I've had my f250 since new in '99 with the 5.4 and 4:10 gears. I hadn't towed with(regularly) it until I got my first camper in 07. For an 8 yr old truck it pulled the 6k lb camper well enough. 2 years ago I got a new camper(around 9k lbs) and the truck doesn't handle the extra weight very well. Like stated already, it will rev high and often. Even on the smallest hills you either lose all your momentum or bear with it downshifting and making lots of noise. As a side note, I just replaced the motor in mine in January and was hoping i would see a little better performance with the brand new motor. Well it's no different than the old one, same crappy mileage same lack of power. I get 9-10 mpg around town, maybe 11-12 on the highway and if I'm towing on a long trip I can get up to 13mpg. I'm thinking of keeping the camper hooked up all the time:/
Desert Captain wrote: I think the 5.4L is one of the most underrated/underestimated medium V-8's out there. It loves to rev, max torque at 3750 and max HP around 5000 and if and when you manage to keep your foot out of it returns some pretty impressive mileage numbers.... but, even in a very nice 3/4 ton like you are looking at, 9800# of trailer is asking a lot of a 300 HP truck. I didn't see a reference to the rear end gear ratio. If it has 4:10's or better it will be doable but I don't think you would enjoy the ride. As always... opinions and YMMV.
I too had an 08 w the 5.4 never towed something as heavy as you are looking at but it towed lesser weights just fine. If you really love the truck and want it look at a place called brenspeed I believe they are in wabash Indiana they are real good w tuning the 5.4 get an exhaust. My brother in law had t hem do things to his 10 F150 and I'm pretty sure it's up about 40hp and 40trq. Good luck man
I pulled up the original window sticker for the truck the OP linked to... It's a 3.73 rear end... The GCWR for an automatic in that truck is just 16,000lbs. I'm guessing the weight on the truck itself is around 7000, which would leave it with around 9000lbs of towing capacity. Not bad, but to be quite honest, that thing's gonna be a slug, and it's likely not enough rating for the trailer you said you want to pull.
I've got the 5.4 in my F-150. It too has 3.73 gears, is an extended cab 4x4 flareside bed, that tips the scales around 4800lbs IIRC (it's been a while since it was on the scales, so the memory is fuzzy). We used it to pull our (approx) 5500lb Jayco JayFeather the second half of the summer last year. I wasn't all that impressed by its performance. It got the job done, but it didn't set any land speed records in the process.
Now, you're talking about putting that same engine and rear end gears in a truck that weighs at least 2000lbs more, and hauling a trailer that's probably in the 9000lb range, right? I can't imagine using my old truck to move an additional 6000lbs of rig... Once it's rolling, it might not be so bad, but off the line, it's a dog. The Modular motors like to rev, and will do so happily all day long, but the torque peak is well into the revs.
IMHO, that's not the right truck for your trailer. You need at least a V-10.
gijoecam wrote: I pulled up the original window sticker for the truck the OP linked to... It's a 3.73 rear end... The GCWR for an automatic in that truck is just 16,000lbs. I'm guessing the weight on the truck itself is around 7000, which would leave it with around 9000lbs of towing capacity. Not bad, but to be quite honest, that thing's gonna be a slug, and it's likely not enough rating for the trailer you said you want to pull.
I've got the 5.4 in my F-150. It too has 3.73 gears, is an extended cab 4x4 flareside bed, that tips the scales around 4800lbs IIRC (it's been a while since it was on the scales, so the memory is fuzzy). We used it to pull our (approx) 5500lb Jayco JayFeather the second half of the summer last year. I wasn't all that impressed by its performance. It got the job done, but it didn't set any land speed records in the process.
Now, you're talking about putting that same engine and rear end gears in a truck that weighs at least 2000lbs more, and hauling a trailer that's probably in the 9000lb range, right? I can't imagine using my old truck to move an additional 6000lbs of rig... Once it's rolling, it might not be so bad, but off the line, it's a dog. The Modular motors like to rev, and will do so happily all day long, but the torque peak is well into the revs.
IMHO, that's not the right truck for your trailer. You need at least a V-10.
Great info.. I appreciate the time you put in for this. I was wondering what gearing it had without calling the dealer back.
Thanks!
Keep the Shiny Side Up!
2011 F150 Supercrew, 4X4 3.5 Ecoboost, 145" wheelbase, 3.73 gears, Max trailer Tow package
It will tow it for sure. I has more power than the big blocks of 20 years ago and people towed plenty with those. If it had 4.10 gears it would probably do ok.
If you really like the truck, drop a set of 4.88 gears in it, it should tow similarly to a V10 truck with 3.73's, since both engines are high-revving. This is assuming the V10 puts out about 425 lb/ft torque and the 5.4 puts out about 325 lb/ft.
V10 with 425 lb/ft x 3.73 gears = 1585 lb/ft torque at the rear wheels in 3rd gear 1:1.
5.4 with 325 lb/ft x 4.88 gears = 1586 lb/ft torque at the rear wheels in 3rd gear 1:1.
The 5.4/4.88 truck will actually reach it's full torque output much sooner, at lower road speeds, than the V10/3.73 truck. This is because, with the 4.88 gears, the 5.4 truck will be spinning about 700 rpm faster at 60 mph in 3rd gear, assuming both trucks have the same ~32" tires, and will spin about 25% higher rpm, at any equal road speed, in any equal transmission gear as the V10 truck.
Or, you could hold out for a V10/4.30 truck and beat both of the above combinations by about 13% overall torque increase.
V10 with 425 lb/ft x 4.30 gears = 1828 lb/ft at the rear wheels in 3rd gear 1:1.
WI Bowhunter wrote: Great info.. I appreciate the time you put in for this. I was wondering what gearing it had without calling the dealer back.
Thanks!
Not a problem. It's amazing what one can find with a couple of well-placed mouse clicks.
I went through the same search over the last few months. Finally settled on a 2010 with a V-10/4.10 combo. I didn't want to deal with the potentially expensive issues with a diesel motor, not to mention it sits a LOT in the non-towing season, which isn't very good for a diesel either. I would have loved the extra power, but just didn't want to take the risk. The v-10 seemed like a decent enough compromise, and while the 4.30 gears have a *slight* impact on the maximum towing capacity, it's not enough to be a deal breaker for me as I have no intention of pulling something anywhere near those upper limits anytime soon.
WI Bowhunter wrote: Great info.. I appreciate the time you put in for this. I was wondering what gearing it had without calling the dealer back.
Thanks!
Not a problem. It's amazing what one can find with a couple of well-placed mouse clicks.
I went through the same search over the last few months. Finally settled on a 2010 with a V-10/4.10 combo. I didn't want to deal with the potentially expensive issues with a diesel motor, not to mention it sits a LOT in the non-towing season, which isn't very good for a diesel either. I would have loved the extra power, but just didn't want to take the risk. The v-10 seemed like a decent enough compromise, and while the 4.30 gears have a *slight* impact on the maximum towing capacity, it's not enough to be a deal breaker for me as I have no intention of pulling something anywhere near those upper limits anytime soon.
The 4.30 gears provide the highest towing capacity with the V10 in an all factory stock truck.
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