7.3 PSD Automatic Towing 48' Race Trailer

[m_beeson]

I need your opinion. I have a '02 Ford F250 PSD. It is a crew cab short bed, automatic trans., has 35" tires, and I don't know the gear ratio in the diff. The truck has about 100k miles, drives great, trans. feels really good and still shifts firm. It tows a 27' enclosed snowmobile trailer much of the time. I need a bigger trailer for business purposes. We travel a lot from Utah to southern California, and the snowmobile trailer doesn't have enough room for what we are hauling.

I found a killer deal on a 48' enclosed "race trailer." Empty, it weighs about 9500 lbs. We would likely be tipping the scales around 17,000 fully loaded. Is this way too much for my truck? I've wondered if airbags in back, a huge trans. cooler w/ regular trans services, meticulous brake services, and good guages will allow me to continue to use my truck with this race trailer. I know these transmissions aren't the best. I'm a little concerned about putting too much trailer on this truck. I'd like to get a dually with a manual trans., but it would obviously cost a lot more money. What do you think?

Also, does anybody know if I can legally tow this trailer loaded for business use without a CDL or the DOT ratings on the truck?

Any help and suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeremy

You should have gauges. It is too easy to run your egt's over 1200°F.

 

[JOwen72]

The tranny is not the issue in those pickups. They aren't great but they can be helped a little. The first thing I would do to the pre-2004 trannys is replace the torque converter. The next thing is guages for tranny temp and egts. If the tranny temp gets above 230 it's time to think about an additonal cooler. It's also pretty easy for the egts to get way too hot, 1200 is a little warm.

 

[Greg B.]

apparently you have not dealt with the dot in mn.why do you people pull those loads with a pickup. why not get a chevy 5500 or 6500 for the same price you guys pay for them pickups

Yeah no kidding.. the DOT at a weight station ripped my *** apart and I was only pulling around 8-9000 pounds. They are complete asses and make up things as they go along. The only thing the could get on me was not putting the state down in my log book, and signing my name. the rest we got thrown out after I got the rule book out and wrote a letter.

 

[Tuesday]

Here is one vital point that seems to be overlooked. One of the components in determining how much a truck can pull is how much can the truck stop. Dont forget to overhaul your brakes. Trailer brakes are junk and cant count on those. It doesnt matter how fast you get the load going if you cant get it stopped thats when things become unsafe IMO.

GL

Still probably one of fords best motors and lots of easy mods to make it even better.

 

[Dogmeat]

I need your opinion. I have a '02 Ford F250 PSD. It is a crew cab short bed, automatic trans., has 35" tires, and I don't know the gear ratio in the diff. The truck has about 100k miles, drives great, trans. feels really good and still shifts firm. It tows a 27' enclosed snowmobile trailer much of the time. I need a bigger trailer for business purposes. We travel a lot from Utah to southern California, and the snowmobile trailer doesn't have enough room for what we are hauling.

I found a killer deal on a 48' enclosed "race trailer." Empty, it weighs about 9500 lbs. We would likely be tipping the scales around 17,000 fully loaded. Is this way too much for my truck? I've wondered if airbags in back, a huge trans. cooler w/ regular trans services, meticulous brake services, and good guages will allow me to continue to use my truck with this race trailer. I know these transmissions aren't the best. I'm a little concerned about putting too much trailer on this truck. I'd like to get a dually with a manual trans., but it would obviously cost a lot more money. What do you think?

Also, does anybody know if I can legally tow this trailer loaded for business use without a CDL or the DOT ratings on the truck?

Any help and suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeremy

Get rid of the 35" tires and you will be fine.

You will be putting a lot more strain than you realize on your transmission trying to tow with stock gearing and 35" tires .... If it were me I wouldn't have even been pulling around a small trailer with those tires and not re-gearing ... but then again it's an enormous pet peeve of mine trying to run a truck with larger-than-stock tires without the right gear ratios.

There is no way though, I would try towing a trailer that big on 35" tires period.

I'm assuming you don't have a lift on the truck? If you do, I would seriously take it off before towing a trailer that big.

It's gonna make towing the trailer that much easier.

 

[skidooer1]

Dont forget to overhaul your brakes. Trailer brakes are junk and cant count on those. .

How in the He!! can you say trailer brakes are junk? you must not know how to use them with a bold statement like that.electric to hydralic are nice but full electric ain't bad either. a good brake controller such as the prodigy is worth it weight in gold.jakes are very helpful and when used in conjunction with trailer brakes will make pads in rotors last forever.

 

[Rick!]

I have dealt with the Dot in almost every state(minnesota ALOT), been audited a few times.If one of your axles are over on the weight( based on tires not actual axles) you would be screwed. My 2004 dodge 3500 drw is only rated at 22,500 gcw and its been through scales at 32,000 lbs (registered weight is 33,500) more times than I can count. Be sure to use good judgement when loading certain stuff and your good. The one time I was pulled over I was fined cause my truck was only registered at 6 tons and I Didn't have my IRP and apportioned plates.The truck and trailer in my case alone weighs 18,000 lbs empty.

"why do you people pull those loads with a pickup"

9 mpg average. last summer i was making anywhere from 1.85 to 2.50 per mile for misc loads that are only 10-15000 lbs. a full size tractor trailer averages 6 mpg at best.hotshotting is more effiecient.only a couple companies that I have ever dealt with would'nt use hot shot trucks due to
previous problems with low grade gooseneck trailers.

I'm a little late to the game here but skidooer could help enlighten powderguy about the DOT necessities for a small business. Certainly, to be scaled over the gowr or gcw is not a good thing without a cdl and the appropriate DOT physical paperwork and proper log book maintenance. Then, proper hazmat training is necessary as a simple 5 gallon plastic jug of fuel is illegal if you have a DOT number on your truck. Another thing to consider is if you will be going to Canada. A 48footer behind a 3/4 ton Ford will probably be turned around at the border as they look at the max rating of the trailer and add the truck gvwr and then see if your license will accommodate the total weight, I think. Anywho, there is a lot of stuff to understand before you start running over 26,000lbs with a DOT number on your vehicle. And, if you buy a large trailer like that, it would be most beneficial to have the seller prove its DOT status before you purchase.

And finally, modern diesel trucks can pull silly loads but like the other guy said, slowing them down is more important. Getting mushy brakes going down a long pass is kinda uncomfortable at best. Engine brakes are a great addition to avoid runaways and other such maladies.