I have an '01 F150 w/the 4.6l v8, 5 speed manual tranny, and the 3.08 rear end. I also am picking up a small tent trailer - around 1400lbs dry - on Thursday. I'm second owner of the truck - it has a factory reciever hitch and 7-blade plug - does this mean it has a "tow package?" What does that mean on a manual transmission - there's no transmission cooler on a manual, is there?

Any advice on towing would be helpful. I have read the forums and know that I will rarely, if ever, want to use 5th when towing and need to keep speeds low. I also will rarely tow the trailer with h20 in the tank to save weight. Any other advice? I see plenty of folks offering advice to the guys like me, but few "been there" comments from owners of these rigs that can only tow 2000 lbs according to Ford.

I have a fibreglas shell and will probably be toting a bunch of crap in the bed - we tend to overpack for long trips.

Am I getting worked up over nothing, or should I be concerned? I'm planning on taking this setup to Yellowstone this summer - crossing 3 or 4 good mountain ranges. My trailer has electric brakes and I just installed a brake controller. The last time I towed, it was in an old F350 with 454(I think) pulling a 32 foot Alumilight. Couldn't tell the trailer was even there.

Thanks in advance.

 

Yep, you're getting worked up over nothing. Even though you have a high gear ratio, you will still have no problems with that small of a trailer. My '88 had 3.08 gears and a 5 speed, and I pulled massive trailer loads for many years. The biggest consequence was having to replace the clutch every 30K miles. But I was overloading my truck and pulling 5K-8K loads on a daily basis. I still got 200K out of that truck before trading it (for an automatic).

 

You should have no Problems. I towed a 1000lbs Tent Trailer with my 93 2.3L 5 Speed Manual 2 door Ford Tempo for 3 summers with no problems. Plus I had a Huge Cargo Clam on the roof, and I could not see out my back window cause the back seat was full of stuff. I had to Change the rear springs on the car to heavier ones to handle all the weight I was carrying. Man Those were the days.

It used to draw a crowd around when it came time to put everything back in the car.

Dpostman

 

You should have no problems with that light of a load. Just keep an eye on your gauges, mostly temp. Also try not to ride your brakes too long, downshift and use your motor slightly. Just because you have a hitch and a 7pin plug does not mean you have a towing package, they might have been installed aftermarket. But that should be nothing to worry about though with just 2000 lbs.

 

It will be just like that.
Your biggest worry on a long trip is forgetting it's back there and not leaving enough room when you are passing the slower traffic.

 

Well, I towed it home tonight - she felt a little heavy, but no problems. Took a back highway instead of the interstate to get the feel for highway speeds. Felt great. I put a prodigy brake controller in and it adjusted beautifully. Ready to camp!

Thanks for all your help.

-Randy

 

Glad to hear it went well.

The most wear to your clutch will be when you're parking the thing, so Practice practice practice

Dpostman