TOW QUESTION

[1970f100x]

How much can my 70 f100 with 360/c6 tow?

Thank you!

[fordman]

whats the axle rating and the gvw of the truck? is your truck a f10 a f11 a f12 by the vin charts?

[cep62]

I have a '71 4X4 and I would pull a 4200# truck on a 2000# trailer quite regularly. That's more than the truck is rated for but it did ok. I upgraded the truck brakes to front disc and had trailer brakes because the weakness isn't pullin it's stopin. If you're using a automatic get a trans cooler and a frame mounted hitch.Also a well balanced trailer is worth every penny, after a near death experience with a homemade trailer I figured I could afford one.

[1970f100x]

It weighs 3580, f10, and 3.54 I think?

[FordTruck]

I've used my 70 with my worn out 302 to tow our 19.5' bass/ski boat across town it pulled it with out any problems except stopping with no power brakes and 4 wheel drums was kinda scary (took for ever to slow it down) I've also used it to drag my 72 F250 CS around the house.

[fordman]

a f10 is a 5000 pound weight truck. so you can carry atleast 5000 pounds in the bed. and probably more than that. i did it. i had probably 3/4 a ton or more in my bed once. and it sagged the rear end so bad that it made my bad ujoint clank even louder. for towing capsity i would guess you could pull around 7500.

[1970f100x]

well my registration says it weighs 3580.

[fordman]

yes but it is weight rated at 5000 pounds from the factory. which mean it can haul upto 5000 pounds on the suspension with out hurting anything. i almost forgot. the towing ratign also depends on the ball and hitch you use. if the ball is only a class one ball it wont hual more than a class one hitch will. a class two is better and a class three will haul almost anything. i think you would have to stop before hauling a skid loader around on a trailer.

[lee_ford]

… it is weight rated at 5000 pounds from the factory. which mean it can haul upto 5000 pounds on the suspension with out hurting anything.

If the rating is the same as for an 80,000 Semi, then that 5000 lb weight includes the trucks 3580 lbs. I just cannot see an F100 hauling 2.5 Tons of CARGO without sitting down on the snubbers. That would be like putting another F100 in the bed with 1420 lbs of cargo in that trucks bed.

As for towing, you could tow a 200 ton freight train, as long as the weight ON the hitch is under 3/4 ton. Not very fast and stopping would be a real thrill.

What you need to consider is how much weight is transferred onto the back of the frame behind the rear axle when stopping. This down force on the hitch will cause the front of the truck to get light and that can get scary. Try stopping without any steering. As cep62 pointed out, “a well balanced trailer is worth every penny”. Even then it MUST be loaded right. Also a good dual axle trailer with stiff springs will stop much safer than a single axle trailer.

Also as cep62 pointed out, get a trailer with brakes.

[fordman]

5000 pounds is half a ton. it can hual that much easy. i have done it. it does squat somewhat. yes and you do have to watch your tounge weight and stopping power is another dilema to get over when towing stuff.

[1970f100x]

1000 pounds is half a ton..

[averagef250]

Fordman, I don't disagree that the an F100 could possibly move 5000 pounds in it's bed, but I would never recommend it for the truck's sake and the sake of other people on the road.

No matter the engine, tranny or rear end option an F100 2wd should never tow more than 5000 pounds (only that much with really good brakes) and I feel 1000 pounds is pretty much max in the bed. Yeah, I'm sure you can fill it with more weight and move it at slow speed on level ground, guys have moved semi trailers with toyota pickups. Point is it isn't safe on the road.

The F100 frames are real flimsy. Even the 250 2wd frames are not very rigid so they handle pretty poorly with lots of weight. IMO, if you are towing more than 3000 pounds on a regular basis or hauling more than 700 in the bed go get a 3/4 ton. There's a real tangible difference between what a truck will do and what it can do safely on the road. I'm guilty of grossly overloading 3/4 ton trucks, towing 10K over the legal limit without the brakes to stop it or tires rated for the weight. I'm a little spoiled these days with my 89 F350 long wheelbase dually. It's very nice to be able to tow 15K, not notice it behind me, stop it on a dime and haul 5K on the bed without the truck flinching. All I can say is I've never caused a traffic incident in my life, but very well could have caused a catastrophie doing what I used to by overloading a light truck. I have maybe a grand tied up into that dually and it pays for itself by NOT getting myself or anyone else killed everytime I use it. I wish I had the brains to get one a long time ago.

[cep62]

The weight rating is GVWR that stands for gross vehicle weight rating that is the max of cargo and truck.
I always figured my '71 was under rated because according to the tag I only could carry about 400 lb and I would be at my gross. A couple of time when I hauled some scrap my gross with my 18 foot trailer was close to 12,000 lb needless to say I drove veeery carefully.

If I made a habit of this a f250 /350 would be much safer.

[m-mman]

The official FoMoCo towing reccomendations are on our literature pages
http://www.fordification.com/lit/images ... ro_p22.jpg

[fordman]

1000 pounds is half a ton..

you are right i have been having a bad few last days. i got my numbers all mixed up. i had 5000 pounds in my head from the gvw. not the bed carring weight. ignore the numbers i put up. im sorry.