Towing ??s

[golden-lariat]

At what point do I need to program back to the canned 87 tow tune. Or in other words how much can I tow safely on my 89 performance?

They wanted me to take 2 empty anhydrous tanks back to the shop today at work and that got me wondering how much "towing" can be done safely on a "performance" tune or whether or not it actually matters.

[shotgun]

IIRC the limit is 2000 lbs (towing or hauling).

[Longshot270]

Yeah, usually around a ton is a good time to change.

[golden-lariat]

Thank you I will keep that in mind

[BigSur]

I wanted to follow up to this thread b/c I have a related question.

I have a small popup camper that weighs awround 1400 lbs.....I "think". I don't think I'm putting an extra 600lbs in to get over the 1 ton mark, but then again...I've never weighed my stuff.

I'm wondering if I should switch to my tow tune for this? My confusion is that my 87 performance tune has higher shift points and basically runs better overall than my tow tune, so I'd rather not change. I've towed once so far with the performance tune....no problems that I was aware of.

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by BigSur

I wanted to follow up to this thread b/c I have a related question.

I have a small popup camper that weighs awround 1400 lbs.....I "think". I don't think I'm putting an extra 600lbs in to get over the 1 ton mark, but then again...I've never weighed my stuff.

I'm wondering if I should switch to my tow tune for this? My confusion is that my 87 performance tune has higher shift points and basically runs better overall than my tow tune, so I'd rather not change. I've towed once so far with the performance tune....no problems that I was aware of.

You should be fine. Popup campers are not too heavy, so I suspect your estimate is correct. In fact, the "tow limit" is in the 2000-2500# range. There's really no hard and fast rule here. If you were constantly climbing steep hills, I'd move that weight to the low side. On nearly level ground, you'd be fine towing more weight on a non-tow tune.

One thing I constantly recommend though, is to get your trailer and vehicle axles weighed at a truck weigh station. It is actually very easy to overload the rear axle on an f150, depending on the body style and what you put in the bed while you tow. The cost is nominal ($9.00 here in Tucson at the TTT truck stop) and you can position things on the scale so that you can get a separate weight for each axle. To be really safe, it would be good to get a separate weight of just the truck axles too, so you know how much the weight on each is increased. Ideally, you want the additional load on each axle to be the same.

- Jack

[BigSur]

Originally Posted by JackandJanet

You should be fine. Popup campers are not too heavy, so I suspect your estimate is correct. In fact, the "tow limit" is in the 2000-2500# range. There's really no hard and fast rule here. If you were constantly climbing steep hills, I'd move that weight to the low side. On nearly level ground, you'd be fine towing more weight on a non-tow tune.

One thing I constantly recommend though, is to get your trailer and vehicle axles weighed at a truck weigh station. It is actually very easy to overload the rear axle on an f150, depending on the body style and what you put in the bed while you tow. The cost is nominal ($9.00 here in Tucson at the TTT truck stop) and you can position things on the scale so that you can get a separate weight for each axle. To be really safe, it would be good to get a separate weight of just the truck axles too, so you know how much the weight on each is increased. Ideally, you want the additional load on each axle to be the same.

- Jack

That's a great idea; I've never thought of doing that. Makes perfect sense though. I will look into it.

Great response; thanks Jack. It's been awhile since we've spoken. I hope all is well with you.

[Jackpine]

Things are going very well with me and mine, thank you. Hope you have a nice holiday season!

- Jack