towing question...

[rusty ol ranger]

I'm towing my 2012 travel trailer with a 77 F250 and here's my question...

The trailer weighs just under 7000 fully loaded. The truck handles it good (400/C6) but when I hit a hill it defently makes it work.

Right now the truck has 3.07 gears and I'm thinking that may be the main issue...but would a lower gear help at 55 starting up a hill? From a dead stop I have plenty....

Or is it because I'm catching so much wind with the huge frontal area? I can pull it into 2nd manually and hold 50 pretty easy...will this hurt anything?

 

[Mac]

Probably a combonation of both. I'd sure go for a lower gear. We had a '78' with the same motor/trans, unknown gear ratio, but with the towing package. It handled the 18 ft stock trailer with 5-7 horses in it on long trips with no problems even in hills. In flat land we came across the scales at 15K lbs once loaded with hay. Then it strained a bit.
Dave

 

[Will]

Just doesn't have much horsepower. I'm sure the truck handles it fine, but that 400 came with 170hp and the speed limit was 55. It takes about 50% more power to pull that trailer at 70mph compared to 50mph. With 250hp, you could do the speed limit no problem.

To see an old truck out there doing it is good enough. It's from a different time. Just drive 50.

Edit--a downshift on the C6 is an increase of about 60% torque. Driving in 2nd is about like having 4.88 gears and driving in 3rd.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

So pulling it into second manually at 50 or so won't hurt anything? I can floor it and it kicks down but as soon. As I let off it goes right back into 3rd. ..and if I let it downshift when it loses speed I'm down to 30 or so and need 1st . The hills is the only place I have trouble....on flat ground I can run 55-60 all day long

 

[AllanD]

I used to have an '82 F250 with a 400/C6/ 3.0spmething gears and it was awful.

particularly with the 36" tires I had on it.... the 4.10's I swapped in were "just right"

You might not want as much gear if you have smaller rubber

Frankly I'm not a fan of the 400 engine and was all set up to swap
in a 460 when I decided the truck just wasn't worth the effort.

I still have the 460 engine sitting in my garage, but that 82 F-250 has
been gone for 15-ish years... frankly I don't miss it.

For a while I had a 4.9 powered '95 F-150 which originally came with 3.08's
(those just had to go and I regeared it to 3.55's) and that F150 would run rings
around the F250. the actual power and torque from the 400 engine was rather disappointing.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Dad's '80 F-350 was a beast for a tow pig in her prime, T-18, 4.10's and 235/85-16 tires and nothing could stop it aside from a gas station. It sang right along with two 4500lb tractors on his triple axle gooseneck. The farmer that had it before hauled livestock all over the country with it.

Only real complaint was its lack of an OD limited it to a flank speed of about 55mph and it is very thirsty. When the main fuel take developed a leak and was sitting beside the shop to be fixed and someone ran off with it didn't help anything so now it only has the little rear tank which really hurt its range.

Now if you put a new clutch, engine (which would be its third), cab, fuel tank and box on it she could be a contender once again.

The third time around the odometer has not been kind...

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Mines just got stock tires. I guess I'll just deal with it for the 4 or 5 times a year I pull it. If I get ambitious though a set of 3.73s might find its way under there.

 

[Will]

Yeah, just deal with it. As long as you know the limitations. I know you have a professional drivers license, so there it is. A lot of people think you can hook something like that up and just stomp it and go like usual.

My brother-in-law was riding with me in my pickup the other day and we have my tri-axle gooseneck and my track loader on it and he doesn't own anything more powerful than a Honda CR-V but he's saying "It's working, isn't it?" Derisively.

Yeah, it's working. You have no idea that this weighs more than a huge fiver camping trailer...

Anyway, if it does the job, don't worry about it. Use whatever gear you need to.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

What I love is how people always pull right out in front of you when they see you coming with something large in tow.....then get pissed off when you almost nail there dumb ass. I seriously think that drivers end classes should incorporate some sort of lesson on what towing large trailers is like.

On a side note...the 3.07s are nice the rest of the time...getting almost 14mpg out of a truck like that and being able to keep up with others on the interstate is nice ....

One more question though....am I giving my tranny (C6) a death sentence with those gears and that load? I have a huge cooler and it shifts really well under that load....

 

[Will]

I like the C6. Very strong tranny also used in U-Haul trucks. In my opinion the TH-400 is better, but that's because the TH-400 has a better shift scheme that makes it smoother and less abrupt with less shock during shifts. As far as just holding a load, the C6 is great. It doesn't have a lock-up converter so there is going to be a lot of heat when you are under heavy load.

My advice is to use your instincts. When you are driving anything, you can feel how much the engine is loaded. If you push the pedal down and it can't accelerate, you're in the wrong gear. Whatever gear you are in, on whatever you are driving, you have to have something under your foot. If you don't, you are making heat. The main enemy of your tranny is the torque converter. Whenever the engine needs to make torque--shit runs downhill. The engine under heavy load makes the converter flash up. That makes heat and kills the tranny. Lower gears are better because the engine has to work less. With only 3 gears, you might be better off in second a lot.

Doesn't say anything about the truck--it was built in a different era. That's why I added a Gear Vendors and turbocharger to my old truck. I like that 400 a lot. I like the C6 a lot. They were built in a different era.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Hmm...well like I said on flat ground I'm fine in 3rd and even on smaller hills. Just steeper hills I use second.

I wish the wife didn't hate my dually so much. With the worked over 400, T18 and 4.30 gears that monster would rip the camper right off its axles

 

[bobbywalter]

Hmm...well like I said on flat ground I'm fine in 3rd and even on smaller hills. Just steeper hills I use second.

I wish the wife didn't hate my dually so much. With the worked over 400, T18 and 4.30 gears that monster would rip the camper right off its axles

man it would suk running 3k rpm on a 400 to go 60 mph.

that thing needs 5 speed or an e40d.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Its defintaly noisy especially with the headers and cherry bombs. I ran it up to 75 once on the interstate, and it was hard to keep in a straight line and sounded like it was going to scatter engine parts into the next county. I promptly laid off

The 77 on the other hand with 3.07s would defintaly carry it much faster then the suspension or brakes would ever handle. I had it up to 85 passing someone on 94 who decided they didn't want me in front of them...I laid off but it still had plently left.

My old LTD II with 2.50s won't even hit 3rd till 90.

 

[Will]

My parents had a '77 LTD II with a 351M and 2.50s. It wouldn't hit 90 in any gear. I tried to top it out on prom night but never got it past the 85mph dial. My '74 Bonneville, on the other hand, would hit its 120mph mark and hold it for the ride from Boone to Ames. It would be so hot after that run that the valves would be rattling, but it got right again after it cooled off some.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Mine is a Windsor....it always ran pretty healthy. I have no idea where it would actually top out...all I know is I ran out of balls long before the car ever did.