f150 enough?
#13
Grumpy Old Man
Yes. Since you could easily have hitch weight of more than 1,000 pounds, then go for the 1,400 rating. Mine is rated for up to 1,400 pounds and my TT has hitch weight of only about 650 pounds. Because of the design of the spring bar jacks, it's easy to adjust the hitch to have just the right amount of lift.
Outstanding hitch design. I'm glad I have it.
I use an 18 volt screw gun with a 3/4" socket to tighten the spring bar jacks as well as the stabilizer jacks on the trailer. Works great if you keep the gun battery charged up.
Here are the various tongue weight ratings available for the ProPride hitch.
- ProPride 3P Hitch - 600
- ProPride 3P Hitch - 800
- ProPride 3P Hitch - 1000
- ProPride 3P Hitch - 1400
I don't know why ProPride doesn't offer a 1,200-pound tongue weight rating. That's what you need, but the 1,400-pound tongue weight rating works great on my light-weight TT. I just don't tighten the spring bar jacks as much as they could be tightened.
I have the factory tranny cooler going in.
The tow pkg includes a second heat exchanger, an oil-to-air (OTA) heat exchanger in front of the radiator. You need that cooler to suck out some of the heat from the ATF before the ATF circulates through the OTW cooler in the radiator. Then combined with the larger radiator, you'll be good to go. But I'd still want a tranny temp gauge to double check to be certain you never overheat the tranny. An overheated tranny has a very short life.
ok, new rad from ford is about 451$, not to bad
http://parts.autonationfordwhitebear..._name=radiator
The OTA tranny cooler is a simple OTA heat exchanger. But the plumbing is somewhat complicated. I would have my Ford dealer install the factory auxiliary (OTA) tranny cooler
Last edited by smokeywren; 01-02-2015 at 12:22 PM.
#14
the tranny cooler I have is about four rows and snaps right into the plastic pieces right in front of the radiator. I got factory lines that go into the rad on the top and another that goes to the tranny line below the rad support. Is that the ota heat exchanger that you are talking about?
#15
Grumpy Old Man
the tranny cooler I have is about four rows and snaps right into the plastic pieces right in front of the radiator. I got factory lines that go into the rad on the top and another that goes to the tranny line below the rad support. Is that the ota heat exchanger that you are talking about?
Probably. But to be sure, watch your tranny temp gauge with a hawk eye when in stressful conditions of slow speed/high torque. If the tranny temp ever goes into the yellow zone, your tranny is too hot.
The following users liked this post:
slwryd66 (01-02-2015)
#16
Something doesn't seem right with your figures. I have a hard time believing that your truck weighs less than 5,000 pounds. Can you double check your numbers?
If you truly have 2,000 pounds of payload, (did you get that off of the sticker in your door jam?), you should be able to tow that trailer.
If you truly have 2,000 pounds of payload, (did you get that off of the sticker in your door jam?), you should be able to tow that trailer.
ok bob here are the numbers I just got wieghed. 2109 on door jam. Actual weight of truck which includes a full tank 1 wife, 1 driver and an extra hundred pounds is 5820.So if I do the math correctly. 7050-5820=1230. That's my actual payload carrying cap. right?
Last edited by slwryd66; 01-02-2015 at 02:17 PM.
#17
Senior Member
Ok...more info helps. That leaves you 1136# of payload for your truck...does that include the hitch/receiver weight? Lets say you are at 6100 for the truck loaded including everything. You still have 950# to cover your hitch weight. Your trailer dry is 4142#. If you carry even 2000# in your trailer you are at 6142#. 13% to hitch for proper towing and you add about 798# hitch weight. That plus loaded truck weight is 6898#'s. You have enuff truck (with the proper setup) to pull that trailer under those conditions with the equipment you now have IMHO. If you use the WD Hitch to get the trailer pretty level it will keep the axle weights within their individual weight ratings and you will be fine. Drive 65mph or less when towing...
I would spend the $$$ on the WD Hitch and some E-rated tires for the truck...just my 2 cents.
Last edited by DieselDawg; 01-03-2015 at 11:19 AM.
#18
Ok...more info helps. That leaves you 1136# of payload for your truck...does that include the hitch/receiver weight? Lets say you are at 6100 for the truck loaded including everything. You still have 950# to cover your hitch weight. Your trailer dry is 4142#. If you carry even 2000# in your trailer you are at 6142#. 13% to hitch for proper towing and you add about 798# hitch weight. That plus loaded truck weight is 6898#'s. You have enuff truck (with the proper setup) to pull that trailer under those conditions with the equipment you now have IMHO. If you use the WD Hitch to get the trailer pretty level it will keep the axle weights within their individual weight ratings and you will be fine. Drive 65mph or less when towing...
I would spend the $$$ on the WD Hitch and some E-rated tires for the truck...just my 2 cents.
I would spend the $$$ on the WD Hitch and some E-rated tires for the truck...just my 2 cents.
#19
Senior Member
I would agree with this to a point. The power in this engine doesn't really come on strong until the high 3's or 4000RPM. but then, it's an animal. I think the 6 speed with a very low 1st gear does a lot to keep this engine in it's sweet spot. Yeah, I know the ECO is better for that, but the 5.0 has really impressed me over my previous 5.4.
Having said that, the OP has 3.31's. That's kinda like someone with 3.73's starting off in 2nd gear. That's a little high for me.
As far as what I've towed... I have an 18ft, 7000lb gvwr equipment trailer, and have towed my Farmall H (about 7000lbs gross) without any issue. My truck is a 5.0 with 3.55's, rated for 7800lbs towing.
The OP's truck Being a 2wd, I think it would be cost/benefit effective to regear, but from a legal standpoint, it will not raise the factory tow rating. That is what it is.
#20
Grumpy Old Man
That's true for payload capacity, which is GVWR minus the weight of the truck.
But it's not true for GCWR and tow rating. Tow rating is GCWR minus the weight of the truck. But GCWR depends on engine and axle ratio, as well as options that can cause the truck to weigh more or less, such as 4X4 or 4x2, cab, and bed length. Change the axle ratio and you change the GCWR (and tow rating) of the truck.
2012 F-150 4x2 SuperCrew 5.0L with short bed and 3.31 or 3.55 axle has GCWR of 13,500 and tow rating of 8,000. Same exact truck but with 3.73 axle has GVWR of 14,900 and tow rating of 9,400. So replacing the ring gear and pinion with 3.73 ratio would gain you 1,400 pounds of GCWR and tow rating
Those tow ratings are valid only when the wet and loaded truck with people, stuff, full tank of gas, and weight-distributing or fifth wheel hitch grosses less than 5,500 pounds before you tie onto the trailer. So don't think for a second that you can actually tow a 9,000-pound trailer without being overloaded. But you'll be overloaded because of GVWR that limits hitch weight, not GCWR that limits gross trailer weight.
IOW, payload capacity, not tow rating, is still your limiter as to how heavy a trailer you can tow without being overloaded.
So if you feel like your truck needs a little more power to muscle a trailer up the pass, then changing the ring gear and pinion to a 3.73 ratio will definitely give you the feel of more muscle for towing that trailer up the grade. But if you're overloaded over the GVWR of your truck, there's nothing you can do to fix the problem except tow a lighter trailer or trade for a heavier-duty truck.