Author Topic: Ford truck for towing  (Read 7038 times)

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Rory428

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #15 on: May 17, 2019, 11:59:25 PM »
Bob, will you be towing an open or enclosed trailer? A F150 can be optioned to tow as much as my 99 F350 Dually is rated for, but I personally prefer the extra stability the heavier truck offers, especially if an emergency situation arises. My old 74 F350 ramp truck with a 390 4 speed served me well for 26 years, I always feared a high speed panic stop, since all the weight was on 2 axles. My 99 F350 has  large 4 wheel disc brakes, and with the added braking the 4 wheel trailer brakes provide, despite the extra 5000 pounds, the Dually/trailer combo stops much better. With a light duty truck, I would be concerned that the heavy trailer could push the truck around if a problem arose. If you don`t already have a truck, and had a budget in mind, I would rather have an older F350, or at least a 250, over a F150. I really like the dual rear wheels for stability in a crosswind too.  Although I seldom use the 99 F350 empty, the V10, 5 speed 3.73 gear combo has given 15 MPG on the highway, with the 9000 box behind, usually drops to 8 -8 1/2 MPG, but since I normally only put about 2500 miles a year on that truck, its much easier to pay more for gas than to have truck payments.
1978 Fairmont,FE 427 with 428 crank, 4 speed Jerico best of 9.972@132.54MPH 1.29 60 foot
1985 Mustang HB 331 SB Ford, 4 speed Jerico, best of 10.29@128 MPH 1.40 60 foot.
1974 F350 race car hauler 390 NP435 4 speed
1959 Ford Meteor 2 dr sedan. 428 Cobra Jet, 4 speed Toploader. 12.54@ 108 MPH

Russ67Scode

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #16 on: May 20, 2019, 02:57:33 PM »
I have a 97 F-250 with every thing Banks makes for it.  One cylinder not working well pulling a enclosed trailer and a mustang @ 70 mph + got mid  12’s for gas mileage lean on it just a little rolls right up those big mountains
Just bought the same truck but a 350 dually
BP 520 ci BBM Twin turbo FAST EFI

Falcon67

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #17 on: May 20, 2019, 04:54:51 PM »
Having towed a regular height box with the F-150, any of the nicer taller boxes will put the tail section of the F-150 to the test.  DRW is the way to go with any larger box if you can swing it. 

bsprowl

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #18 on: May 20, 2019, 10:21:15 PM »
I realize that a box trailer will need a larger truck.  I do not intend to tow a large box trailer. 

I'm seriously considering a fully loaded 2013 F-150 Super Duty SuperCab
4x4 with 3.5 Echo boost.  It has 105,000 miles, but the price is half of the price the original sticker price and includes a bumper to bumper warranty good for 5 years or to 180,000 total miles. 

HarleyJack17

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #19 on: May 21, 2019, 10:09:33 AM »
They will do a 5 yr. 75k mile warranty on a 105,000 mile truck? No way they would do that circa 2005 when I was selling cars.  Once something hit 100,000 no major warranty company would touch it.  Better be safe and confirm that it is legit and a quality warranty company...it is very possible they do it these days since they will do a lot more to sell cars and the entire market has changed since 2005...but in my opinion it would be wise to confirm, best to be safe instead of sorry.  The ecoboost is a good choice but I do not know anything about their durability other than what Ford puts out.  Good luck.

Falcon67

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #20 on: May 21, 2019, 11:04:51 AM »
X2 - Ford ESP or nothing IMHO.  We added $1600 worth of ESP to the 2017 Escape we bought used.  5 more years, 100K.  It's an ecoboost unit also.  My 2004 F-150 Super Crew is well out of warranty but paying to have it fixed is way cheaper than a replacement truck.  Gas engine stuff will be bad to fix out of pocket but not bear as bad as a diesel. 

All that said, a 3000~4000 lb car on a good quality 18' steel bed trailer with trailer brakes and a built in controller will pull just fine behind any decent F-150.  Just watch your tongue weight.  It would not hurt to run upgraded rear shocks and at least something like a Curt load leveler 10K hitch.  They are less than $400 on e-trailer.  You can't be too safe with a load on the tail IMHO. 
« Last Edit: May 21, 2019, 11:08:02 AM by Falcon67 »

Rory428

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #21 on: May 21, 2019, 12:24:07 PM »
I know the Ford Ecoboost engines have been around several years now, but does anybody know how they hold up over the long run? I tend to keep my vehicles a while, I have owned my Fairmont drag car for 33 years, and owned my 74 F350 for 26 years, so long term reliability is more important to somebody like me, than somebody who changes vehicles every 3 or 4 years. I know Ford really pushes the Ecoboost, but I personally just feel a heavier truck with a large engine is not working anywhere near as hard as a tiny turbocharged engine in a light truck would. Maybe I am just a dynosaur stuck in my "old school" mind set. Last race, a buddy showed up, towing his Pinto on an open trailer, behind a newer F150 with a 2.7 Ecoboost, and said it tows the trailer just fine. That said, he only lives 1/2 hour from the track, and has no hills in between.
1978 Fairmont,FE 427 with 428 crank, 4 speed Jerico best of 9.972@132.54MPH 1.29 60 foot
1985 Mustang HB 331 SB Ford, 4 speed Jerico, best of 10.29@128 MPH 1.40 60 foot.
1974 F350 race car hauler 390 NP435 4 speed
1959 Ford Meteor 2 dr sedan. 428 Cobra Jet, 4 speed Toploader. 12.54@ 108 MPH

cjshaker

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #22 on: May 21, 2019, 04:37:57 PM »
I know the Ford Ecoboost engines have been around several years now, but does anybody know how they hold up over the long run?

The only real issue I've heard of is oil contamination in the intake ports, causing sludged valves and ports, spark plug fouling and combustion chamber fouling issues. Ford blames it on oil getting past the PCV system, but to me the reason is a bit more obvious; you're taking a small engine, putting healthy amounts of boost to it and basically running the crap out of them under heavy loads (small engine, heavy truck). Yeah, it's gonna blow past the rings and overwhelm the PCV system. A good catch-can or similar oil separator is the only known 'cure' that I know of.

Engine 'repairing' is becoming less and less of a thing. Now they tend to just tell people that they need replaced. And as complicated as engines are now, and given labor rates, that can often be the cheapest route. It's different if it's under warranty; replacing them seems to be the last option then. Yeah, irony.

I'll keep my old truck, thank you!
Doug Smith


'69 R-code Mach 1, 427 MR, 2x4, Jerico, 4.30 Locker
'70 F-350 390
'55 Ford Customline 2dr
'37 Ford Coupe

RustyCrankshaft

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #23 on: May 21, 2019, 06:37:30 PM »
Is the V6 a dual injector engine yet? The DI only engines have a lot more trouble, even NA, with intake/valves sludging up than the DI & port injected engines.

I'm waiting for people to start crashing 2020's with the new 7.3 in it. I wouldn't mind swapping that into an older truck. By appearances only it seems like it'll be a solid platform to build from. But hard to say since they're not even in full production yet.

cammerfe

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #24 on: May 21, 2019, 07:56:30 PM »
In '07 I started racing ECTA in North Carolina. The first two times we went---they were racing once a month---we drove the car. Coming home on the second trip, the discussion turned to, "What if we were to blow the engine---it's 760 miles from the race to home." There was an open trailer available, half-owned by my friend and another friend had a good F-350 available.

About a week before the third race weekend, we found that there had been a change in plans, and the truck wouldn't be available. My partner/Crew Chief simply went out and treated himself to a new F-150. It worked just fine and on the second trip with it, we decided to take an alternate route. We ended up in some very up-'n'-down terrain in West Virginia. The 150, complete with the base V-8 worked just fine. The car weighs something above 4K pounds and we had a few things in the truck bed. Add the weight of the open trailer and you have a significant load for a base 150 but it worked great. We got about 12 MPG as I remember.

The hills we encountered were substantial enough to have a run-off at the end of every downgrade---with a big pile of sand not far beyond. And there was some evidence that they got used every once in a while. Not long ago, Tom, my CC, traded that 150 in on a new one. It had held up very well, but there were some items that had grown weary and needed to be replaced. It had about 160 K miles on it at the time.

KS

bsprowl

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #25 on: May 21, 2019, 10:55:49 PM »
That 75,000 warranty was at a Ford dealership.

I went a different direction got a 2000 F-250 extended cab with a 5.4 for $1800.  My needs changed, I won't be doing more that local towing for the next two or three years.

Thanks for all of the information.

Bob
 

chris401

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #26 on: May 22, 2019, 10:10:31 PM »
That 75,000 warranty was at a Ford dealership.

I went a different direction got a 2000 F-250 extended cab with a 5.4 for $1800.  My needs changed, I won't be doing more that local towing for the next two or three years.

Thanks for all of the information.

Bob
 
Either the first years of the 2 valve or first years of the 3 valve had an issue with noisy camfollowers. The only ones I saw were under warranty so I would think the fix worked. I am partial to Rislone in everything late model we have owned. Keeps the oil clean and the deposits from sludging up. Keeps the timing chain tensioners clean and working.

Falcon67

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #27 on: May 23, 2019, 08:21:07 AM »
I have occasional "rattle" at cold start but I have changed oil inside the required mileage for the life of the truck.  So far, so good.  I'm waiting on pricing of the 2020 Super Duty with the 7.3L gas.  Pretty sure I can't afford one, but still - it would be ideal for what we pull.

e philpott

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #28 on: May 23, 2019, 08:44:30 AM »
I know the Ford Ecoboost engines have been around several years now, but does anybody know how they hold up over the long run? I tend to keep my vehicles a while, I have owned my Fairmont drag car for 33 years, and owned my 74 F350 for 26 years, so long term reliability is more important to somebody like me, than somebody who changes vehicles every 3 or 4 years. I know Ford really pushes the Ecoboost, but I personally just feel a heavier truck with a large engine is not working anywhere near as hard as a tiny turbocharged engine in a light truck would. Maybe I am just a dynosaur stuck in my "old school" mind set. Last race, a buddy showed up, towing his Pinto on an open trailer, behind a newer F150 with a 2.7 Ecoboost, and said it tows the trailer just fine. That said, he only lives 1/2 hour from the track, and has no hills in between.

The Ecoboost seems to be pretty good . the early ones need a Timimg Chain update and will throw cam timing out of synch codes when they are ready or somewhere around 100K mark .  the water pump is drivien by the Timing Chain so there will be NO roadside water pump jobs , doing a water pump is roughly the same as replacing the timing chain and a big job otherwise they are pretty good

mike7570

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Re: Ford truck for towing
« Reply #29 on: May 23, 2019, 11:15:44 AM »
That 75,000 warranty was at a Ford dealership.

I went a different direction got a 2000 F-250 extended cab with a 5.4 for $1800.  My needs changed, I won't be doing more that local towing for the next two or three years.

Thanks for all of the information.

Bob
 

Best truck and tow vehicle I ever owned was my 2000 F-250 extended cab long bed 7.5 powerstroke diesel 5spd manual. It got 20mpg around town and about 19mpg on the freeway. Loaded with my big Lance camper trailer and race car it still got 14mpg and it would pull a house down in 1st gear.  it could be left on cruise control going up grades fully loaded.
Whish I still had it.