Your towing rigs and trailers

[Sysop]

Coming from five generations of railroaders, I know pretty much any full size truck can do the same (trains have very little rolling resistance). Just wondering if anyone is even considering such a thing...

 

[Shaneard]

Coming from five generations of railroaders, I know pretty much any full size truck can do the same (trains have very little rolling resistance). Just wondering if anyone is even considering such a thing...

The train is on wheels and level ground. Not impressed at all.

 

[4570Man]

The train is on wheels and level ground. Not impressed at all.

And have very low friction. That’s kinda the point of a train. Agree that it’s not impressive.

 

[piercedtiger]

Coming from five generations of railroaders, I know pretty much any full size truck can do the same (trains have very little rolling resistance). Just wondering if anyone is even considering such a thing...

Yeah, obviously nowhere need 1 million pounds of actual force on the truck. My 4" recovery strap similar to what they're using is "only" rated for 27,000 lbs so probably much less than that in actual pulling power by the truck. My big thing is how far can you drive on a charge, and how long does it take to recharge? Being all electric means you'll have to plug it in eventually, and can't use a gas engine to recharge or extend range like hybrid vehicles. If you can't get 300-400 miles on it that's going to be tough.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I have wanted an electric F150 after they had one with 600 HP at an auto show in 2014. A 400 mile range would address my towing needs I expect. Currently I am just glad to have my 2010 F150 back from the body shop. I learned the hard way about the blind spot created my the factory tow mirror option.

 

[CADplans]

Anyone that lives near Roanoke VA can visit the Transportation Museum that is in town.
They have a demo set up showing how you can move a massive weight by hand when on steel wheels, and tracks.
A much lower weight on rubber tires can hardly be moved at all.

Chevy did a TV ad ~30 years ago, pulling a very similar train,, with a dumb ol' gas engine,,,

 

[ning]

Yeah, not a big deal.
I laugh every time I see Elon Musk's statement that a Tesla pickup will have a 300,000 pound towing capacity.
Sure a Toyota Tundra towed a space shuttle (super slow, probably with substantial modifications as well), but towing capacity is more than "what can you move eventually" and is now actually standardized (though I believe it's still voluntary; SAE J2807).

Presented without comment, man pulls train car with his teeth:

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Coming from five generations of railroaders, I know pretty much any full size truck can do the same (trains have very little rolling resistance). Just wondering if anyone is even considering such a thing...

Tesla pulled the same type of stunt so Ford is just going for some EV attention.

 

[kf4uda]

Smoke and mirrors. I don't care how many train cars it will pull. I just want to know what kind of range it has empty, towing say a 5-6,000lb load or hauling X amount of payload. Those are the thing that I would be doing with it. I don't even live close to a railroad track.

 

[BigBlue1]

Meh. As mentioned above, there is very little rolling resistance with solid wheels and a solid track under them. A small team of horses could probably do the same. I'd be more impressed if they showed the F150 stopping the train from 50mph...

Rob

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Meh. As mentioned above, there is very little rolling resistance with solid wheels and a solid track under them. A small team of horses could probably do the same. I'd be more impressed if they showed the F150 stopping the train from 50mph...

Rob

When I was a kid the grain elevators would move grain cars with a 40 HP tractor but the guy on the brake screw wheel to work fast to stop the cars from rolling past the loading point.

 

[wmonroe]

Loaded up for a week at camp.

 

[nikerret]

I started my towing journey in a 2013 Silverado 2wd with the 5.3L and 3.08 rear axle. Car trailer is 18 steel deck, four feet of it is dove tail.



I rented this dump trailer a couple of times:



The second time, I off loaded over 14k, at the dump. The entire trailer was only rated at that much and my truck only rated to pull 6,900 lbs. I decided I needed a better tow vehicle.

Enter the 2014 F-350 with the 6.2L gasoline engine pushing a 4.30 limited slip differential. Bought it 12/30/2017 with less than 30k miles.



Then, I decided I needed my own dump trailer. 2018 Diamond C 24LPD 16 with some factory upgrades.



I use a GenY hitch. Overall, very pleased with it.



This combo has put a lot of work in. Very capable.

 

[2017JD1025r]

Like that truck sir. How do you like the 6.2? I loved a diesel when I owned one but don’t think I could justify the extra cost when I only two maybe 20x a year and usually not super heavy(although more equipment or larger hopefully is in my future). I currently have a 6.0 vortec in a 2003 Chevy 2500hd with 4.10 rear end. Pulls pretty good but I doubt I’ll own another Chevy, really dislike their frame coating and I’ve had too much hassle with it since buying my current rig.

 

[nikerret]

The 6.2L is solid. Fuel mileage isn’t great at interstate speeds or with a lot of stop and go. In 2016, they upped the torque at a lower RPM. That would be cool. 2020 will have a 7.3L. I’m excited to see what that does.

I couldn’t justify the headaches of a new diesel. I regularly haul my trailer GVWR (14,900) and the truck does great, properly loaded. I’ve had over 20k behind it, a couple of times. On the bumper pull, it was slow, but not problematic. With the gooseneck, it wasn’t a big deal.

My truck with the tools, hitch, and me in it weighs about 8,880 lbs.

15k and under, no reason to mess with diesel, from my experience. 18k to 22k is the upper limit of what my truck should be yanking around. Over that 22ish, the diesel (or maybe the new 7.3L) is really better suited.

 

[nikerret]

The 6.2L is solid. Fuel mileage isn稚 great at interstate speeds or with a lot of stop and go. In 2016, they upped the torque at a lower RPM. That would be cool. 2020 will have a 7.3L. I知 excited to see what that does.

I couldn稚 justify the headaches of a new diesel. I regularly haul my trailer GVWR (14,900) and the truck does great, properly loaded. I致e had over 20k behind it, a couple of times. On the bumper pull, it was slow, but not problematic. With the gooseneck, it wasn稚 a big deal.

My truck with the tools, hitch, and me in it weighs about 8,880 lbs.

15k and under, no reason to mess with diesel, from my experience. 18k to 22k is the upper limit of what my truck should be yanking around. Over that 22ish, the diesel (or maybe the new 7.3L) is really better suited.

 

[3930dave]

Nice upgrades nik - looks quite capable.

wm - off for a week of wheeling..... you know how to live :thumbsup:

Rgds, D.

 

[Tractorable]

Saw this beefy trailer on I-66 today. Looks like they just chopped the rear end off a 53’ flat bed. Bet is has a **** of a payload!

 

[aczlan]

Saw this beefy trailer on I-66 today. Looks like they just chopped the rear end off a 53’ flat bed. Bet is has a **** of a payload!

View attachment 615616

No, it's built that way to deliver concrete blocks and other small, but heavy stuff behind a straight truck that has a crane on it. It's probably rated for about 35,000# GVW.

Aaron Z

 

[farm boy00]

Can only imagine the nightmare to back it up. Especially with that long truck

Saw this beefy trailer on I-66 today. Looks like they just chopped the rear end off a 53’ flat bed. Bet is has a **** of a payload!

View attachment 615616