F150Torqued

Only "problem" I see is we would like you to post your flight plan on here --- and we'll all stay out of your way!!!

ReaperHWK

I just towed a car on a trailer, the total waight of the car/trailer was around 6000lbs.

My truck would also struggle pulling it up hills, I would have to slow down to 60mph going up inclines and I can hit 70+ on flat. It's a 2006 F150, 5.4L, 4x4. I didn't want to floor it and burn up the trans so I would just let it lug it up the hill. I'm sure if I gunned it WOT I could pull it up at 70mph.

I think it's just a engine torque/hp issue. I'm sure a newer 5.0L or ecoboost would have no issues.

Catman1974

Thank you thats the type of answer I was looking for. Atleast some people can actually answer a question.

ShirBlackspots

Could it have anything to do with the giant tires on the truck? Bigger tires = more weight to haul?

Jojodapyro

How tall is the Bass Boat? What comes to mind is Strap a sheet of plywood to a trailer laying down and tow it. How fast can you go? No, Stand it on end and strap it down with the wind blowing right on it. The bass boat has a much lower profile than the pontoon boat. As stated above, Drag.

With 250K you could do any number of things to the truck that MAY increase pulling speed. Plugs, boots, springs, coils, Throttle body cleaning, throttle body replacement, Timing replacement. I could go on and on. My motto when pulling is "Lets get there" it doesn't matter if I am late, as long as I make it there safe, or at all. Nothing ruins a day at the lake like a $2,300 dollar bill for a new transmission, or crashing and killing your family.

dukedkt442

Or having someone like me radio up to the next Kojak to report an erratic, aggressive driver at excessive speed. Trailer wrecks are spectacular and I seek to avoid them.

fang2015

Towed a 22 foot pontoon boat with a high mileage 1999 F-150 5.4 for over 900 miles - picked it up new outside the factory with a big discount. It is amazing how much of a drag these latest pontoon boats create behind a truck. They sit higher on the trailer than the older ones and it feels like pulling a big brick through the air. The weight is not the factor, it is the air resistance. Also tried to drive up to speed on the interstate and the engine strained to do it. Constant hills in Missouri were a challenge and no option but to drive slower than traffic. Got less than 10mpg through the hill country and I was looking for gas every 150 miles.

That being said, the truck handled the load fine without any issues. Eventually got to flat land, drove behind a semi at 65 mph for a long way and the gas mileage went up to 14 mpg and truck was much happier. Have a newer 5.0 F-150 now and so far have not needed to tow that boat a lot yet. Have hit 55 mph with it a few times and it feels a lot the same way although I suspect when pushed, the 5.0 would haul it easily and better.

redfishtd

Stopping is more important than going .Killing someone at speed towing is a real thing/ You are stressing everything at speed . Listen to your truck its telling you its too much . its going to cost you a lot for speed . Tires- bearings you name it . I have burnt an axle at normal speed . I have tow package and brake controller and I use them wisely .You have to feel your vehicle just like it was a horse and give it some slack .
Putting axles in water can make a terrible day for you unless you watch them closely .Not to mention salt water . Do you repack bearings at least twice a year . Buddy bearings only delay things a little .

FordFrenzy06

This. What would you do if you avoid hitting a deer or if you had a blowout? Common sense goes a long way when towing.

BeaverLakeF150

So track your gas mileage. . . run 20 miles at 40mph, then 50mph, then 60mph and see the difference. Since wind resistance is exponential you should see a massive difference in gas mileage. . When your gas mileage drops, your truck burning more fuel which means it is working harder. If you are using more fuel over the same distance, it has to be generating more horsepower and torque hence you are maxing it out.

Also, if you get one of the bluetooth ODBII adapters and use a ipad or android tablet to run an app that reads the enhanced datastream from your truck you can see the "calculated" torque and horsepower being generated. In my experience while it is calculated, it is fairly accurate relative to itself . . so pulling a trailer at 40, 50 ,60 you can see relatively how much more horsepower your truck is using to pull at higher speeds. Now compare it unloaded without the trailer. I think it cost me $40-$50 for the software and the bluetooth device.

In my experience, you are easily trying to do more than what the truck was designed to do.

Other things to check are your axle gear ratio? 3.31, 3.73 etc they will make a huge difference. .

visit to towing forum for more info on everything towing, great info there

Seriously slow down, every single person on here is telling you what you are doing is dangerous, I get it pisses you off to be told your going too fast, but sometimes people just need to be pissed off before they listen. Like my dad always told me. Smart people learn from their own mistakes Truly wise people learn from the mistakes of others.