95 ford 460is 7.5 EFI v8 tow capacity

Usmcsousa wrote:
Thanks all,
Ill have to get out to the storage yard this weekend and have a look at the coaches caboose.
Not entirely sure what a good weld verses a bad weld will look like.
I assume a little common sense will go a long way,
The previous owner tow'd a wrangler with it supposedly with no issues, but I'm not about to put my families safety and others at risk over assumptions of a stranger .
Im not sure if this matters or not but the coach has been outfitted with front and rear supersteer trac bars. Along with a gibson power exhaust system and "tri-y headers" . Also a banks transcommand transmission commans module. Also a K+N cold air intake system.
Not sure if these things help or hurt my ability to tow.
When i get out there ill take some pictures to post up of the tow package and frame welds.
Thanks again all.

If only you had a chance to drive your coach before the exhaust and track bar additions. The exhaust system adds a bunch of HP & torque.
The front trac bar does wonders by keeping the front axle from moving side to side. The rear trac bar, not so much. The rear axle has a very stiff spring stack and doesn't have a tendency to move side to side much. The trans commander is also an excellent addition. Helps your E4OD tranny live a long useful life.
There has been a lot of discussion about the K&N oiled air filter. Some have run tests that prove the oiled air filter does pass more dirt than a paper filter. The oiled filter was designed for off road racing and does an excellent job for that application. BUT were not driving race engines. Just a little food for thought.

Richard
95 Bounder
Ford F53 460
Banks exhaust. Paper air filter.
Front and rear trac bars.

Thanks all,
Ill have to get out to the storage yard this weekend and have a look at the coaches caboose.
Not entirely sure what a good weld verses a bad weld will look like.
I assume a little common sense will go a long way,
The previous owner tow'd a wrangler with it supposedly with no issues, but I'm not about to put my families safety and others at risk over assumptions of a stranger .
Im not sure if this matters or not but the coach has been outfitted with front and rear supersteer trac bars. Along with a gibson power exhaust system and "tri-y headers" . Also a banks transcommand transmission commans module. Also a K+N cold air intake system.
Not sure if these things help or hurt my ability to tow.
When i get out there ill take some pictures to post up of the tow package and frame welds.
Thanks again all.

Hi All.

As said, it all depends on how long the "Over-Hands" are on each Motorhome. And as said, for sure check out the Welding very carfefully.

Some welding jobs are good ones and some are not very good at all.

Also which is very importantely is what which "Hitch" did they put on that Motorhome. More than not, is the #3500 LB Hitch, then the reset have the #5000 LB Hitch, which is what we have.

Hooking up a 4200 LB Toad to a #3500 LB Hitch isn't a very good idea, safety wise. You even for sure will feel a #4900 LB Toad to a #5000 LB Hitch.

One more thing for you to think about is the amount of the "Over-Hang" on the Motorhome that you do want. The longer the Over-Hang" the more stress there can be on tight turns and your Toads Hitch, and Tires too.

Just make sure you get a Motorhome with a Rated #5000 LB Hitch on it. I even went so far to Beef-Up my #5000 LB Hitch as a have a very long Over-Hang.

Good Luck to you. Happy Travels. Dan & Jill & our 2 Little "Yorkie Kids, who love to Travel as much as we do.

Ford used to rate the F-53 in all GVWRs with the same GCWR, thus lighter rated models of the chassis will have a high "tow rating" which may or may not have been compromised by the coach builder. What the coach builder does, in extending the coach beyond the end of the chassis, and providing a hitch, might further limit the tow. I've seen "garage" models in which eight feet or more of coach was built off the end of the original frame, with no extension of frame rails, only house. frame back there.

So what you are missing is information about towing capacity of the finished coach.

What might be confusing you is an idea you have relating towing capacity to engine power ratings. More relevant to GCWR is the size and strength of drivetrain parts, ang gearing for torque at the final drive. Wasn't that long ago the 40,000 loads were routinely hauled by trucks with 100-200 HP engines. Ford 7.5 (or 7.3 diesel) was used in trucks up through Class 6, much heavier than that motorhome, using C-6 and E4OD automatics, and various 6-speed manual transmission. 17,000 pounds of RV and 8000 tow is well within what the drivetrain can do, you just won't be winning drag races or flying up mountains at 70 mph.

What you are missing is the coach manufacturer's de-rating of the chassis due to frame extensions and limited capacity receiver. MOST F53 chassis of that era were given a 3500# tow limit by the coach manufacture. Look at the frame extensions, welds and receiver. Then determine if you want to possibly violate those limitations.

Richard