Hey guys, I posted about this a few months ago but the circumstances have since changed and I just want some added input to ease my mind (hopefully). I literally have read every thread on this board with he word "towing" in it but it would seem its a very application-specific subject so there isn't much out there, and what I did find made me a bit nervous. Long story short, I'm going to be driving 2500 miles in a few days with a 5x8 U-haul enclosed trailer which in total will weigh between 2200-2400 pounds. My truck has been tuned up and is good to go, the tires are fine and the brakes are only a few months old. I've towed plenty before, even more weight than this, but not over such a distance. I've got a 2000 4.0 4x4 sport with 75k on the OD, is there anything I need to be cautious of about this type of load? I will also have about 300 lbs in the bed if that makes any kind of a difference.

TIA

 

I doubt you'll even really notice. You'll be fine, thats a pretty light load.

 

don't worry about it! your truck will have no problem towing the U Haul.
my 2001 4.0 4x4 edge is rated to tow 5,000 lbs

 

If your truck is an automatic, you might want to keep an eye on how the transmission is behaving under load. If it starts shifting in and out of overdrive, you might want to lock it out of overdrive to prevent excessive overheating and possible damage to the overdrive drum.

Have a safe trip.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess I'm stressing too much about nothing but just want to get there in one piece. I'm actually more worried about my truck being ok then anything else...is that normal? The route we are taking is pretty flat and straight for the most part but I will keep an eye on the shifting, it is an auto. Should I consider moving my tranny cooler farther up behind the grill or leave it where it is? Only about half of it is exposed right now. Can't take but an hour or so to move it.

 

You'll be fine, run it.

 

Just don’t tow in Overdrive. It isn’t worth it. The clutch packs are too weak, I don’t tow anything in overdrive and to tell you the truth I rarely notice a huge MPG loss.

 

like they said dont tow in overdrive and youll be fine, ive towed the same trailer with my 4cyl on the bumper hook ...





be careful if you have a tuner though anotheer guy on here was towing a 6x12 with his 3.0l auto and blew the motor when he almost got to his destination (from MD to AZ)

 

No tuner and apparently I should be greatful for that! Melt, is the door on that 5x8 an overhead door or does it open to the outside? I cant find a rear pic to save my life.

 

5x8 will be an overhead door

 

why the hell would someones engine blow from a tuner? obviously other issues there

 

I moved yesterday from Virgina Beach to South Carolina (362mi) with a 6x12 Uhaul trailer. I was carrying 4,000lb of stuff. A little over what was recommended by Uhaul, but the truck did amazing. Gas mileage sucked (160mi to a tank. normal average is 275/tank). I didn't like how it did over bridges with the bouncing. My advice is to make sure that 60% of the weight is in front of the tires. If not, you will fishtail all over the place.

 

I'd imagine that would be a bit of an up and down trip through the foothills? I'm going from Ohio to Cali via route 40. Pretty flat and straight until I get halfway through Arizona, but I accounted for that in my gas plans. You dropped 100+ miles a tank? Thats pretty substantial.

 

false information. i read that thread and it is false about having a tuner.

my ranger has been on a tune since 15k miles. i have towed everything under the sun and way over the 5600lb tow rating.

Same with the F150, it has a tune and it has pulled more than its fair share.

 

I pull my dad's Lund (approx 2000 lbs) quite a bit and I'm lucky to get 12 mpg highway.

 

You will be fine. I pulled a 6x14 trailer loaded side to side, front to back, top to bottom from Oregon to Kentucky over passes of 8600 ft. It also had a tuner, running a 92 octane towing tune the whole time. 4.88s and 33s meant I left it in overdrive most of the time at 70mph and pulled down 10mpg for the whole trip. I only locked out overdrive when approaching a hill to keep the transmission from hunting.
I would be a lot more worried about the trailer than the truck. Bad tires, bad wheel bearings, etc. Keep the majority of the weight in the front of the trailer to keep it from swaying.

 

That was on my first tank of gas. Alot of that was stop and go and hilly/curvey highway traffic. Once I got going and on the interstate, I was getting around 200mi/tank but I wanted to use worst case scenario for planning.

 

Thanks for the input. I was figuring for 12 MPG avg but that was when it was above 60* every day and I was getting 17 in the city under normal conditions unloaded. I may have to recalculate...

 

Fairly often I tow a ranger home, most are 4wd ext cabs and have a title weight around 3600 lbs(plus 700 for the dolly). Its a different kind of towing because the weight is not actually on the truck but the weight is back there none the less. My current truck is a 3.0 auto(tow vehicle) and I never have any problems. You will not have any problems but beware your brakes can get hot and will fade if hot enough. I have had this happen a few times...