F150 towing f-1

[tworanger]

In a couple months i will be needing to tow a 49 ford F-1 from washington to Kansas. The f150 is a 97, 4.6 v8, 3.55 gears, 4x4, extened cab. I will be using an 18' flatbed double axle trailer for the F-1. The F-1's bed is rusted out so that will stay in WA along with the fuel tank and stuff that we know will be replaced. The f150 is rated to tow 6600lbs and is in perfect condition with 65,000 miles. the final weight of the trailer will be near 5500-6000lbs. I have towed before but never this far with this much weight through the rockies. Is there anything I should beware of or does this sound like a safe setup?

PS if you know of any steep passes i should avoid between Bellingham WA and Kansas City that would be helpful

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I wouldn't flinch at it if it wasn't for the Rockies.

Having never towed in mountains I dunno, otherwise you would be fine.

 

[Chevelle Kid]

Install a trans temp gauge. Watch your temp and try not to cook your transmission.

 

[feellnfroggy]

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE BRAKES.!!!!! Trailer brakes, new truck breaks, clean rotors fluid all the above. The truck can physically handle things, but the 4.6 is fuggin weeeeaaaakkk. I would do the best I could to keep the bed empty and the weight just forward on the trailer, but as close to balanced as possibly if that makes sense.

 

[tworanger]

thanks for the advice everyone. The truck brakes are in perfect working order and the truck and trailer are set up for brakes. Apart from keeping the tranny out of overdrive and taking it easy on the hills are there any other secrets to keep things cool. The biggest hills we have here in WA that I have towed on are 3/4 mile @ 8% grade. The route i have planned through the hills are I90(snoqualmie pass) then i plan to head south through boise towards Salt Lake City but cutting off and taking I80 through southern WY. This seems the safest bet considering weather(early April) and pass elevations

 

[feellnfroggy]

Wyoming has some crazy trailer laws for commercial vehicles, i would check the laws for private vehicle too before taking that route.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Nothing really wrong with the 4.6, my brother has towed more than that with his '97 4.6 with 3.55's, like 3 big tight round bales (roughly 2k apiece) on a car trailer. Power wasn't a issue, that little thing was really pretty impressive.

But I do know the family conestoga ('94 Explorer loaded down with vacation stuff) was huffing and puffing in the mountains. It never was too hot before, but the altitude alone was a serious kick in the knees.

 

[igiveup]

Hello

Good trailer brake controler is a must, if you have time add a tranny cooler. On my 06 f150 4X4 with 4.6l I pull 4000-4500 lbs camping trailer in the summer. I have an Edge programmer and its set to watch my tranny temp. In the summer it was topping out at 190-200 in the mountains. I still need to install an extra tranny cooler to mine which I have sitting in my shed. If you can buy or borrow equalzer hitch for the trip it will help to keep the truck and trailer stable. Also before the trip you might want to check and adjust the brakes on the trailer. Mine the self adjuster was seized on one side. On the truck if you have rear drums you might want to check and adjust them also. Have a safe trip and take lots of pictures.

igiveup

 

[RangerDanger]

get a good tranny cooler installed. You should be fine other then that..

 

[tworanger]

As far as the tranny cooler goes is there a stock one? Not sure if the truck has the towing package but it looked like there were lines running up from tranny. haven't checked what they run into but i am guessing into one of the reservoirs on the radiator. If it has the towing package would it have a separate core for the tranny? I seems weird that with or without the towing package the trucks are rated to pull the same despite the difference in radiator/suspension/transmission cooler. how complicated would it be to add a transmission cooler, would it entail disconnecting the lines into the radiator and connecting them to their own core?

 

[igiveup]

Hello

If you can install a rad you can do a tranny cooler. Top line on rad should be the out on the transmission and the bottom should be return. Cut into the return and run it into the cooler then back to the return line.

igiveup

 

[tworanger]

In case anybody was wondering the trip went smoothly. I was really amazed at the stability of the setup, even at 65+ mph. We really couldn't fee it back there other than the slower acceleration. We averaged around 10.7 mpg for the trip with truck in tow, that includes the ethanol mileage drop. At every gas stop we had driven till the low fuel light came on, once 27 miles from the station and once 20' from the pump(we had an extra 5 gallons in a can). The 4.6 is a real work horse for it's size. At 8,000+ feet it pulled in third on some grades near Laramie and Cheyenne. The total length of the truck and trailer was 47' from front bumper to end of trailer. Thanks for all the advice members.

P.S. I'll try to load a pic of the setup on my profile

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

In case anybody was wondering the trip went smoothly. I was really amazed at the stability of the setup, even at 65+ mph. We really couldn't fee it back there other than the slower acceleration. We averaged around 10.7 mpg for the trip with truck in tow, that includes the ethanol mileage drop. At every gas stop we had driven till the low fuel light came on, once 27 miles from the station and once 20' from the pump(we had an extra 5 gallons in a can). The 4.6 is a real work horse for it's size. At 8,000+ feet it pulled in third on some grades near Laramie and Cheyenne. The total length of the truck and trailer was 47' from front bumper to end of trailer. Thanks for all the advice members.

P.S. I'll try to load a pic of the setup on my profile

They are a darn good engine that a lot of people underestimate.

 

[strvger]

glad to hear you had a safe and comfortable trip.

 

[tworanger]

sorry for the wait, but i finally got a picture loaded of the setup, taken on I80 in Wyoming