Towing Feedback - 4.6 V8 owners
 

I have a 2007 F-150 XLT Super Cab, 4.6L V8, 4x2, 145" WB.

I am in the market for my first Travel Trailer, and am looking for feedback from other 4.6L owners out there who are also towing TTs. Specifically interested in knowing how much your TT weighs, and how well your truck does towing it.

Any feedback on weight distribution hitches would also be a help.

Thanks!

With a 4.6 I wouldn't tow anything bigger than 5000# fully loaded. Your engine just doesn't have enough low end torque.

the 4.6 is a motor that Ford needed to keep out of trucks/suv's

You are entitled to your opinion, but the 4.6 is all 75% of F-150 drivers need.

Are you going to be towing up hills? Do you know what gears are in your truck? It will be on your door sticker under "axle" and will be a number like 26 or H9. Do you have some specific trailers in mind? I haven't towed a travel trailer with my 4.6, but I do tow a tent trailer and have towed my brother-in-laws boat. My trailer weighs about 1300 pounds and the boat weighs about 1500 pounds. I know that isn't alot of weight or the high profile of a full size trailer, but I was able to EASILY maintain 120 km/h (75ish mph). Second gear and lots of rpm are your friend with the 4.6. My truck a supercrew 4x4 so its heavier than yours. Good luck and happy camping

75% of F-150 drivers do not tow travel trailers.

What is the axle code on your driver's door sticker?

Stick with 4000-ish pounds dry and you will find performance acceptable.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

The axle code on the sticker is 19. The TT I am considering is the Forest River Surveyor SV-264, which has a dry weight of about 4300. I don't plan on carrying water; and we travel light when we camp.

You have 3.55 gears. Being as your a 2wd I would take a serious look at going to 4.10's. A good rule of thumb also is add about 1500 pounds to the dry weight. You never know what you might pick up on holidays, or if you can't dump and are forced to travel with full tanks. I'm going to be looking at trailers here soon and will be factoring in everything I can, so if I load the trailer up I'll still be at a comfortable weight

Don't be afraid to be pedal to the metal on the hills and let the thing rev!

You'll get it moving down the road no matter what the weight is... It's not all about the weight, it's the wind resistance that affects your forward motion more then anything.. (sure, weight is in there too, and you'll feel it more on the hills).

I bet if you tow that trailer full of water and full of stuff, you won't notice much of a difference in performance or mpg's over a long haul compared to not taking any at all.... Just saying... ;)

Mitch

My dad has an '04 F-150 Scab 4x4 with the 4.6L and 3.73s. He use to pull a 31' (liveable space), 36' LOA Pilgrim travel trailer twice a year. The tow would be about 40 miles each way. No sway bars, just equalizer hitch. The camper was 8400# EMPTY. Of course we pulled the trailer as empty as we could. It took a bit for the truck to get up to speed, but it did decent. We kept the speed at or a little above 50 MPH in 55 MPH posted areas. Anything at 55 or above was CRAZY sway.

Sure, looking back at it, it was sooooo stupid to pull that big of a camper with a half ton, let alone a 4.6L. Now he is looking to go after an Eco Boost since I just pulled the trigger on one :D

towing
 

I tow a 6000pound trailer weighed at the factory at 5960lbs with my 2006 SC,It tows just fine, I maintain a speed of 60 mph on the hw. There are a couple of hills on my drive that I usually take, that I need to give it some gas, then it revs to about 3500 to 3750 and my little V8 starts to accelerate. I use a wdh and 1 anti-sway friction bar and have very little sway from vehicles passing me, have no problems and full confidence in my "car" motor.:bandito:


Dennis:rocker:

I'm a little late to the thread but as long as you have a 3.55 axle, your truck is rated at 6500 lbs and if you have the 3.73 axle, your truck is rated at 7,000. The down fall of your drivetrain is the lousy 4 speed transmission that taps away the power.

I would say your good up from 5000 lbs to 6000 lbs "FULLY" loaded. The reason I say that is that your truck is light. It's a 2WD and it's an extended cab. You have a 6700 GVWR and a payload of 1650 lbs. That leaves an unoptioned truck weight of 5050 lbs. I had a 2008 Sport Trac that had a 6280 GVWR and a 1400 payload. That left an unoptioned truck weight of 4880 lbs. That's only 170 lighter than your F150.

Now I had the 4.6L 3V in my Sport Trac with the 3.55 axle. My 4.6L 3V was 292 Horsepower at 5700 rpm and 300 lbs of torque at 4000 rpms. Your 4.6L 2V is 248 horsepower at 4750 rpm and 294 lbs of torque at 4000 rpms. The torque is the same on the 2 engines and actually up to the 4750 rpm, the horsepower should be the same also. 4750/248 = 19.15 rpm/1 horsepower. 1000 rpm/19.15 rpm = 52 more horsepower at 5750 rpms which would be 300 horsepower at 5750 rpms. Pretty close to the 292 horsepower at 5700 rpms that the 4.6L 3V puts out. So I'd say up to 4750 rpms, the engines should have similar output.

BTW, I've never had to go over 4500 rpms ever while towing. That was with 50 mph winds and driving up very large hills/small mountains.

My Sport Trac towed my 5000 lbs trailer easily and it is a Jayco Jay Flight which is a full height, full width, full weight travel trailer. It's not a shorty ultralight.

Since you have the power sucking 4 speed transmission, I feel you'll pull the 5000 lbs alright and might struggle a bit with 6000 lbs, but you should be able to pull it. The 3.73 axle will make it easier if you have it.

Towing with the 4.6
 

I have one. 2004 Heritage.
I have been RV-ing for over 35 years.
Class A (gas and diesel)
Class C
Class C+ and B
The problem with most people when they post regarding what you can or can't do is that they, like most of the American drivers, haul butt from here to there. 95% drive faster than the RV they are moving is allowed to go.
So, in response to your question I'd say that you can pull a 3000 pound RV with little trouble. You have extra room to place things in the 'bed' of your truck and not weight down the TT so that the hitch takes a beating.
Most people who RV don't have any idea how to pack for an RV. It's a science. Nevertheless most people just toss in everything they can.
I drive 58 to 60 on the flats.
I never let the cruise control take me up a hill or down one. Steep inclines or steep down grades require control of the accelerator and the brake.
When you tow, put it in tow. You'll get @ 13 to 14 miles per gallon if you drive like I do.
I get 22 to 23 on the highway just driving to my cabin in the mountains of NM. Not bad for a work truck?

Just remember it's not meant to be driven at 70 and neither is your TT.
Look up the specs and if you stay inside them, you'll do fine if you drive responsibly. You may even pass some of the posters that claim they drive 70 all the time with no problem strewn over the roadside due to a wreck.

Cya
Doc

Doc, this thread had been dead for 5 years, the original poster is long gone.

4.6 2004 F150 4wd regular cab
 

We owned a 2004 4.6 v8 and added air bags to level loads on rear, put in a cody goose neck hitch and towed a 24 ft drop tail goose neck trailer with a 3000 pound tractor on it with no problems. We stayed at speed limit. Took off Overdrive and used common sense when in traffic.