Towing Ford F 150

[escape13]

I have a Ford F150, 4.6L, SuperCab, 2WD and a 3.55 rear axle ratio and am looking at 19'. NEVER towed before and have no towing knowledge. On paper this looks OK but I would like your experience please. Thanks.

[Bruce Wray]

The only thing I towed before getting our 19 was a log splitter. Listen to experienced people on the topic, and don't be too intimidated. You'll learn quickly. Your F-150 is plenty of truck for the 19. We tow ours no problem with a V6 Tacoma.

Bruce

[escape13]

Will also have about 1000 lbs in the bed of the F150. I was concerned about the 3.35 rear end Any suggestion on new shocks for the rear, helper springs, etc to help with the ride?

[Bruce Wray]

I have air bags on my Tacoma. I've also heard folks highly praise these: Roadmaster Active Suspension Kits | Helper Springs | Overload Springs If I had it to do over, I'd probably have gone Roadmaster.

Bruce

[cpaharley2008]

As long as the truck spec's are within the Escape 19's specs you will be fine, which I think they are. Check your manual.

[escape13]

Thanks everyone. Being new to the towing thing I didn't know if I should have doubts between what the manuel says and what the vehicle actually comfortably could pull.

[cpaharley2008]

Normally any problems are person's ignoring the manufacturer's specifications and towing over the limit, due to some perceived "margin of error" built in to those spec's or "European vs US" spec's.

[Brian B-P]

I think a common problem is looking at only part of the manufacturer's information. For instance, the 2013 Ford F-150 Towing Guide says that the current 5.0L Supercab 2WD with 3.55:1 rear end ratio and mid-length box can tow up to 7800 pounds... but it also says "Weight of additional options, passengers, cargo and hitch must be deducted from this weight", among many other restrictions. It's not surprising that some people ignore much of the information, try to tow that 7800 pounds while carrying three quarters of a ton of people, and are unsatisfied with their overloaded trucks.

When all of the information is considered, I think most tow vehicles perform well at their rated limits.

It looks like the 4.6L is no longer available in an F-150, so we must be talking about an earlier year... the above is just an example, and I didn't check an owner's manual for this case. My guess is that if you look at the specific data and instructions for the truck, an Escape 19' will be fine... but if it were me I would certainly go through those details.

[Glennrose]

I tow a 19 with an F150. It has a 4.2 liter 6 cylinder engine and the same 3:55 gearing as yours. I also put a 700 pound motorcycle in the box along with a few other items, that probably brings the box load up to 900 pounds or so. I installed air bags, this really helps in being able to control the attitude of the trailer, that is, with a dual axle trailer the front should be just slightly higher than the rear. It is easy to adjust the air in the bags to achieve that goal. My wife and I towed like this to Arizona and back last year without any difficulties, the truck worked quite hard going up some long grades in the mountains, but it certainly was doable. Your 4.6 liter engine should be just fine. I checked the weight parameters of the truck and was within the specified numbers.

[escape13]

Thanks everyone. The decisions are a little overwhelming. Glennrose brings up another towing question. What's best for rear suspension, airbags, roadmaster suspension, etc.?

[cpaharley2008]

I would wait until you get your trailer, there are air bags as well as weight distribution set ups that handle suspension changes.

[dave macrae]

I would agree with Jim. I would wait untill I had the trailer and checked the set up loaded as you would normaly travel. If suspension upgrades are needed I personally use and like air bags, I have installed the road master set up on customers trucks and it didn't seem to work that well. After having installed them it really is putting load/force on the suspension is a way it was never designed to handle. I also love the ability to adjust the air bags depending on load. Don't forget you will still have to drive the truck empty and with air bags you can drop the pressure back down and the truck will ride as stock .