I am considering buying a 2008 CCD International with a loaded weight of about 7,500 pounds. Live in Florida and summer in mountains in Colorado.
Must purchase a new tow vehicle as well, and will try to stay with Ford.
Can a 300 h.p. F150 do the job?
Welcome to the forums.
I don't think I would advise the F150 with the 7,000 lb+ trailer, especially heading into the mountains. We have a similar weight trailer, and our 280hp F250 was really struggling climbing the mountains (hills?) of western North Carolina.
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I tow a 28' CCD with a F150 5.4 both pretty well loaded. And it did the job perfectly thru the canadian rockies.
The F150 can be rated for 9500 lbs.
The F250 with the same engine is not that better as the truck itself is way heavier.
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Towing would work. It's the payload that gets you in trouble with a 1/2 ton.
After tongue weight, two adults, and fuel. There isn't much left for gear without exceeding rated capacity.
Tom
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2007 28' Int CCD.
2008 F 250 6.4L Diesel.
DTV 5lnb on a tripod.
Wilson wired repeater with YAG.
If you're headed for a new TV I would consider that a gasser this size would labor up mountains and get maybe 9 mpg while towing. New diesels built for ULSD and modern emissions requirements don't tow at the 16mpg of old -- plus they bumped up the horsepower by 60 or more in a couple steps 2-4 years ago. So it's not an easy choice. The (now discontinued?) Ford V-10 or Chev 8 liter were plenty powerful but register in gallons per mile. I'd still get 4WD -- many times it's saved me from bad traction where rear drive could spin chunks up onto my silver palace.
Regardless of tow capacity, look at any TV's payload capacity. Take the 28-footer tongue weight and add 200 pounds (WD/antisway gear, LP in the tanks, minimal personal gear onboard). Subtract that combined tongue weight from a half tonner's payload. The remainder is all you can load aboard in terms of people, truck cap, payload in the box, etc. Half-tonners can be quite limited in this way -- which is why I have a 3/4-ton with a truck cap that can haul my canoe on top, bikes set up on skewers in the bed mat, genset & all sorts of gear when I'm traveling far from home and spy the perfect lake or bike trail.
If you go with gas be sure to get a tranny cooler (sometimes part of a tow package). A tranny temp gauge is handy too.
This particular subject is one of the most contentious on the forum.
For example I towed my 7700# Sovereign 12000 miles last year from Miami to Seattle and back with my 305 hp Nissan Titan. Had absolutley no problems except a grand total of about 75 minutes during the whole trip stuck in the "granny" lane going 40 in 3rd gear. Pretty much drove around at 60 mph and averaged 12.88 mpg otherwise.
There are folks here that consider anything less than a diesel 3/4 ton as an invitation to disaster. There are Ford guys/girls, Dodge guys/girls etc. etc. The only time I've ever seen any measure of agreement on this subject was when someone posted about his towing a 4500# trailer with an Audi (using a bumper hitch no less)-- we all groaned on that one.
Me, I am happy with what I have and very grateful that I am "only" paying $3.65 a gallon for unleaded rather than $4.25 for diesel.
Bottom line is assume your trailer will weigh its max gross weight. Find a vehicle you will enjoy driving when you aren't towing that has a towing capacity 15-20% greater than your trailer's max gross.
We just were in the Coloado rockies on I-70 West of Denver. One Pass was 10600 FT. It is a good thing our TV is an F-250 7.3 Turbo Diesel. O our AS is a Safari 2003 28SO.
This is subject to alot of opinions But would U try and stop a boxcar with a tri-cycle.? I think not. Its all about SAFETY. What U are comfortable with is not good for someone else. I have pulled my 27 ft OVERLANDER with my F150 with a 305ci engine and with the F 350 w/7.3 ltr Desiel. WORLDS OF DIFFERENCE.But to each his own Mine is only an opinion of a old retired trucker that pulled trailers for 45, yrs what do I know?
Roger
I wont put the rest of the forum through my rant on our 08 f150 again. Please read past postings on the subject. I tow a 28 safari in all conditions and cross country with no issues. Each his own,but I think many are using too heavy of a truck and placing stress on the trailer. A 250 or 350 series is a beast that you live with daily. Be careful and good luck.
I did the research on this just like you are doing. Way to go, it will pay off. I personally use a Chevy 2500 HD Diesel to tow a 28 foot CCD.
Glad I have it, it's a great combination. Lots of people state the 1/2 ton trucks will do fine. I don't have any experience with that but it makes sense. I just like having the extra capacity.
Good luck in your search. This topic always brings out the politeness and thougtfulness of the Chevy/Ford/Dodge/Toyota/Nissan pick up truck owners. We are a very pensive bunch who never react too strongly.
Might I suggest that if you have access to the January issue of Trailer Life magazine that you refer to the towing guide. Basically, the suggestion is that one will want to use a TV rated at 125% of the gross load of the trailer. As I recall, at elevations above 7000', the TV will loose 10% for every 1000' of elevation. At just 10,000' elevation, the TV will have lost 30% power. (I suggest that one place more emphasis on engine torque rather then horse power.) Keep in mind that the engine is on the verge of having an internal hemorrhage because of the thin air.
You may hear an old timer refer to this as the "Rocky Mountain fudge factor" which says that one never exceeds 80% of the TV rated capacity.
Having lived in Denver, I've found this to be a most valuable rule of thumb.
I am considering buying a 2008 CCD International with a loaded weight of about 7,500 pounds. Live in Florida and summer in mountains in Colorado.
Must purchase a new tow vehicle as well, and will try to stay with Ford.
Can a 300 h.p. F150 do the job?
Get yourself one of the few remaining 2006 AM General H1 Alphas. You should be able to find a 2006 left over at one of the larger Hummer dealers. These vehicles were designed to take a significant amount of abuse so they should last forever. The vehicle body is Aluminum so it will last forever and the drive train consists of a hefty Duramax Turbo Diesel matched with an Allison Transmission. You will have all the torque and hauling capacity you will ever need.
We (actually my wife) picked out the new F250 SuperDuty with the diesel. After 1 year and 15k miles (11k of which towing) we could not be happier with our choice. Towing milege is 14 and going up as the engine breaks in. If I keep my foot out of the boost and keep speeds about 60, we consistently get 20 or better mpg. The safety margin is HUGE in this truck and we have about the same vehicle weight as you. We took it to the Canadian Rockies last year and the mountains were not an issue at all. Beautiful TV.
As I recall, at elevations above 7000', the TV will loose 10% for every 1000' of elevation. At just 10,000' elevation, the TV will have lost 30% power. (I suggest that one place more emphasis on engine torque rather then horse power.) Keep in mind that the engine is on the verge of having an internal hemorrhage because of the thin air.
I believe it's more like 2.9% power loss per 1000 feet above sea level, not just at elevations above 7000 feet. I suppose it becomes far more noticeable at Colorado elevations!
Internal hemorrahage? No, I don't think so. Full throttle at 10000 feet wouldn't put any more strain on the mechanicals than 70% throttle at sea level. The engine simply can't get enough air to hurt itself, unless it's turbocharged or supercharged. However, I expect a marginal cooling system would reveal itself in thin air.
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Might I suggest that if you have access to the January issue of Trailer Life magazine that you refer to the towing guide. Basically, the suggestion is that one will want to use a TV rated at 125% of the gross load of the trailer. As I recall, at elevations above 7000', the TV will loose 10% for every 1000' of elevation. At just 10,000' elevation, the TV will have lost 30% power. (I suggest that one place more emphasis on engine torque rather then horse power.) Keep in mind that the engine is on the verge of having an internal hemorrhage because of the thin air.
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