Ronpurdue

Hello, new to the forums looking for a little help .

I currently have a 2013 fx4 SCREW 5.0L with 3.55 gears 20" rims with normal tow package. I am pulling a camper around 4k with 1k of crap ..so roughly ~5k with weight distributing hitch. It pulls ok ...but with 3 kids I am looking to get something a little bigger now. I am looking at something that would be total weight of ~6.7k so I would like to make some improvements.

1) Looking to switch from 3.55 to 4.10 gears on 31" tires.
a) How much more will this allow me to tow ..I am rated at 7300lb right now.
b) Will I have to reprogram for the gear change? I local shop said they do not program. Could I use a SCT Livewire TS to program?
c) Will changing gears void my warranty? I have Ford certified so my warranty is not up until 2021.

2) Should I upgrade shocks or springs...will this really help performance or towing?

3) I a thinking of getting a leveling kit or a 4" lift ...will either of these effect what I can tow?


4) I have 20k on my truck now and going to switch to BF Goodrich A/T ko2
tires 275/55/20 ...because I do not care for the stock tires. Will these effect my towing at all?

5) Any other mods anyone can recommend that will not void warranty. Only other thing I was going to put on now was CAI...which will not really help but somethings better than nothing .

Sorry for all the questions...thanks ahead of time for updates Ron

acadianbob

IMO you don't need to make ANY changes. You especially don't want to lift the truck or put on large tires.

Ronpurdue

Honestly...I don't feel like it has enough power ...going up hills. I am going to pull 1700lb more I feel like it will struggle. Will larger tires hurt towing or just the handling.

Feathermerchant

It will probably just downshift.
I'd buy a tent or two. Kids should be temporary.

Velosprout

I agree that larger wheels/tires/lift would be non-productive for your purposes.
What is the payload rating on the sticker on your driver door sill?

Loki 5.0

IMO 6 or 7 K is going to push your tongue weight up with 4 passengers that payload is going to be your limiting factor. I would save your money on the re-gear and trade in to a F250. FWIW the lift and tire option probably will kill any warranty associated with those parts and also hurt your towing performance and stability. The BFG A/T ko2 is a great tire in E for towing , but most see a 1-2 mpg loss across the board with that tire . YRMV

Ronpurdue

My kids are 1 / 4 / 7 ...so temporary for 18 more years

My GVWR is 7350
My GAWR front is 3900
My GAWR rear is 4050
My payload is 1161
My hitch is rated 5k and 10.5k with weight distributing hitch (which I have).

Honestly I maybe go camping 4-5 times a year only .....I like the large tires / rims for looks (I have appearance package..so I might go just a little bigger..will that really hurt me that much? I might pass on lift but get leveling kit for front.)

1-2 MPG I hope not ....I do in town driving and only get 14.5 as is.

With my kids and bikes ...and all that crap I am around 1k loaded in truck. I don't care for the look of the F250s .

So upgrading gears / shocks etc ...you guys don't think it will be worth it or I will not notice much of difference pulling 6.7k + 1k payload in truck?

Feathermerchant

Generally about 10% of the trailer weight is on the tongue. 100 lb for the WDH 6700 lb trailer is 670 lb in addition so 1161 - 770 = 391 lb left for family, bikes, etc. I think you'll be overloaded. There is no practical way to increase payload. The trucks with the HD Payload package (like mine) have a larger axle, higher rated springs AND a thicker frame.

BAM298

From what it sounds like you are already over-loaded based on your current setup....and you're aware of it because you said it already doesn't feel like it has enough power.

NONE of the mods you will/can make will increase your towing capability or payload capacity. SOME of them will make you FEEL like you can tow more...but that's just not true.

A lift and larger tires basically cancels out re-gearing, if not still would make it worse for towing, so you'd spend all that money and be most likely worse off towing than you are now, doesn't make sense to me.

You also would need a programmer to adjust the speedo/odomter, and there is always the possibility of that alone would void your warranty....again, doesn't seem worth it.

If you seriously want all of these things in addition to a larger camper I'd seriously consider trading the truck in on something more capable, 3/4 or 1 ton truck is what you need unfortunately. Anything less and you're pushing it in terms of safety and comfort while towing, and it's just not worth the stress associated with it in my opinion.

The other option I would recommend looking into is either RENTING a 3/4 or 1 ton truck the 4-5 times per year you want to tow your larger camper somewhere, and then you can mod your F-150 to your hearts desire. Or possibly consider a permanent spot where you have your larger camper delivered/setup and keep it there all season or year round, again leaving your F-150 for just daily duties.

Good luck!

mvander

What are you expectations when towing? Dosen't matter what you pickup you put 5000# behind you will feel it.
My camper is @5000# and granted I have 3.73s with the 5.0 but I have never felt it lacking for power while climbing. You will run above 3k rpm and some people consider this struggeling but it is completely normal. Climbing at 75mph at 2000rpm ain't gonna happen.