Hello all, new to the site.

I bought a 2004 4WD F150 Supercab with the 4.6 liter engine and 3.55 LS rear end, back in November and had almost no intentions of ever pulling a trailer over 1,000 pounds at the very most. I have since come across a need for a larger enclosed trailer (7' x 14' tandem) with an approximate weight of 2,300 pounds empty. My maximum load for this trailer will be about 2,000 pounds, which means I'll be towing about 4,300 pounds. Knowing this now (and after seeing how good the rebates were in December) I would have purchased an F150 with the 5.4 liter engine, instead.

I'll be going on some longer trips through mountains and such and I'm concerned about the ability to climb steep grades. Will my truck be alright with this kind of load? Should I be doing anything to make it breath a little better, first? This might sound crazy; but, I really like how quiet my truck is. I just don't want to install a loud after-market exhaust unless I have to.

Thanks in advance for any advise...

 

I have a 2003 F150 4.6L 3.55 LS, factory Tow package. I am 100% stock!!! That being said I have have now a 23 foot TT with "WET" (fully loaded weight) of 5400 thats going to be MAX that trailer will EVER be. I have pulled it up, and over many passes I would guess he biggest was the Mt shasta pass which can be very bad in the winter (which is when i went) with no problems. You will be fine, I would use a weight distribution hitch, and use a sway arm. Dont try to out drive anyone and take it easy. Get your self a good break controler, and use truck lanes if you need to on the passes. Might wanna drop out of over drive if your truck is hunting for the right gear. otherwise you can cruise at 55-60. good luck...

Kevin
p.s im sure you'd have lots of feed back so if I missed something some will hit for you.

 

I think you will be fine too. Although I am sure when you start getting in mountainous areas you will probably wish you had the 5.4. Just make sure you have your overdrive off. Good luck.

 

Rather than trust opinions, I would rather opt for spending some time at the scales and get some hard numbers. Pull out that owners manual and look up the ratings for your truck and see if your trailer exceeds any of the ratings. If you are under the maximums then you are ok, if you are less than 80% of the maximums then you are in good shape. Don't ever exceed any of the published ratings, even with 'upgrades', the insurance company will have a field day with you if something happens.

Just always remember, adding upgrades don't add one pound of towing capacity to your truck. They may help your peace of mind and/or your gas mileage but that is it.

Russ

 

I disagree here. There is a big difference between following rules and blindly following rules.
The major difference between various F150 model tow ratings will hinge on the axle gear ratio. An F150 with a 3.73 axle will ALWAYS have a higher tow rating than an F150 with a 3.55 axle ratio. If an F150 owner modifies his truck to have 3.73 or 4.10 gears, and has it done properly, his tow rating will increase accordingly. There will be no difference in tow ratings for an F150 with factory equipped 3.73 gears and an F150 that had 3.73 gears installed after the fact.

If you have the right gears to make it go and the right brakes to make it stop, you will be fine pulling 5000 lbs.

 

Thanks for the input.

I already have a Prodigy brake controller, so I should be set as far as brakes go . I'm also going to consider upgrading the gears to 3.73's. I don't think I'll take much of a hit on fuel economy. Are gears going to make a large difference in how well the truck pulls up steep hills?

I'm definitely not going to be exceeding the trucks limits. But having to slow down to 45 MPH in a 65 MPH zone is something I'm obviously trying to avoid.

Thanks again.

 

I rather think that 60 will be easily do-able. With my trailer, my truck seems to like the 60 to 65 groove and I always remove the OD. If I go slower, it wants to Unlock the TC on a small hill, If I go faster, it's turning faster than I like so the 65MPH (105Km/h) is what I like to aim for, then I don't hold up traffic too much.

That being said, with a different engine, Tiresize, gear ratio, That "Groove" that I'm talking about will be at a different spot. But once you find it, you'll know.

I also have a lower speed groove at around 50MPH (80Km/h) that is a comfortable cruising speed for contry roads. This is also much easier on Gas.

I'm sure other regular towing folks on here have probably found their "Groove" as well. Or is this just my mind playing tricks on me?

As for the 3.73 Gear swap, I think that under most circumstances, that is quite a financialy substancial investment for the actual gaines from a 3.55. But if someone found the 3.73 set cheap, and doing it themselves, well then it might be worth it. IMVHO


Dpostman

 

How do you KNOW that for sure and do you have tangible proof to back it up??? You would have to verify EVERY part number used to build your truck and the part numbers used to build a higher rated truck to be sure that you upgraded every part involved. Otherwise any two-bit attorney would have you for lunch in a liability lawsuit.

My point was that adding helper springs, exhaust, intake or warming up the engine doesn't add one pound of towing capacity.

Russ

 

Your truck is rated to tow 6000 pounds. Even going by the 80% guideline, you're still under. You'll be fine, but expect fuel economy to suffer and you'll be stuck in in the slow lane on grades.

 

Russ- You're a liberal, aren't you?
And you obviously do not know much about trucks or truck parts. But that's ok, you stay ignorant and afraid. It's safe in there. Bye.


And your point is on top of your head.

 

I found some 3.73's for pretty cheap and I'll do the work myself. Either way, I'm still not over the original limit of my truck so I'm just giving myself more power, which is what I was after .

Thanks again for the feedback!

 

By the way, do the K&N air filters + after-market intakes do anything worthwhile without doing a full exhaust system make over?

 

Nevermind, I just found a TON of messages on the subject!

 

This might sound crazy; but, I really like how quiet my truck is.





Just my .02 but I had that same liking of my truck beeing quite and when I installed my K&N (full system) filter. I was PISSED that it did make so much noise. I could really hear it when I towed. I even thought of taking it off. A few/6 mos later I bare can tell its there, (except when you lay into it hard, then it sounds pretty cool )

 

No, actually I'm not.

I guess you know way more than I, so I'll defer to the expert.

I'm out.