towing with Ford E150 van

[free2roam]

I am looking to buy my first trailer soon. Comfortable for 3 adults but mostly me and my dog. I would like to know any information about towing with a 2004 Ford E150 van with only 38k original miles.It has the 5.4 V8.

 

[free2roam]

I am looking to buy my first trailer soon. Comfortable for 3 adults but mostly me and my dog. I would like to know any information about towing with a 2004 Ford E150 van with only 38k original miles.It has the 5.4 V8.

 

[SpencerPJ]

I'm assuming you have Googled this question? Looks like max is 6k, personally I'd stay closer to 5k. Translates to a 21-23' basic travel trailer. Comfortable for 3 adults? You can get a bit more room with hybrid trailers, ends open and sleep kinda like a pop up camper. If the van is stock, it should have decent payload (amount you can put in van and on the hitch).

 

[Isaac-1]

One of the most miserable towing experiences of my life involved a late 90's E150 towing a trailer from Louisiana to Salina, Kansas and back about 20 years ago. Normally I would have used our Dodge 2500 pickup with 5.9L, but it was in the shop for some reason.

 

[EriikK]

We bought a 25' toyhauler a few years ago, 4500 lbs empty. Even with a good load equalizing hitch, just towing it home on the flatland 60 miles from the dealer with our 2001 E150 was an eye opening experience, and not in a good way. In fact we busted a spring shackle, as well as hearing that the engine was just working way too hard.

So we bought a 2002 E350 7.3L diesel van, and it tows the camper great. Old school and not powerful by today's standards, but it is happy towing.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Depending on rear axle ratio, it, as SpencerPJ noted, be able to tow a 21-23 ft light trailer as long as you keep the weight down on it. This is not a 15 passenger model with the LONG rear overhang I hope (don't think they were built in 150 series, but not sure.) The long overhang is not good for towing as a swaying trailer will really take advantage of the extra long overhang.

Axle ratio should be on the tag on one of the rear cover bolts of the differential. Crawl under and read the numbers. Look for 3.55 or 3.73 or something like that.

When you do tow, lock out the OD every time. You do not want it hunting in and out of OD, and an '04 will not have a tow/haul button.

Charles

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Many in this crowd always recommend a larger truck, and they would have made the same comments regarding an F150. The key is to observe the practical tow limits for the vehicle you have.

Here's the official 2004 Ford Towing Guide. If you scroll down to the E-series vans, you will see that the E150 van with 5.4L V8 was equipped only with the 3.55 rear axle and rated to tow up to 6900 lbs and a 12,000 GCWR. In the E150 "wagon" style, it's only 6500. That 12,000 lb GCWR is almost surely going to limit the towing to less than 6900 once the van is loaded, since most nicely trimmed E150s will weight more than 5100 lbs. GCWR is the max combined weight of the tow vehicle (with passengers & gear onboard) and the trailer.

You should probaly set your sights at a trailer GVWR of 5500 lbs or less, which probably means a 19-23 footer. Don't let trailer dry (UVW) weights distract you - use the trailer GVWR as the estimated weight and you will stay on the safe side.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Other considerations, after looking at the towing guide above (lots of good info in there) is that if your van is not equipped with a 7 way trailer power connector, you may have to have wires run from front to rear and the 7 way installed. In some cases the wiring may be there but not the actual connector. If the vehicle has the wiring factory installed, you will need a trailer brake controller, which is not too difficult to install.

Also, if the vehicle is already equipped with a hitch receiver, inspect it for placards that will give the designed towing weight and tongue weight limits, to insure it is heavy duty enough handled the intended trailer. You could find it is a Class III receiver with a 3500/350 weight limit. So get down underneath and look.

Lastly, you will almost for certain be using a weight distribution hitch with some sort of sway control, and those add about 100 lbs to the tongue weight.

I'll reinforce what Gary said, do not be sucked in by dry weights and factory described tongue weights, look at the actual GVWR on the trailer placard on the front LH side of it, and assume at least 10% of that number for a tongue weight.

You can easily find a 19-22 ft or so trailer that has one double bed and a dinette that will convert to a bed, or possibly a single bunk over the double.

Good luck and happy camping.
Charles

 

[free2roam]

Many in this crowd always recommend a larger truck, and they would have made the same comments regarding an F150. The key is to observe the practical tow limits for the vehicle you have.

Here's the official 2004 Ford Towing Guide. If you scroll down to the E-series vans, you will see that the E150 van with 5.4L V8 was equipped only with the 3.55 rear axle and rated to tow up to 6900 lbs and a 12,000 GCWR. In the E150 "wagon" style, it's only 6500. That 12,000 lb GCWR is almost surely going to limit the towing to less than 6900 once the van is loaded, since most nicely trimmed E150s will weight more than 5100 lbs. GCWR is the max combined weight of the tow vehicle (with passengers & gear onboard) and the trailer.

You should probaly set your sights at a trailer GVWR of 5500 lbs or less, which probably means a 19-23 footer. Don't let trailer dry (UVW) weights distract you - use the trailer GVWR as the estimated weight and you will stay on the safe side.

Thank you for the information. I tried to attach a photo of the window sticker but am having trouble. My son was not around lol. The sticker shows in optional equipment 5.4L EFI,Electronic Auto O/D Trans, 3.55 Limited slip Axle RV plus package. Also HD Trlr Tow Class II/III/IV. Since I have the van and it has so low miles I would like to use it but, I want to be safe and avoid obvious trouble. FYI I camp in the mountains Eastern Sierra a lot.

 

[free2roam]

Other considerations, after looking at the towing guide above (lots of good info in there) is that if your van is not equipped with a 7 way trailer power connector, you may have to have wires run from front to rear and the 7 way installed. In some cases the wiring may be there but not the actual connector. If the vehicle has the wiring factory installed, you will need a trailer brake controller, which is not too difficult to install.

Also, if the vehicle is already equipped with a hitch receiver, inspect it for placards that will give the designed towing weight and tongue weight limits, to insure it is heavy duty enough handled the intended trailer. You could find it is a Class III receiver with a 3500/350 weight limit. So get down underneath and look.

Lastly, you will almost for certain be using a weight distribution hitch with some sort of sway control, and those add about 100 lbs to the tongue weight.

I'll reinforce what Gary said, do not be sucked in by dry weights and factory described tongue weights, look at the actual GVWR on the trailer placard on the front LH side of it, and assume at least 10% of that number for a tongue weight.

You can easily find a 19-22 ft or so trailer that has one double bed and a dinette that will convert to a bed, or possibly a single bunk over the double.

Good luck and happy camping.
Charles

Thank you for the information. I tried to attach a photo of the window sticker but am having trouble. My son was not around lol. The sticker shows in optional equipment 5.4L EFI,Electronic Auto O/D Trans, 3.55 Limited slip Axle RV plus package. Also HD Trlr Tow Class II/III/IV. Since I have the van and it has so low miles I would like to use it but, I want to be safe and avoid obvious trouble. FYI I camp in the mountains Eastern Sierra a lot.

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[CharlesinGA]

Probably best to lock out the O/D when towing, to keep it from shifting in and out of O/D every time you hit a grade. Flat lands it would be OK to run it. Since it appears to have a factory 7 way connector at the hitch, then a good trailer brake controller may be all you need to add. There are a number of good ones out there, I prefer the Tekonsha P3, however the P2 is similar in function with less features (such as the P3 has memory for settings for 4 trailers, the P2 does not) Also the P3 screen is annoying bright at night, even when switched to dimmest possible settings.)

The Tekonsha web site is all jacked up and refuses to show me the controllers, just the adapter cables. Here are Amazon links to everything.

Tekonsha 90195 P3 Electronic Brake Control , silver, Single

TEKONSHA 90885 / Tekonsha Prodigy P2 Electronic Brake Control f/1-4 Axle Trailers - Proportional

Tekonsha 90160 Primus IQ Electronic Brake Control

Tekonsha 3035-P Brake Control Wiring Adapter for Ford

Looks like the connector you would be plugging into will be an open connector under the dash to the right of the brake pedal.

This is the adapter cable with connectors on both ends. Trailer Brake Controller Harness, Compatible with Ford, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury vehicles PART NO 3035-P You are looking for a plug dangling that the squarish brown plug on the left in the pic would plug into, It may be taped back into the harness.

You can also buy a single plug harness to fit the Ford that can be spliced to other brands of controllers (other brands of brake controllers are LAZY and don't make all of the custom cables that Tekonsha makes!

Do your due diligence on the 5.4L engine, as the early ones had some issues, I'm not sure if this is one of the ones the spark plugs blew out of or not (not enough threads) but if so there are kits to install inserts to "re-thread" the head. The biggest issue with any of the Ford engines is to use a torque wrench on the plugs and use the proper torque setting, a small amount of thread lube, and to make a point of removing and replacing the plugs on a "regular" basis so they don't stay in the heads so long that they seize up. The other big issue was the COP, or Coil on Plug. Each spark plug has a coil on top of it, and if you get a misfire and it turns out to be the COP, do yourself a favor and buy an entire set and replace them, as they will go out one after the other until you have replaced them all, one at a time, which is a hassle.

Charles

 

[free2roam]

Thank you for the information. I tried to attach a photo of the window sticker but am having trouble. My son was not around lol. The sticker shows in optional equipment 5.4L EFI,Electronic Auto O/D Trans, 3.55 Limited slip Axle RV plus package. Also HD Trlr Tow Class II/III/IV. Since I have the van and it has so low miles I would like to use it but, I want to be safe and avoid obvious trouble. FYI I camp in the mountains Eastern Sierra a lot.

Quote Reply
Edit

Probably best to lock out the O/D when towing, to keep it from shifting in and out of O/D every time you hit a grade. Flat lands it would be OK to run it. Since it appears to have a factory 7 way connector at the hitch, then a good trailer brake controller may be all you need to add. There are a number of good ones out there, I prefer the Tekonsha P3, however the P2 is similar in function with less features (such as the P3 has memory for settings for 4 trailers, the P2 does not) Also the P3 screen is annoying bright at night, even when switched to dimmest possible settings.)

The Tekonsha web site is all jacked up and refuses to show me the controllers, just the adapter cables. Here are Amazon links to everything.

Tekonsha 90195 P3 Electronic Brake Control , silver, Single

TEKONSHA 90885 / Tekonsha Prodigy P2 Electronic Brake Control f/1-4 Axle Trailers - Proportional

Tekonsha 90160 Primus IQ Electronic Brake Control

Tekonsha 3035-P Brake Control Wiring Adapter for Ford

Looks like the connector you would be plugging into will be an open connector under the dash to the right of the brake pedal.

This is the adapter cable with connectors on both ends. Trailer Brake Controller Harness, Compatible with Ford, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury vehicles PART NO 3035-P You are looking for a plug dangling that the squarish brown plug on the left in the pic would plug into, It may be taped back into the harness.

You can also buy a single plug harness to fit the Ford that can be spliced to other brands of controllers (other brands of brake controllers are LAZY and don't make all of the custom cables that Tekonsha makes!

Do your due diligence on the 5.4L engine, as the early ones had some issues, I'm not sure if this is one of the ones the spark plugs blew out of or not (not enough threads) but if so there are kits to install inserts to "re-thread" the head. The biggest issue with any of the Ford engines is to use a torque wrench on the plugs and use the proper torque setting, a small amount of thread lube, and to make a point of removing and replacing the plugs on a "regular" basis so they don't stay in the heads so long that they seize up. The other big issue was the COP, or Coil on Plug. Each spark plug has a coil on top of it, and if you get a misfire and it turns out to be the COP, do yourself a favor and buy an entire set and replace them, as they will go out one after the other until you have replaced them all, one at a time, which is a hassle.

Charles

Thank you Charles for the great information. Especially the spark plugs which I’ve never heard of.

 

[free2roam]

Along with my 2004 E150 with 40K original miles I also own a 2005 Dodge Ram Quad 2 wheel drive with 170K miles.With the 5.7. I've never towed with it and have maintained it well(mechanically anyway).I received great information about the E150. But I would like opinions on which vehicle other people would use to tow a 5000 GVWR trailer. I.E. Coleman Rubicon 1608RB. At least upfront until I get a 3/4 ton pick up. I know they both are capable but maybe the Ram makes more sense even with the mileage. Thoughts ?

 

[dufferDave]

Just in case you had the idea in the back of your head to use this tow vehicle to pull ANYTHING up a mountain pass (camping in Colorado is great!), don't do it. Just flat do not do it.
Vehicle tow ratings are for down close to sea level, on flatlands. Get to 8 or 10,000 feet, where the air (and oxygen) is thin, and you will be struggling to climb those hills at anything much over 10 or 20 mph. Meanwhile, you will be pushing your engine HARD, also your transmission, and if on one of those twisty two-lane roads on the mountain, you will be collecting a big bunch of angry motorists behind you. Going downhill you will overwork (and likely overcook) your brakes, with or without braking augmentation on the trailer. Your "tow rating" will effectively be about 1/4 of the advertised number.
Ask me how I learned all this.

 

[free2roam]

Lol ok got it. Sounds like a good story around the campfire. I spend most of my time in the Eastern Sierra so that hit home. What about the Ram 1500 2 wheel drive? 2005 170k miles. 5.7 . Never towed with it.

 

[LarsMac]

You're not going to like hill climbing in the Sierras with either of those vehicles pulling a 5000+ lb trailer. The RAM may be a bit better, but coming down the hill will be a bit dicey.

 

[free2roam]

You're not going to like hill climbing in the Sierras with either of those vehicles pulling a 5000+ lb trailer. The RAM may be a bit better, but coming down the hill will be a bit dicey.

I appreciate the advice. Bottom line I need more truck even for a smaller lighter trailer. Thank you.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Something with a modern big block engine might manage ok, e.g. a GM 8.1L V8 or Ford V10 or 460V8. I had a 2002 gas-powered (8.1L, 5-speed automatic) motorhome that ran 22,000 lbs and had no performance problems at all at 7000-8000 ft in the Rockies. But the van or truck you have are likely more equipped for sea-level fuel economy, with low ratio rear axle and a 4-speed tranny.

 

[CharlesinGA]

I would think either one would do just fine, especially the RAM, on a downgrade, slow down before starting down and gear down to 3rd or 2ed and take it easy. Gasoline engines provide a good bit of engine braking, a whole lot more than a older diesel without an exhaust brake.

Either vehicle, being fuel injected will run just fine at altitude, just loses horsepower as you climb. That's where turbo chargers come into play is keeping the engine horsepower at sea level performance at altitude. A lot of this does depend on rear axle ratio. On the RAM, open the glove box door and look at the sticker on the inside of the door, it will have paint codes and the rear axle ratio, or you can run a build sheet from the dealer, the parts counter will do it , or you can run the build sheet online, though it for some reason is not as through, RAM build sheet, MUST use capital letters. General Motors products have a similar sticker, I've never seen one on a Ford product. On a Ford, you have to slide underneath and find the metal tag on one of the bolts that hold the cover on the rear of the differential, or run a build sheet at the dealer (parts dept can do this). Make sure you have your VIN with you, insurance card or take a pic thru the windshield.

Charles

 

[Ray-IN]

When safely and accurately matching a tow vehicle and trailer, this online calculator has no equal.
You will note, it requires actual scale weights in some blocks, others use mfgrs. published figures.

Never use dry weights when making calculations, unless that is how you plan to go camping-in an empty trailer.