I have a question that I realy need some help with. I will be moving from Va beach, Va to Chicago and I need to know if I can tow a 94 Thunderbird with my 98 F150, 4.2 V6. I dont have 4 wheel drive or a tow hitch so any help I can get from this message board will be a big help. The only thing I have towed so far is a smal Uhaul trailer I need to know if I would have to put my car on a trailer or if there is another way I can do this. Thank you in advance for any help you fine F150 helmsman can give me.

Black Dawg

 

Your owners manual states that if you are going to tow anything in excess of 4,000 lbs, you need to have the tow package installed.

The primary problem will be transmission overheating, which you could alleviate by installing a transmission oil cooler. A secondary consideration is engine overheating, but now that Ford has pronounced the stock radiator as being OK for towing you probably don't need to do anything.

Above 5000 pounds (and even below), a load levelling hitch is mandatory, if you were to use a trailer. The advantage is that you could also have surge brakes on the trailer. If you are towing the car with a tow hitch, I reckon you could get away with the standard bumper hitch, but that car of yours must weigh in at 3500 to 4000 pounds. With no trailer brakes be sure to give yourself LOTS of stopping room.

It it were I, I'd get a tranny cooler, and a frame mounted receiver hitch. Then I'd rent a load levelling trailer and hitch with surge brakes. That would be the safest way to do it.

 

This isn't exactly the right forum for this question, but don't worry, it's not a biggee.

We'll need to know a bit more about your truck. For instance, is it a Regular Cab or SuperCab? What tranny (auto or manual)? What rear end? If you don't know what the rear end gear ratio is, look for the axle code on the plate inside your driver's side door and we'll figure it out.

How heavy is your T-bird?

In general, I'm sure I speak for most here, the V6 will tow your car, but you won't be winning any races. Most here will also advise you to install a frame mounted hitch. It's worth the hundred or so bucks. I'm pretty sure installing a ball on your bumper hitch will work too, but the bumper height might cause a problem and it's not nearly as strong as a frame mount.

As far as how to tow the car, I'll leave that up to the other experts to answer that since I have never towed a car, other than by using a strap for short distances.

 

I know from my own experiences that the truck will be able to pull it. I've never pulled a car , but have pulled a dual axle trailer weighed down to about 4000 pounds or so and the truck handled it just fine. But I agree with the others as well, if you're going to pull a car you should probably invest in a frame mounted hitch. I wouldn't of done my pull without one Also you need to figure out what gears you're running with, and figure in the fact of whether it's an automatic or manual. That also can play a big role in hauling anything.
Most of the people I know that have pulled cars recommend using a full car trailer (2 axle flat trailer), or at the very least a car dolly(2 front wheels up off the ground on the dolly, rear wheels follow behind on the ground), hope this helps you some. Good luck with what you decide

 

Definitely go w/ the full car trailer. Not only will it save $$$ on wear/tear on the T-bird, but i believe all car trailers come w/ surge brakes.

My .02 cents: Any modern engine is capable of pulling alot more than you would think so don't sell the V-6 short. The problem is STOPPING. a P.O.S. 4 cylinder volvo will pull a 4000 lb boat easily (pretty flat here) but needs a mind-boggling distance to stop. If you aren't familiar w/ towing some heavy weight, get used to the stopping characterisitics of your setup (Truck w/ trailer and car loaded) before you jump on I-64. Let's just say "Stopping is important" and leave it at that.

Get yourself a frame mounted hitch. Towing a 4K lb load 1000 miles will take a toll on that bumper, imho. Besides, it should be illegal to be able to sell a truck w/o a hitch! Best $100 you will ever spend. "Portsmouth Trailer Supply" on S. Military Hwy is the best in the area.

You will hit the mountains on your way to Chicago. Don't plan on averaging 65 mph. The trailer's top towable spd will be 55 or even 50 mph. Don't exceed that! A trailer's tires are not built the same as a car's tires. A trailer' tires has more stress on them, believe it or not, than a car's tires. They are built to handle stress but the speed is a different sort altogether. Another reason not to speed is that it will save your tranny significant wear. The difference of going 50 mph vs 65 mph ... well, you will see yourself. And before you get the impression that i am against speed, my tires are rated H and i try to make it a point of pegging the needle at least once a week (actually, it doesn't peg, but u get the idea ).

 

I wouldn't do it with the V-6. You will have serious strain on the tranny as it will be constantly downshifting. Even with a tranny cooler. The other worry is your brakes. Stopping with that kind of weight will really wear out what ever pad you have.

If this was a short trip it wouldn't be a problem, but your own trip is a bit far.

The other posters are accurate in their information, but I wouldn't risk it with this weight and this distance.

New pads and rotors are expensive, new tranny even more so.

 

The V6 with a stick will tow it. The problem is, the tranny is weak and the clutch is even weaker. You gotta know how to shift with the least amount of strain on the driveline. I would go so far as to say that if you have a manual tranny and don't know how to double clutch, I wouldn't tow that car. If you know how to double clutch and can start the load moving without burning the clutch up, you can do it.

As far as braking goes, I gotta wonder if the brakes on a truck with manual tranny are any different from trucks with auto trannies with much higher tow ratings. I'm guessing they're the same, so stopping 4,000 lbs or even 5,000 lbs shouldn't be any more difficult or unsafe.

The reason the manual tranny equipped trucks have much lower tow ratings is due to the soft clutch and to a lesser degree the weak gear box.