Advice on towing for a newbie
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Junior Member
Joined: May 2007
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Advice on towing for a newbie
Greetings all.
First day here.
Post #1 for me.
Never owned a truck in my life till I bought a '04 F-150 4.6L auto shortbed to tow my modded '04 GTO to a dragstrip occasionally.
I've (heard) from friends that I shouldn't tow in O/D but I've done it anyway because it seemed like the truck could handle it
and just wanna make sure (from the pros) that it's cool to do so. I've read up a little in the towing section but most folks have a bigger engine and have said "as long as the trans is not downshifting "a lot", you should be fine..." Well, I'm not sure what "a lot" is defined as and thought I'd explain my situation.
I've made two trips so far, one 6-hour and one 2-hour trip on a borrowed 20-ft open trailer and it towed like a dream. Hardly knew the 3800# car was back there and averaged 70-75 mph the whole way (with an occasional 80-ish bump
). Any way, I left the truck in O/D when I ws on the interstate and it (occasionally) dropped down a gear to climb a small, but long grade (normally not more than 20 times or so per trip). I definitely enjoy cruising along at ~2200 rpms rather than 3500!!! So, my question is: If I only tow my car about 5 times a year (2-6 hours), am I okay to tow it in O/D on a 4.6L engine? Not sure of the trailer weight. It's a dual axle 20-ft open trailer w/wood floor.
Also, I've previously borrowed my buddy's brake controller when I got the trailer but decided to go buy my own. I got a Drawtite Activator-II and a ford wiring harness from U-haul that fits the 6pin connector under the steering wheel. The four wires on the B/C and the wiring harness are the same colors... is it as easy as hooking everything up or do I need to do more research? Unfortunately, I don't have any owners manuals for the BC, harness, or even the truck! Searched around for a wiring diagram for the brake control system on the truck but can't seem to pin anything down (no pun intended).
Thanks in advance for any info.
First day here.
Post #1 for me.
Never owned a truck in my life till I bought a '04 F-150 4.6L auto shortbed to tow my modded '04 GTO to a dragstrip occasionally.
I've (heard) from friends that I shouldn't tow in O/D but I've done it anyway because it seemed like the truck could handle it
and just wanna make sure (from the pros) that it's cool to do so. I've read up a little in the towing section but most folks have a bigger engine and have said "as long as the trans is not downshifting "a lot", you should be fine..." Well, I'm not sure what "a lot" is defined as and thought I'd explain my situation.I've made two trips so far, one 6-hour and one 2-hour trip on a borrowed 20-ft open trailer and it towed like a dream. Hardly knew the 3800# car was back there and averaged 70-75 mph the whole way (with an occasional 80-ish bump
). Any way, I left the truck in O/D when I ws on the interstate and it (occasionally) dropped down a gear to climb a small, but long grade (normally not more than 20 times or so per trip). I definitely enjoy cruising along at ~2200 rpms rather than 3500!!! So, my question is: If I only tow my car about 5 times a year (2-6 hours), am I okay to tow it in O/D on a 4.6L engine? Not sure of the trailer weight. It's a dual axle 20-ft open trailer w/wood floor.Also, I've previously borrowed my buddy's brake controller when I got the trailer but decided to go buy my own. I got a Drawtite Activator-II and a ford wiring harness from U-haul that fits the 6pin connector under the steering wheel. The four wires on the B/C and the wiring harness are the same colors... is it as easy as hooking everything up or do I need to do more research? Unfortunately, I don't have any owners manuals for the BC, harness, or even the truck! Searched around for a wiring diagram for the brake control system on the truck but can't seem to pin anything down (no pun intended).
Thanks in advance for any info.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,506
Likes: 6
From: Puyallup, WA
Welcome!
As long as the trans is not constantly shifting back and forth between 3rd and OD, you will be fine. By "constantly" I mean that if you can't hold OD for several miles without it downshifting, then you might as well just leave it off. You are not saving any gas anyway, and it is hurting your trans at that point.....
Now, if it stays in OD for miles and miles and miles, then you are fine.
As to the BC, if you have the pigtail that plugs in under the dash, then it should be labeled with what wire does what. The wires on the BC 'should' be marked as such too?? But, it's possible they aren't so don't just match wire color, because they are not universal that way.... You will need to find out what each wire is on the BC at that point.
There will basically be a 'hot' wire for 12v power to the BC. Ground. One wire that goes to the trucks brake light switch (that's how the BC knows you are hitting the brakes) and finally the one wire that goes to the trailer (it's usually light blue BTW).
Your truck is already wired for all of this. All you have to do is spice the BC to the pigtail, plug it in and mount it.
Good luck!
Mitch
As long as the trans is not constantly shifting back and forth between 3rd and OD, you will be fine. By "constantly" I mean that if you can't hold OD for several miles without it downshifting, then you might as well just leave it off. You are not saving any gas anyway, and it is hurting your trans at that point.....
Now, if it stays in OD for miles and miles and miles, then you are fine.
As to the BC, if you have the pigtail that plugs in under the dash, then it should be labeled with what wire does what. The wires on the BC 'should' be marked as such too?? But, it's possible they aren't so don't just match wire color, because they are not universal that way.... You will need to find out what each wire is on the BC at that point.
There will basically be a 'hot' wire for 12v power to the BC. Ground. One wire that goes to the trucks brake light switch (that's how the BC knows you are hitting the brakes) and finally the one wire that goes to the trailer (it's usually light blue BTW).
Your truck is already wired for all of this. All you have to do is spice the BC to the pigtail, plug it in and mount it.
Good luck!
Mitch
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Junior Member
Joined: May 2007
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Originally Posted by MitchF150
Welcome!
As long as the trans is not constantly shifting back and forth between 3rd and OD, you will be fine. By "constantly" I mean that if you can't hold OD for several miles without it downshifting, then you might as well just leave it off. You are not saving any gas anyway, and it is hurting your trans at that point.....
Now, if it stays in OD for miles and miles and miles, then you are fine.
As to the BC, if you have the pigtail that plugs in under the dash, then it should be labeled with what wire does what. The wires on the BC 'should' be marked as such too?? But, it's possible they aren't so don't just match wire color, because they are not universal that way.... You will need to find out what each wire is on the BC at that point.
There will basically be a 'hot' wire for 12v power to the BC. Ground. One wire that goes to the trucks brake light switch (that's how the BC knows you are hitting the brakes) and finally the one wire that goes to the trailer (it's usually light blue BTW).
Your truck is already wired for all of this. All you have to do is spice the BC to the pigtail, plug it in and mount it.
Good luck!
Mitch
As long as the trans is not constantly shifting back and forth between 3rd and OD, you will be fine. By "constantly" I mean that if you can't hold OD for several miles without it downshifting, then you might as well just leave it off. You are not saving any gas anyway, and it is hurting your trans at that point.....
Now, if it stays in OD for miles and miles and miles, then you are fine.
As to the BC, if you have the pigtail that plugs in under the dash, then it should be labeled with what wire does what. The wires on the BC 'should' be marked as such too?? But, it's possible they aren't so don't just match wire color, because they are not universal that way.... You will need to find out what each wire is on the BC at that point.
There will basically be a 'hot' wire for 12v power to the BC. Ground. One wire that goes to the trucks brake light switch (that's how the BC knows you are hitting the brakes) and finally the one wire that goes to the trailer (it's usually light blue BTW).
Your truck is already wired for all of this. All you have to do is spice the BC to the pigtail, plug it in and mount it.
Good luck!
Mitch
I found a set of instructions online for my brake controller.
White = Ground
Red = Stoplight
Black = (+) Battery
Blue = Brake control to trailer
The pigtail I bought from U-haul has the same 4 colored wires, but no instructions or labels. I just need to confirm that the pre-wired receptacle in the truck is wired the same as pigtail somehow. So, I guess I still need to find out how the pre-wired brake control connection in the '04 is wired. Maybe I can find an owners manual somewhere, unless someone here already knows??
Thanks again Mitch.