2004 F-150 Towing

"SnoMan" wrote: > [quote:9701ee0d15="montanasky"]Recently bought a 2004 F-150 V8 > 4x2 SuperCrew with the 4.6L / 3.55 ratio. I'm really confused > as to how big of a trailer that I can tow. The owners manual > says 6200# GVWR. I know what it stands for, but what does the > GVWR mean? Should I be looking at a different number? Any > help is greatly appreciated.[/quote:9701ee0d15] > > GVWR is vehical weight, GCWR is max combined weight, truck and > trailer. I would not go over about 4000lbs with current setup > tops and not a trailer with a lot of frontal area (like a tall > camper) as you just do not have much "beans" there to work > with. If you have your heart set on a camper, if you regear to > about a 4.10 you should be okay up to 5 to 6000 lbs with a bit > more frontal area too. This is real world rating, not factory > sales hype or ratings as they can be overly generous > sometimes. Nothing worse than a underpowered/undergeared tow > vehical and if you happen to live in montana as your name > suggests your elevation is higher so capacity will drop > because of reduced engine power. You can make up for some of > this though with deeper gears. Many many years ago they used > to ship trucks to higher elevation dealers with deeper gears > but they stopped the practice shortly after emissions came > into play.

Thanks for the info SnoMan. I probably should have gone with the 5.xL engine, but I got an incredible deal on it.

Any rough estimate on the regearing cost? Thanks for your help.

The actual gears on line cost about 150 bucks or less, at a dealer they would likely be 400 or so just for geasrs and about 800 to 1000 bucks for the job. Since it is new if dealer does it is would be covered by warranty if that is a concern but changing them will not void warranty on rest of truck even if done by a third party (actually it will help if you tow with it because it will easy load on engine and tranny and they will not be able to say it was not properly geared for the load). If you farm it out you should be able to get it done for around 250 to 300 plus gears because the Ford 8.8 is not a hard rear end to work on and is sturdy for its size too. If it is done correctly by someone, it will not have any problems for life of truck. How big of a trailer are you looking at? Also if you had gotten a 5.0 you not have been much better off if it had same gears too. Use money you save to modify it for your needs as gear changes are not a big deal and a lot easier and cheaper than a new tranny and since it is a

2wd truck, it is simpler yet.

"SnoMan" wrote: > [quote:82b8c3307b="montanasky"]Thanks for the info SnoMan. I > probably should have gone with the 5.xL engine, but I got an > incredible deal on it. > > Any rough estimate on the regearing cost? Thanks for your > help.[/quote:82b8c3307b] > > The actual gears on line cost about 150 bucks or less, at a > dealer they would likely be 400 or so just for geasrs and > about 800 to 1000 bucks for the job. Since it is new if dealer > does it is would be covered by warranty if that is a concern > but changing them will not void warranty on rest of truck even > if done by a third party (actually it will help if you tow > with it because it will easy load on engine and tranny and > they will not be able to say it was not properly geared for > the load). If you farm it out you should be able to get it > done for around 250 to 300 plus gears because the Ford 8.8 is > not a hard rear end to work on and is sturdy for its size too. > If it is done correctly by someone, it will not have any > problems for life of truck. How big of a trailer are you > looking at? Also if you had gotten a 5.0 you not have been > much better off if it had same gears too. Use money you save > to modify it for your needs as gear changes are not a big deal > and a lot easier and cheaper than a new tranny and since it is > a 2wd truck, it is simpler yet.

The trailers that I have been looking at are around 4200#-4600# dry weight. From what your saying, I should regear it for that kind of load. Good to know that the 5L would have left me in the same situation - I?ve been debating whether to trade it in, but really don?t want to give up this truck. Thanks for the good advise, I?ll start shopping around for someone to regear it.

You will do fine at around 5000lbs with a regear to say a 4.10 and add a aux tranny cooler too but you do not have to go overboard in size. People that do not have the trucks properly geared and setup for loads are the ones that have problems. In hot thinner air, the effiecency of cooling system drops some so you want to add a little extra insurance when towing for tranny with a aux cooler if it does not already have one and the deeper gear will not only give you more towing power but also ease tranny strain and heat some. First time you drive the truck after a regear you will think someone put in a bigger engine. Where about in MT are you (if you are) I lived in SW MT for a while in the mid 90?s.

"SnoMan" wrote: > [quote:ba099461c0="montanasky"]The trailers that I have been > looking at are around 4200#-4600# dry weight. From what your > saying, I should regear it for that kind of load. Good to > know that the 5L would have left me in the same situation - > I've been debating whether to trade it in, but really don't > want to give up this truck. Thanks for the good advise, I'll > start shopping around for someone to regear > it.[/quote:ba099461c0] > > You will do fine at around 5000lbs with a regear to say a 4.10 > and add a aux tranny cooler too but you do not have to go > overboard in size. People that do not have the trucks properly > geared and setup for loads are the ones that have problems. > In hot thinner air, the effiecency of cooling system drops > some so you want to add a little extra insurance when towing > for tranny with a aux cooler if it does not already have one > and the deeper gear will not only give you more towing power > but also ease tranny strain and heat some. First time you > drive the truck after a regear you will think someone put in a > bigger engine. Where about in MT are you (if you are) I lived > in SW MT for a while in the mid 90's.

Actually I?m in a suburb of Los Angeles, West Covina. I just hope to move to MT one day. Big Sky country, that?s for me. Wife says no way, but I?ll get her convinced eventually. The websites that I?ve visited, none of them list tranny coolers for my 2004. I see the F250/350, is there something strange about the F150? Thanks for all your help SnoMan. BTW, did you like MT?

Go to Advanced Auto and they have the generic kind I have used for years that work fine. You what something about 5" x 12" or so. It can be a little bigger but do not go overboard. MT was okay but it depends where you go. It kinda went down hill when the legalized casino gambling in the early 90?s and has doing so ever since. We wnat to retire in Colorado in 5 years or so (west of the divide but kinda along I 70 corridoor) or maybe Wyoming around Casper area. I like Wyoming a lot because it has not really changed much in last 20 years and your dollar goes further and has very low property taxes and no income taxes (MT is very bad about both of those) and Wyoming will not legalize gambling because they saw what it did to Montana. Parts of Idaho are nice too. Aome about the size of what is in link below would work fine for you.

Or maybe this one if it is hot a lot and you have some serious grades to climb but it is a bit large though

People tend to get carried away with these and add more than they need size wise.