Tow Vehicle Improvements

[Indy317]

I'm a little concerned about pulling our travel trailer out west and being able to pull up steep grades. I have a 2010 F-150 5.4L and was considering making a couple of power improvements like a cold air intake system and a cat back exhaust system. Has anyone made these modifications? If so, do you think it was worth the investment?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[LeBout]

Indy317 wrote:
Just to clarify: TV vehicle is a 2010 F150 FX4 crew cab, 5.4L, 6 sp tranny with cooler, 3.73 rear axle, tow pkg, trailer brake control, sway control, and 7350 lb GVWR pkg. Trailer is 28 ft with a dry weight of approx 5400 lbs. Fully loaded I figure we'll be around 6500 lbs.

You'll do fine! 🙂

[Indy317]

Thanks for all the advice and information. I've decided to stick with stock on my TV. Although I didn't have towing a trailer this large in mind when I bought my truck, I apparently got a very well equipped TV. Just to clarify: TV vehicle is a 2010 F150 FX4 crew cab, 5.4L, 6 sp tranny with cooler, 3.73 rear axle, tow pkg, trailer brake control, sway control, and 7350 lb GVWR pkg. Trailer is 28 ft with a dry weight of approx 5400 lbs. Fully loaded I figure we'll be around 6500 lbs.

Thanks again for the feedback.

[Slowmover]

Indy317 wrote:
I'm a little concerned about pulling our travel trailer out west and being able to pull up steep grades. I have a 2010 F-150 5.4L and was considering making a couple of power improvements like a cold air intake system and a cat back exhaust system. Has anyone made these modifications? If so, do you think it was worth the investment?

Thanks in advance for your help.

TV horsepower is not the concern. Trailer disc brakes would rate most highly for this concern (mountain grades) as going down trumps any idea of speed going up. I would have LT tires on the TT, and a VPP hitch as well. BILSTEIN shock absorbers on the TV as well as the tires that fit that truck with the highest rating and quality.

I would -- at the least -- go diligently through these changes on the TT:: JBarca -- TT Brake/Suspension Upgrades

.

[goducks10]

No need to change gears. With the 6sp and 3.73's you'll be fine. I pulled the same TT with an 08 4sp 3.73 and the 10 6sp. The 10 6sp really makes the 5.4 come to life. I had a 10 5.4 with 3.73 gears and towed 7300lbs. Did it do okay? Ya okay, not great. Contrary to what some say there is no way to lockout 6th gear (OD) in the 2010. It doesn't even have a select shift option. You are at the mercy of the trucks tranny programing. So get used to it hunting for gears. I had mine flashed and it made no difference. I live in Oregon and everywhere we go there's hills and mountains. Even on the flats it will downshift when going over freeway overpasses'. Get a ScanGage2, to help you keep an eye on tranny temps. I had one for an 08 F150 and just transferred it to the 10 F150. Those gages on the dash won't move till you're in the danger zone. With that being said I pulled all over Oregon, Tahoe and northern Ca and never had a heating issue. Even with the tranny hunting for gears the temps hardly changed. Ford did their homework on the tranny coolers. If you start slowing down on steeper climbs just push the gas pedal a little more. The 5.4 runs best up hills in the 3-3600 range. Just get an extra gas card as I averaged 8.5 in the hills/mtns of Oregon.:)

[JIMNLIN]

IMO the truck won't have any issues in the mountains. Sure you won't keep up with the V10 Fords or the new gen diesels but just take it easy and enjoy the trip.

I pulled a 8600 lb trailer all over the southern Rockies with a '90 chevy 5.7 with 215 hp and 300 ft lbs of torque 4L60 and 4.10 gears.

Your 5.4 has much more power and a lighter trailer. Going to 4.10 gears would help with acceleration and pulling duties as with any smallblock combo. Make the trip first and then decide if any expensive mods are needed.

I did add a cat back big block Flowmaster and a K&N too help the engine run cooler and a big aux tranny cooler. Ran the truck for 232k miles.

[westend]

My rig is close in weight, to LeBout's dry weight. I have the 5.4 with 3.73, 4 speed transmission. The cold air and cat back will probably save fuel on the flats but won't get you much for long grades.
The money might be better spent on traveling less distance and spending an extra day, a relaxing break after climbing for awhile, or other activities that slow your pace. Your rig will handle the hills.

[PaulandMonica]

Don't change a thing. We have a 2010 Silverado with 3.42 gears(not as good as yours) and 6 speed transmission and tow package.We live out west and just returned from a 13000 mile trip. Sure it slows down going up hill but so what. It did just fine pulling 29 foot 6700lbs trailer.

[jus2shy]

I also own a 2010 ford F-150 with Max Tow. A lot of people here are unaware of the 6 gear ratio transmission on the 2009+ F-150. It has a deeper 1st gear than the old 4 speeds and a higher overdrive as well in 6th gear. So it has more startability for a given rear ratio and it spins at a lower speed when on the highway. If you already have the max-tow package, you should have a very large transmission cooler on the front of your rig as well as a power steering cooler. The 2010 is also the year when they first started using E-fans for the radiator (09 still had the clutch fan). So you will have even more horsepower free compared to the previous 5.4's with less drag on the crank shaft.

The biggest thing you can do though is make sure you have the most up-to-date programming for your powertrain. I recently flashed my PCM and the transmission no longer hunts like it used to. It bangs right through the gears when hauling things and it firmed up the shifting and throttle response.

I personally upgraded to larger 34" tires as my truck came stock with P-series tires on 20" rims. Went form 275/55R20 to 275/65R20.

I originally used a leveling kit on my truck and strongly disliked how it wallowed through the turns and squirmed when hauling rock and dirt with the P-tires. I upgraded to Bilstein 5100's all around and it removed all the wallowing and the truck hauls its GVWR with out the wallow in the turns, it's more like driving a BMW in that its firm but still absorbs the bumps.

I upgraded to LT tires to be able to handle the load when hauling dirt and rock. Rear axle is maxed at 4050 lbs and the P-rated tires were rated to 2400 lbs a piece, but many tire books say to remove 10% of capacity on P-series tires for trucks so that's only 2160 a piece. I didn't like the idea of going around a turn any speed and shifting too much load to a single tire so LT tires made more sense to me. In combination of the Bilsteins, it seems to ride really close to stock minus any wallowing so I think it'd be a good upgrade to consider.

I'm personally just starting the hunt for an RV myself and hoping to buy in the next year or two. Lots to take in here!

[Passin_Thru]

Mr Lebout, Old LaVeta is 13%, they have a new highway, St 5 on Evans is 9% partway then 15% the rest, Slumgullion is 9.4%, 15% in NC Going up to Little Switzerland, NC, Not sure about the pass south of Telluride up Red Mtn but it's steep dangerous and my best friend was almost to the top and ran off the road, down 4000 ft in a pickup and killed him and another guy in 72.

[time2roll]

Leave an hour early and allow an hour to arrive late and the rest is just unneeded.

2010 has 5 or 6 speed transmission? I doubt you need lower differential gears.

My old F150 does just fine btw.

[TurnThePage]

LeBout wrote:
I don't know why everyone is saying the OP should consider changing his gear ratio. The Ford F-150 he's driving has a 3.73:1 gear ratio which is great for hauling uphill. His gear ratio provides more low-speed wheel torque, which makes it easier to get the TV moving when pulling a trailer. That ratio also improves acceleration up to about 60mph. (Passing performance and speeds above 60mph is a matter of horsepower, NOT axle ratio.)

I don't think anyone was really saying that the OP should change gear ratios. They were simply telling the truth that it's the most efficient and reliable way to put more power to the pavement. If one really needed more towing power from their current gasoline powered rig, that's the first step. Intake and exhaust mods give minimal gains and then only at higher RPMs. They will affect towing about as much as shiny new wheels. And even though catback systems might sound nice, they can get old real fast when towing for hours on end. The tuner "may" give some gains, but requires premium fuel, and potentially opens a can of unknown worms. I think you're right. No need for changes.

[Dtaylor]

It's obvious most do not read before they post but are quick to give advice

[okie54]

2007 Chrysler Aspen 5.7L with tow package.

Pulling a Keystone Vantage 29RLS

Added:
K&M Air Filter
K&M Air Intake
Bully Dog Computer/Guage controller
Flowmaster catback exhaust
Firestone Air Suspension system
Upgraded brakes with Stainless steal and ceramic pads.
Husky Sway Controller

Sounds Great! No real Test yet, just got my first TT and added these to my Aspen. SUV is paid off and has 70K on the speedo and would rather put money in upgrades than get a new vehicle and payments. Got my truck fixed up next day picked up my TT and next day spent 8 days in the Hospital. So first trip out will be June 23.Wish me luck!11

[horton333]

changing gear ratios is pretty expensive, leaving OD off or if you really want to push it buy smaller tires....

[RWDIII]

Indy317 wrote:
I'm a little concerned about pulling our travel trailer out west and being able to pull up steep grades. I have a 2010 F-150 5.4L and was considering making a couple of power improvements like a cold air intake system and a cat back exhaust system. Has anyone made these modifications? If so, do you think it was worth the investment?

Thanks in advance for your help.

A flowmaster exhaust , a scan guage and driving 65 helped me get 1mpg better when I had a 19 ft trailer.It seemed to have more power on grades and sounded a whole lot better,I wouldn't do anything that would mess up warranty,