Add one to enhance towing experience

[Alabama_Henry]

I have a stock 2002 F150 with 4.6 engine. I am looking at using this as a towing vehicle for an ultra Lite ( targeting 3-4K dry wt camper). What add on would be recommended to enhance the towing experience? I obviously have none(experience). My thoughts were around adding transmission cooler and perhaps some type of shocks and some special hitch characteristics. I would appreciate any information. Thanks in advance from a newby.

[burningman]

APT wrote:
Save for a newer truck that offers more transmission gears.

Because we all know, towing ability is directly related to the number of gears your transmission has, and the four his has clearly isn't enough... right??

[TurnThePage]

My old F150 with 4.6L engine had the tow package, which included the transmission cooler. I added a second one anyhow. I think it was a waste of money, and didn't improve anything.

A weight distributing hitch with sway control is not strictly necessary but can vastly improve your towing experience. The truck will likely behave much nicer.

Assuming your truck has the OEM style P rated tires, airing them up to their max PSI usually improves control (a lot!). At the weights you're looking at, you probably don't need to worry about upgrading to LT tires, which cost more, wear out faster, and make the ride harsher. Unless of course you are loading a bunch of stuff in the back of the truck.

I added a leaf spring to the rear of my truck, which helped too. I also ended up upgrading my gears from 3.55 to 4.10, which was the biggest improvement by far. It's expensive though, and your truck is kind of long in the tooth for those kinds of mods. If you're not in mountain country it's probably not that necessary either.

[Terryallan]

Desert Captain wrote:
If only that were true.... sadly it is not. What appears as a dry weight varies, with little if any rhyme or reason, from manufacturer to manufacturer. No one ever drives a "dry" / empty RV and until you load it for a normal trip and take it to the local scale you will have no idea what you are dealing with.

Additionally manufacturers fudge (as in lie, provide alternate facts etc.}, as to what the dry tongue weight will be. Most will use 10 per cent when they know it should be at least 13 or more just to make their rig sound more towable. Dry weights are absolutely useless and believing them or anyone who quotes them to you is a huge mistake.

{Terryallan and I must agree to disagree on this one....and that's OK too}


:R

It is. I would suggest we get to the same place different ways. For me. If I see a TT I like, and the yellow sticker weight is at or near my towing capacity. I walk on. If it is not. I look at the GVWR to see what the carrying capacity is. Some have a lot, some not so much.
.

[mkirsch]

I'll go against the go-ahead-and-pull-a-fifth-wheel-with-a-Yugo-even-though-you've-never-towed-anything-in-your-life cops grain and say that a WDH may not be necessary but it is a good idea. You asked what will ENHANCE the towing experience. While a WDH *with integrated sway control* might not be required equipment, depending on the trailer you get, it will help by reducing rear end squat, front end rise, porpoising, push-pull from large vehicles as they pass, and any external source of trailer sway that could otherwise ruin your day.

It will ENHANCE your towing experience. Everything else mentioned is required equipment if you want to connect the truck to the trailer, and have the transmission last longer than halfway through the first trip.

[Grit_dog]

I'll go against the weight cops grain and say, if your truck can't pull a 4-5klb trailer without a wdh then you need a new truck. IE, hook it up and go.
What concerns me more is you're talking a 15 year old pickup. How many miles? How well maintained? Towing puts more stress on a vehicle and your truck could be as capable or reliable as the day it rolled off the line, or it could be in the latter years of its life and barely gettin down the road.
How often and far and towing conditions will determine if you need trans cooler or not. Pulling 30mi in Nebraska to the state park is completely different than rolling 500 Mina day x country and altitude and grades.

[Hannibal]

I'd install a transmission cooler and a Equalizer hitch and go camping. Lock out overdrive while towing and keep speed below 65mph. I towed a 4400 lb weighed TT with a '94 F150 with 5spd and 3.08 rear end all around the southeast. But that's just me...

[APT]

You can spend $5k on a truck not worth even $5k on things that will help towing an RV. So be careful. Flush all the fluids. Get a heavy duty transmission cooler. Save for a newer truck that offers more transmission gears.

[fireman41]

A turbo charger.

[Desert_Captain]

If only that were true.... sadly it is not. What appears as a dry weight varies, with little if any rhyme or reason, from manufacturer to manufacturer. No one ever drives a "dry" / empty RV and until you load it for a normal trip and take it to the local scale you will have no idea what you are dealing with.

Additionally manufacturers fudge (as in lie, provide alternate facts etc.}, as to what the dry tongue weight will be. Most will use 10 per cent when they know it should be at least 13 or more just to make their rig sound more towable. Dry weights are absolutely useless and believing them or anyone who quotes them to you is a huge mistake.

{Terryallan and I must agree to disagree on this one....and that's OK too}


:R

[Terryallan]

Yes add a trans cooler, and a WDH will be needed with some type of sway control. Shocks or springs will not be needed. the WDH will take care of that.

As for weight. Desert Captain, and I disagree. I believe the yellow sticker dry weight is VERY important. That sticker will tell you exactly what the TT weighs sitting on the lot in front of you, including empty propane tanks, and battery. You will instantly know the weight of the TT with no fluids in it.

If that dry weight is within say, 1200lb of your towing capacity. you know it is too heavy. IF it is not close to your towing cap. you know you are good to go.

[Desert_Captain]

Your truck appears to not have a factory tow package. Definitely add a trans cooler but know that there is more to a tow package than just trans cooling. Trucks with a factory tow package usually have larger cooling systems {along with a trans cooler}, larger alternators and batteries as well.

Beefing up your shocks and going with LT {not "P"} tires, will also help. A quality weight distribution hitch is a good idea and when shopping trailers ignore all dry weights... they are not your friends. Keep the trailer light and you should be OK.

As always.... Opinions and YMMV

Good luck.

:C