Bought a new F150 2004 Lariat Scab (5.4), 6.5' bed, 4x4, Nov.11 2004. The truck has the Ford tow package with a 3.73 regular axle. I have been paying people to haul my horse for the past 6 years, I finally have the machine to do it myself. Being new at towing, I have a few questions that will help me get started.
1.) Under the dash on the drivers side is a mounting plate, and a connector. Is this a good place to intstall the Prodigy Brake control?
2.) I was given at the time of sale a Ford brake control wiring set, do I need to order a, Tekonsha OEM wiring harness to fit my trucks connector and ford wiring harness ?
3.) Is it better to use the traditional bracket mount or the pocket mount?
4.) Trailer weight 2,300 lbs + 2 horses and gear 2,400 lbs=4,700 lbs, should I use a WD Hitch? Or is there another method I am not aware of.
5.) What is the approximate curb weight of my truck? has a 27gal fuel tank.
Please feel free to answer any or all of the questions,any information will be greatly appreciated.
By the way my truck has 2,500 miles on it , runs quiet and smooth, no problems...
6.) Almost forgot....the owners guide states, " not to drive towing a trailer the first 500 miles(have not towed yet) , and not to go over 50mph for the first 500 miles of towing, this style of driving will help the engine and other parts of your vehicle wear-in at the heavier loads." How did you guys do it, and how did it work out? Going 50mph on the highway could be a little dangerous, when the speed limit is 65 and most traffic is doing 75. On the other hand I sure do not want to damage my truck.
Cheers to all Ford Truck Owners

 

1) Yes - depending on your truck is set up (bench seats/captian chairs), putting it on the driver's right side/center of the truck may keep you from hitting your knee on it - mine is mounted on the left, but I have a split bench seat and didn't want center occupants tearing it up.

2) either. If you use the provided apapter, you have to connect the adapter to the controller's harness with wire nuts or crimp style connectors. This method allows you to more managment of wire length than the complete setup from Tekonsha. If you don't want to mess w/ connecting the narnesses together, get Tekonsha's harness for your truck

3) The pocket mount is designed for the small under the dash pcokets that Ford has (had?) on it's SuperDuties. It's not really designed for regular mounting under the dash.

4) Load 'em up and see how your truck handles it w/ a regular hitch. If you don't like how it's towing (or the back end is sagging too much) the nspend the extra $ on WD hitch.

5) My 00 F150 4x4 5.4L ORP Extended cab w/ 8' bed and 30 gallon tank weighs ~5600 lbs. I don't know how much more the new style weighs, but you can use this as a comparison

6) I don't think I towed anything w/ in the first 500 miles of driving w/ my truck, but 500 miles can burn away pretty quick. Take it easy on your accelearations and braking, and I think it will be just fine. I wouldn't worry about staying under 50 - do around the speed limit and you should be fine until your satisfied that you've broken in your truck well enough. Don't forget, you bought a FORD - it can take it!!!

 

Welcome to the world of towing! It's not too bad....... Here's my take on your questions.

1. Not sure. If you can reach the brake controller easily without having to look and you can engage the manual slide lever, then it's a good place. Also, if your knee does not hit it, that's a good thing too.

2. Either one will work. You'll have to splice in the Ford one to the Prodigy. If you order the Prodigy connector for your truck, it'll just plug into the truck and the controller without any splicing.

3. I personally like the pocket one, so that I can remove the controller when I don't need it.

4. IMO, you'll be right at the point where you could go either way. In general, if your truck is sagging a lot when you hitch up the trailer, then you should use the WD setup..... That'll help level out the rig. If it does not drop more then an inch or so, then you'll probably be ok.... Just know that your hitch is probably only rated for 500 lbs of tongue weight and 5000 lbs of total trailer weight if you just drop it on the hitch. With WD setup, you can go as much as 1000 tongue and 10000 trailer.... (of course, thats only what the HITCH would be rated for.... Your trucks ratings might be lower......)

5. Who cares???? Unless you have a totally stock truck (work truck) with zero options and you weigh #150, you won't have the same Curb Weight as what Ford lists..... Ford probably says your truck weighs #5000 or so...... But, if you have any options at all, that'll only add to your trucks actual weight. The only way to know what your truck weighs is to get it weighed.

6. Personally never owned a "brand new truck", so can't say for sure...... With 2500 miles on it, I'd say you are ok. You might want to take it easy the very first time you tow. As long as you vary your speeds for that first 500 miles of actual towing, you should be ok....... Just stay in the right lane and if people are going faster then you, they can use the left lane....... If you are on a one lane road, just pull over when you get some people behind you.... There is no reason for you to speed up and risk damage to your truck just to please some drivers behind you......

If they get pissed, that's their #$%(ing problem........ You drive at whatever speed makes you comfortable......

Good luck!

Mitch

 

Congrats on your new truck. I have mine since 1998. I do mostly light towing. I love it!
You can probably get by without the WD hitch, since your trailer is under 5,000 pounds. If you find that your truck is really sagging with the loaded trailer attached, you should use the WD set-up.
Your truck is probably around 5,000 pounds with a full tank and no passengers or cargo. My 2WD 4.6L Supercab is about 4,500 pounds. You should look for a public scale that is used to weigh commercial trucks. Weigh both the truck and the trailer to get a true answer.
The 50MPH limit set by Ford is a little conservative. Just take it slow and easy as you get up to highway speed. Stay in the right lane and go at the slower pace until you are used to the rig. Avoid hard acceleration and hard stops. This is what really tears up your truck. I would guess it is also very hard on the horses.
I cannot answer your brake control question. you might want to ask the service advisors at your selling dealer. You just bought a new truck, these guys want to earn your business. You can also ask a local trailer hitch dealer. I am not crazy about U-Haul. Their employees always seem pretty young and inexperienced to me. That is just my opinion. Maybe others feel differently.
Good luck and be safe. When in doubt, go slower not faster. Stopping and steering a 10,000# rig with live animals in it is a LOT different than driving your unloaded pick-up.

 

Does your trailer have one axle or two? If your trailer is a tandem axle then you shouldn't have an issue with the tongue weight and the WD hitch would be unneccessary. If it's a single axle trailer then you can just manage your load so that you have 350-450 lbs of tongue weight and you will be fine.

 

Okay...mine block here....

according to my spec book I can tow 7300lbs....with my 5.4l supercrew with 3.73 axle.

So does that mean I can tow a 7000 boat and trailer....or do I have to add in the wieght of my truck in...= 5000lbs...so I can only tow 3000lbs?

Mind lapse...I am sure I can tow 700lbs....right

 

Rinkrat,

When you see those "max tow rating" numbers, it does not include the trucks weight in them......

Now, what does include the trucks weight is the Gross Combined Weight Rating for your truck. It's probably in the #12500 range.

So, you need to take the ACTUAL weight of your truck and subtract it from that GCWR and that's how much you can really tow...... You will find that it's gonna be a little less then that #7300 figure that's in your book however........

The book rating is based on your trucks curb weight, which is nothing more then a zero optioned work truck. You add any additional options and payload and your "tow rating" number will go down accordingly.

In all reality, your truck would be able to tow just about anything you decided to hitch up to....... It's just that the heavier it is, the harder the truck has to work and the likely hood that you'll break something....

It's not like it's gonna break if you are a couple hundred pounds over, but it won't do it any good either.....

Good luck!

Mitch

 

uhm...hmmm....so..what was the answer???

So I was right in saying I can only pull 3800lbs then?

My truck weighs 5000lbs.....
My book says I can tow 7800lbs
My class 3 hitch says I can tow up to 5000lbs.


So what can I max tow?????

 

no.
Your truck can tow 7800 lbs. Your hitch can handle 5000 lbs. With your existing hitch your truck can tow 5000 lbs. With a better hitch your truck can pull 7800 lbs.

 

36fan, Mitch150, Redford150, RockyJSquirrel...Thanks for the information,and the sound advice.

 

Depends............... If you use WD, your hitch "should" be rated for 1000/10000.

Just because you found a max tow rating of #7800 does not mean that's what you can actually tow either......... If you read the small print on that tow rating claim, it also states that you can not exceed your trucks other weight ratings either...

Your truck has several other weight ratings.

GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) This is the max that the truck all by itself can weigh. "Most" 1/2 ton trucks are in the #6000 - #7000 range for this. If your truck weighs #5000 and your trucks GVWR is #6500, then you can add #1500 of payload to it. Payload is anything you add to the truck beyond it's scaled weight. People, beer, stuff, trailers tongue weight....

GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) This is the weight that each axle is rated for. If you notice, when you add the two of these togeter, it's more then the GVWR....... Well, that's just because you can never get an equal balance of weight front to rear, and you may at times have more weight up front or in the rear at any given time.....

GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating) This is the total weight that your truck AND your trailer can weigh. For "most" 1/2 ton trucks, this is usually #12000-#14000. If your truck has a GCWR of say #12500 and your truck weighs #5000, then you can tow about #7500......... Now here's the catch...... You also can't exceed your GVWR or any one GAWR either.............

For example, that #7500 trailer will have at least a #750 tongue weight. That gets added to the trucks weight... #5000 + #750 = #5750. Add in that extra passenger, that ice chest of beer, whatever else is in the bed that was not in there when you weighed and that all gets added to the trucks GVW. You'll soon find that you are approaching your trucks GVWR pretty fast....

In my case, my trailer only weighs #4500.... My book says I have a "tow rating" of #7700...... Ok, that's great, but my truck weighs about #5300 before anything is added to it! Add passengers (me and wife), some firewood, stuff in the back seat, and the bed and the trailers tongue weight and my truck weighs just a "tad" over it's GVWR of #6250....... So, since I've already reached just one of my other trucks limits, I'm done.... I can't really even add any more stuff to the truck as it is!

My trailers tongue weight is only about #550 too.... Heavier trailer, you'll have a heavier tongue weight, which will put more payload on your truck which will get you closer, if not over, your other ratings........

Now, this is all going by the book.......... Your truck can certinally handle a #7800 trailer.... Will you go up that 6% grade as fast or as easily as I can with a #4500???? I doubt it....... Will you be able to get up to 60 mph as fast as I can???? I doubt it......

Towing with any vehicle at it's max will reduce that vehicles performance. Staying a bit under is nice because in the real world, it's not all about math equations and such..... Which rig do you think will control the other if it gets out of control.... The #7800 trailer being towed by a #6000 truck or the other way around??

Sorry to get so long winded on this, but there is more to the picture then just a nice big tow rating in an owners manual......

Good luck!

Mitch