Towing Question

[Mab1219]

Shot in the dark…… Anyone tow there bronco on a flatbed with a F150 or 1/2 ton truck??
I have an ‘06 F150 5.4 motor with 190k on it. Need to tow the Bronc on a flatbed about 200 miles and wondering if anyone has towed with a 1/2 ton truck and how it did. I’m concerned I kill my truck in the process.
Thanks for any input.

 

[Bitch'nBronco]

I towed mine from Colorado to North Carolina with an F150 on a uhaul trailer, no problems aside from really bad gas mileage. Take your time climbing hills, but aside from that it was fine. Make sure you test the trailer brakes, those make the downhills and rapid stops much safer, add them if you don't already have them.

 

[Apogee]

What does your EB weigh? They range anywhere from ~3500# to over 6000# depending on the build, so that can make a pretty big difference. The 2007 F150 with a 5.4 should have a pretty respectable tow capacity upwards of 9200# per Google, so with a normal trailer, you should be okay if you take it easy. Also, where are you towing? There's a big difference between the flats and mountains when it comes to maintaining control of a trailer...but regardless, make sure your tires are up to it and you weight the trailer tongue correctly. A weight distributing hitch is probably required to get the max gross towing weight out of your F150, as that's the case on my Superduty.

 

[1970 Palmer]

As mentioned, trailer brakes are a must have (not an option), make sure your truck is equipped with a brake controller and it is in working condition. I would also recommend a weight distribution hitch. You can find used (almost new) towing parts on CL cheap from people upgrading to fifth wheel rigs. Make sure your seven way plug connection is in good working condition and all the trailer lights are working. Cross the safety chains, make sure they are not dragging. Make sure the breakaway brake cable is connected. Pay attention to how you place the weight load on the trailer (fore/aft). You need roughly 10% of the trailer loaded weight in tongue weight. (5000# = 500# in tongue weight)

My 2007 F150 crew cab 5.4 at 130K miles tows just fine. The 16/20 miles per gallon drops to only 10/11 miles per gallon when towing. Make sure your tires are fully inflated to the maximum limit cold. Check the date of manufacture on your trailer tires. "No More" than five years old is my limit. Trailer tires do not wear out, they age out.

Towing speed, slow down, there's a huge drop off in gas mileage above 65 mph. Not saying I do it, but 55 to 60 is a comfortable towing speed. Kick the overdrive button off on the shifter, so the transmission is not shifting back and forth frequently. On mountain grades you will be in second gear.

Only 200 miles, it will be easy peasey.

John

 

[ep67bro]

No problem at all. I have had a few different 4.6 and 5.4 motors and towed broncos and boats all over the place. All the responses above are spot on. Dont expect to win any drag races and your milage will suck. Good trailer brakes are a must and make sure to properly load the bronco on the trailer! Make sure you have some tung weight on the trailer and hitch. You dont want that thing to start waving back and forth behind you at 60mph. Load it up and go!

 

[Rustytruck]

For 200 miles and not knowing if your set-up is not adequate I would be looking at a flat bed tow company you just might find a serviceable deal. worrying about Brakes, tires, trailers, trailer tires and wheel bearings and I wouldn't be pushing a 190,000 mile automatic transmission with a heavy load. better safe than sorry. Bet if you search you can find someone to tow 400 miles. Thats less than a days work.

 

[Jakedog]

You'll be fine. In 2015 I towed mine home on a Uhaul car trailer for 300 miles with my 2004 Tacoma 4x4 double cab. It wasn't the best idea I ever had, and I'm still getting complaints from pilots for shining my headlights straight up in the air.
The trailer was a tandem axle with a surge brake. According to Uhaul the trailer was 2300 lbs empty.
Brake early and expect the unexpected in traffic.

With all the extra parts and 3 passengers my truck was way overloaded. I wouldn't do it again with that truck (which I still own).
I have a 2015 power wagon that does the towing now.

A full size truck should be more than enough.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Should be in the towing capacities of the F150. You will feel it back there. But properly loaded it will tow fine. F150 does a decent job of occasional towing. If you were hauling the rig every weekend to the trail head, different story. But for a one time tow, just fine. I know of plenty of lesser trucks that tow way more loads way more often just fine.

Or you can follow the internet and need a 4WD diesel to safely tow a jet ski.

 

[brewchief]

I've got a bit newer f150 (2013) and last year made a slighter shorter trip (170 miles one way) to the sand dunes 6 times, no big deal.

Keeping the speed down a bit takes some load off and you will get better mileage, I'll get 11 or 12 if I drive around 65, running 80 85 it will drop down to 7 or 8.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk

 

[stout22]

I've towed my Bronco for many miles with my 2007 F150, 5.4 with no issues. For several years I would make at least two trips of 6 to 8 hours from home. As a matter of fact that truck has spent most of it's life towing something.

 

[jamesroney]

Shot in the dark…… Anyone tow there bronco on a flatbed with a F150 or 1/2 ton truck??
I have an ‘06 F150 5.4 motor with 190k on it. Need to tow the Bronc on a flatbed about 200 miles and wondering if anyone has towed with a 1/2 ton truck and how it did. I’m concerned I kill my truck in the process.
Thanks for any input.

There's a nuance in this thread that is going unsaid. So I'm going to say it. (Jakedog mentioned it...and Stout22 has it pictured.) The problem with a little truck pulling a big load is all about weight distribution. If you have your headlights pointed to the sky...and your hitch is dragging on the ground...(exaggerations) then you are doing it right.

Your 5.4 engine will drag that load 200 miles all day long. But here's what can happen. When you load your Bronco and trailer...you need to put about about 10% of the weight (1,000 lbs) on the ball. That makes the 1/2 ton truck sag. Add some passengers, and some cargo...and it looks overloaded. In order to alleviate this, people always want to move the load rearward on the trailer. (so it "looks right") or worse, they will load the Bronco backwards. As soon as the center of gravity on the trailer gets behind the axle...it behaves like a pendulum and terrible things happen. At first it feels nervous, and twitchy, and any kind of cross wind, or lane change feels squirrely. As you increase speed, the instability increases. There are some great videos on youtube that demonstrate this dynamic. Very few people get to experience the wild uncontrollable oscillations but it's a heck of a ride.

When you see the guy pulling his trailer at 45MPH on the interstate, and he has that intense look of panic in his face, he is screaming at the kids, seat belt cinched tight...and his load is gently swaying left and right...you know he is doing it wrong. He's also the guy that says an F150 can't pull a trailer...

If you look at a big rig trailer...the very last thing across the finish line is usually the rear axle.

 

[blubuckaroo]

A tow vehicle's legal cargo capacity will usually be exceeded way before the tow capacity is reached.
Tongue weight needs to be around 15% of the weight of the loaded trailer. If your Bronco is 4500 pounds and the trailer 2000 pounds, that 6500 pounds will make close to 1000 pounds of tongue weight. You will add the passengers, cargo and fuel to that. You are going to be overloaded or close to it.