yoda13

OK guys, I need some expert help here. I have an opportunity to pick up a 3/4 ton with low miles and I need your opinion. I love my F150. It has suited my needs perfectly for a while now, but my needs are changing. I would test out my situation, but I don't have all my pieces yet, and the deal on the other truck is time sensitive. I have the 4.6 and 3.55 rear end in my 07. I am going to need to pull my jeep on a car hauler a few times a year. The weight of my jeep and the trailer combined is approximately 6100 pounds. That's either 100 over or 400 under my limit, best I can figure. I will need to tow on a road for at least 90 miles where the minimum speed limit is 65. When I put my utility trailer with my john Deere mower on it back there, I can really tell it's there. That combo weighs about two thousand pounds. Should I jump on this other truck, or do you think my truck can handle it? Again, I would just try it out, but I don't have my trailer yet and the deal on the truck is only good through Saturday. I would really appreciate some advice and opinions here. Thanks

BassAckwards

I would jump on the other truck personally, especially if it's a gasser. Diesel would be nice but you gonna pay more in maintenance for that.

smokeywren

If the F-250 is an '08-up diesel, I'd jump on it. If it's an '03 thru '07 diesel, I'd want to know a whole lot more about the fixes to the common 6.0L problems before I decided. If it's a gasser, then it depends on which engine. 5.4L V8, no, no, no. You won't be happy with it in an F-250 either. But if it's a 6.8L V-10, then that's a good, strong, reliable engine that, like all big gasser engines, gets lousy MPG when not towing.

The '07 Ford Trailer Towing Selector says your 4.6L with 3.55 gears would be right on the edge of not enough truck for a 6,000 pound trailer. But Ford's tow rating is optimistic by a thousand pounds or so, so I wouldn't want to tow a trailer that grossed more than about 5,000 pounds with your 4.6L.

I had an '03 4.6L SuperCrew with 3.55 axle, and it was pathetic when towing a 7'x14' cargo trailer. I hauled a load of household goods from Midland to Phoenix, then towed the empty trailer back home. Even with an empty cargo trailer that grossed only 1,900 pounds, that sorry excuse for an engine constantly downshifted for every little bump in the road. And there are lots of hills and valleys on I-10 and I-20 from Phoenix to Midland. So soon after that trip I ordered my F-150 EcoBoost. Much, much happier with the more powerful EcoBoost drivetrain.

But I had been spoiled to a more suitable drivetrain for towing. I ordered a new F-250 diesel back in '99.5, and towed an 8,000-pound fifth wheel with it for 12 years. Then I sold the F-250 and before I could order a new truck I inherited the 4.6L. That 2003 4.6L was simply not powerful enough to drag a cargo trailer of any weight. I modified my diesel with intake, exhaust, and tune mods so it was more suitable for towing, but I never thought about chipping the 4.6L. Maybe I would have been happier with the 4.6L if it were modified the way yours is.

Zrock

Maby do some maintenance on your trailer? I regularly tow a utility trailer a little heavier than yours with my 98 4.2. My old smaller trailer i always noticed was their. when i built the new one i replaced all the tires and bearings and used a good grease. Even though the old stuff was not bad. I barley notice this trailer is behind be unless im going up a steep hill. Even my fuel econ does not change. And my truck is a gutless pig

yoda13

Well, I'm still in my F150. Got there, and somebody had just beat me too it!

Boulevard

I had an '06 super crew with the 4.6 and I really liked it but I found the transmission would over heat when towing my 6000 lb travel trailer up some of the steeper hills. Worked great when flat or what I consider normal but squealed on me twice when pushed. I was told that the tranny in the 4.6 was a bit of a lighter duty one but I really do not know. That said the truck was a great tower at this weight but I would definitely install a great big after market transmission cooler, maybe a bigger radiator and I would definitely give the 4.6 a fair chance to prove itself...something I should have done.


To me the F250 is a workhorse and it comes with a work horse kind of price tag and believe me I do speak from experience. My last truck was a 3500 duramax but the comparisons are still the same. Oil changes are 100 bucks+ on the diesel, properly rated tires are almost double, the ride is stiff to unbearable, fuel economy is way worse because gas engines used in F250's are meant to work, not sip gas and a diesel engine, when used in a daily driver, is actually more expensive to fuel than gas. Brakes cost more on the F250. It kind of goes on and on. I think the F250 is a great truck just not for what you are going to do with it. I guess, in a nutshell, operating an F250 sized truck can get very pricey when compared to an F150.


The F150 is a good solid truck for the every day guy and your truck with a 5.4 is all that you are ever going to need. A good deal on an F150 with a 5.4 is what I would be after but believe me, give the 4.6 a hefty transmission cooler and maybe upgrade the rad and the 4.6 will impress.


I am also known for my very long posts.

zx12-iowa

Keep your truck. A load on a car hauler is easy to pul versus an enclosed trailer due to wind resistance. Your truck will pull it without much more difficulty than your jd. However if it will bother you to "feel I back there" then for your personal piece of mind go ahead with the deal.

Oops saw you kept it. I think you will be ok for just 90 miles with that set up. Do make sure you have a good brake controller....

Scuba_Dave

I've never heard of a Min speed limit of 65, usually most highways it is 45 ?

yoda13

Yup, it's posted. Next time I am on the road, I will try to remember to snap a picture of the sign with my phone. I had seen it out west, where the speed limit is 80-85, but never in the eastern part of our state, where the speed limit is 75. This is just one long stretch of road I can't avoid by taking back roads, where I can go much slower.

yoda13

I guess I should clarify what I mean...I flat tow my Jeep all over the country with my RV, a thirty five footer. I was referencing power here. When I have the mower on the utility trailer, the truck works much harder to stay at highway speeds of 55-60. On this one stretch of road, where I need to go with my Jeep on a car hauler, I would have to be able to maintain 65. I wondered if I had enough power with the added 4 thousand pounds of Jeep. So, I am not intimidated by towing, just wondering if my truck is up to it, power wise