Post is very long. Please read and help.

Truck is - 97 F150 s/c 4x4 4.6L auto 305/75/16 Xterrains w/ 3.55 open rearend
mods - super chip, 75mm t-body, cold air intake, troyer e-fans, troyer 2 piece pulleys, 3" hi flow "Y" pipe, all 3" exhaust, flowmaster SI/DO 40 series, 9mm Ford racing wires. just ordered 4.10 gears and LS.

I will pulling a 21' Antigua 21SB hybrid trailer. dry weight is around #3400. loaded about #4000 - #4500. my truck loaded with people, gear and fuel and tongue weight will be right about at the max GVWR of #6000. maybe a bit over. I have numerous accessories I could remove to get weight down. brush guard, yakima basket, off road lights etc.

I have upgraded my front disk brakes to Powerslot slotted rotors, brand new OEM calipers and hawk pads. not even 2000 miles on front brakes. I am thinking about changing to SS brake lines as well. Still have stock rear drums. Will be putting new pads on before picking up trailer. Trailer has electric brakes on all 4 tires and truck has Prodigy brake controller. Trailer also has WD hitch and sway control.

I will be traveling mostly through New England which has a lot of hills. I put all mods on the truck before I bought trailer. I would like to buy a bigger truck but mine is paid for and will have to do for now... if I can do so safely.

Am I concerned with -
Will I have enough power to pull trailer and not be a traffic menace holding up traffic behind me?

Will I have enough braking power to stop truck and trailer in emergency situation without plowing through vehicle in front of me? Not sure if I could upgrade rear brakes ke, troyer e-fans, troyer 2 piece pulleys, 3" hi flow "Y" pipe, all 3" exhaust, flowmaster SI/DO 40 series, 9mm Ford racing wires. just ordered 4.10 gears and LS.

I will pulling a 21' Antigua 21SB hybrid trailer. dry weight is around #3400. loaded about #4000 - #4500. my truck loaded with people, gear and fuel and tongue weight will be right about at the max GVWR of #6000. maybe a bit over. I have numerous accessories I could remove to get weight down. brush guard, yakima basket, off road lights etc.

I have upgraded my front disk brakes to Powerslot slotted rotors, brand new OEM calipers and hawk pads. not even 2000 miles on front brakes. I am thinking about changing to SS brake lines as well. Still have stock rear drums. Will be putting new pads on before picking up trailer. Trailer has electric brakes on all 4 tires and truck has Prodigy brake controller. Trailer also has WD hitch and sway control.

I will be traveling mostly through New England which has a lot of hills. I put all mods on the truck before I bought trailer. I would like to buy a bigger truck but mine is paid for and will have to do for now... if I can do so safely.

Am I concerned with -
Will I have enough power to pull trailer and not be a traffic menace holding up traffic behind me?

Will I have enough braking power to stop truck and trailer in emergency situation without plowing through vehicle in front of me? Not sure if I could upgrade rear brakes to disks or not. Not sure it is worth it for a 97' truck. How much would it cost.

Is it safe to be a bit over the trucks weight limit if still under the combined weight limit by #1000? GCWR is #11500 according to owner manual. That says I can tow a trailer #5500. Trailer loaded is roughly #4500 according to RV dealer.

Please give me any feedback. I will be hauling precious cargo and do not want any problems or disasters.
Thank you
Paul

 

Blank,
You got lotsa info fer sure. I personnal would like to see the owners man. (if you have one). Well, 4.6, not good... 3.55, not good either. 4x4, knock off some more weight. Extra gear, man your batting 1000. Hills, to boot ? man you should camp in your back yard (just kidding). I feel your pain though, no sense in buying another truck when the one you have is good. Naa, you have performance add-ons, who knows it might work. I guess what I would do is hook it up and try it out. If the engine seems to be working like a dog and chugging up the hills, that might not be so good for the home team. Stopping would be a major concern. Dont know if you have disk all around. You probably wont have too much trouble with sway. Basically it sounds like to me you are on the frenge of the limits, but you might be OK. I would hate to say for sure. You have too many variables and I'm really no expert.

Pate
27' Wilderness (7300 lbs loaded)

 

Who cares what people behind are thinking? As long as you maintain at least minimum speed limit, your legal. You are probably the best judge as to how much strain your truck is under on a steep grade.

If you have electric brakes on the trailer then the trailer should take care of itself as to stopping power. Theoretically the truck shouldn't feel the trailer at all when stopping. This assumes that you have a decent controller and it is adjusted correctly.

The short answer is no. I wouldn't want to admit to my insurance adjuster that I was just "a bit" over the trucks limits.

It has been said many, many times that upgrades don't add one pound of limit to any truck. Upgrades may help with power, mileage, etc. but they don't allow you to violate published ratings.

Russ

 

I don't see much of a problem. you are within the GCWR. As mentioned above, as long as you are doing the limit, you are fine. Check out this web site:

https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/...ng/default.asp

This is a Fleet Ford site, and their towing guides should help you.
There is other information on the site as well that might be of interest to you.

Good luck

 

I think you'll be quite fine with that setup. Two things to look at: those tires are huge and w/ 3.55 gear, 4.6L, and 4x4 means slow. The 4.10 gear will help, a lot. The other thing I'd be concerned with is the Superchip. If just the regular replacement chip, it is probably not designed for towing. I'd call up Troyer on that. The rest of the mods will help you. I'm sur you'll be dropping to second gear on some hills, but don't expect 70mph like a PSD could do.

4500 pound road ready trailer + 6000 pound truck is under all the rated limits. Don't count the tongue weight in the GCWR, only GVWR.

 

I think you'll be ok too..... I've got a #4500 loaded up trailer and it does fine in totally stock form.... I do have the 5.4, but with your mods, your torque should be pretty close, however, I'll bet the peak numbers will be in the higher rpm range..... Which only means you 'll have to let that 4.6 'scream' a bit more, especially on the hills....

Those tires and the 3.55 are going to be your worst enemy however. I know you say you want to go to 4.10's and that would be the best thing you could do. It'll bring you back to just about the stock tire/gear combo for the most part.

I'll concur with what else has been said in that the mods will help you tow what you have easier, but they do not "increase" your ability to go over those ratings.... Sure, it'll do it, but there will be "give and take" with that, just as there is with everything in life....

Good luck and have fun!!

Mitch

 

Thanks for that great informational link, I found it very usefull.