F150 4x4 Towing 23' - 4200lbs Chaparral

[andrew_mccool]

Re: F150 4x4 Towing 23' - 4200lbs Chaparral

The F-150s are rated to tow 7000 pounds plus. I have an 07 that I have pulled up to 8000 pounds with no problems.

 

[cwhite6]

Re: F150 4x4 Towing 23' - 4200lbs Chaparral

My 2010 F-150 with 5.4l, 3.55 rear end and towing package is rated to pull 9800 pounds. I have always made it a rule when towing (campers and boats) to try and stay below 80% of the rated value. Works for me.

 

[hungupthespikes]

Re: F150 4x4 Towing 23' - 4200lbs Chaparral

2001 f150 4x4 extended cab 3:55 posi, just shy of 200,000 miles on it. Pulls 26 foot (28 overall) Baja on 34 foot trailer. Total weight just over 6200 lbs. Little slow on the on ramps but fine everywhere else. Have had to use 4x4 on the boat ramp only once due to algae, very slick, hard to walk on without sliding into the water,lol At 3-5k you don't know a trailer is back there, 5-7k
you know it's there but it handles it like a champ, 8k+ and the tail wagging the dog effect is on your mind a lot. 8k+ the truck has to be setup right before you start or you can get into trouble fast. Too little tongue weight will wag the dog faster than any thing else i know of, so please check it.

 

[wbc1957]

Re: F150 4x4 Towing 23' - 4200lbs Chaparral

my 05 wrangler unlimited tows my 4500lb chapparel without any problems. stops on a nickel with the trailer brakes and pulls the boat out without issue. i also use 4-lo to pull out.

Interesting, considering the max towing capacity for your unlimited is listed at 3500lbs. Remind me to stay away from your neighborhood!

 

[ufm82]

Re: F150 4x4 Towing 23' - 4200lbs Chaparral

No offense to anyone here but I also drive an F150 Super Crew with the 5.4 and tow a 19' center console. I KNOW the boat is there- my rig weighs in around 4,000 or so maybe. (Never weighed it truthfully.) When I read about people towing top end loads and saying they forget the load is back there I wonder... Like I said, not flaming anyone- just amuses me to hear that.

UFM82

 

[hungupthespikes]

Re: F150 4x4 Towing 23' - 4200lbs Chaparral

No offense to anyone here but I also drive an F150 Super Crew with the 5.4 and tow a 19' center console. I KNOW the boat is there- my rig weighs in around 4,000 or so maybe. (Never weighed it truthfully.) When I read about people towing top end loads and saying they forget the load is back there I wonder... Like I said, not flaming anyone- just amuses me to hear that.

UFM82

No offense taken. It's just that under 4-5k the truck accelerates, stops, handles, and rides very close to no trailer at all. These were not boat/trailers though. Just trailers, uhauls, snowmobile, landscaper's, even a dolly with a wrangler some 1200 miles.

When your over 5000 everything changes acceleration, stopping and the trailer will jerk/pull the truck when you go over bumps, so it "tells you" it's back there.

At 8k+ everything changes again. It's hard to get going, the trailer pushes the truck at stops till the trailer brakes take hold, you can even feel the trailer pushing the rear axle sideways in the turns (tail wagging the dog).

I guess the old rule of 80% of towing capacity comes from this, and one i try to follow.

 

[mxzeatr]

Re: F150 4x4 Towing 23' - 4200lbs Chaparral

No offense taken. It's just that under 4-5k the truck accelerates, stops, handles, and rides very close to no trailer at all. These were not boat/trailers though. Just trailers, uhauls, snowmobile, landscaper's, even a dolly with a wrangler some 1200 miles.

When your over 5000 everything changes acceleration, stopping and the trailer will jerk/pull the truck when you go over bumps, so it "tells you" it's back there.

At 8k+ everything changes again. It's hard to get going, the trailer pushes the truck at stops till the trailer brakes take hold, you can even feel the trailer pushing the rear axle sideways in the turns (tail wagging the dog).

I guess the old rule of 80% of towing capacity comes from this, and one i try to follow.

Your F150 must be the super duty version or something. Not trying to argue or start a peeing match. But I pull all year long with mine. You wouldn't want to pull 6k in the winter with an F150. Our fully loaded 4 place snowmobile trailer is something like 4400lbs. Get into any kind of wind on slippery roads and it starts pushing the truck around, remember an F150 only weights about 5500lbs with guys/gear in it. Again summer towing is much different, but my boat is 1600lbs dry plus 400lbs for the big merc on the back, and 550lbs for the trailer. With fuel, oil, gear in boat, etc...I figure 3000lbs. I've towed it almost 1k miles in the last 4 weeks, and I know its back there every mile. Especially braking (trailer has no brakes)...It will handle the loads up to its towing capacity fine I am sure, but you get much over 2500lbs (my two place sled trailer and two sleds) and you can tell your braking/acceleration/etc has changed.