I drive a V6, obviously. I have the only truck out of my group of friends. They all drive imports and such and can't pull a trailer. I was wondering if anybody out there drove a V6 and pulled a trailer. If so, how hard was it, and how much did you pull? Just wondering since I know its just a matter of time before I do.

Thanks

 

i have a 4.2, and i have no problems towing... then again, I generally have a portable sawmill, or a car on a tow bar. However, i have to tow over some fairly steep hills, and fairly heavy vehciles, and it never seems to be too do too bad.

OH ya, i also have the 5-speed option :P

 

I've got the V-6 and just got finished pulling a 12' dual axel trailer with a total weight of about 4500 pounds fully loaded. I pulled it about 400 miles and didn't have any problems with the load. I've got the 5 speed manual and can tell you if you know how to drive a manual real well, this thing can pull just about anything you'll need it for. I don't think I'd pull more than the load I just finished but at least now I know how it handles a heavy load.

 

I have a 2001 4.2 long bed with 5 spd and 3.55 open diff. I tow an 18' open car hauler weighing 5000 lbs with my 67 Ranchero bracket car on board. I took my first long haul trip over Labor Day weekend driving from Eastern Virginia (Chesapeake) to Columbus Ohio and back. Total distance was ~1600 miles averaging 13.9 MPG. Did have to use third gear on the long, steep upgrades 3 or 4 times going over the mountains, speed would drop to 50 MPH but no great strain on the truck. I'm most impressed with the trucks ability to maintain cruising speed in 5th gear - 60-70 MPH was not an issue 95% of the time.

 

Hey, guys! I have new 2001 F-150 V-6, 5 stick with 3.55 rear so I read these comments with interest. What is meant by reference to open differential? I have no clue as to what that means. Thanks.

 

hey ****p: welcome to the board.
open differential means not having a limited slip or locker unit. another words only one wheel turns. standard axle. limited slip is an optional item on the trucks.

 

I was routinely towing 3000 pounds worth of boat and trailer this summer in San Diego. It had little problem getting up to 75-80 mph with the trailer. It wasn't quite as nice to tow with as my dad's 99 5.4 4x4, but hey - it is a V6. The gas milage while towing in the city was dismal, it got down around 12.6mpg, although my regular city milage there was between 13.5 and 14.

Mitch

http://www.superford.org/registry/?vID=14

 

i towed my dad's 24' cajun bay boat with 2-axle class IV trailer (total weight 4000-4500 lbs) off the bumper with no problems. the clutch didnt even seem to slip very much. my dad's 5.4 SCrew does a better job, but we were both impressed with how well my truck towed the boat. much better than his old '96 jeep grand cherokee straight six (the reason he got the SCrew is that the cherokee would sit down about 6 inches in the rear when the trailer was hooked up, neither of our trucks sits down too much at all with the trailer on, but you pay for it with a rougher ride when the beds are empty).

he had to borrow my truck to take his boat to the shop because my sister was borrowing his truck, and when he got back he was mad he didnt get the 4.6 in his screw, after seeing how well the V6 towed his boat!

 

I just came back from a trip to see my girls and I pulled a 21' 5ver which weighs around 4000#. The gvwr is 4800 but we just basically had our clothes so it wasn't loaded. After 650 miles we averaged 10.2 mpg american or just a little over 12 mpg canadian. It was working hard coming home because of the wind and I basically drove in 4th gear most of the way. The six is a good engine but not meant to pull that kind of weight consistently, pulling a small boat or skidoo trailer is better suited to it. I just upgraded to the 5.4 yesterday and feel it will be better for my towing needs. I have no complaints about the 4.2 over the last 3 years, it did everything I asked of it including a 100 mile one time pull of a 6000# 5ver. I hope yours is as reliable as mine was.