I am looking at purchasing a 26' boat in the near future. The problem I am having is the boat is 10,864#'s. This includes the trailer,boat,84 gallons of fuel, 20 gallons of H2O and gear ect.. I realize that I could tow with less fuel and no H2O but this would still leave me towing around 10000#'s. I own a 04' F150 Lariat 5.4L 4x4 supercrew w/the tow pkg. I am located in Columbus,Ohio. I plan on trailering it to lake Erie3-5 times each summer,which is about a 260mi round trip. I also plan on trailering it to lake Cumberland once a summer.This is about a 6hr trip to SE Kentucky. This will be a hilly trip and there will be some mountain driving included. The boat would be on a triaxle trailer w/surge brakes for each axle. It is difficult to determine in the owners manual if this truck is capable of performing such a task. As you can tell, I am a rookie at towing. Any and all advice is welcome!

 

Well you are rated to tow 9,200 pounds that is what Ford rates a 04 F-150 supercrew 5.4L 4x4.

I would say you will be good to 10,000 pounds. I would put some load leveling bags on the rear and make sure your hitch/trailor has the Weight distirbution. You will have to pull with overdrive off. I would also try to get some extra horsepower out of it. Get a chip that is enhanced for towing. You will need some torque getting that thing rolling.

Might also suggest seeing if you can find some 4.10 gears for it to switch your's out.

Or see if your dealer will let you trade up to a F-250.

 

There's no way I would try it. I have a 23' boat that weighs in @ 6100# and I towed it with a 95 F-150 SC 5.8, Superchip, K&N FIPK, headers, Bassani y-pipe, Gibson cat-back and air bags. It didn't do bad at all but it struggled a bit on the hills. I found the air bags didn't really help. They raised the back of the truck fine for leveling, but what I also needed was more weight transfered up front, such as what a weight distributing hitch would do.

Last Fall I bought a 2003 F-250 CC V-10 and the difference was night and day. Until you feel the difference you can't imagine the it. It handles the towed load SO much better and just feels like your more in control. The frame feels stiffer and doesn't twist and flex. Besides the stonger frame you'll have bigger brakes, larger mirrors that extend out ly help. They raised the back of the truck fine for leveling, but what I also needed was more weight transfered up front, such as what a weight distributing hitch would do.

Last Fall I bought a 2003 F-250 CC V-10 and the difference was night and day. Until you feel the difference you can't imagine the it. It handles the towed load SO much better and just feels like your more in control. The frame feels stiffer and doesn't twist and flex. Besides the stonger frame you'll have bigger brakes, larger mirrors that extend out (very nice). All I can say is I was very surprised at how much better this truck is in EVERY way at towing and remember that was only at 6100#. Your talking about ALMOST 11,000 POUNDS!! You need to think Super Duty.

Just my .02.

 

Your truck has a GCWR of #15000. That's pretty good for basically a "1/2 ton" truck......

Few other things to consider.....

At best, your truck will probably be pretty close to it's GVWR when it's all loaded up and such. That's #7200. Again, that's pretty good for a "1/2 ton" truck.....

That puts your actual GCW at around #17000 or more.

Another thing to consider is that your hitch is probably only rated for 500/5000 in a class 3 setup. Class 3 is when you just plunk the tongue on the hitch and go. At best, your hitch is probably rated for 1000/10000 in a class 4 setup. Class 4 is the use of a weight distribution setup.

Consider that you'll have over #10000 strapped to your butt too. Your 'butt' is only going to weigh #7000..... Doing the math, it seems you'll have a "tail wagging the dog" situation. I'll bet you also only have "P" rated tires on the truck.... Not going to help IMO.....

Yes, the truck will move that boat..... How well it handles and how long it lasts is going to be the question.... My answer would be "not very well" for both.....

I'd say that if you were just going 50 miles or so, go for it..... The trips you have planned will put you on the road for quite a bit of time..... Lots of time for all sorts of things to occur. Heck, even the 50 miles would be bad enough..... Get one car that cuts you off or has to slam on it's brakes in front of you and you'll have #10000 of mass pushing your #7000 of truck where ever it wants it to.... Does not matter if it has surge brakes on all three axles......

Good luck!

Mitch

 

Let's cut to the chase, David you have lost your mind.

A 26 foot, 5 ton boat belongs in a marina NOT in the rearview mirror of your truck.

Either keep it in the water or get a smaller boat.
I will not approve, condone or allow anything else.

Don't give me that look young man!

 

Well speaking from somebody who does nearly that on a weekly basis is the summer I will offer my advice. I tow a Four Winns 268 Vista which is about identical to what you describe. Your truck will tow it as I have said many a time before and I think you will be fine but take a few things into consideration. I would take it slow and drive like you are on snow....by that I mean give yourself plenty of room to stop/turn and the like. An easy way to lose a lot of weight would be to not tow it with a full tank of gas and water, 105 gallons adds a lot, as well as it sloshing around inside there with the momentum, you can feel that. I always will up the boat at a gas station close to wherever I put it in and fill the water take once I have launched it.

As far as the power, you wont set any speed records but it will go. I also use an 89 f-350 with the 6.2 to pull it and it seems to be just about equal to my 04. If you have any more specific questions e-mail me or post here and I will respond.

 

One more thing, if you are a "Rookie" at towing give it lots of practice before you journey on. even just with manuvering the trailer without the boat if you can, it will make it a lot easier, get you used to the trailer and help you at launch time. Also practice with the boat to get used to the weight.

 

I know a guy who towed a 60' house trailer with a 4x4 Dodge truck. It was only down the street, maybe a few miles. Did it do it ? Yes. Was it safe ? No. Was it over the limits set by the manufactor ? yes. Did it hurt the truck ? who knows. Question is, do you want to take a chance ? If you do get into a wreck and hurt someone, Is there any doubt in your mind the Insurance company will sail you down the river and the people will sue the pants off you. Thats another chance I wouldnt be willing to take. Our house is 1 mile from the boat landing on Lake Murray. I might take that chance. But, I certainly wouldnt take the chance towing many miles, up and down hills, expecially if you are a rookie tower. I used to work for U-haul. I pulled all kinds of trailers with various trucks. I can tow with the best of them, but this tow would scare me. Talk about a white knuckle ride.

 

The rule of thumb I read of 80% of tow rating is considered practical safe limits, not 125%.

Your GCWR is 14500 pounds with tow limit of 8700 pounds because of the Lariat's 18" wheels.

You need to either choose a different boat or a different truck.

 

The Ford dealer is saying I should be alright. They said DO NOT ad the power chip. They are saying I may want to look into adding a set of springs to the rear end if the truck squats to much. They are also saying that the engineers at Ford over engineer these trucks by about 10%. The Ford dealer also said that I should be ok with the horse power that this truck has. I've also been told that I can get an extra 10-15hp and that I can adjust the transmission with a computer program. What do you think?

 

Tell the Ford dealer to put it in writing.

Did this spokesman for the 'Ford dealer' have his cap on backwards and a rag sticking out of his back pocket?

 

Ha-Ha, now thats funny. I wonder if the guy at the Ford dealer was the janitor. Yeah, put it in writing....I bet he wont. Sometimes I wonder if these people at the Ford dealer worked at Burger King the week before. It's amazing.

 

I would agree you need MORE truck or LESS Boat. I would want at least an F250 and an F350 would be even better.

I know you CAN tow it with the F150, but you are gonna put some real wear and tear on that truck's chassis not to mention the engine.

I'd want a PSD if I was gonna tow that much that often.

 

An F-150 will move that mcuh weight, but it not designed for 2000 pounds over tow limt. Even if that dealer was telling the truth, 10% over 8600 pounds is only 9460. You're probably 3000 pounds over GCWR with Lariat equipment and passengers, like Mitch said.

But, go for it. Natural selection, you know.

 

If you have a family and a second vehicle, why not have them drive seperately. Just make sure they are following you and not in front of you. Then their weight wouldn't be included in the total and the second vehicle could carry some gear too.

Besides, there needs to be some witnesses to tell 'what happened'.