2007 F150 5.4 Triton

[megamike]

Hi all!
so here i am after 4 years, my dream finally came true! i am officially (at last) an Airstream owner! i bought a 2009 Flying Cloud 28 and it's been awesome! the only problem i have now is what to tow it with. my friend has a 2007 F150 XL 5.4 Triton (cannot find any manual, it has the 2 doors and 2 half doors) he is willing to sell me but i don't know if it's the right vehicle for this type of towing. i cannot find anywhere a tow rating for it. please let me know.
thank you!
Mike

[DKB_SATX]

It is possible that this truck would do for a while, since it's an XL you have a better chance that it was originally set up to tow. However, I towed a much lighter trailer with an '07 F150 with the 5.4, and it made the truck work pretty hard. The 4-speed auto doesn't have lots of range options to keep the engine in a good powerband and doesn't have much of a brain like more modern transmissions do. If the truck doesn't have a least the 3.55:1 differential (preferably the 3.73) I'd vote a strong no. Even if it's ideally set up, I'd still recommend you find something better-suited to the task unless it's a high-payload fleet special at a REALLY favorable price.

[DKB_SATX]

There should be a sticker on the doorframe of the driver's door with some codes that will tell you what the differential is, by the way. Whitish sticker that says "MFG BY FORD MOTOR CO" on the top. Across the bottom is a table of data and one of the columns is labeled "Axle" or "Axle Code"

B6: Best case. 3.73 limited-slip
H9: Decent. 3.55 limited-slip (the one I had)
19: Meh. 3.55 open diff, I'd pass esp. if 2WD
18: Hard pass. 3.08 open diff, I wouldn't consider it.

[Aviator]

I don't know what the differences are between 2007 and 2009. I tow both our 34' and 27' with a 2009 F150 5.4. I do have a six speed trans and the door sticker lists a max tow weight of 11,300#. I've put many miles on the combo including an 11,000' pass in Colorado.

Caveat, a good hitch is a must. I use a ProPride on both Airstreams

[r carl]

Originally Posted by megamike

Hi all!
so here i am after 4 years, my dream finally came true! i am officially (at last) an Airstream owner! i bought a 2009 Flying Cloud 28 and it's been awesome! the only problem i have now is what to tow it with. my friend has a 2007 F150 XL 5.4 Triton (cannot find any manual, it has the 2 doors and 2 half doors) he is willing to sell me but i don't know if it's the right vehicle for this type of towing. i cannot find anywhere a tow rating for it. please let me know.
thank you!
Mike

Why don't you two go pull your trailer with his truck and see how it does?

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Aviator

I don't know what the differences are between 2007 and 2009. I tow both our 34' and 27' with a 2009 F150 5.4. I do have a six speed trans and the door sticker lists a max tow weight of 11,300#. I've put many miles on the combo including an 11,000' pass in Colorado.

Caveat, a good hitch is a must. I use a ProPride on both Airstreams

The 6R80 6-speed didn't make it to the F150 until 2009 and made a big difference, with 4th and 5th gears straddling "direct" and better shift logic than the 4R75 that came before. With the 5.4 it still comes down to the differential and setup, the tow package had an additional trans cooler, etc.

r carl makes a valid point, though... since this truck belongs to your friend, and you already have the Airstream, if the diff and such are promising you could do a test-tow. I see you're in Florida, so you may have to go a long way to find a hill. Maybe a high bridge?

My '07 with the 3.55 LSD did OK towing a 24' Argosy in flat lands, but it needed lots of spur for hills, and mountain passes had me hanging with the big rigs at 35mph in 2nd with my foot on the floor.

For an old 5.4, check out the exhaust manifolds. If the truck has worked hard they get hot, I had one replaced late in my time w/ the truck and was *SO* happy I'd gambled on the utility of a service policy... the $115 manifold required $1000 in labor to swap out. *cough*

[uraljohn]

Originally Posted by megamike

Hi all!
so here i am after 4 years, my dream finally came true! i am officially (at last) an Airstream owner! i bought a 2009 Flying Cloud 28 and it's been awesome! the only problem i have now is what to tow it with. my friend has a 2007 F150 XL 5.4 Triton (cannot find any manual, it has the 2 doors and 2 half doors) he is willing to sell me but i don't know if it's the right vehicle for this type of towing. i cannot find anywhere a tow rating for it. please let me know.
thank you!
Mike

If you find that the truck does indeed have the 3.73 limited slip differential (LSD), and it has been very well maintained (fluids changed accordingly, especially trans fluid) and is at a very good price, you might take a chance on it. HOWEVER, the R475W transmission has a terrible reputation for failure. The front drum (or forward drum) bearing fails. Instant transmission destruction. About 3 or 4K to replace with Jasper reman unit. SO, if you buy, start a fund for tranny replacement. No need to ask me how I know. I would not even consider truck if it does not have factory tow pkg and 3.73 Diff.

[megamike]

thank you all for the amazing suggestions! i will look into the sticker and let you guys know. just to make things a little more clear, i am getting it for practically nothing. so loosing money is not the issue, i just wanted to know if i won't end up burning parts, get stuck, or the worst - won't be safe to do. i did see the hitch and harness factory installed, but no sign of built in break controller. i will be using it for short trips maybe twice a month. i did notice something that i will share a few photos just to get an advice if this tuck may be in trouble in your eyes. (sorry for the very little knowledge i have about cars)
thank you all again!

[xrvr]

Take the vin to a ford dealer and he can run it in the computer and tell all the options on the truck. It is called a build sheet. Go to parts or service, either should be able to do this. Wil give you trans, engibe, rear end, any towing options abd all other standard or optional acc. Ask for a build sheet!

[heslinhotel]

Megamike
If you only plan to make a couple of short trips each month and you live in Florida which is flat you should have no problems.

[DKB_SATX]

If the thing you're worried about from the photos is the "wet" oil pan, on an 11-year-old truck I wouldn't be too freaked out about that. If it's never been dropped, that pan gasket is pretty stiff by now and likely weeps enough oil to keep the pan wet. *IF* you have a reason to drop the pan, a new gasket will cure that. Now, if it's dripping a quart a month or something like that there's a more serious issue, but that remains to be seen.

[m.hony]

Needs an oil pan gasket?
Worth a try anyway.

[SouthForkAS]

"...in Florida, so you may have to go a long way to find a hill. Maybe a high bridge?"
very far - U would have to cross the Rickenbacker to get any elevation change on SoFla. Maybe a one day cruise up to central Fl (Ocala, Gainesville, take 27 - lighter traffic) where the rolling hills are. But if you're going west, or even the Blue Ridge, get a F250 at least.

[guskmg]

I’m not sure of the year of the 150. But, my friend lost restart capability in the Rocky Mountians because the plastic shift cable from the tranny to the shift lever melted due to exhaust heat . You could get a restart if you crawled under the truck and positianed the tranny shifter by hand. The replacement part took 5 days and came with an improved metal housing.
guskmg

[TouringDan]

You have been very patient. Glad that you finally have your Airstream and glad to have you with us.

I think you have been given some very good advice.

That you are getting it for “practically nothing” and that you are just making short trips in Florida makes this a no brainer to me. Go slow and give yourself plenty of safety cushion while driving and you should be fine.

Dan

[megamike]

thank you guys so much! really happy to be a part of this amazing community! hope to see you all on the road! i think i will just go slow and since no one has point out that i will be in any danger, i feel much better. i really think the longest i will go will be smokey mountains. i will install a break controller and install a pressure monitoring system.
thank you all so much!