We are getting ready to purchase our first travel trailer. I have several questions to ask on this.

1. My 07 4.6 came with the factory tow package, I plan on adding a brake controller, Does the factory ford hitch allow a weight Distribution Hitch?

2. According to my Manual i can tow 6500 lbs. Now if i get a distribution hitch will that be able to raise the max load?

3. We are looking at 27 to 30 foot trailers that weigh in from 4300 to 5000 lbs. With that weight will i be alright with the truck? Its going to be mostly flat driving with little to no hills.

I plan on doing a plug change, Cops, Transmission Fluid Exchange, and rear end fluid before getting the camper. Is there anything else i need to do?

Sorry for all the newb question, I have towed many trailers but none close to weighing this much.

Thanks Guys

 

The most important thing you want to do is to make sure you stay under your GVWR(gross vehicle weight rating)and RAWR(rear axle weight rating). Best advice I can give you is load your truck up with everything you would bring on a camping trip along with the family and a full tank of fuel. Go to your local scale and have it weighed. Take that weight and minus it from your trucks GVWR and whatever you have left is the max you can have for tongue weight on the trailer. Plus don't forget to minus about 100lbs for the weight of the actual weight distribution hitch setup itself. To figure out a trailers tongue weight you usually figure 10-12% off the trailers GVWR which is usually pretty accurate. Good luck, Kevin

 

If you are going to tow heavy with a 4.6, I'd consider regearing and a programmer/tunes.

Should have kept that old diesel you picked up!

 

I have a 2007 STX 4x4 ext cab, 4.6, with 3.55 gears and OEM 255x70 tire size. It has the factory tow package which includes trans cooler, 7 pin RV connector and class 4 hitch.
I tow a 23 ft bunkhouse that probabaly weighs at least 5600 lbs or so loaded. Plus there is 5 of us, and we load the truck pretty good as well. I have the Equalizer WD/sway hitch and reese brake controller as well.
IMO the truck tows well for a small V8, I know what to expect, which means I don't expect it pull a 8% grade @ 65, I lock it out of OD, and let her rip.
I'm not sure I would want to pull much more without re greaing to 3.73...at least, but power wise its acceptable, as long as you're expecations are,nt too high. Would a bigger V8 be better? Sure thing, but for a small V8, its not too bad. The Truck also feels very and stable.

Not sure if this helps, its just my experience.

Thanks

 

If you have 3.55's, regearing to 3.73 is not worth it. 4.10's or more would be a lot better. The 4.6 thrives on high revs.

 

Yea, I have 3.55's. I was thinking 4.10s also. Thats something i will only do if it just flat out falls on its face, Otherwise i will leave stock gears. Im thinking about a programmer but just cant justify the extra money for a small change.. Ive never had custom tunes but ran a edge evo on my old 03 for 30k miles, I could tell a difference in tow mode but not that much.

 

Custom tunes make those old Edge canned tunes look like crap. If you regear you will need a programmer anyway.

 

If you have 3.55's, that 4.6 is going to fall flat on its face; sorry. And if you have tires taller than stock by any amount, you're only aggravating the problem. Going from 3.55's to 4.10's is absolutely, hands down, the best money you could spend right now to attempt making towing that trailer with this truck remotely enjoyable…been there, done that, got the t-shirt!

 

Can some one send me a link to some decent 4.10 gears for my 07 f150. Is it a 8.8 or 9.75? Ive read that 8.8 are in the 4.2 and 4.6 and 9.75 is the 5.4. Is that right?


Good or not so good?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Racing-...6c90e3&vxp=mtr

 

How do you know that your truck has a class IV hitch? Better yet, how can I find out if my truck has a class IV hitch? I know that most (if not ALL) F150s come with no larger than a 2" receiver, and I'm probably in the dark with this one but I always thought a 2 5/16" receiver was class IV.

My truck is a 2007 XLT SCREW, 5.4L FFV, 4spd auto, 4wd, 3.73LS, trans cooler, and "comes with a trailer towing package". According to my truck, I'm able to tow up to 8,200lbs. Under the hitch it says:

Weight distributed: 9,900lbs, tongue 990lbs
Weight undistributed, 5,000lbs, tongue 500lbs
(actually I don't know if it says "undistributed weight", went over too many rocks and that part of the sticker is gone, lol)

But again my question would be, how can I find out what class my hitch is? Only reason to know is for knowledge.

 

Yours is a class 3. If it were a class 4 you could tow more than 5k without WD.

 

Okay. It kinda makes me curious of when did Ford ever put a class IV on an F150. I only note this cuz 2007 STX mentioned he's got one on his STX with the 4.6L and 3.55 gears. I thought only a class III was available on all F150s, at least up til '08.

 

That is the BALL size used for a class 3 or 4 or even 5 hitch.

Some class 5 hitches have a 2.5" square receiver and some have a standard 2" square receiver.

The way I've always understood it is this, which may or may not be correct, but it's my story and I'm sticking to it!

When you have a 2" square receiver hitch and it has 2 sets of ratings for it when you are just plopping the tongue on the ball and towing, that's the "Class 3" rating on the hitch (undistributed).

When you use that same receiver with a Weight Distribution hitch setup, that's the "Class 4" rating on the hitch (distributed).

The individual ratings can and do vary. Mine is the standard 500/5000 and 1000/10,000 respectively.

I've seen some with 750/7000 and 1100/11,000 and even 1200/12,000

Class 5 is getting to the 1000/10,000 (undistributed) rating.

Colorado will be around soon and can set the record straight! He knows his stuff, as he does this trailer thing for a living!

Follow what your hitch ratings are and don't get all hung up on what "class" it is.. That's all that really counts in the end.

Mitch

 

Well after some thinking im going to let my 4.6 rest and get a f250 V10 or Diesel.

 

^ Scratch that v10 idea, then your good to go!