat.

B&M makes them as well as other name brands. Troyer Performance, which is a sponser of this web site, has them too. Troyers would be a complete bolt in as well......

The A piller is the best place for the additional gauges. I don't know about the grab bar in addition to the gauges however..... I've got mine on the piller, but I didn't have the grab bar and can't really see a need for it..... I just grab the steering wheel and if you are wheeling, your hands should be on the wheel anyway.....

Good luck!

Mitch

 

Thanks Mitch. You answered my next question as well in regards to which type of tranny cooler. I saw the Troyer one and wondered why it is was so much smaller than the others I have seen. I have Troyer's e-fans and love them so I will go with his trnny cooler as well.
BTW - I like the looks of your RV there. Since I havent put any money down just yet, I will take a look at those as well. I almost bout a 21' Prowler about 5 years ago but decided to go with a Sea-Doo at the time.

 

Thanks Blank21, It's a very cool trailer, but is really only designed for two people..... Just a queen bed up front and the table will fold down to a bunk, but it's pretty small. For a 5 year old, it'll work ok, but not for very long, as they grow very fast!!

Mine weighs in at about #4500 fully loaded. I figure there is about #550 of tongue weight too.

I've got some Hellwig overload springs on the rear. They really help keep the rear sag to a minimum when there is any payload in the bed. The truck only drops about an inch when I put the trailer on. When I set the WD bars, it's back to it's original ride height.

I usually run with OD turned off and keep it around 60 mph. I'm only pulling around 2400 rpms at that speed so it'll run there all day. I would highly reccomend the water and trans gauges! It's the best way to tell how hard you are working the truck, as the stock gauges suck that way........

Mitch

 

Mitch,
I am definetly doing the guages and the cooler. Should I go with a helpper spring, add - a - leaf or the 7700# spring pack. the entire 7700# spring pack is arund $250 for both sides. not including install.
I was also poking around a really good site. rv.net and asked some of those guys what they thought. Most seemed to think my truck would struggle and not too exceed 4000# even though the manual says somewhere around 6000#.
I am really confused and dont want to damage my truck since it is paid for and would be useless if I have to trade up to a larger truck to pull camper. Do you know the dry weight of you Prowler. I think you said it is a 22' which is larger than the 195 I am looking at.

 

I've been to rv.net too.... They are a bit conservative by way of telling folks what is a good combo and such...... Good folks and they offer up good advice, but seem to want everyone to tow with a 1 ton diesel for the most part....

My trailer was something like #3800 "dry". It's got a GVWR of #5000.

Mine tows very well and while I am at the trucks GVWR of #6250 when I'm all hitched up, I don't fret it at all.......

The 22' on my trailer is from bumper to the front of the hitch. The actual camper part is only 19'.

I think you'll do ok. You'll just have to let that 4.6 rev some, but you'll make it! Just keep the fluids changed and change the trans fluid once a year. Might want to consider changing the rear diff fluid if you have not done that yet.

The add a leaf will lift the rear end up about an inch or so. You might get the same thing with the 7700 springs, if they have more leafs then stock. The overloads attach on top of the original springs and don't add any height.

Mitch

 

I agree with Mitch. Those guys on rv.net are towing some serious toys, so they are very knowledgable when it comes to the 1 tons. But your f150 can tow a 5000# GVWR trailer no problem, especially with your mods. Your truck stock should have a max towing capacity of around 6100lbs, according to my 2000 owners manual. It could be a little less, but there werent too many changes from 97 to 00, so I bet thats pretty accurate..

There are a few other things you should also consider;

Air bags instead of ad-a-leaf or changing the whole rear to 7700# springs. I installed airbags to my f150 when I was towing my 7500# fifth wheel. Do you like your suspension the way it is right now, without towing? Adding airbags gives you versatility, and can increase your side to side stability, especially during high winds, and winding roads. When you tow, simply add air, up to 100psi, until you are level, and comfortable with the ride quality. When you arent towing, you let the air out to about 10lbs or so, and ride stock. I installed the bags myself in about an hour and a half, and they cost me about $160 from camping world. Adding the 7700# springs will not increase your towing capacity, but it will make the rear higher and alot harsher ride when you are not towing.

What about your brakes?? Dont forget, that when you changed your tires from stock, you added a few extra pounds of rubber, and your brakes are ALREADY working harder to stop, without adding a trailer behind you. Seriously think about upgrading your brakes as well.


And get a good brake controller. Last I heard, the Prodigy made by Teconsha was the talk of the town. I bought it and have no complaints.

 

I'd say you should have no problem. As previously mentioned, Lay off the OD and happy trails.

B4 I bought my truck last march, I Towed my 21ft Prism Ultra light (About 3500lbs with beer in fridge) with my 3.8L Windstar for 4 years without any (Towing related) problems

Once you play a bit with the Tortion Bar settings (Weight distribution settup) you'll find your happy place, when everything is setup right it just feels right. 'Cause anyone else that tows any amount will tell you, If it dosen't feel right, it probably ain't and that makes for a long drive.

Dpostman

 

Slickford -
Thanks for the airbag info. I will definetly go that route instead of the 7700# springs although I may still go with the heavier torsion bars. I wanna be as safe as possible and looks like the air bag is the way to go. Do you know what make and model I should go with?
I am going with the prodigy brake controller and either a reese dual cam hitch or an equalizer. I am also getting the troyer tranny cooler, guages for tranny and water, a larger rear differential cover and probably 4.10 gears and either limited slip or detroit ez locker reaer end.
I had considerd trading up to a F350 diesel but the cheapest I found for a 6.0 was around $35k. My F150 is paid for so I wont pay that till my truck is dead and I have no choice. Then I will upgrade. A couple of guys on rv.net are asking about pulling 27' trailers with dry weights of 5000+#'s with Toyota Tundra's and Nissan Titans and getting mixed info. One guy asked about pulling with a 23' with a toyota minivan. I can't understand how they think my truck will struggle with a light weight 19.5'. Surely I can pull the same weight as either the titan or tundra. My manual says a trailer weight of 6800# for a supercab 4x4 with the 4.6L.
I go tomorrow to put down my deposit.
yeah!
Thanks for the info guys. Sorry for the long post.

 

Blank21,
I bought Air Lift air bags, #59500 series. They are rated at 2000 to 2500lbs each which is plenty. After re-reading your post I would probably wait until you hook up the trailer and get a feel for it before you get them. You arent going to have that much weight, and the hitch you are getting is pretty good at leveling. You might be suprised how well it works. BUT, if you load up the bed with tons of quads or motorcycles, or whatever, you will definetely need more support. And remember, adding airbags or helper springs isnt going to raise your payload capacity, just level you out and give you a way better ride.

This all sounds too familiar, truck paid off, wanting a 250/350 diesel, I just went through that a few months ago, then I saw that the dealer was having a sale on the 04s cause 05s were on the lot! I couldnt resist, and got a msrp $38000 truck for $28000! I am happy I did it, because I love the new 250, but I really wish I would have saved the time and money I put into my F150 supercab. I could write a book on this, but I already did. Do a search on my name, and read some of my other posts on towing the fifth wheel and all the mods I got, just to sell the truck a few months later. Dont get me wrong, the f150 with the 5.4 did an awesome job pulling 7500lbs, but moving up to the 3/4 was a much better move for the big box I am towing.

Congrats on the new trailer, and keep us posted.