Usf150

Just need to know a little input on towing 6500 pounds. 5420 pounds will be on a trailer and the rest will be in the truck. The trailer is a double axle car trailer and I will have a 09 lancer on it. The truck I will be towing with is a 2003 f150 excab with a 6.5ft bed. It is a 4wd, 5.4l with a 6in lift and 35in tires. Basically I will be driving from highland California to Milwaukee wi. So petty much any pointers and help for you all would be nice.

packplantpath

1100 lbs on the truck bed plus trailer tongue wt of minimum 500 lbs means you ate almost certainly over weight. Unless I am misinterpreting your post. Im also guessing since you didn't give info on the truck package options.

Plus with the larger tires I'm guessing it will feel weak as water.

Advice? Go slow.

smokeywren

You'll probably be overloaded over the GVWR of your F-150.

Before you begin the trip, load the truck and trailer with everything that will be in it on the trip. People, pets, tools, spares, whatever. Drive to a truckstop that has a CAT scale and weigh the rig.

Compare the weight on the two truck axles to the GVWR of the truck. If you're overloaded, try to get rid of some of the weight. Empty gas tank in the hauled car. No extra gas can for the car or pickup. Clean out the toolbox and keep only essential tools for this trip. Mail or ship anything you can to get rid of weight in the tow vehicle and trailer.

You can affect trailer tongue weight by moving the car back or forward on the trailer. But be sure you maintain at least 12% hitch weight. Less than 12 percent hitch weight and the trailer wants to get squirrely.

If you didn't change the axle ratio when you bolted on the big tires, then you'll be down on power for climbing hills and mountains. So dodge the mountain passes by leaving the LA area on I-10 and stay on I-10 until it wyes into I-20 in west Texas.
Then stay on I-20 until it wyes onto I-30 near Fort Worth.
Then I-30 to Little Rock,
then I-40 to West Memphis.
Then I-55 to Bloomington,
then I-39 to Madison.

That route will still have some long grades in southeastern Arizona and crossing the Rockies in west Texas, but those are just bumps on the road compared to trying to cross the Rockies on any of the interstates further north, including trying to pull out of the Rio Grande Valley east of Albuquerque.

atvtinker

Wow! How much stuff are you putting on the trailer besides the Lancer? I thought those things only weighed about 2700lbs. Or is that the weight of both the car and trailer?

Usf150

That's the trailer and lancer put together. Well we tock off yesterday with everything load. I get maybe 8 or 7 mpg and we got to Utah last night and popped a tire. Fixed it this morning and we are hitting the road. Driving with that much weight isn't to bad nice going down hills but a bitch going up hills. I got passed by semi trucks lol.

atvtinker

What gears do you have in the rear end? I would think you should have put at least 4.10 gears when you swapped to 35" tires or even 4.56. This is probably why your power sucks going up those hills. It wouldn't have helped the mileage, but your truck would have been happier! Keep an eye out on your tranny temps.

smokeywren

So you ignored my advice to take the southern route until you get to West Memphis? I hope you now plan to stay on I-15 to Salt lake City, then cross the Rockies on I-80. Trying to cross the Rockies on I-70 would be a big mistake.

seannh

It shows. Well done, sir.

Usf150

I had to go to Wyoming to finish up my school inrollment. Or other wise I would tock te southern route. Well I did i15 to the i80. We actual in Wyoming as we speak lol. The rockys really wasn't that bad. Didn't over heat at all and checked it every 200 miles. As for gearing goes it is stock gearing I haven't had the money to switch them out yet. But as for today everything went smooth set for the puppy throwing up on the back of my head lol. Hopefully it will be just a good tomarrow as today.

smokeywren

When you cross the Continental Divide a bit before you pass Rawlins WY, it's down hill the rest of the way to Madison.