Towing question before purchase

OP, your second trailer you posted about will do just fine behind the F150! No need to go out and spend $40-$50k on a 3/4 ton diesel for 50-100 mile trips! You will be safe and have plenty of power here in flat IL.

And if you really want to wake up the trans in the F150 put in a call to 5star tuning. They can reprogram your PCM so it will shift the way it should. They have a very good following and many people love the updated towing tune. It is a night and day difference over stock. The tune will get rid of the sluggish feeling that plagues the F150!

Here is my story that might help you out. In 2004, we wanted to upgrade from our popup to a TT. I looked around quite a bit until I found a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban 2500 with the 7.4L engine and 3.73 gears. It had a listed towing capacity of 8,000 lbs. It was my wife's daily driver. We then bought our TT, which weighed right at 6,000 lbs. loaded ready to go.

The setup was great with no complaints. I then bought a 2000 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9L, 3.55 gears as a 2nd vehicle to tow the TT from time to time. While the Dodge did a decent job of towing, it did not come close to the Suburban when it came to climbing hills.

After a few years, my wife decided she wanted a small car again. So I needed to trade in either the Suburban or the Dodge. I realized that I was hauling mostly air in the pickup, so I decided to keep the Suburban for myself.

I made the right decision. Whenever I needed to haul stuff, I just went to UHaul and rented a utility trailer. I just recently retired the 'Burb as it had 227K miles on and it was just worn out.

For my towing comfort, I like to tow less than the maximum weight with the power to pull hills with relative ease.

goducks10 wrote:

silverfz wrote:
I have a 1/2 tonne . Crewmax tundra . All I have is a full exhaust for performance and bigger rims/tires. I tow a 31 foot camper with a dry weight of 6700 lbs.

I camp like you mentioned , with in a 150 mile radius for now. I do not feel underpowered. the engine revs but I ride motorcycles that redline at 12k and rev them redline all the time. So if you tell me I am doing something wrong will disagree. My current motorcycle stays in the red line or close you on the track all day and with close to 100k runs like the day I brought it.

get a good wdh/sway control system. I have the equi-l-zer 4 pt with in built sway. Its loud but it works great.

satz

Tundra 5.7 381hp 410tq rear gears 4.30
F150 5.4 300hp 365tq rear gears 3.55

That's why you don't have any trouble.

Make sense.thanks

To the OP, the way your truck is equipped, I think you should look for a travel trailer with a dry weight of around 5,000 lbs. At that weight you can carry necessities in the trailer, and some things inside the cab and the bed of the truck without exceeding your GVWR or RAWR. The 9,800 lb. tow rating is not for TT's. Those ratings are derived with a flat bed trailer, usually with a load of bricks or cinder blocks. The load is kept to a height that is lower than the trucks tailgate, and has very little wind drag. RV trailers have a tremendous amount of frontal area, that acts as a huge wind drag going down the road.

APT wrote:
FWIW, Tundra with 4.30 is almost exactly the same as Ford/GM with 3.73, but still Tundra puts down quite a bit more torque to the wheels.

True. I was just comparing the OP's 5.4 3.55 to the Tundra.
Drop a 3.55 in the Tundra and I bet it's a different story.

FWIW, Tundra with 4.30 is almost exactly the same as Ford/GM with 3.73, but still Tundra puts down quite a bit more torque to the wheels.

silverfz wrote:
I have a 1/2 tonne . Crewmax tundra . All I have is a full exhaust for performance and bigger rims/tires. I tow a 31 foot camper with a dry weight of 6700 lbs.

I camp like you mentioned , with in a 150 mile radius for now. I do not feel underpowered. the engine revs but I ride motorcycles that redline at 12k and rev them redline all the time. So if you tell me I am doing something wrong will disagree. My current motorcycle stays in the red line or close you on the track all day and with close to 100k runs like the day I brought it.

get a good wdh/sway control system. I have the equi-l-zer 4 pt with in built sway. Its loud but it works great.

satz

Tundra 5.7 381hp 410tq rear gears 4.30
F150 5.4 300hp 365tq rear gears 3.55

That's why you don't have any trouble.

I have a 1/2 tonne . Crewmax tundra . All I have is a full exhaust for performance and bigger rims/tires. I tow a 31 foot camper with a dry weight of 6700 lbs.

I camp like you mentioned , with in a 150 mile radius for now. I do not feel underpowered. the engine revs but I ride motorcycles that redline at 12k and rev them redline all the time. So if you tell me I am doing something wrong will disagree. My current motorcycle stays in the red line or close you on the track all day and with close to 100k runs like the day I brought it.

get a good wdh/sway control system. I have the equi-l-zer 4 pt with in built sway. Its loud but it works great.

I never felt unstable with my setup. the thing that tows. i used to have a turbo diesel as my car in college. I love diesel but the truck is my wife`s and she uses it take kids to kindergarden / preschool , grocery shopping .It fits in our garage which is very important in northeast to put kids in and out in bad weather. she does not want a diesel . she brought the camper too.

satz

You're asking a lot from the 5.4 L Triton. I've similar numbers like your first choice:
Trailer- 6700 dry, 8000 loaded
tongue- 903 dry, 1100+ loaded
GCWR - 15,300, tow regularly at max and alittle over.
Truck payload- 2200 lb, 8200 GVWR
The biggest difference I see between yours and mine is the rear and trans. I believe the trans in your has two OD's, correct? which means to me it's basically a four speed. I have one OD, so mines basically a three speed. It's the rear ratio that will sink you, IMO. I have the 4.10 and it pulls fine in first and most of second. Many times when I hit "drive", it dogs out. They're right when they say the 5.4 is power deficient. It does ok, but you gotta stay in it and spin it. Your second trailer choice sounds a little better. I know I have all I can handle, and for the most part it's ok, but sometimes when you need a little more, it just isn't there.

I know rhagfo; sarcasm doesn't translate well in written form.

We do not know the OP payload, receiver rating, or how much weight he plans to pack in the truck, so we don't the truck will be under all the ratings.