Need advice on Ford F150

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Oldgator73 said:
You would think, huh! I was fueling and a guy with a car hauler was next me. We struck up a conversation and I mentioned I blew a few trailer tires. He asked how fast I was driving and I said about 75 or 80. He said myntruck tires were quite a bit taller than my trailer tires therefor the trailer tires are going faster. He said slow down to 60-65 and you won't blow anymore tires. He was right. I didn't have a computer or cell phone back then so didn't have access to this forum.  :)


LMAO  :)
 
Steve, Lou:

  I've watched a bunch of those Utube dashcam crash videos of overloaded RV's.

Most of them were going down the highway just fine .... until they went to pass a car.    ;)
 
ammotroop1991 said:
At no point did I ask for any ones opinion on my set up.  I really don't give 2 shits about your opinions nor do I want them.  If I did, I would ask for it. 

Been driving tractor trailers, towing campers, boats and explosives for 30+ years.  This site is ok, but the pushy F'ing people ruin it.  This place is worse than facebook.
Well said....some members claim they do this or that with a tractor trailer but they have no idea what dot actually says about a private use truck pulling a rv trailer.
  I never drove a tractor /trailer but I have ran LTL for over 11 years using  mostly one ton DRW trucks pulling 15k-22k GN trailers multi state legally.

Now lets see before the hijack started who was the OP .  Hope he's getting educated  ::)
 
Yes... to the original question...

IMO.

The F150 E/B is a fantastic smaller truck.  It should be fine towing a smaller 5th wheel trailer. Yes, you may have to beef up the suspension a bit.  Yes, the gas mileage may suffer when you are towing,  but it should make up for it the other 90% of the time.

I have seen that same setup several times before....they appeared to be content campers.
 
Sorry but no - maybe for the guy that drives 20 miles 2 times a year. But if you want to see the great US of A get a real truck to do a real job. I love 1/2 tons have/had a dozen they are awesome but htey are not built designed or meant to pull full time they are grocery getters cowboy style and the occasional sheet of plywood.
Damn need to go buy me another one i miss my old truck now,
 
okay...How do you feel about this ?  :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56XL0TysIn0
 

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Guys,

As an old hot rod builder (aka. vehicle abuser) ...I don't believe the manufacture's engineer/attorney agreed upon safe maximum limits,  are anywhere near the actual structural failure limits.

So many other variables factor into a failure caused by an overload too...Speed, Temp., Age, Hurt time,  etc.


As an old company owned truck driver (aka. truck abuser)...I also believe Tires are your very first and best indicator of a overload. (same variables too  :) )  The commercial truck limits are strictly enforced largely for tax revenue with many strange exemptions.

a truck stopping failure is most likely driver error...not usually an overload issue.  (unless the load got heavier while he was driving)


IMO :)
 
I gotta agree with Tony on those points.  However, in defense if the company engineers & lawyers, I also have to say that owners & drivers do some really bizarre things with their vehicles, forcing the manufacturer to be really conservative in ratings.
 
I too agree that the limits are set low - but for good reason people will push those limits to an extreme, me being one of them for the better part of my life and i have the scars to prove it.

The issue becomes when they endanger other people because of simple ignorance - we laughed one day as a ram 1500 lost his rear bumper going over a speed bump in a campground he has a 34 ft plus trailer 3 kids and 5 bikes.
I didnt laugh when we saw 2 trailers in the ditch within 2 minutes of each other both being pulled by 1/2 tons both 30 plus feet

I can go on and on we do a 5000 mile road trip every year in the summer and ive seen stuff, i think is my duty to explain why someone for the sake of $1000 should buy a 3500 over a 2500

I also think incouraging people to ignore those labels is irresponsible behavior

 
Steve...you are absolutely right.  Labels are very important for people today.

Here is one I propose should be on every RV.... ;)

 

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I occasionally tow my bobcat on a 16? trailer.  It is how I get it to the dealer for service. My hemi Ram 1500 pulls it just fine but I know I am about 3000 lbs over what the truck is rated for.
Stopping it is another matter. I need lots of room for stopping.  I don?t even want to think what might happen if I needed to do emergency maneuvers. So, I take the back roads and keep the speed way down and leave lots of room in front.

Can I pull it? Yup. Stopping is where it tells me I am way overloaded.

Oh, I have a utility trailer I tow which is just a bit under the truck rating. It feels plenty safe.
 
Next time,  you might have them also service the brakes on that 16' trailer.

There should be a sticker about that somewhere on it ...( ::) )
 
IriteI said:
Hi all - I've just retired and am considering buying an UltraLite 5th wheel so I can pull it with a half ton pickup.  Am very interested in the Ford F150 with the 3.5L 6 cylinder turbocharged EcoTech engine.  Does anyone have any experience with this engine?  Any comments, complaints, or suggestions would be extremely welcome!

We towed our 26.5ft travel trailer for a 3 years with a 2007 F150 probably about 8-10,000 miles. For the most part it had enough power but more would have been better. Power was not the reason that I replaced it with an F250. The F150 brakes, transmission, axles, differential, u-joints, radiator, chassis, tires, and I'm sure that I've missed some, are all less heavy duty than the F250. I was always worried that my transmission would fail as it did overheat more then a few times. Other possible failures were always on my mind when traveling. The F250 has a much more planted and solid feel to it. My first tow was from Gold Canyon, AZ to Anacortes, WA. in October of 2017. It was a night and day difference. It towed so well that on our return trip home we stayed off of the major roads and enjoyed a much more scenic and relaxing tour home. When I bought my 2017 F250 diesel I could have bought a 2017 F250 with the big gas engine for about what a nice F150 was selling for. The dealership couldn't give the gassers away. My advice would be to go F250 either gas or diesel.

Edit: Fixed Close Quote tag
 
TonyDtorch said:
Next time,  you might have them also service the brakes on that 16' trailer.

There should be a sticker about that somewhere on it ...( ::) )

Brakes and wheel bearings are pretty new. Trailer is in tip top shape.
 
something may be wrong with the adjustment,

The brakes on that flatbed (likely a surge brake) should be very helpful stopping the trailer.. especially with a heavy load like a Bob Cat.  A trailer surge brake system typically only works great on a fully loaded trailer.  If they are adjusted too much they will lock up the wheels at low speeds.

It's been my experience... Trucks towing surge brake trailers typically stop far worse with an empty trailer.

 
TonyDtorch said:
something may be wrong with the adjustment,

The brakes on that flatbed (likely a surge brake) should be very helpful stopping the trailer.. especially with a heavy load like a Bob Cat.  A trailer surge brake system typically only works great on a fully loaded trailer.  If they are adjusted too much they will lock up the wheels at low speeds.

It's been my experience... Trucks towing surge brake trailers typically stop far worse with an empty trailer.

Electric brakes. I can adjust the controller to lock em up at low speed.

The issue is that the ratio of trailer weight to truck doesn?t feel good for a truck that light.
 
then fully loaded at lower speeds... it should stop the truck when you hit the trailer brake.

the trailer to truck weight ratio is way off on tractor trailer rigs.

In fact, with properly setup brakes and controller you should be able to safely tow that trailer ( move the Bob Cat back to the perfect point) with a Craftsman riding lawnmower in low gear.  ;D
 

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