Trailer weight

[kilojuliett]

If you are planning on doing a lot of bow on beaching invest in a keel guard. The constant sand abrasion eats the fiberglass like crazy. But it is a nice boat! You can get put it on yourself version or Phoenix fiberglass put on a nice one on a boat that I used to beach at Roosevelt a lot. I was surprised how quickly the bow keel fiberglass got worn down and I was not even beaching overnight! I agree with stopping off at the scales to know the weight for sure. I weighed my boat & trailer at the same scales shortly after I bought it.

 

[The Oracle]

Cool!
Yes, your F-150 is fully capable of towing that setup. No question whatsoever.

As an aside, I love (L-O-V-E) discussions on manufacturers Towing Capacity rating. In short, they are MEANINGLESS!
If anyone actually takes the time to read through how towing capacities are determined (per SAE J2807) by The Big Three (as well as virtually every automobile manufacturer worldwide) they will come to the same conclusion.

What is that conclusion??? Simple. Follow the money! The manufacturers are selling you a bill of goods. Fact. I was SHOCKED when I wrongly assumed towing capacity was somehow based on safety (e.g., braking). Couldn't have been more wrong. The braking requirements cited in SAE J2807 could almost be met by a 10-speed bicycle towing 150,000 pound houseboat. Clearly, being facetious, but not by much.
When you read through SAE J2807 (the standard by which towing capacity is determined and subsequently advertised) you will see that braking has very little to do with anything. All they really care about is horsepower (loosely tra slated...horsepower = MALE EGO).
It (the Standard) is not just ridiculous, it is ABSURD and yet another ploy to get your hard-earned money dishonestly!

All one has to do is just take a perfectly good opportunity to slow the heck down! To wit, I have a 1993 F-150 with a 4.9L gasoline engine that will safely tow almost ANYTHING I can connect to the ball...with the caveat...SLOW DOWN AND DRIVE DEFENSIVELY. I don't purchase vehicles based on how many cup holders it has or how great the navigation system is or how many watts the stereo has. I digress.


Have a look at SAE J2807 (attached).

I can almost guarantee you'll be shocked as well. An interesting sidenote is the test grade begins near Baker Dam and goes eastward for about 11 miles.

Enjoy the read and save some cash (unless you simply enjoy $25,000 each cup holders).

Sincerely,

The Oracle

 

[Terry G]

No need to guess, as you can weigh it at any truck scale location, like a truck stop or metal salvage yard. There is a twist, in that most weighing facilities will not let you leave an unhooked trailer on their scales. So you weigh the truck and trailer together, then you disconnect the trailer and leave it parked, then you weigh just the truck. The difference will be the weight of the trailer/boat.
Terry

 

[Ryan]

I've seen the tranny temp rise to 219. It was a sizzling hot day but I still didn't like seeing temps that high. The engine temps never budged.
Tranny temps of 120+ and I'll pull over and let it cool down.

FWIW I had a very long discussion with the technician that replaced my tranny. He said it is "happiest" towing my 7000 boat from 220-230*. But it will start pukeing transmission fluid at 240*. The radiator and tranny cooler are somehow connected and the transmission and engine temps should usually be within a few degrees of each other. My photo shows that isn't always the case.

The only reason I'll continue to occasionally pull my Malibu in the mountains with the Ex is because I bought an extended warranty (first time I've done that with a car). With the prices of new transmissions I wouldn't do it otherwise.

Sharing my opinion because you asked, I think you are asking a lot of your truck to do what you're proposing. And my experience is that tow can be very detrimental to your truck. If you plan on keeping it, I'd look at other options. A friend with a HD. Rent a truck from U-Haul or Enterprise Trucks for the day.

Good luck however you decide.

As an aside, that houseboat reminds me of the first one I ever was on. It was about 1980, my folks "borrowed" it from a friend. My cousin was driving it, following two pontoon rentals. They went between and island and the canyon wall, and he followed. We quickly found out that a stern drive draws more water than a rental pontoon, and we hit ground.

Most memorable was that the owner of the boat somehow ended up coming out to help us and dove underwater to change the prop. My memory had him under water for something like 5 minutes at a time with a mask and a wrench. I'm sure that it wasn't that long, but it was impressive. And he got us back on our vacation.

Pretty sure that boat was a Gibson. But they seem similar.

 

[Meatwagon]

FWIW I had a very long discussion with the technician that replaced my tranny. He said it is "happiest" towing my 7000 boat from 220-230*. But it will start pukeing transmission fluid at 240*. The radiator and tranny cooler are somehow connected and the transmission and engine temps should usually be within a few degrees of each other. My photo shows that isn't always the case.

The only reason I'll continue to occasionally pull my Malibu in the mountains with the Ex is because I bought an extended warranty (first time I've done that with a car). With the prices of new transmissions I wouldn't do it otherwise.

Sharing my opinion because you asked, I think you are asking a lot of your truck to do what you're proposing. And my experience is that tow can be very detrimental to your truck. If you plan on keeping it, I'd look at other options. A friend with a HD. Rent a truck from U-Haul or Enterprise Trucks for the day.

Good luck however you decide.

As an aside, that houseboat reminds me of the first one I ever was on. It was about 1980, my folks "borrowed" it from a friend. My cousin was driving it, following two pontoon rentals. They went between and island and the canyon wall, and he followed. We quickly found out that a stern drive draws more water than a rental pontoon, and we hit ground.

Most memorable was that the owner of the boat somehow ended up coming out to help us and dove underwater to change the prop. My memory had him under water for something like 5 minutes at a time with a mask and a wrench. I'm sure that it wasn't that long, but it was impressive. And he got us back on our vacation.

Pretty sure that boat was a Gibson. But they seem similar.

Tranny radiators are smaller than the engine is takes longer to cool back down.

 

[Ryan]

Tranny radiators are smaller than the engine is takes longer to cool back down.

I believe that Ford uses a water to oil heat exchanger. It takes the coolant from the engine cooling system and uses it to cool the transmission. So temps are usually about the same.

The fact that my tranny temp was so high and engine temp was not is one of the reasons they were able to justify a new transmission. But I have plenty of other experiences when they both were above 240*. I'm not sure why, but unless you have someone who can write to. your ECM, the default Ford gauges only show temps when they get "high" which I think is above 230*. I was able to have mine re-written so they both come up in temps, not just bars. And the engine coolant temp and transmission temp are always within 5* of each other.

 

[Ryan]

 

[Meatwagon]

No need to guess, as you can weigh it at any truck scale location, like a truck stop or metal salvage yard. There is a twist, in that most weighing facilities will not let you leave an unhooked trailer on their scales. So you weigh the truck and trailer together, then you disconnect the trailer and leave it parked, then you weigh just the truck. The difference will be the weight of the trailer/boat.
Terry

Disconnecting the trailer and weighing the truck by itself will give you the tongue weight of the trailer, which is part of the trailers total weight that is being carried by the truck. Usually on the trucks rear axle unless a weight distribution hitch is used.
This can become important especially in a 1/2 ton truck when the weight on the rear axle exceed the capacity of the tires. Which some dealers using a tire which is selected for ride comfort and not necessarily for heavy hauling.

 

[Marina Bum]

I'm actually out of Mesa. I-17 is a pretty significant climb out of Phoenix, big downhill to Cottonwood and another big climb to Flagstaff.

It's an incredible engine. The torque from it is amazing.
I love the engine but as stated above, there have been a few issues with the transmission that worry me. Just towing my fishing boat (2800 lbs) I've seen the tranny temp rise to 219. It was a sizzling hot day but I still didn't like seeing temps that high. The engine temps never budged.
Tranny temps of 120+ and I'll pull over and let it cool down.

I only intend to tow it once from here in Mesa to Page. I'll just store it at Wahweap during the off season.
I'll use my truck from storage to the launch but that's about it unless I decide to tow it down to Lake Mojave during winter. Not sure yet.

Heat kills automatic transmissions, you are wise to drive based on the fluid the temperature and if it sneaks towards red you need to stop. It probably has an internal or even external cooler but I'd upgrade if it's possible. Summit has a lot of choices and advise on that.

 

[lakepowellnut]

FWIW, I had the same truck and after towing my Sea Ray 230 to and from Powell a few times, my tranny started to slip. The issue isn’t the motor, but it is an issue with the tranny.

I traded it in. Problem solved.