Shorter gears multiply torque.
It will help...a lot. More than anything elese you do to the truck, short of adding a turbo or supercharger...but even then, gears will be a big improvement.

 

I've got a 01 4.2 with 3.08's and i've towed about 6k with it and it sucked.. plus stopping and taking off on a hill is a no no.. especially with a stick

 

You guys are nuts, I've got an 01 F-150 4x4 Reg cab, short box. 120inch wheelbase. 3:73 gears 5spd and it has 141,000miles. I tow a ford broncoII on a tandem axle 21ft trailer that weighs in at 2600 empty. The BII weighs in at
3100 full of fuel and gear. I tow this combo about 6times a year from toledo,ohio to drummond island michigan (about 425miles one way) and my truck does fine. I set the cruise about 73 and put the trans in 4th gear. never had problem yet. I also have a 6x12 enclosed trailer that I haul quads in , in the summer and it pulls that fine. Plus in the winter I pull a two place inline sled trailer with two sleds in it. So I dont see what everyones problem is.

 

I've been to that part of Ohio.
You can see what the weather is doin six counties over....in every direction.

 

obviously haven't been to northern michigan very much. Yes its flat down here but you get up north around westbranch, grayling, *******, indian river and so on and its nothin to find stretches of road that are 25-30% grade for 6-7miles at a time theres a couple that are around 40%grade. better check the facts first before.

 

Since we're all nuts, I'll just check with you to get the facts.
So does that V6 towing 5700lbs actually pick up speed on the those 40% grades?

 

Ok, wiseguy I guess . If you tookthe time to actually read I posted the fact that I have a 3:73 ratio. with that fact in mind alone should answer your very question. The v-6 in these trucks are very capable of towing what a v-8 pulls. as long as the final ratios are set correctly. and yes I do gain speed at 40% grade in third gear. I can keep 73mph all the way from bottom to top. Yes, not the greatest sound at that many rpms but they did engineer a rev limiter for a reason, as long as you don't exceded the rev limit your fine. I have done this with this truck its whole life I bought it new. With all of that said I still get 17mpg towing 5000+ pounds. Oh yeah I'm still on the original clutch.

 

Well, that sounds just like my truck except I have an automatic.
So, I can do all that too plus I can eat a Moon Pie at the same time.

 

Sorry for that little bit of crankyness. I forgot to take my midol this morning(thats what my wife says) anywho these motors are capable you justhave to know how to run em..

 

Sorry for that little bit of crankyness. I forgot to take my midol this morning(thats what my wife says) anywho these motors are capable you justhave to know how to run em..

 

I towed a 6000 lb boat with my 1999 F150 with 3.55s and it was more than fine... too much hp or the wrong ratio would have left me spinning my tires on the boat launch. Just my $.02.

 

I'll throw my 2cents in here as well...I have a 97 supercab, extra long bed, with the 4.2...not sure what the ratio is, although I do have the towing package ...I pull a 22" Maxum Sport Cuddy with it, and it's hell on the hills...no issues on flat,level ground, but top speed for me going uphill is under 40mph...as far as mileage, I travel about 45 miles each way from my home to the lake, and will use almost a full tank of gas doing it. An average cost per boat trip for me was about $100.00, so last summer, when gas prices skyrocketed, the boat didn't see the water... Now my partner has a 98 150 with the smaller v-8...day to day driving, I get better mileage , by about a gallon a mile...but when it comes to towing a load, he has no problems at all. I think when it comes to towing, you can never have too much power.

 

Is it an auto? Autos tend to eat a lot of useful torque from my experiences. Mind you, the only reason Ford puts the v6/v8 with 5 sp at around the 3600 lb mark is because of fools that don't know how to drive a stick and they don't want to be liable. So, if you know how to drive stick, it would add another 1000 to 1500 more lbs than an automatic.

 

40% grade!!! WOW!!! where is that! That's steep!!! I didn't think that they built roads like that! Maybe! I've towed a loaded 6X12 cargo trailer with my v6 too, and it does okay (from Lousiana to Arizona along I10)! BUT remember that the cargo trailer does not protrude into the air the way the travel trailer does! DRAG caused by the travel trailer is a huge factor. Terrain is another huge factor! I don't care what people tell you, but it will STRUGGLE on steep terrain (7-8% not 40%!)

 

If you look closely you'll see that the side of the road is littered with Midol bottles.