It was done once before, and I want to do it again. I am going to apologize up front, there are no prizes for the biggest or heaviest load moved. This was my post the first time (with a few revisions):

Just before Christmas, my dad and I went to Home Depot to pick up a load of shingles for the new house my parents are building, on the back of the amily farm. I towed dad's 2000# flat bed there with my 97 F150 4.6 2wd. We first thought we were getting about 10,000# of shingles. No problem, right? Hell, even the salesman said my BIG Ford could handle it with no drama. I drug the huge load about 40 miles, most of it on the highway doing 60-70mph.

We got to the job site, and worked the crap out of the LS rear. The driveway had a couple of soft spots in it, causing the trailer to sink about four inches. And that stopped progress, causing the LS to load up until it spun digging a couple of holes. Just as I was thinking I would have to start walking to get the big John Deere (dad was driving now ask if I could say we're *******ed), the truck got a bite and pulled out. Not to press our luck, we pulled the trailer away from the soft ground and diconnected.

After a few bundles went on th roof a recount was done. We picked up 160 bundles at 80# a piece, for a total of 12,800#, plus the weight of the trailer for a grand total of 14,800# on the back of my truck. I thought that was pretty damn impressive.

The bad parts of what I did: I overloaded the factory Class III hitch, and the trailer brakes did not work. If something serious did happen, I might have had to total the truck because that weight would have twisted the frame with a quickness. That would be if the truck and trailer stayed on all eight wheels. I must have had my guardian angel working overtime that day. And has had an ulcer ever since!

 

10,000# of shingles + 2,000# trailer is just plain stupid. 14,800# with no trailer brakes is ******** nuts. People's familys are on the road. That truck would never stop. Never mind blowing a tire, breaking an axle or spring, hitch, ball, or otherwise loosing control because that truck could never handle it properly. I hope the tranny drops out of your truck before you even attempt pulling anything over 7,500# again.

 

I thought pulling the sport trac was a lot. I cant imagine 14k pounds, wow. I can feel almost any weight back thier, even the little 600lb jet ski and trialer (probley less than 500lb, i'm not shure)

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

I towed a Uhaul trailer once full of stuff all together it was probly close to 4,000lbs trailer and all the stuff and I sure could feel it back there.

 

Silent Bob,

I have hauled many things I probably shouldn't have, but you just took the cake. I'm glad you made it ok, but be smart and don't try that one again. Rich

 

That was just a one time deal. Believe me, my knuckles were white for the entire trip.

 

In my old f150 with the old I6 i pulled over 12,000lb. 10 big bales of hay that are on 2 wagons. Never got above 25 mph though.

The new V6 has pulled around 7,000lb+ only reason I havent pulled more is the fact I have not farmed for 2 summers now.

The SD with the 5.4L has pulled alot, it pulls 16,000-20,000lb in big bales and trailer/wagon combos for about 30 days a summer. It pulles the old D4 Cat around on a heavy duty equipment trailer.

 

Well I dont know about 14,800 lbs but I have maxed out my 97 4.6 a few times. Once on a trip from polson Montana to Petaluma California towing a 36' enclosed race car trailer and equipment, I made great time only took 26 hours and I used only the trailer brakes coming down the mountains.
The other time was moving from Petaluma,CA to Alameda,CA towing the same trailer with the contents of my house inside. On the way down I was making a turn and lost one of my stabilizer bars, thats when I decided to take it a little easier on my truck.
Tonight I will be pulling a 3 slant horse trailer empty and thursday I will tow it again with the horse, to take her to her new home.

 

Im gonna start a new post.

"Who is the stupidest person, and proud of it?"

Sorry guys, but if you are pulling those kinds of loads accross country, on the interstate, or anywhere where other vehicles are traveling for that matter, you are endangering the lives of others. Something not to be proud of. It doesn't matter if it is once, or every weekend. Please note that the ratings for these trucks are "when properly equiped." This means that they are rated to pull that load, the proper equipping is up to the consumer. This means proper breaking, trailer weight distribution, and hitch setups. The ratings are excessive for these light trucks as it is IMO, based largely on power plants, trannys, and gear ratios, but at least stay within those. These trucks weigh approx. 4,500-5,500lbs. When pulling a trailer so heavy, which will win, the truck or the trailer? Imagine a 5,000lb truck trying to stop a load of 10,000-15,000lbs, 2-3x its wieght. The momentum is just too much.

I just cant stand peoples ignorance when other peoples lives are at risk. I hope D.O.T. gets you guys for enough to retire on someday.

 

The root of the problem is that enforcement of trailering laws is lax at best. People are rarely cited for trailering violations unless it is so over the top that the cop has to do something about it, or a light out on a trailer is used as an excuse on a slow day.

I feel your pain spaceman; if you look at my posts I am a bit of an "old woman" when it comes to towing. My conservative nature regarding towing comes from driving 50 miles on a busy section of I-95 daily. In the last year I have personally witnessed 3 trailer accidents, all of which were directly related to overloaded trailers, poor truck/trailer match, or excessive speed. Not to mention the countless abandoned rigs in the breakdown lane due to a flat tire (apparently no jack, spare, etc).

My favorite was the tar pot trailer that lost a tire/axle and flipped in a spectacular cloud of smoke. It happened on 595 East, thank God I was headed West. Happened on Friday night at the start of Memorial Day weekend and nearly closed the road for 3 hours. I am sure the guy towing that rig figured he could "get away with it just this once" too.

 

YUP,
I agree with everything you said. I will take notice of your posts.

People probably consider me an "old woman" when it comes to trailering as well.

Enforcement of trailering laws is too lax. I personally think reqiring a license a license to pull a trailer, maybe even only over a certain GVW like 2,000lbs would be an excelent idea. Just like a CDL or motorcycle license. Usually, a motorcycle only has devastating effects on the riders and not other motorists, yet a special license is required. It does, however, require special skills. A lot of people don't realize how dangerous trailering can be. It would aid in informing people of concerns, and make a hoop that people would have to jump through before just going out and pulling a trailer. Also, it would provide an opportunity for officers to screen drivers, as they do with commercial vehicles, such as wieght and proper equipement, etc. Most states do have laws requiring braking (sometimes on both axles), break away brake actuators, wieght, and lower speed limits. You are right, they are rarely enforced. Requiring licensing would inform pullers and provide another venue of enforcment.

I have a personal friend who was pulling a 16' tandem trailer EMPTY behind his Grand Cherokee. I consider him an experienced puller and a cautious common sense driver. He was found ejected from his vehicle, trailer neatly on the shoulder, hitch insert broken (maybe from the roll?). The cause of the accident is undetermined. I personally belive he is alive today by the grace of God. He has 2 kids that are about 10-12 years old and he is in a wheel chair at 30 some years old. He will never be able to work again, and he can't play catch with his 2 sons.

Sorry for the sob story, but I really take safety as a big concern when trailering. I pull a trailer 3 times a week on average, anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 lbs. It has taken 6 years frequent trailer pulling experience to respect it.

 

I understand your concerns on towing loads that are way too heavy for the towing vehicle. I said Ive pushed it but I have never towed a load over the manufacturers recomended max weight.

 

my97offroad,

Sorry, as my posts were to anybody that has exceeded the capabilities of their trucks. I was under the impression that the 32' encolsed trailer and racing equipement or contents of your house would exceed the rating of your truck or hitch setup.

Please disreguard my brashness if you have not overloaded your vehicle on public roads (hay bales on a farm???).

Happy safe trailering all!

 

That's why when I went shopping for a TT, I only looked at the GVWR numbers...... Took my GVWR of my truck (#6250) and subtracted it from my GCWR (#12700) and came up with #6450. 90% of that is #5805 and came to the conclusion I would not get any TT that had a GVWR of over #5500.

Ended up with one that is only #5000 GVWR and couldn't be happier. Tows very well and while I know it's back there, I know I have plenty of performance left for an emergency. Besides, it's fun to pass those other fools that are maxed out or even over weight going up a 6% grade at 25 mph and their motors screaming at 5000 rpms in first gear and I'm doing 40 in second at about 3000 with ½ throttle still left!!

And it’s a nice coincidence that the 5.4 peak torque is at 3000 rpms…… Hummmmm, wonder why that is???

Just got this scanned, so have to show off my new toy!