Recently I towed the biggest load I've ever pulled with my F250. Let me say that it did well for how heavy the load was and considering the circumstances.

The tractor is a Ford 6610 II Special. It has a water in all the tires. Attached to it is a small cutter. Because of the length of the tractor and cutter and the length of the trailer, we had to move the tractor all the way forward so that everything could fit. My Grizzly 550 ATV had to be in the bed of my truck.

The 5.4L and ZF6 manual transmission did well towing the 30 mile trip down country roads. If I could do anything over again, I'd put my 2 5/16" ball on my shorter drop hitch. I had it on the 5" drop but the tongue load was really too much for that drop, so the trailer pointed slightly "nose down."

My rear suspension was nearly on the jounce bumpers.






Here's a pic of the whole load.











Now that you've seen the pics and got the anxiety out of your system, it's time for the good, the bad, and the ugly.


The Good
Low gear in the ZF6 is awesome. Even with the base engine, getting this rig rolling was a breeze. Even as we towed the trailer through the pasture and off road, it the deep 5.79 ratio really helps get things moving.

The trailer brake control was fantastic. Despite a less than perfect load distribution, stopping was good. Gone are the days when we'd pull a loaded trailer behind our half-ton pickups with out ABS; you'd hit the brakes and the front tires would just lock up and smoke. Not so here, even with a suspension that's "squatted down."

The "E" rated MT/R Kevlars can handle this kind of weight with ease. Talk about a tough tire, it didn't belly out or squirm around despite the rear suspension being dang-near bottomed out....


The Bad
No weight distributing hitch and too much drop in the receiver for the load. The trailer could have been more level.


The Ugly
Seven (7) miles per gallon. My truck is not set up to tow like this regularly with a 3" lift and 35" tires. And good thing I like waving... to the cars passing my by. 60mph was doable, but going up hills on those back roads made my rig lose speed quickly unless I could keep the engine churning 4500rpm. (which it didn't mind one bit. The water temp never climbed over 200deg on my ScanGauge)



All in all, it was a success. The tractor got moved, not body got hurt, and my truck didn't blow a head gasket LoL

 

I love your truck. I'll trade you!!! lol

 

you need a bigger trailor! truck looks great too

 

You should look into getting the overloads that come on the camper package.
It seems like nearly all of the super duty trucks in the NW have them, but I rarely see them here.

 

Time for 350 overloads. I recently had a 35' gooseneck with 70HP Kubota loader tractor loaded with weights and brushcutter, 2 lawnmowers and my Eiger atv on. No squatting...but no trailer brakes made it interesting.

 

do towing saan

 

so how many lbs do you think that was?

my biggest problem with mine is the bumper hitch seems to low, my trailer jack is always dragging. I dont really even have much weight on it or any drop hitch.

those are truely a 35? I have often thought about a larger tire like that but not really sure about a lift.

 

Thanks for the feedback gentlemen.

Here are some published weights for the tractor and trailer.
20' 10PI trailer = 2530lbs
Ford 6610 tractor = 6800lbs
Tractor plus trailer sub total = 9330

Now, the tires are all full of water which adds a substantial amount of weight. I can't remember what size the rear drive tires are, but based on some ballast charts, I think it would be safe to estimate an additional 1000lbs for water filled tires on both front and rear. Then add the weight of the cutter, perhaps another 500lbs.

I'd guess the total weight you see in the trailer from the pictures would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,800lbs.

Those numbers are fun enough to play with, but when you start looking at the total weight, the GCW, of the truck and trailer, that little 5.4L base engine was working hard.

My truck when it rolled of the transport scaled right at 7,000lbs. (I have not weighed it since the lift, tires, toolbox, running boards, or "stuff" that accumulates) My ATV weighs about 700lbs with the winch and accessories. That means my rig was over 18,500lbs... way too much for that V8 to haul around with great regularity or through any mountain passes.

It was just fun to see what my rig was capable of. The Super Duty platform handled the load and weight very well, eventhough the suspension was bottomed out and really not loaded as good as it could have been. It's kind of awesome when the weak link in your drivetrain is not your brakes, or axles, or transmission but your engine isn't as strong as the rest of the equipment.



The tires are actually 35" tall. They're just 11.5" wide. These trucks clear big tires easily. I personally have seen two 2008+ trucks with 37x12.5R20 on with just a leveling kit and the stock 20" rims. The rear of the front inner fender plastic needs to be trimmed just slightly so that the tires don't rub.

 

Nice, but Ive towed around 10,000k with my F150 more times then I can count :)