F250 superduty

[Soundguy]

The tag on my Harbor Freight Engine hoist says 5,000 lbs. yet I would never try to lift over 750 lbs. with it.

Yes, LIGHT DUTY pickups can be used to occasionally haul heavier loads, but I wouldn't want to be the one driving it. If the trailer brakes fail, there is no way a small truck can safely maneuver the load.

I'll stick with HD trucks for towing anything over 5K.

that tag probably says 'rolling load' too!

sticking 1/2 tons with 5k is a bit excessive. My half ton dodge ram 1500 pulls 7k legally and does it fine.

I see new jobs claiming 10k.. heck my dodge says it will do 5k on the bumper with no frame hitch..

you should be planning your stops no matter what tow vehicle, and always be ready for 'plan B' if your tractor/trailer brakes die... can happen on 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton... stuff just brakes.. can happen.

soundguy

 

[Dmace]

For the original poster, I say the F250 with the V8 gas will fit your plans very well. I tow my tractor on a 14ft trailer regularly with my 03 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 HEMI easily and it could handle more if needed. Daily driving unloaded I get 14-15mpg city and 15-17mpg highway, towing the tractor it only drops to 11-12mpg mixed city/highway with OD off. Sometimes I would love to have a 3/4 ton for the extra payload but a 1/2 ton worked well for me and since I bought used it was much cheaper.

I have yet to own a Ford V8 5.4l but it should have no problem with your load and still return better gas mileage than the V10. The maintenance cost will be lower and the V8 5.4l is a very proven engine that has been around for quite a while.

We are ONLY talking HD trucks here. The OP should not be towing an 8700 lb. trailer for 80 miles with a light duty truck or SUV that are included in the "GM Dominates the Market" numbers.

Also, I think this statement is ridiculous, 1/2 ton trucks can legally tow that with no problems. The tow ratings on these trucks are typically 15-20% less than they can actually handle safely due to insurance and safety precautions. I have towed a mini-excavator on a 16ft trailer totaling almost 9,000lbs many times with my 1/2 ton truck and that was through the "White Mountain" area of NH which is far from flat. There is no problem pulling that load and with good trailer brakes you barely feel the load behind you.

 

[mohrds]

I don't even need trailer brakes to tow 5K.

I'm just glad we don't drive on the same roads....

Call me overkill, I don't care. I'm trying to advise the OP with the best solution for him while keeping my family safe in the oncoming lane.

I see plenty of people roll through every day on stretchers who were being "safe"

Doug

 

[wkpoor]

I was over at my neighbors last year bush hogging and he pulled in with his BobCat 762......behind a Honda passport! Hehehehehe with no trailer brakes. He said it was real tricky getting it balanced enough to tow it. It still looked like it could flat out mash the back end of that Passport. Talk about safe towing!!!

 

[wkpoor]

There is alot of bickering back and forth about tow ratings and safety. Anyone ever wondered how much of any rating is about the drive train and not ability to stop. Why else would 2 trucks that weigh almost the same have such different tow ratings when one is diesel and one is gas. Seems safety in towing ought to be mostly about handling and stopping. If so all 1 ton trucks would have about the same combined tow rating.

 

[jcmseven]

I have a couple points to add and a question. There is no doubt in my mind that a properly equipped new F150 or equivalent 1/2 pickup will safely tow 8000#. My dad has an F150 2008 model with the 5.4L engine. It is 2wd and I believe has either 3.31 or 3.55 gears. It will easily pull my 20' tandem utility trailer with a tractor on it, though I did not haul the BB with it. This load was slightly north of 8K and the truck did fine. In my opinion, the F150 pulls BETTER from a smoothness perspective with lighter loads than does my 250 PSD. Now, I did not say it pulled better from a power standpoint. The diesel in my truck gets and keeps the load moving, but I was surprised in the 1/2 ton of my dad's just how torquey it is down low. It has excellent take off, but very little midrange, so it has to shift often with heavier loads. With light loads the suppleness of the suspension and the outboard shocks in back are great and truthfully make towing a smoother experience than any 3/4 ton I have used including my own (this applies up to about 5-6K pounds). The new 2009 Ford with the sway control, factory TBC, etc. would tow a load in the 8-9K range with zero problems. As for the V10 v diesel debate, I had a 2001 250 V10 which I ultimately traded on a 2002 diesel 7.3L (just had to have the diesel). The diesel was more powerful when towing, but the gas engine surprised me. They have since upped the power on these trucks, so if our OP just had to have a 3/4 ton the V10 is a really powerful option. They will not pull quite as well as the 6.4L in a Ford, or an equivalent diesel in another brand, but they get close to the same mileage now, either empty or loaded. As for my question, I was surprised about how well my dad's 150 pulled, but the mileage stunk!! His truck gets a documented 17 mpg in combination driving and is repeatable doing so. But, pulling 8K pounds, I got 7.5 on the highway and only 9 pulling the trailer EMPTY!! I am not a slow poke puller, but I am not on the throttle 100% either. I wondered if others have noted such as profound drop in mileage when pulling with these trucks. My dad was a bit disappointed as was I.

John M

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have a couple points to add and a question. There is no doubt in my mind that a properly equipped new F150 or equivalent 1/2 pickup will safely tow 8000#. My dad has an F150 2008 model with the 5.4L engine. It is 2wd and I believe has either 3.31 or 3.55 gears. It will easily pull my 20' tandem utility trailer with a tractor on it, though I did not haul the BB with it. This load was slightly north of 8K and the truck did fine. In my opinion, the F150 pulls BETTER from a smoothness perspective with lighter loads than does my 250 PSD. Now, I did not say it pulled better from a power standpoint. The diesel in my truck gets and keeps the load moving, but I was surprised in the 1/2 ton of my dad's just how torquey it is down low. It has excellent take off, but very little midrange, so it has to shift often with heavier loads. With light loads the suppleness of the suspension and the outboard shocks in back are great and truthfully make towing a smoother experience than any 3/4 ton I have used including my own (this applies up to about 5-6K pounds). The new 2009 Ford with the sway control, factory TBC, etc. would tow a load in the 8-9K range with zero problems. As for the V10 v diesel debate, I had a 2001 250 V10 which I ultimately traded on a 2002 diesel 7.3L (just had to have the diesel). The diesel was more powerful when towing, but the gas engine surprised me. They have since upped the power on these trucks, so if our OP just had to have a 3/4 ton the V10 is a really powerful option. They will not pull quite as well as the 6.4L in a Ford, or an equivalent diesel in another brand, but they get close to the same mileage now, either empty or loaded. As for my question, I was surprised about how well my dad's 150 pulled, but the mileage stunk!! His truck gets a documented 17 mpg in combination driving and is repeatable doing so. But, pulling 8K pounds, I got 7.5 on the highway and only 9 pulling the trailer EMPTY!! I am not a slow poke puller, but I am not on the throttle 100% either. I wondered if others have noted such as profound drop in mileage when pulling with these trucks. My dad was a bit disappointed as was I.

John M

John, I see about the same results from my 2007-F-150 SuperCrew 4x4. It has 3.73 gears and gets 16.4 mpg average unloaded. Now towing it gets 11mpg. I have 19,000 miles on this truck and it has towed aprox 12,000 of those miles. The boat we use it for weighs right at 7,000# +- 200# depending on the fuel load. It gets towed 150 mile round trip every weekend April through October so I have good numbers on it. It also makes 3 trips a year to Tennessee. It does not matter if I am on the highway going 70 or on back roads going 55, it gets 11 towing.

I am kind of a Ford Truck Nut. Have also owed a 1999 F-350 PS, 2004 F-250 PS, 2006 F-350 PS, and a Dodge 2500 Hemi and a 3500 Chevy Dmax. Do not claim to be a expert but know a lot about them. 3.55 gears will really hurt you when towing but will yield 1 mpg better empty. I have owned 7 F-150's since 1997 with 5.4L engines. One was a 3.55 gear truck and one was a 4.10 gear truck. For the driving I do and the high ratio of towing the 4.10 gear did just a good mpg wise as the 3.73 gear truck.

The reason you notice how well it takes off is the 5.4L makes 80% of its available torque at low RPM's. That is why its such a good truck engine for light duty towing. If it had 3.73's it would mask some of that dog in the middle. The way many get around this also as they have done on the 2009 F-150 is to go to a 6 speed tranny. They can then allow you to get the 3.55 gear and still have good power in the mid range.

Chris

 

[jcmseven]

Chris, thanks for your post. I am trying not to get off topic here from the original post intent, but I will say I was very surprised how well overall the F150 towed. I read alot about trucks and cars and most of my recent experience has been with diesel trucks. When towing with my dad's truck initially, I had this notion based on how I read F150's with the 5.4L were underpowered and slow and did not perform well with loads, etc. I quickly realized after using the truck why so many are sold. It towed great!! True, it could use a little more power, but compared with some other trucks I have used for towing it was stable and comfortable and with the aftermarket TBC my dad mounted, it really was a nice machine, right up to its towing limit. My dad is older, and his mind is not great 100% of the time, but he is a very safe driver. He still "works" two days a week and has driven his truck 35000 miles this year with no problems. He leaves any towing duties to me, but if his last truck was any indication (I have it as a beater truck for short errands--it has over 200K miles on it) his will also last forever. I suppose the relation here is that one might NOT need to go with a 3/4 ton truck and its subsequent comprimises to achieve safe towing of moderate loads.

John M

 

[Soundguy]

I'm just glad we don't drive on the same roads....

Call me overkill, I don't care. I'm trying to advise the OP with the best solution for him while keeping my family safe in the oncoming lane.

I see plenty of people roll through every day on stretchers who were being "safe"

Doug

He may be refering to the specs on his vehicle..

safe is a relative term.. you want to be safe.. build a fortress on your property and grow / make everything you need and never interact with the rest of the world.. you will have -some- degree of safety.

soundguy

 

[Patches]

I have a couple points to add and a question. There is no doubt in my mind that a properly equipped new F150 or equivalent 1/2 pickup will safely tow 8000#. My dad has an F150 2008 model with the 5.4L engine. It is 2wd and I believe has either 3.31 or 3.55 gears. It will easily pull my 20' tandem utility trailer with a tractor on it, though I did not haul the BB with it. This load was slightly north of 8K and the truck did fine. In my opinion, the F150 pulls BETTER from a smoothness perspective with lighter loads than does my 250 PSD. Now, I did not say it pulled better from a power standpoint. The diesel in my truck gets and keeps the load moving, but I was surprised in the 1/2 ton of my dad's just how torquey it is down low. It has excellent take off, but very little midrange, so it has to shift often with heavier loads. With light loads the suppleness of the suspension and the outboard shocks in back are great and truthfully make towing a smoother experience than any 3/4 ton I have used including my own (this applies up to about 5-6K pounds). The new 2009 Ford with the sway control, factory TBC, etc. would tow a load in the 8-9K range with zero problems. As for the V10 v diesel debate, I had a 2001 250 V10 which I ultimately traded on a 2002 diesel 7.3L (just had to have the diesel). The diesel was more powerful when towing, but the gas engine surprised me. They have since upped the power on these trucks, so if our OP just had to have a 3/4 ton the V10 is a really powerful option. They will not pull quite as well as the 6.4L in a Ford, or an equivalent diesel in another brand, but they get close to the same mileage now, either empty or loaded. As for my question, I was surprised about how well my dad's 150 pulled, but the mileage stunk!! His truck gets a documented 17 mpg in combination driving and is repeatable doing so. But, pulling 8K pounds, I got 7.5 on the highway and only 9 pulling the trailer EMPTY!! I am not a slow poke puller, but I am not on the throttle 100% either. I wondered if others have noted such as profound drop in mileage when pulling with these trucks. My dad was a bit disappointed as was I.

John M

I had a new '05 150 Supercrew Lariat, 5.4, 3 valve,3.73 gear,4x4, that was without a doubt, the worst towing truck I've ever owned. I'll grant you it was a "cute" truck, but hated to work. I averaged 17 mpg on the highway, empty, but hook a 2000lb. snowmobile trailer on and it went to 9mpg;don;t even ask about pulling the 4000lb pulling tractor on an 18" Bri-Mar tandem x equipment trailer. I kept that POS Ford 18 months and traded it.No more Fords for me, except possibly the v-10