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bbutler455 · 04-04-2006, 09:11 PM

Well we picked up Lola (1971 27' Overlander) in eastern TN and headed for the beach in Destin, FL. After research I found that the 2004 and later F150s have the same transmission as the F250, and the manual does not mention the need to turn off the OD when towing. After installing the tran temp gauge I was releived to discover that the temperature in OD never even approached the engine temperature. It stayed in 100 to 130 range the whole trip. The trick was to avoid the speed control unless you were on semi-level ground - too much OD downshifting to maintain an exact speed. Also, I would not turn on the OD until I was on the highway and wanted the lower ratio.

As far as equipment, I used an Equalizer stabilizer leveling hitch and towed the Overlander with ease. I also installed inexpensive air helper springs on the F150 so I can load it up without affecting ride height.

FYI, I decided not to install the Roush Supercharger until I tried the F150 with the improved intake and exhaust. The truck is now producing 330 hp and much improved MPG. Based on my maiden trip I don't think I will need the supercharger. The kindest thing you can do for your engine is to help it breath better. Regardless of your TV you should install a less restrictive intake and exhaust. I also reprogramed my truck CPU to a firmer shift and a mid-grade gas. I love this truck.

2airishuman · 04-04-2006, 09:27 PM

hi brock

good report on the f150...these are nice trucks......the thing about performance mods like the supechargers....it's always better to try it first without......the truck has plenty of power for towing without it.

cheers
2air'

vinman · 10-22-2007, 08:50 AM

Dear Folks , this is my tow vehicle, It is all I have at present and unable to make any changes for 4 years. I am interested in the 24 and 25 ft. argosy and airstream trailers. My truck does have the factory tow package , and for the most part I will be staying east or flatlanding it for a while yet. Souldn't I be able to use the truck to move the trailer from place to place occasionally? It looks like many of the pre-1983 trailers are lighter. around 5000# or so. like 6200# gross, etc. Well , I must try it any way. Ps. I'm having trouble finding used airstreams here in the central or mid-atlantic region, why? I wonder.

Boondocker · 10-22-2007, 08:57 AM

Hey Vin, it would be helpful to know your model year and gear ratio. I'm guessing (note the guessing part) that you would be OK under the conditions you list. I towed with a 91 F150 for a couple years with mixed feelings. The post-mortum on that is here. I know the new generation trucks are hard to compare to mine, so I'm not sure what to say except the newer ones seem to have more oomph from what I read.

SilverRanger · 10-22-2007, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinman

... Ps. I'm having trouble finding used airstreams here in the central or mid-atlantic region, why? I wonder.

Truth!
Greetings from a fellow Sussex Countian, Vinman. Good used Airstreams are hard to find around here. There's an RV dealer just down the road from me who occasionally gets an AS as a trade-in on an SOB. I believe he may still have an 1980's 28 footer on the lot, but the frame is corroded very badly and it has several other issues. If I see or hear about anything nice, I'll be glad let you know. (That is, if my wife doesn't try to rescue it first.)

SteveH · 10-24-2007, 11:42 AM

Vinman,

In the past, I towed a 24' Arogosy with a Dodge Ramcharger, 360 engine, and had no problems whatsoever. Also pulled the same Argosy with a 1/2 ton Suburban, 350 engine, and again, no problems.

I currently tow a '75, 23' Airstream with a 1/2 to GMC pickup, 5.3 engine with towing package, and it handles the AS smartly. Even the larger, heavier trailer you are considering should not be a problem, IMHO.

Your Ford truck would certainly have more load carrying capabilty, and would probably have more towing capacity than either of the two vehicles I used to tow the Argosy, so I would not be concerned at all.

safari 28 · 10-24-2007, 10:43 PM

left Holland Michigan 10/5 with a 2004 28 foot safari and a 2008 f150 lariat crew with 5.4 and 373 gears tow package with reese dual cam and prodigy going through colorado down to san francisco and yesterday through santa ana winds and closed roads due to fire. 102 degrees, no hint of overheating.

This has been the most impressive combination I have ever had, the 150 is a very capable truck. The computer shows 12.3 average and that includes burning e85 across the midwest. What I really like is the suspension starts to give in rough roads such as i80 out of reno going into frisco. I believe a 250 would have just been to rough. She sits high with 18 inch tires and never did I feel we were over limit. Many time at 3400rpm I went past diesel 5th wheels at high elevation.

I decided to lease and get new every 2. 20k/year lease with a loaded truck that includes leather, console shift and no noise or smell of diesel and the maint is oil changes and that is it. Simple. The safari loaded up is about 6300lbs with a reserve towing capacity at just under 10k it works. I think ford has made this 150 a heavy half ton indeed.

juel · 10-29-2007, 05:10 PM

Just towed a 31ft, 1976 AS home from Michigan, with a 2007 F-150, 5.4L, V8, with towing package. No strain, no problems, no overheating. Got the Prodigy controller with the F-150 plug-in included and it just snapped in and worked wonderfully. Pulled the hills going around St. Louis (in rush hour traffic, big mistake) in the rain with no problems pulling or stopping. I was very happy with this combination. If I were taking this trailer on the road all the time, I would probably opp for the 250, but for the occasional tow, this worked very well.

dieterdog · 10-29-2007, 06:21 PM

Yay Juel,, you did it!!!! So glad the truck performed for you,, was a bit worried,,, Happy Trails,,, donna,,, ps,,, living in the mountains, i find that the engine does strain a bit on steep inclines,,, 2004 Expedition,, 5.4 liter engine,, 1997 25 foot Safari,,, Expedition does have the heavy duty tow package,,, depends on what you ask it to do,,, have fun all and be safe,, donna

Jimandrod · 02-22-2008, 10:39 PM

We're finally ready to place the order for our '08 28 ft Safari SE. As we were finishing up the research for ordering our AS it turns pout that our F-150 is rated at 9300 pounds. We should have no trouble hauling it around. We have the F-150 4x4 with the tow package.

DreamStreamr · 02-23-2008, 08:01 AM

Jim,
You've received huge response, something is surely still unsaid and I want to increase my posts.

We towed two years with a '93 F-150 extended cab long bed 5.1L 4.10. We were towing a 2005 International 22. It did great on the flats and controlled the trailer really well, probably due to truck long wheel base relative to trailer length. Uphill? Gas pedal mashed through the floor we could always count on at least 26 mph with the engine screaming out. A little rough, but it always made it through.

Only had front disc brakes on truck, and very scary mountain descent one time when trailer brakes weren't behaving correctly. Smoked the truck's front brakes big time. Finally put truck in 4-wheel low range and held everything slow and calm down the mountain.

But, and this is big, we didn't have much of anything in the bed. Now we tow an International 25 SS with a different truck. We are carrying just under 2,000 pounds in the 6.5 foot bed of the truck. This puts the truck close to a surprising 8,000 pounds, which cuts deeply into the gross combined weight rating. You pointed out yesterday or today you don't carry canoes or kayaks or anything -- you're assuredly carrying less stuff than we are. We could tow this Airstream 25 SS trailer with an F-150, but we would almost certainly restrict truck's cargo carrying capacity.

Whatever you do, take the setup to the weight scales and see what you have and respond accordingly. We towed an empty Argosy 24 home from Lima OH last November -- what a dream! We couldn't tell it was back there except for the cool clearance lights. We drove a little faster than with our 25 SS. I'm with Juel, I drive slower when towing and even more attentive to following distances and special conditions when I'm towing a fully loaded setup.

We loved our F-150. It looked super, was comfortable, and behaved well. And it sold really quickly even with 150K miles. Tough to beat. Good luck and see you down the road!

Jim

safari 28 · 02-23-2008, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimandrod

We're finally ready to place the order for our '08 28 ft Safari SE. As we were finishing up the research for ordering our AS it turns pout that our F-150 is rated at 9300 pounds. We should have no trouble hauling it around. We have the F-150 4x4 with the tow package.

We have the same set up, going nationwide and it has exceeded our expectations. Good luck.

1Bombshell · 02-24-2008, 01:49 AM

We've been towing our 25' Safari SE FB with a 05 F150, for 2 years. It's got the tow package and we use an Equalizer hitch. We've been up and down the California coast numerous times. We've gone out to Death Valley, effortlessly. We just got back from Sedona and the truck pulled the Safari through the desert in the wind and rain without a problem. Going up and over the 7300 ft pass was a breeze. We've never felt like she was under powered or too small. We're very pleased with the truck!

Just our 2 cents!

Jimandrod · 02-24-2008, 09:09 AM

It's always nice to hear from others who have towed with the same kind of rig. I'm always appreciative of those 2 cent contributions!

Specifically our TV is...
2004 F-150
SuperCab 4x4 with a 144" wheel base
5.1 L Tirtan V-8
3.73 axle ratio
Factory installed tow package with a transmission cooler

According to Ford's 2004 Towing Guide it rates a 15,000 lb GCWR and a 9300 lb max loaded trailer weight.

Since we don't have a lot of toys to haul (and probibly won't) we should be in great shape lugging a 28 ft Safari SE with a base weight of 6020 lbs (with the options on it and fresh water tank loaded)

The true test will will be on the road. Living in the southern Rockies will pose a little challange but I do know some alternate routes where the hills aren't so severe.

There are a few guys here that feel anything smaller than a Peterbuilt capapable of hauling a couple of zillion pounds isn't a worthy TV. But, at $3.15 a gallon, I'd rather have something that's a closer match to my needs.

The bottom line for me is that I'm just REALLY excited to be finally getting this thing ordered!

safari 28 · 02-24-2008, 06:32 PM

Keep us posted on the 28. we love ours and it is identical in floor plan to yours. Our only beef is the queen bed, it is tight to move around, but only got to us after being on the road for 70 nights. Anyway a great design and lots of living room for weight and our 08 150 has done all we could ask. We do have the new suspension upgrades, frame size has been increased and the 5.4 triton with 3 valves and 300 HP. Be prepared to let her rev in the mountains. One of things I like about the lariat series is the console shift. On typical long passes we run 3400 rpm at 55, and she pulls strong. Thats gearing down to 3 from overdrive. They love to rev. Both uphill and down hill. On the open road we run 2200 rpm at 65mph out of overdrive. I would advise you go to a Ford dealer and look at the video presentation they have on the 08 f150 series to see all the changes they have made to compete with Japanese. Some of the improvements are huge in brakes, frame, suspension and cooling.You can then talk to the dealer to see what is upgraded over your model. I hope your 150 works as good as ours.

Jimandrod · 02-25-2008, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by safari 28

Keep us posted on the 28... ...You can then talk to the dealer to see what is upgraded over your model. I hope your 150 works as good as ours.

We'll keep you posted. Thanks for the information.

Great advice on talking to the dealer. I have to take it in soon for routine service and that will be a good time to do it.

bbutler455 · 02-25-2008, 09:17 PM

I pulled my 28' AS with my 05 F150 5.4l with tow package. I installed a tran temp gauge just to be sure. I would put take it out of OD when it started to hunt gears. Otherwise it pulled effortlessly at 65+ up and down hills. The temp gauge never got into the yellow range. The F150 has the same trans as the F250 - bullet-proof.

Also, as a general rule I ALWAYS upgrade my intake and exhaust on all my vehicles. Put a K&N cold air intake and a cat-back free flow exhaust and you will improve 2 mpg and increase your useable power alot. Your engine will be breathing easier and run cooler. Sounds more mellow also.

The other improvement is expensive but incredible. You can easily put a Roush Ford Factory supercharger on 04 and newer 5.4l F150s. I put one on my brothers F-150. It was a direct fit and added 100HP and a ton of torque. He now pulls a Toybox trailer loaded with quad vehicles in the mountains around Seattle.

Also, it is inexpensive to add spring helper bags on the rear leaf springs to allow you to exactly level the load. Equalizer hitch almost makes this unnecessary.

Brock

handywaynef · 04-30-2008, 09:05 AM

Hi i am looking for a airstream travel trailer that tows best with a 1995 ford F-150 eddie bower 4x4 automatic 5.0 302 EFI paxton supercharger,with a quad shock system bilsten shocks, firestone ride right system, dynomax exhaust system, michelin tires, what size is best i am thinking of something in the 70-80 for the year of airstream. undecide on model or length? I am think of partime living in it with my wife were both 5'10 and a australian cattle dog 42 pounds. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

wingfooted · 05-01-2008, 05:14 AM

We are using the F 150 as an undersized tow vehicle for an "occasional towing" application.

The airstream is a 2005 31' Classic.

The tow vehicle is a 2007 F 150 5.4L 4 x 4 with tow package and extended bed. Tow rating is 9400 pounds.

My back of the envelope calculation is that we are towing at 85% of the vehicle rating. To date the only trips have been around the farm using a ball and this summer we plan on installing the weight distribution /anti sway hitch and Prodigy.

Logic was that we did not intend to do much towing with this setup over the next three years and we could always upgrade the tow vehicle in the event we wanted more of a travel capability.

safari 28 · 05-01-2008, 06:44 AM

Our 04 28 safari has a dry weight of 5700lbs. Now I know why we can drag that sucker from one end this great country to another-- twice and no issues. The new 150 series set up properly will shock buyers how wonderful they tow. The changes in frame, cooling and suspension not to mention power is the reason it has to be the best value for our hobby. The ford dealer mentioned even 2006 models are not the same. Add the ability to burn e85 with the 5.4 and really, it should be on the short list for those looking at a new tow vehicle.