Ford 4.6 Triton

[chr_]

Anyone towing with a 4.6L Triton V8 in a Ford?
F150, Econoline, Explorer, etc?

I have one in my Sport Trac. Does great on the flats, not so bad on the hills. I can pull a 6% grade for several miles dropping only to 65MPH if I start it at 80MPH pulling my ~6000 # Loaded TT.

It's the 4,500+ RPM's to climb the hills that concern me. People tell me these motors are made to spin being Overhead Cam, just wondering if they can really handle it. A lot of Motorhomes have the V10's and they do the same RPM wise.

Considering a 3.0 Ecodiesel Ram 1500, or an older 6.0L Avalanche if this truck doesn't hold up, bit I really don't want a large truck. Not sure the Chevy 5.3 in a Colorado will do any better even though they are pushrod motors. Give me a Dakota with the 3.0 Ecodiesel, then maybe that is the ticket.

I really like this Sport Trac as a daily driver. I just don't want a 3/4 or 1 Ton truck as a daily driver, and I don't want a truck sitting around just to have to tow the trailer either.

[chr_]

No Kids. Just doing some "research". It is about a 3 mile 7% grade that is mostly straight and widens to 3 lanes uphill. Semi's usually in the far right doing 35 or so, then us RV'ers in the middle lane.

I try to keep it between 65 & 70 on the flats and do generally slow to the speeds on the hills and curves as posted as there is a reason they are there.

I usually tow in 6th, but do take it out of OD for the hills.

[Aluminum_Siding]

" I start it at 80MPH pulling my ~6000 # Loaded TT."

Please tell me there are no little kids involved!

[hddecker]

JiminDenver wrote:
I have been towing in the Rockies for over 30 years and I'll let you in on a little secret. You can spend a fortune making sure you get up the hill a few seconds sooner but you will only be going as fast as the rig in front of you. There are places where the speed is 65 but the real limit is whatever the warning sign on the next curve is. Take one at ten miles over and let me know if you were thinking about being able to go faster.

Last thing is that it doesn't matter what tires you or how many horses are pulling. You never want to be going faster than you can handle the rig in a worst case scenario.

Probably the sanest post on this thread.

[seaeagle2]

At work we use E350 cutaways with a "dog catcher" body on them. There is no comparison between the 4.6 2 valve and four speed and the 4.6 3 valve and six speed. The difference is night and day.

[steve-n-vicki]

I tow with a 2004 F150 ,2 valve 4.6, 3.55 gears and so far its the road that limits my speed ,yes it does drop to 2nd gear and turns hard up hills but it does maintain about 55 mph, some of you need to drive a HDT grossing 60k with a 275 hp 800 torque engine, and then you will see what underpowered means

4.6 40 pound per hp , 38 pound per lbft torque

HDT 218 pounds per hp 75 pounds per lbft torque

[Speedogomer]

Double post

[Speedogomer]

I think you're mixing up what we mean by "ST" tires. We don't mean ST=Sport Trac. The tires that came on your trailer are called ST tires, and they're rated for 65 mph.

My brother has an 05 F150 with the old 4.6. It struggled greatly with our 4000# boat. It wheezed and groaned up every hill. His new Ecoboost F150 is night and day difference.

Jus2shy, horsepower does not tell the whole story. While you are correct the ecodiesel does not have as much horsepower as the 4.6, it has significantly more torque. It does not make significant horsepower low in the Rpm range, it makes significant torque. Horsepower is merely a calculated figure between torque and rpm. That's why at 5250rpm, your engine makes exactly as much torque as horsepower.

If horsepower was what really mattered, my 5.7 hem would be a stronger engine than your Cummins since my hemi has more horsepower than the cunmins. It's the torque that matters there.

[kaz442]

I have a 2000 E150 conversion van with the 4.6. I have towed my race car on an open car trailer (5500 lbs) for years without a problem. Handel's the mountains of NJ And Pa no problem. And yes I have towed over 70 mph. So the speed police can flame me too.

JKaz

[Fast0ne]

chr$ wrote:
I have the three valve. OK ST Special Trailer. ST also means sport trac. I did upgrade my trailer tires...

I noticed the Cruise control downshifts a cog when I am towing on the flats. My buddy's silverado 5.3 does that too. drives me nuts.

Shift your truck from 6th gear to 5th gear and you won't get the constant down shift with cruise. Your 6th gear is just a over drive only. You will turn higher rpms but this is not a big deal and keeps the transmission cooler and the gear in a better power band.

[jus2shy]

In the end, it's horsepower that will dictate how fast you can move your load (productive work). The Ecodiesel is great because it produces quite a bit of horsepower early on in lower RPM operating ranges. However, be aware that it only has 240 horsepower. So it will slow down up those hills as it doesn't have the power rating that your 4.6 probably has (which should be around 290 HP), but it will not be spinning as much as a gasoline motor. The benefit though is that the ecodiesel will not lose much power up the hills as it is force induction.

However, the ecodiesel will return excellent fuel economy if you're into that (and diesel is economical where you live).

F-150 V6

ecodiesel

[chr_]

I have the three valve. OK ST Special Trailer. ST also means sport trac. I did upgrade my trailer tires...

I noticed the Cruise control downshifts a cog when I am towing on the flats. My buddy's silverado 5.3 does that too. drives me nuts.

[opnspaces]

Does the truck have a tachometer in the dash? If so what is the redline show for it? I pull hills at 4,500 in the Suburban with an old Chevy 350 and is does fine. As others have posted gasoline engines like to rev, It's the diesels that redline at low RPMs.

As to the 65 mph rating, we are talking about the ST tires on the trailer, not the truck. I would be be careful to not over speed the trailer tires. They all seem to be cheap junk that self destructs and tears out the underside of the wheel wells and plumbing when they let go.

[JiminDenver]

I have been towing in the Rockies for over 30 years and I'll let you in on a little secret. You can spend a fortune making sure you get up the hill a few seconds sooner but you will only be going as fast as the rig in front of you. There are places where the speed is 65 but the real limit is whatever the warning sign on the next curve is. Take one at ten miles over and let me know if you were thinking about being able to go faster.

Last thing is that it doesn't matter what tires you or how many horses are pulling. You never want to be going faster than you can handle the rig in a worst case scenario.

[Fast0ne]

In my own truck I set my cruise control at 60 mph and be done with it. I stay in the right lane and really don't care about what people think. This is why I am in the right lane. And I know my st tires are rated at 65mph and yes the odd time I have had to pass someone I go above that sped rating but not for long.

At 60mph in my truck I am at 2700 rpm. And some big hills the truck will drop down to second gear and max out at 4500 rpm. Yet again no big deal as after having the truck on the dyno it makes its max tourqe at 4500 rpm. And that is towing with a/c running and holding 60 mph.

My truck is a chevy colorado with the inline 5. With the 4 speed auto so towing must be done in third gear. So even if you looked at a v8 colorado you still may have to tow in third gear. I also added a transmission color and my transmission and coolent temps have always stayed in check.

But please slow down we are camping so I really see no rush to get any where as I have my home behind me.