Can you tell me about towing with a 1976 Ford F100

[fairtheewell]

I have a 1968 Land Yacht. The ford is a 3/4 ton flatbed. Tell me about towing with an ancient ford. Thank you so much.

Maya

[HowieE]

I remember towing with my 1975 Ford wagon. Not sure I consider that ancient.

There should be no greater problem with your truck as long as you have resolved the same problems that exist today. Right engine to drive train ratio.

[fairtheewell]

Thank you!

[tjdonahoe]

I had a 73 390 , 77 351 M and a 79 400 ford 3/4 ton and they drank a lot of gas and are under powered by today's standards....Back then I had a 28' kenskill,at about 6500 lbs....

[CRH]

I don't believe a 1976 F100 is a 3/4 ton truck.

I tow with a 1977 F150. It has a 460, C6 tranny, oil cooler, 9 inch rear end and aftermarket overload springs. My 25 ft Excella doesn't even make it breath hard. It gets about 8-9 mpg on the interstate towing at 60 mph with the AC on....my truck has been the tow vehicle for 3 Airstreams, at least 3 SOB's and a 36 ft Aljo Aly fifth wheel.

FWIW, my truck was bought to replace a then 2 year old 1975 F100 with a small block that overheated and struggled pulling a 22 ft SOB.

[Paul and Tam]

In 1976 I worked for a Ford dealer in Iowa. The F100 was the light duty pickup, the F150 was the heavy duty 1/2 ton, and the F250 was the 3/4 ton. I think the F100 and F150 may have had the same frame, and the difference in load capacity being the springs used. Please double check this before overloading your F100.

I hope that helps.

[shineybullet]

If it has the ford 360 motor it drank lots of gas and didn't have a lot of pulling power , didn't go up the mountains very fast ( I had a few over the years )

[dannydimitt]

The whole reason for the F150 was to get around emission regulations.
When the F150 was introduced in 1975, the EPA's regulations had a break at 6000 lb GVW. Below that emission regulations required catalytic converters and unleaded fuel. Above that the less stringent regulations meant that the trucks didn't need the converters and could then run the cheaper leaded regular fuel.
The F150's differences are strictly related to slightly heavier duty suspension and systems that are emissions related.
As far as appearance, the only difference between the F100 and 150 are the badges.
After a few years, the emissions regulations tighten even more making the F100 kind of redundant and when Ford introduced the Ranger pickup the market niche for the F100 was getting even smaller.
In 1983 Ford made the decision to drop the F100 and make the F150 the only half ton model in the F series.

[m.hony]

I always thought F100 was a light duty 1/2 ton-
Then the designation F150 for 1/2 ton, F250 for 3/4 ton, and F350 for 1 ton, and so on.

[sheriff1]

I have a 74 F100 short bed 2wd with a fresh 360 and an automatic. TERRIBLE gas mileage and even with a RV cam not sufficient power to pull more than a 16-18' IMHO. Still fun to cruise in though.


2015 F350 CC 4X4 6.7 Diesel
2010 27FB Silver Cloud "The Silver Spoon"

[dannydimitt]

Originally Posted by dannydimitt

The whole reason for the F150 was to get around emission regulations.
When the F150 was introduced in 1975, the EPA's regulations had a break at 6000 lb GVW. Below that emission regulations required catalytic converters and unleaded fuel. Above that the less stringent regulations meant that the trucks didn't need the converters and could then run the cheaper leaded regular fuel.
The F150's differences are strictly related to slightly heavier duty suspension and systems that are emissions related.
As far as appearance, the only difference between the F100 and 150 are the badges.
After a few years, the emissions regulations tighten even more making the F100 kind of redundant and when Ford introduced the Ranger pickup the market niche for the F100 was getting even smaller.
In 1983 Ford made the decision to drop the F100 and make the F150 the only half ton model in the F series.

From the early fiftys till 75 , the F-100 Ford was the only half ton truck Ford Built . Why they didn't drop the phony 150 label and resume the F-100 half ton is a loony tune marketing ploy at best .

The 1964 F-100 4x4 that we have used for the past 31 years has a transplanted 69 model 302 V-8 coupled to the original Warner granny 4 spd thru a 13 inch clutch , then thru a Spicer 24 divorced transfer case , into the 4.11 9 inch rear end . The old beast pulls both the Airstreams flawlessly with no weight distribution hitch , but sure does like to be fed frequently while doing so !

[ijustlee]

Depends on the drive train as to weather or not it tows well. A flatbed is good for feeding cows, not so good for travel. I'd rather have a van or station wagon than a flatbed for towing so you can keep stuff inside. I got stuck backing trailer on wet grass the other day because I don't have 4 wheel drive. Something else to consider if you were going to get another TV.

[fairtheewell]

Wow. Thank you everyone! It's a ranch truck, I'll thought it was a 3/4 ton, but obviously I'll double check that. Thank you everyone for your posts.

[tjdonahoe]

Best leave it on the ranch, it is about the same as my 72 and it drives about like my model A coupe....

[r carl]

Originally Posted by sheriff1

I have a 74 F100 short bed 2wd with a fresh 360 and an automatic. TERRIBLE gas mileage and even with a RV cam not sufficient power to pull more than a 16-18' IMHO. Still fun to cruise in though.


2015 F350 CC 4X4 6.7 Diesel
2010 27FB Silver Cloud "The Silver Spoon"

When I was in your situation yrs ago I got a used 390 and rebuilt it and put it in. Better power and mileage.