Truck / trailer questions

[GreensvilleJay]

well, he's put 1,000s of miles hauling it all over Canada and USA, zero probems.
I did figure he needed his head examined when he tubbed his pristine 32,000 miles '67 Cougar though.

 

[fried1765]

I'm going to assume the trailer might weigh 3000 at most. With a 4000 load on it, that makes 7000. I don't know of a 1/2 ton that wouldn't pull that just fine. Stop it too. Thing is, you are likely going to overload the rear axle of a 1/2 ton truck.
The problem is *what* you are towing. It's not a boat or camper where there is only 8- 15% of the trailer weight on the rear axle. You will probably be pulling the tractor onto the nose of the trailer to leave room for the mower. That adds a lot of tongue weight.

A tractor/mower combination can almost as easily be backed onto a trailer, if that will provide better weight distribution.
10% - 15% of total weight, should be tongue weight.
Not.....more,.... or less!

 

[fried1765]

I think your friend ought to have his head examined. A 33' travel trailer is way to large for a 1/2 ton whatever. That's a huge sail for a light weight pickup...in my opinion.

+1

 

[GreensvilleJay]

far less 'sail' than the empty 53'ers than flip over on the Skyway bridge waay too often....

 

[jyoutz]

far less 'sail' than the empty 53'ers than flip over on the Skyway bridge waay too often....

And far less weight and suspension in the truck.

 

[Fordtech86]

Thing is, you are likely going to overload the rear axle of a 1/2 ton truck.

I don’t mind…

 

[Bugzilla46310]

Traded my bought new 2016 F350 CCSB Lariat with the 6.2 and 4.3 rear end for a 2023 F350 CCLB Lariat with the 7.3 gas engine and 4.3 rear end. Would not go back to the 6.2. Note the 6.2 Ford is about as bulletproof as they are and towed well for the 75,000 miles I had it, but the 7.3 is much much better.

 

[Yotekiller]

Traded my bought new 2016 F350 CCSB Lariat with the 6.2 and 4.3 rear end for a 2023 F350 CCLB Lariat with the 7.3 gas engine and 4.3 rear end. Would not go back to the 6.2. Note the 6.2 Ford is about as bulletproof as they are and towed well for the 75,000 miles I had it, but the 7.3 is much much better.

We have a fleet of the 7.3 gassers here at the university that my BIL oversees. They are a pulling machine with tons of torque. It's still too early to determine if the 7.3 is as good, or better (reliability wise), than the 6.2 has been. The 6.2 will go down in history as one of the best engines ever made. And they were back with a very good tranny as well. If I was recommending a HD truck to someone today, I would recommend the 6.2 only because the verdict is still out on the 7.3. But with that said, the 7.3 is an old design which should prove to be very reliable.

 

[Sidekick]

I use my 2.3 Ranger for towing my 7k aluminium tractor / utv trailer and the 8k dump trailer I recently sold. Pretty amazing how nice it pulls for a sewing machine engine and how nice the integrated brake controller handles stopping. Feels about the same as my old Silverado 1500 with the 6.2 going down the road as far as handling. The 4 cylinder sure can suck gas with the turbo running thoug. I use a weight safe hitch to set the tongue weight on everything. Really surprised me how well it handles towing. Max is 7500 but I keep it below 6k and feel as safe as towing with my old 11k gross F350. Big difference is you don get pulled over for dot checks with passenger plates.

 

[dirtydeed]

Traded my bought new 2016 F350 CCSB Lariat with the 6.2 and 4.3 rear end for a 2023 F350 CCLB Lariat with the 7.3 gas engine and 4.3 rear end. Would not go back to the 6.2. Note the 6.2 Ford is about as bulletproof as they are and towed well for the 75,000 miles I had it, but the 7.3 is much much better.

I think the OP was referring to the GM 6.2L.

Regarding the Ford variant, drove one (brand new 2021 F350 cab/chassis dump) with 4:30 rear trying to pull a 3.5 ton mini-ex. That thing couldn't get out of its own way. Owner traded the truck with 200 miles on it (he wanted to drive it off a cliff as well). It was pathetically under powered.

here it is in all its' (non-) glory after it's first (and last) attempt at pulling a small mini.

I've heard good things about the 7.3 gasser and I think there is another ford 6.8 as well. Both are likely better options than the 6.2 in a cab/chassis.

My 6.4L hemi isn't much better but the 4:44 rear helps. If it had an 8 speed it would likely be better.

 

[mcmxi]

I like this thread given all of the good information. I'll be in the market for a new (or used) truck in around 2-1/2 years and it'll most likely be the last truck I buy. I'm thinking F450 or F550 SuperDuty. I want a beast of a diesel for towing. My old F250 7.3L does fairly well with 3.73 gears and a chip/programmer from DP-Tuner, but I'd like a lot more power for pulling loads over the many mountain passes we have in this neck of the woods.

Looking forward to seeing what @Fly5guy ends up with.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

so FT46, what's the real story about the busted diff in #46 ??

 

[Fordtech86]

so FT46, what's the real story about the busted diff in #46 ??

you think a customer gonna give us the real story?

if I remember right though, I think that was one of the rural garbage haulers, probably dragging an overloaded dump trailer. And that one is an 8.8, the others are 9.75s

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Whatever it was, I bet it took some talent.

 

[Fly5guy]

I'm going to assume the trailer might weigh 3000 at most. With a 4000 load on it, that makes 7000. I don't know of a 1/2 ton that wouldn't pull that just fine. Stop it too. Thing is, you are likely going to overload the rear axle of a 1/2 ton truck.
The problem is *what* you are towing. It's not a boat or camper where there is only 8- 15% of the trailer weight on the rear axle. You will probably be pulling the tractor onto the nose of the trailer to leave room for the mower. That adds a lot of tongue weight.

I had noted that in my post as well and was curious to others experiences. My tractor with the cutter is pretty darn long. There is for surely going to be some weight on the hitch. I guess it just depends how far back I can keep the tractor to be over the axles of the trailer.

 

[js312]

I tow ~6000 lbs quite a bit in the fall. I get wood pellets for myself, a friend, and sometimes my mom - two tons at a time on my 16' Big Tex car hauler (no dovetail so it works okay with a forklift loading pallets). All the kinds I like are from places too far away to deliver.

I'm on my third F-150. The EcoBoost engines are incredible for moderate towing. They make so much power low in the rev band that I can keep it under 2500 RPM even on long steep hills when towing. People say they get worse mileage when towing than a V8 does, but I haven't see a substantial difference when comparing with friends with Silverados or another friend with a 5.0 F-150.

I currently have a F-150 PowerBoost and have only had the tractor and trailer behind it so far (~4000 lbs). I can't wait to try it out with more since this truck has a substantial power bump over my last one - 570 lb ft of torque.

I've had ~10,000 lbs behind my last F-150 and while power wasn't an issue, it just felt like a lot of trailer for the truck and isn't something I'd want to do often. I had similar experiences with a friend and his Silverado 1500 on a long distance ~9500 lb tow. For regular towing under 7500 lbs, though, I think a 1/2 ton is ideal.

In Ford world, you can often get a similarly optioned F-250 for less than an F-150. I considered that at one point, but my truck is also my daily driver and I don't want the burden or fuel economy of a larger vehicle everywhere.

 

[lmpres]

I tow ~6000 lbs quite a bit in the fall. I get wood pellets for myself, a friend, and sometimes my mom - two tons at a time on my 16' Big Tex car hauler (no dovetail so it works okay with a forklift loading pallets). All the kinds I like are from places too far away to deliver.

I'm on my third F-150. The EcoBoost engines are incredible for moderate towing. They make so much power low in the rev band that I can keep it under 2500 RPM even on long steep hills when towing. People say they get worse mileage when towing than a V8 does, but I haven't see a substantial difference when comparing with friends with Silverados or another friend with a 5.0 F-150.

I currently have a F-150 PowerBoost and have only had the tractor and trailer behind it so far (~4000 lbs). I can't wait to try it out with more since this truck has a substantial power bump over my last one - 570 lb ft of torque.

I've had ~10,000 lbs behind my last F-150 and while power wasn't an issue, it just felt like a lot of trailer for the truck and isn't something I'd want to do often. I had similar experiences with a friend and his Silverado 1500 on a long distance ~9500 lb tow. For regular towing under 7500 lbs, though, I think a 1/2 ton is ideal.

In Ford world, you can often get a similarly optioned F-250 for less than an F-150. I considered that at one point, but my truck is also my daily driver and I don't want the burden or fuel economy of a larger vehicle everywhere.

I currently tow my LX2610 with attachments on a Big Tex 10ET buy a Ford F350 diesel dually. Obviously pulls great. But the only reason I have that truck is I also pull a 5th wheel. I am currently selling the 5th wheel and as soon as it goes, I'll be downsizing the truck for a F150 with a tow package equipped with an electric controller for the brakes. In my opinion you'll be fine as long as you have this.

 

[dirtydeed]

I think that just about all 1/2 ton pickups these days (can't speak for the foreign made variants) do a reasonable job in towing duties. They all have much more powerful engines, better transmissions and effective braking to manage trailers. Those that offer trailer tow/haul modes do a pretty good job with engine braking...even the gassers. The extra premium for the towing package on any newer pickup is worth it, to me anyway.

 

[The Evil Twin]

I don’t mind…

View attachment 126854 View attachment 126856 View attachment 126857 View attachment 126858

Give me your tired, your poor, your mangled spider gears yearning to breathe free….

 

[The Evil Twin]

A tractor/mower combination can almost as easily be backed onto a trailer, if that will provide better weight distribution.
10% - 15% of total weight, should be tongue weight.
Not.....more,.... or less!

Only if the trailer is long enough to back the unit up far enough to get enough weight on the tongue.
I’ll disagree with the standard 10-15%. Lots of experience towing many different things. Bumper and 5er. Boats tend to be much lighter up front. 8% is not uncommon. Toy haulers tend to be nose heavy. My current one is 16% loaded for racing and 19% for just camping.