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Towing/hauling with an E350?


rusty ol ranger

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Some of you know come winter/spring i was planning on buying a newer 5.0 F150 to serve as a tow pig/sometimes driver.

But earlier for poos and giggles i looked up E250/350 vans, and realized these things go dirt cheap with not alot of miles and quite a few have V10 power.

Not that im leaning that way, but if i were to buy an extended length one....how would it tow my camper (7000lbs) with all that overhang?

Also, could you drive two standard sized quads up in the back of it?

No free candy jokes please.
 


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Some of you know come winter/spring i was planning on buying a newer 5.0 F150 to serve as a tow pig/sometimes driver.

But earlier for poos and giggles i looked up E250/350 vans, and realized these things go dirt cheap with not alot of miles and quite a few have V10 power.

Not that im leaning that way, but if i were to buy an extended length one....how would it tow my camper (7000lbs) with all that overhang?

Also, could you drive two standard sized quads up in the back of it?

No free candy jokes please.
Damn... no free candy jokes.

I prefer the way a van tows over a pickup truck. The extra weight in the back seems to absorb some of the bouncing of the trailer and lessen any movement of the trailer. I logged about 40-50k miles towing with my '94 E150 Clubwagon. The CW had full interior, rear heat and ac, and big heavy bench seat that converted the a bed... so the rear weight will be different from an empty cargo van. That may change the way it tows.
 

rusty ol ranger

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Damn... no free candy jokes.

I prefer the way a van tows over a pickup truck. The extra weight in the back seems to absorb some of the bouncing of the trailer and lessen any movement of the trailer. I logged about 40-50k miles towing with my '94 E150 Clubwagon. The CW had full interior, rear heat and ac, and big heavy bench seat that converted the a bed... so the rear weight will be different from an empty cargo van. That may change the way it tows.
I had a 94 E150 Mark III conversion in the day, so im not a complete stranger to vans, but i never towed anything with mine. It had a 302 with a 3.31 rear and honestly i doubt it woulda towed much lol
 

snoranger

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I had a 94 E150 Mark III conversion in the day, so im not a complete stranger to vans, but i never towed anything with mine. It had a 302 with a 3.31 rear and honestly i doubt it woulda towed much lol
Yeah. The 302 was underpowered for a full interior van. Mine had a 351W and 3:73 gears... It was a whole different animal off the line next to a 5.0L van.
 

rusty ol ranger

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Yeah. The 302 was underpowered for a full interior van. Mine had a 351W and 3:73 gears... It was a whole different animal off the line next to a 5.0L van.
I dont doubt it. Mine would really turn on about 35-40 mph, but under that it was ridiculious.

I do remember though with the A/T tires i had on it it was unstoppable in the snow
 

Josh B

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I drove an E300 for 7 or 8 years, at that time I was working offshore, 7 days on, 7 days off, and driving 6-800 miles each way.
It had a straight 6 300ci and started off with a C6 transmission. You could not hardly overload that thing, and it would pull like a bull dozer (long as you had traction). It was a full ten ft cargo space from inside the closed back door to the back side of the front seats(only two seats it had until I added an easy chair behind the drivers seat)
Most vehicles then had 14 or 15 inch 2 ply tires, this one had 16.5 8 ply.
I never had a single complaint with that vehicle, except first starting out, I pulled down by a lake to get some pictures. Went to leave and it was stuck, in less than an inch of wet clay, on the slightest uphill slope, and it would not budge. After that i seldom traveled with it totally empty again
 
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Dsetz

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I've got a 06 F250 5.4.
V10 should tow great. Horrid mileage.
I wouldn't buy one unless it were the 3v triton and had the 5 speed auto.
 

rusty ol ranger

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I've got a 06 F250 5.4.
V10 should tow great. Horrid mileage.
I wouldn't buy one unless it were the 3v triton and had the 5 speed auto.
I aint worried about the V10 havin power, moreso the dynamics of having 6 ft overhang behind the rear axle and 1000lbs or so of tounge weight on a 30 ft trailer lol
 

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Honestly like Snowranger claims, I bet it will tow better than a truck. I spray weeds so I've typically got 250 gallons of water in the bed. The extra weight really smooths out the ride. Other wise its a bouncy SOB. I almost hate running it empty.
Wonder if anyone would rent you one to give it a try?
 

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Probably similar to my situation with less weight on the rear axle... I tow the Ranger around on a trailer every now and then so I got a camper for it. First camper was a 11.3' Lance that required a 4' long hitch extension, that combo towed very strange but fine (trailer that I used was a 12' deck so pretty short which didn't help) unless I had to back up.

After that I found a 9.5' camper which only requires an 18" hitch extension and that tows great but I have about 2500 pounds extra on the rear axle compared to empty... ride wise and backing geometry aren't that bad, as long as I can see (camper makes it hard) I can still back up :)
 

rusty ol ranger

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How long is a extended E350 behind the two front seats? As in general cargo area?
 

91stranger

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If you are worried about tongue weight just buy a weight displacement hitch of some sort. We sell the E2 hitches and they are only about $500 or so and really easy to install. They transfer the tongue weight and keep the tow vehicle stable. Well worth it if you have a lot of tongue weight or if you are towing with something that is not designed for heavy campers like an f150 or chevy/dodge 1500.
 

rusty ol ranger

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If you are worried about tongue weight just buy a weight displacement hitch of some sort. We sell the E2 hitches and they are only about $500 or so and really easy to install. They transfer the tongue weight and keep the tow vehicle stable. Well worth it if you have a lot of tongue weight or if you are towing with something that is not designed for heavy campers like an f150 or chevy/dodge 1500.
I got a weight distribution/sway setup on it already.
 

91stranger

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a good one? The old chain style don't work as good as newer solid bar style setups.
 

rusty ol ranger

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a good one? The old chain style don't work as good as newer solid bar style setups.
Nope mines actually got bars. I thought it was weird at first but it actually works pretty well.

225 bucks for the whole setup, including hitch, off craigslist back in 2013.

Also, i think the E350 idea is kinda dead now. I found specs and my idea wont work.

I was hoping i could cram 2 quads in the cargo area and hitch the camper on back. Weight wise everything woulda worked (ita been a load though) but even the super length is about a foot short.
 

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