F-150 Towing 3 or 4 place enclosed.

[winter4ever]

I know this subject has kind of been beat to death lately but I would like to

hear from people who have actually done this. I have an 08 f150 with air

bags and I am seriously considering buying an 8.5 x 25 foot enclosed

interstate trailer.

Empty weight on the trailer is 3800 pounds. My truck has a 9000 pound tow

rating (though I would be a little scared to ever push those limits with any

half ton). Im not really interested in hearing from all of the 1 ton diesel guys

telling me to buy a new truck, because that just isnt in the cards right now. I

Know its going to suck gas but I dont really care about that. Has anyone had

a similar set up and been ok with it? Thanks in advance to replies.

 

[line8]

It will be just fine. I just got rid of an '04. I had firestone air bags, heavy duty shocks, appropriate tires, edge programmer, exhaust. It towed great. I used it to tow a 6x12 dump trailer, 16' enclosed landscape trailer always loaded with big mowers, 2 place snomo trailer. It was a very strong truck, I'm sure I was overloaded many times and it handled things quite well. If the trailer has brakes, get a controller if you don't already. That was my weak point on my truck. the programmer helped with the sloppy shifting.

 

[acutah]

Should not be a problem. If it was everyday I would say get a bigger truck, but to go riding now and then not a problem. I towed a 25' Haulmark with a 97 F150 for years. I put some overload springs on the back and it was no problem.

 

[barry1me]

only experience I have is pulling a 7.5x 24 ft enclosed 3400 lbs from MI to Wyoming. 2010 F150....pulled the trailer great for a half ton. This is coming from someone that had a 550RWHP F250 diesel. The new F150s pull great.

 

[Stewd]

I dont think there would be any issue with the truck pulling it in a straight line lots of power and it is rated for it. It is when things get out of the ordinary you have to worry about it. i was recently caught in high wind conditions with my enclosed 4 place and we were caught by a 140+ kph cross wind which rolled the trailer over and in turn rolled my 09 F350 CC diesel over twice. After going through this experience I know the only reason we weren't affected earlier by lower winds was because of having an adequate size truck. I know that I will never pull a 4 place enclosed trailer with anything less than a HD truck. Just my opinion though.

 

[winter4ever]

wow thats crazy it rolled your truck. I see your from siberia though...lol jk. but ive never been in that kind of wind. If its like that i stay home anyways. I was hoping i would be talked out of buying this trailer buy now im running out of excuses not to buy it. Thanks for the replies.

 

[barry1me]

I dont think there would be any issue with the truck pulling it in a straight line lots of power and it is rated for it. It is when things get out of the ordinary you have to worry about it. i was recently caught in high wind conditions with my enclosed 4 place and we were caught by a 140+ kph cross wind which rolled the trailer over and in turn rolled my 09 F350 CC diesel over twice. After going through this experience I know the only reason we weren't affected earlier by lower winds was because of having an adequate size truck. I know that I will never pull a 4 place enclosed trailer with anything less than a HD truck. Just my opinion though.

wow....I hope no one was hurt. That is unreal, and I bet very scary. Considering you rolled an F350 twice How much worse would it have been if in an F150?

 

[Trax 2 Treadz]

You would not be able to pull at all in a wind like that with a F150. Pulling into the Crowsnest Pass on a regular basis we have also experienced the unsettling effect the high wind speeds have on both F150's and F350's pulling sled trailers.
See if you can arrange for a test pull with your truck and the trailer you are looking at buying, you'll have a much better idea of what you are getting into then.

 

[roughrider99]

my family has had 4 place open and 4 place enclosed trailers for years. My dad had a diesel and then swtiched to an f150 to save a buck, ended up going back to diesel, tried an f150 again, now he runs a 450 dually. we have driven though alot of bad winter conditions and when its bad a f150 or any half ton for that matter simply does not cut in IMO, airbags, add a leafs etc, are just band aids.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

if you set it up right..a 1/2 ton will pull it fine.....these new 1/2 tons are rated to pull more then 3/4 and 1 tons from even 10 yrs ago...proper tires, studs, load carring hitchs..and you can do it just fine..I pull with a 2011 gmc denali 1/2 ton, carries a 9700 pd tow rating, pulls a big 4 place steel with 4 sleds(well over 5000 pds) on nasty, icy, snowy mnt roads all the time..not a biggy .....now would I do it with a short wheel based tahoe? no..but with a crewcab 1/2 ton not an issue....

truck hooked to the 2 place....

studs.......

 

[revrider07]

f-150 towing

What kind of tires are those I put on alot of miles heading west chasing the snow from nd to nm. I was pulling a 26ft enclosed with a esclade ext 6.0 high output. I swiched to a dodge diesel the milelage of the dodge was worse than the ext and the handling on ice was BAD. I am interested in the mpg of the 6.2 I always got 8 to 9 with ext, the dodge was 6 to 7 driving 75mph. I am looking at going back to a gas for 2011.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

the tires are cooper zeons, custom studded with 680 studs per tire(I used to stud my trailer tires as well but havent lately...) pulling the big 4 place with 4 sleds, the 6.2 will pull 8-10 mpg, running 65-75 thru the hills...it pulls great although you do run more rpm then a deisel....

 

[volcano buster]

View attachment 133644I had a 2003 F150 supercrew and towed my 18' 3 place. It would pull it but it wasn't the ideal combo. I now have a 2008 F150 supercrew with the 6.5' bed. Heavier truck, longer wheelbase, bigger tank, more power just makes a better tow rig. I can get 3 full sized sleds, an XC120 and a Sno-Scoot in the trailer so it is about 6500# loaded. It tows fine if you aren't putting yourself into massive side winds. I do run studded snow tires on the truck and I get 10-11 mpg when towing. I can't justify a diesel just to tow in the winter.

This longer truck should handle a 4 place pretty well.

 

[Ske-Bum]

I had a '06 F150 and I towed a friends boat for him several times, that weighed more then the trailer you are talking about and had a higher center of gravity. It was fine, but a trailer brake controller in the cab would have been nice if the boat had started to dance around. Did not do it in adverse conditions though, no wind or snow. It was working that truck though. I have owned everything but Dodges and I love the way Fords tow for whatever reason.

 

[jdtech65]

Heres a couple pics with my 09 F-150 with a 7 X 25ft trailer with a 4ft V Nose. With 5 sleds in there I could use an extra leaf spring. I didn't get the max tow package when I ordered the truck but was thinking about installing an Add a leaf.

The pictures arent the best quality - They were taken with my phones camera and also the truck is dirty.

 

[winter4ever]

Thats a nice lookin set up jd. Any idea on the weight of that trailer? It pulls pretty nice? also, you might want to consider air bags instead of add a leafs, gives you a little more control on how much pressure you put in and doesnt sacrafice the empty load ride.

 

[M8Chris]

You'll be fine. I pull my friends 26' mirage with 4 sleds and gear with my 09 Sierra half ton and it does great. I'm looking at getting a 3 place for myself. Your truck will be fine. Taking it on a trip to Wyoming this weekend. I was very impressed with how my truck tows. I have seen a few f150s around pulling 4 place encloseds. And yesterday the roads were very bad snowy and icy you'll be find

 

[jdtech65]

Thats a nice lookin set up jd. Any idea on the weight of that trailer? It pulls pretty nice? also, you might want to consider air bags instead of add a leafs, gives you a little more control on how much pressure you put in and doesnt sacrafice the empty load ride.

I dont know the weight of the trailer right off hand. Looking at Alumas website it shows that it weighs 2,570 pounds. Also it is a 24' with 5' V nose and not a 25' with 4' v nose like i said earlier. The Aluma trailers are aluminum constructed exlcuding the axles and coupler. Having the 7' wide trailer is also real nice. It allows the tires to be on the side instead of underneath which lets it sit lower. The combination of being lighter, lower and narrower allows it to pull real easy.

We are looking at trading it off and getting a 2' longer trailer so we don't have to take a ski off of the front sled in order to fit 5 sleds in it.

 

[winter4ever]

the ol 2-foot-itis situation. I have that with my boat. too bad your in iowa or I would make you an offer on that trailer... dont know if i can afford an all aluminum trailer though.