Subject: [Fot] Tow Vehicle Musings

From: "Barr, Scott via Fot" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2020 17:31:15 +0000

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Hi all,

I've been towing a 24-foot toy-hauler style trailer for a few years now.  I=
t's 14 feet of "garage" space in the back and 10 feet of RV in the front (t=
oilet, shower, fridge, kitchen area).  All in, full of water, car loaded, i=
t weighs about 9,500 lbs.  I load the trailer so I have about 1,750 pounds =
of tongue weight, which is technically a little over the payload limit of t=
he truck, but not too bad.

I've been towing with a 2017 F-150, with a max tow package putting towing c=
apacity at about 12,000 lbs. V6 twin turbo EcoBoost with 375hp and 470 ft l=
b torque.  I use a good weight-distributing hitch and a sway control strut.=
  And I added Air Lift air suspension to help with the extra load.  General=
ly speaking, the F-150 has been doing just fine.  But when it's windy the t=
railer gets a little tail-happy, wagging enough sometimes to set off the tr=
uck's automatic trailer sway alarm (it's a big baby...).

So I've been trying to determine whether moving up to an F-250 super duty w=
ould make an appreciable difference in the towing performance.  An F-250 is=
 1000-1500 pounds heavier than my F-150, depending on specs of both trucks.=
  Is that enough to make a noticeable difference?  Are there other factors =
that would make it that much better than an F-150?

The F-150 with the twin turbo V6 and 10-speed trans makes for a nice street=
 car, with reasonable mileage (about 19 average) - and it's what I drive al=
l winter.  The F-250 Super Duty will get considerably crappier mileage and =
will be a less friendly daily driver (I assume).  Not to mention that my F-=
150 is pretty close to paid off and I'd be taking on another boatload of de=
bt to move up to the F-250.  Which is all to say that the towing performanc=
e improvement would need to be considerable before I would make the move.

What say you, towing brain trust?  Is it worth the move?

Scott (B.)

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<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">Hi all,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">I&#8217;ve been towing a 24-foot=
 toy-hauler style trailer for a few years now.&nbsp; It&#8217;s 14 feet of =
&#8220;garage&#8221; space in the back and 10 feet of RV in the front (toil=
et,
 shower, fridge, kitchen area).&nbsp; All in, full of water, car loaded, it=
 weighs about 9,500 lbs.&nbsp; I load the trailer so I have about 1,750 pou=
nds of tongue weight, which is technically a little over the payload limit =
of the truck, but not too bad.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">I&#8217;ve been towing with a 20=
17 F-150, with a max tow package putting towing capacity at about 12,000 lb=
s. V6 twin turbo EcoBoost with 375hp and 470 ft lb torque.
 &nbsp;I use a good weight-distributing hitch and a sway control strut. &nb=
sp;And I added Air Lift air suspension to help with the extra load. &nbsp;G=
enerally speaking, the F-150 has been doing just fine.&nbsp; But when it&#8=
217;s windy the trailer gets a little tail-happy, wagging
 enough sometimes to set off the truck&#8217;s automatic trailer sway alarm=
 (it&#8217;s a big baby&#8230;).
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">So I&#8217;ve been trying to det=
ermine whether moving up to an F-250 super duty would make an appreciable d=
ifference in the towing performance.&nbsp; An F-250 is 1000-1500
 pounds heavier than my F-150, depending on specs of both trucks.&nbsp; Is =
that enough to make a noticeable difference?&nbsp; Are there other factors =
that would make it that much better than an F-150?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">The F-150 with the twin turbo V6=
 and 10-speed trans makes for a nice street car, with reasonable mileage (a=
bout 19 average) &#8211; and it&#8217;s what I drive all winter.&nbsp;
 The F-250 Super Duty will get considerably crappier mileage and will be a =
less friendly daily driver (I assume).&nbsp; Not to mention that my F-150 i=
s pretty close to paid off and I&#8217;d be taking on another boatload of d=
ebt to move up to the F-250.&nbsp; Which is all
 to say that the towing performance improvement would need to be considerab=
le before I would make the move.&nbsp;
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">What say you, towing brain trust=
?&nbsp; Is it worth the move?
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">Scott (B.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
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_______________________________________________
[email-masked]

http://www.fot-racing.com

Archive: http://autox.team.net/archive http://www.team.net/pipermail/fot

--===============7227618950784425719==--

---

From: Mike Jackson via Fot <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2020 20:03:40 -0400 (GMT-04:00)

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<html><head><style type=3D"text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></he=
ad><body><div style=3D"font-size: 16px;color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family: ari=
al, sans-serif;">I realize everyone has their own preferred answer.&nbsp; T=
hat said:<div>I've had our 2000 Ford F350 diesel since it was new.&nbsp; He=
ck, we've killed two trailers in that time.&nbsp; It'll hit 400K miles befo=
re the end of 2020 as long as we dont have any more races cancelled.&nbsp; =
It has a swaybar hitch that helps but an 18 wheeler passing can still cause=
 it to get a upset and require a bit of opposite lock to keep it between th=
e whites.</div><div><br></div><div>It's been quite reliable with the except=
ion of AC systems and alternators.&nbsp; I now travel with a spare alt behi=
nd the rear seat of our crew cab model.</div><div><br></div><div>Previous t=
ow vehicle was a Suburban.&nbsp; An uphill departure from a fuel or lunch s=
top made a lot of noise but very little movement for a few seconds.&nbsp; T=
he F350 diesel is like a mule, say "go" and it does.</div><div><br></div><d=
iv>And yes, it's my around town daily driver.</div><div><br></div><div>I re=
call asking my sales guy when we ordered it from the factory if I should co=
nsider a dually.&nbsp; His reply was that I should only buy such a thing if=
 I liked buying rear fenders or was going to tow a 5th wheel trailer.&nbsp;=
 Shortly after that I started noticing lots of duallies with broken glass r=
ear fenders from trying to turn in places just not quite wide enough.</div>=
<div><br></div><div>Just my experience.</div><div>Mike&nbsp;<br><br><blockq=
uote style=3D"padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 0px; border-left: #0000ff 2px=
 solid; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; fon=
t-size: 10pt; font-family: arial,sans-serif; color: black;">-----Original M=
essage-----
<br>From: "Barr, Scott via Fot" <[email-masked]>
<br>Sent: Sep 23, 2020 1:31 PM
<br>To: Amici Triumphi <[email-masked]>
<br>Subject: [Fot] Tow Vehicle Musings

<br><br>

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<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">Hi all,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">I=E2=80=99ve been towing a 24-fo=
ot toy-hauler style trailer for a few years now.&nbsp; It=E2=80=99s 14 feet=
 of =E2=80=9Cgarage=E2=80=9D space in the back and 10 feet of RV in the fro=
nt (toilet,
 shower, fridge, kitchen area).&nbsp; All in, full of water, car loaded, it=
 weighs about 9,500 lbs.&nbsp; I load the trailer so I have about 1,750 pou=
nds of tongue weight, which is technically a little over the payload limit =
of the truck, but not too bad.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">I=E2=80=99ve been towing with a =
2017 F-150, with a max tow package putting towing capacity at about 12,000 =
lbs. V6 twin turbo EcoBoost with 375hp and 470 ft lb torque.
 &nbsp;I use a good weight-distributing hitch and a sway control strut. &nb=
sp;And I added Air Lift air suspension to help with the extra load. &nbsp;G=
enerally speaking, the F-150 has been doing just fine.&nbsp; But when it=E2=
=80=99s windy the trailer gets a little tail-happy, wagging
 enough sometimes to set off the truck=E2=80=99s automatic trailer sway ala=
rm (it=E2=80=99s a big baby=E2=80=A6).
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">So I=E2=80=99ve been trying to d=
etermine whether moving up to an F-250 super duty would make an appreciable=
 difference in the towing performance.&nbsp; An F-250 is 1000-1500
 pounds heavier than my F-150, depending on specs of both trucks.&nbsp; Is =
that enough to make a noticeable difference?&nbsp; Are there other factors =
that would make it that much better than an F-150?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">The F-150 with the twin turbo V6=
 and 10-speed trans makes for a nice street car, with reasonable mileage (a=
bout 19 average) =E2=80=93 and it=E2=80=99s what I drive all winter.&nbsp;
 The F-250 Super Duty will get considerably crappier mileage and will be a =
less friendly daily driver (I assume).&nbsp; Not to mention that my F-150 i=
s pretty close to paid off and I=E2=80=99d be taking on another boatload of=
 debt to move up to the F-250.&nbsp; Which is all
 to say that the towing performance improvement would need to be considerab=
le before I would make the move.&nbsp;
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">What say you, towing brain trust=
?&nbsp; Is it worth the move?
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt;font-family:&quot;Ce=
ntury Gothic&quot;,sans-serif;color:black">Scott (B.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>

</[email-masked]></[email-masked]></blockquote></div></div></body><=
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