Towing with a 2006 ford f150 v8

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jonnystef

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Mar 9, 2013
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Hi ya'll, I am an obvious newbie just starting our adventure .Can a Ford F150 v8 tow a 2005 Pioneer 180 CK travel trailer effectively? And do you have an opinion on this trailer? Thanks!
 
Which F150?  There are a number of powertrain and rear gear options available.  What is the gross weight of the trailer?
 
The vehicle is 5000 lb dry. My F150 is a Triton 5.4 V8 with a tow package, flex fuel, long bed. I think it has a 3.77 ratio. It has a brake system installed as well as a transmission cooler. Thanks for your response, I am a new adventurer and just recently bought the Ford. It has been checked by my mechanic and is sound. I thought I should put the horse before the cart. I haven't bought a wagon yet but am looking for what I perceive as good deals. I really want a 17 footer new but plan on staying on the road long term. Once again thanks for the reply.
 
Chances are, you may be cutting it pretty close if the trailer is around 6K# fully loaded unless the truck has a factory HD tow pkg and the payload capacity is way up there.
 
jonnystef said:
The vehicle is 5000 lb dry. My F150 is a Triton 5.4 V8 with a tow package, flex fuel, long bed. I think it has a 3.77 ratio. It has a brake system installed as well as a transmission cooler. Thanks for your response, I am a new adventurer and just recently bought the Ford. It has been checked by my mechanic and is sound. I thought I should put the horse before the cart. I haven't bought a wagon yet but am looking for what I perceive as good deals. I really want a 17 footer new but plan on staying on the road long term. Once again thanks for the reply.
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The info I found on the trailer you are looking at (2005 Pioneer 180 CK) shows it to have a UVW of 3518. This is a small light weight trailer. The actual weight going down the road should be 4.5K or less. If your truck is what your are thinking, it should have no trouble towing that trailer IMHO.
 
warsw said:
The info I found on the trailer you are looking at (2005 Pioneer 180 CK) shows it to have a UVW of 3518. This is a small light weight trailer. The actual weight going down the road should be 4.5K or less. If your truck is what your are thinking, it should have no trouble towing that trailer IMHO.
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If that's all it weighs, I agree.  5.4 with 3.77 gears shouldn't have any issues pulling a 4500 lbs trailer, especially in the flat lands.  It may pull steep grades a little slower, but even then you should be OK, especially with trans cooler. 
 
Thanks for the input! Anyone have any experience with that type of trailer? I have read the aluminum body types are suspect. Any thoughts?
 
I have a little 17' wilderness TT I use mostly for off the paved road camping and Elk hunting. I have pulled this trailer all over the planet. For what it is used for it is a great trailer. It weighs around 4K# loaded. Most of the miles on it where pulled behind a 1/2 ton Tundra.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e242/warsw/DSCN4212.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e242/warsw/DSCN4326.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e242/warsw/DSCN4342.jpg
 
Love the pictures! I hope to be out there someday. We want to do it full time. It seems here in sunny Florida it is difficult to find a 17 footer at a reasonable price.
 
Even here the most popular size TT is in the mid 20s. It is harder to find a nice used smaller size TT and if you do you have to get right on it or it is gone. I picked this one up for $3K and put another $1K into it but it is now like new and everything works as it should. My wife and I really have fun with this little trailer.
 
warsw said:
I have a little 17' wilderness TT I use mostly for off the paved road camping and Elk hunting. I have pulled this trailer all over the planet. For what it is used for it is a great trailer. It weighs around 4K# loaded. Most of the miles on it where pulled behind a 1/2 ton Tundra.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e242/warsw/DSCN4212.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e242/warsw/DSCN4326.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e242/warsw/DSCN4342.jpg
Click to expand...
Just out of curiosity....(and slightly OT)..... Why did they put dual axles on such a small trailer?
 
Wavery said:
Just out of curiosity....(and slightly OT)..... Why did they put dual axles on such a small trailer?
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Don't know but it was one of my must haves. It rides so much better/smoother over ruff terrain than a single axle trailer plus I like the added security of the extra tires.
 
warsw said:
Don't know but it was one of my must haves. It rides so much better/smoother over ruff terrain than a single axle trailer plus I like the added security of the extra tires.
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That makes sense...... I was just curious. At 1st glance, it appears to be over-kill but as you say, it would be a better ride over rough terrain for sure.. I single axle trailer tends to beat itself up.
 
My truck actually has a 3.55 gear ratio, factory tow package, 5.4 Triton and transmission cooler. My thinking is the limit should be around 6000 lbs loaded max which puts me in the 17-21 ft range. Am I in the ball park. I plan to get into some elevations and don't want to worry about whether I can or not. I have a covered bed on the truck, and I hope to stuff some stuff in there as well. Any thoughts from the experts?
 
I have a 2004 F-150 Super Crew with that same engine, transmission, rear end and tow package and my maximum tow rating is 8,000 pounds.  You should not have any trouble towing that small trailer.  I towed a 32 foot travel trailer with mine with no problems.

Dan
 
We have towed our 25 ft 4200 lb dry/ 5500 loaded weight trailer with a 07 Expedition without a tow package, 3.55 rear end and a 5.4 in the rockies and have no issues.
 
No issues yet. It is a gasser and when climbing the steep grades you downshift and the RPMs go up. That's the nature of the beast. It's rare that I'm not going as fast as I want to which is usually limited to the speed posted on the warning sign of the next curve.
On the descent I let off the gas as we crest the top and let the rig slow itself before downshifting and riding the tranny down. Again the situation will dictate what gear and speed I chose and I rarely touch the brakes all the way there and back on the expressway.

When not up in the hills we can keep up with traffic at 80 if I'm not paying attention. On our first trip I didn't know of the speed limits on the trailers tires and did 75-80 from Denver to Fort Collins which is actually a long climb. The only thing noticeable was the gas gauge dropping a half a tank, other than that the Ex never broke a sweat.  I did 60-65 from even farther on the way home and used a quarter of a tank.
 
I towed the trailer in tow/haul mode and didn't have trouble with hills.  In Texas, our highest elevation is only about 5,000 feet and I never towed further out west were the mountains are much higher.  My trailer had a GVWR that was 20% less than the tow rating of my truck.  With any normally asperated gasoline powered engine, you will loose horsepower the higher the elevation, so that's why you allow a 20% margin between your trailer GVWR and the towing capacity of you vehicle if you are going to tow in the mountains.  It sounds like you have plenty of extra capacity to tow that small trailer, but just to be sure, look at the GVWR of the trailer you want to tow, add 20% to that weight and make sure that number is smaller than the towing capacity of your tow vehicle and you will be fine.
Dan
 
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