I'm considering buying a used 2006 XL 4.6L with about 96k miles on it. My family is moving across the country from California to Virginia and I'd like to tow my little 2000 Toyota Celica GTS. The car weighs about 2,500lbs. We also plan to buy a shell and load the truck all the way up. My concern is will the 4.6 be able to handle this? I don't want to buy a truck and kill it on the first go. I can't find a good deal on a 5.4 right now, so this is really our best option in terms of price and availability. After this trip we likely won't be towing much, if at all, so the 4.6 should be sufficient. I'd mainly like to use it for a daily driver and some offroading from time to time.

Do you think I should be fine with the 4.6?

 

yep. roads will be mainly flat. load it up and go. if you were worried about it, id spend the coin on a tuner like an edge, or gryphon, that way you can monitor your tranny temp. drive with the od off till you get to 65+ mph, then turn it back on. if the tranny temps get hot, then take it out of od, then it will let the converter lock up in 3rd, and it will cool down.

other than that just check all the fluids before hand, id probably put 35-40 psi in the tires to help you out with rolling resistance, and go for it.

 

The roads will be mainly flat until you hit Tennessee and Southwest VA but that is only if you take say I40 across the northern part of AZ and Texas not sure which way you are planning to go but you should be fine.

 

IMHO a fully loaded F150 with a 4.6 is severely underpowered.

I have a friend with a 4.6 who says even unloaded it is a slug.

I have a 5.4 with 4.10 gears and I have had 5K on the trailer and the truck didn't even know it was back there.

I would think long and hard about getting the 4.6.

 

the 4.6 is kinda sluggish, it downshifts at the slightest wind resistance or hill, but ive pulled my dads boat with his 4.6, it does okay. id much rather you take the trip with a 5.4 truck, but a 4.6 will do. not like they havent been subject that kind of abuse before

 

Putting a shell on it and loading the bed up is going to seriously cut into your payload capacity. You are going to exceed GVWR ratings long before you have a trailer that's too heavy to tow with ANY engine, even a 4.2.

 

How much do these shells usually weigh? We're not putting anything seriously heavy in it, maybe a dresser and a bunch of clothing and kitchenware.

 

I'd say it would do the job, a 5.4 I'm sure would be better, but if you can't find a deal on one, go for it. I haven't messed with a shell on any truck yet, but I've towed much more weight through the mountains and my truck has a 4.6 and 3.55 gears. It won't be a hot rod, but she'll do the job and the 4.6 is a good, sound engine. Nobody should contest the 4.6s reliability, even after miles of abuse, she's just not a powerhouse.

Trucks are tools, not race cars. Remember that, and you'll be good to go

Edit: If you did decide to drop a little coin, a good tuner (as fivespeedsteed mentioned) is a wise investment. I'm still working with the boxed settings on my Edge Evo, and I can say I'm happy with the bit of added power and the information display is well worth it!

 

using a 1/2 pickup for this kind of work isn't necessarily ideal, but as long as you have a V8 (4.6 or 5.4) you'll get where you're going, barring any other major problems that a truck with 96K on the ticker could have.

 

You should be ok with that, just be careful and monitor the temps. The car isn't really going to be that bad, but if you are towing a car with the bed filled up to its weight capacity, then its gonna have to run pretty hard. For a little more than the price of a camper shell, you could rent a uhaul truck to pack all of your stuff in and tow the car with, and then find a truck when you get to Virginia.

 

I moved my daughter and son in law from Knoxville, TN. to Wilmington N.C. about 3 times . He was in marines and moved each time he was deployed . I pulled his ranger on dolly 2 times with my old screw. Had 4.6 and level kit and 33 s. I did not have any problems at all . Just remember you will hit a lot of hills.

 

If your whole family is moving why not have the wife drive the car?

 

I just made this trip twice and the roads from California to wyomming are not flat by any means. Plus with the thin air at those altitudes it tough on an engine. I have the 5.4L and it was sluggish unloaded going through the mountains in Utah. But I took interstate 80. However after Utah, the roads are extremely flat. But once you hit west Virginia the become hilly again. I would get a truck with the heavy duty payload package with Atleast 3.73 gears. Btw which part of va are you moving to?

 

The whole family is moving and it would be much cheaper just to tow the car rather than spend gas on two vehicles. We're considering taking the 40 up through Oklahoma.

We agreed on a price and decided to buy the vehicle. We really couldn't come anywhere near this price for another F150, be it 4.6L or 5.4L. We're getting it for $8500.

Thank you everybody for your input. It's been very helpful.

 

clearly you haven't towed with a 4.6 before


I'm going to assume it has 3.31 or 3.55 gears, so you'll be in 3rd gear majority of the tow