Towing Opinions

[Ryno8551]

I am towing a 30’ snowmobile trailer with my current 2015 F150 and have some squat..is anyone towing something similar and how does the raptor handle it with its suspension? My weight is about 4500lbs.

I have a Gen3 on order and don’t want to get a 250..

 

[Kodyray72]

As long as you get a weight distribution hitch and have it properly set you shouldn’t have a problem.

 

[Hemmy]

I am towing a 30’ snowmobile trailer with my current 2015 F150 and have some squat..is anyone towing something similar and how does the raptor handle it with its suspension? My weight is about 4500lbs.

I have a Gen3 on order and don’t want to get a 250..View attachment 336290

I towed my 6000 lbs boat with my truck and did not have any issues. The back end dropped a couple of inches, which is partially why there is the rake in trucks, but it wasn't that noticeable. I bought Timbren SES bump stops, but they did not fit correctly so they did not make a difference. I reached out to Timbren and they sent me a new bracket that should be better. I haven't used it yet and won't until I get my boat out in the spring. Even without the Timbrens, the truck did fine. The Timbrens should help improve the sag. I can't use a weight distribution hitch with my boat because it has both a swinging tongue and surge brakes. You should be able to use one with that snowmobile trailer though. A weight distribution hitch would help you, but with only a 4500 lbs trailer, I don't think it is totally necessary.

 

[Syberspace]

I am towing a 30’ snowmobile trailer with my current 2015 F150 and have some squat..is anyone towing something similar and how does the raptor handle it with its suspension? My weight is about 4500lbs.

I have a Gen3 on order and don’t want to get a 250..

Your issue will be tongue weight... as you probably have two machines in the trailer. If only one, then move it so you have about 10-12% of the weight on the tongue. Also, as Kodyray suggests, a WD hitch will make a huge difference. That will make it ride a lot nicer as well. I ran WD and towed a 24' encloded, 7500# total weight with my Durango SRT... no problem and very little sag.

 

[Ryno8551]

Part of the issue is that they do not recommend WD hitch setups with aluminum trailers, I have 3 sleds in the trailer and have 2 in the front and 1 towards the back to help keep a slightly more weight in front. I assume the raptor suspension is softer and hoping it won’t sag more than what I have now as it’s tolerable.

 

[Syberspace]

Part of the issue is that they do not recommend WD hitch setups with aluminum trailers, I have 3 sleds in the trailer and have 2 in the front and 1 towards the back to help keep a slightly more weight in front. I assume the raptor suspension is softer and hoping it won’t sag more than what I have now as it’s tolerable.

My race trailer was aluminum (24' ATC Raven). Never an issue for 6 years and a lot of towing... ymmv.

 

[Crosby]

Weight distribution hitch helps a lot with tongue weight and will negate some of the squat. I used an Andersen WDH and love the difference.

 

[murphyraptor]

 

[bvlaw]

I was about to post a new thread and then found this one. I towed my two snowmobiles to the UP and back (800 miles total) in a two place enclosed inline v-nose Neo this past week for the first time with my Gen 2. My thoughts:

Suspension sagged a little bit. No big deal. Trailer, sleds and gear weighed approximately 3,600 pounds. Weigh Safe hitch indicated I had 400 pounds of tongue weight.

Issue was coolant temp. I had never seen numbers appearing above the coolant gauge (hard to even call it that since it doesn’t indicate true current temps and whether they are high or low….). Numbers above the gauge ranged from 226 to 234. I always let off the gas when I would see the numbers appear.

I don’t get it. I was never traveling faster than 70-75. Turbos always seemed to be working somewhat hard (middle of the gauge), I’m sure producing plenty of heat. But shouldn’t I be able to tow this amount of weight without a problem or worrying I’m somehow hurting the engine (why would numbers be appearing if everything was truly normal)?

If I can’t tow this amount of weight somewhat effortlessly, then Ford shouldn’t be advertising that my truck can tow approximately 8,000 pounds. I slowed down to 65 mph for the duration of the trip in an effort to not see numbers appearing above the coolant gauge and it was ridiculous. Constantly being passed by other trucks pulling similar or larger trailers traveling 75-80 mph. Some were 1/2 ton, some were 3/4.

Is there something wrong with my truck? FordTechOne and others, could you give me your thoughts as to whether I should be looking for a 3/4 ton truck since I plan on towing this set up on a fairly regular basis during the winter?

Thanks in advance.

 

[RamseyF]

Issue was coolant temp. I had never seen numbers appearing above the coolant gauge (hard to even call it that since it doesn’t indicate true current temps and whether they are high or low….). Numbers above the gauge ranged from 226 to 234. I always let off the gas when I would see the numbers appear.

I don’t get it. I was never traveling faster than 70-75. Turbos always seemed to be working somewhat hard (middle of the gauge), I’m sure producing plenty of heat. But shouldn’t I be able to tow this amount of weight without a problem or worrying I’m somehow hurting the engine (why would numbers be appearing if everything was truly normal)?

I see you're in michigan too. I don't think many know what you meant when you said you went to the UP (upper peninsula). lol. unless they're from around the Great Lakes.

I am not an expert but I don't think its doing any harm and is not necessarily because of the towing. I went down to southern Ohio at the end of October for a hunting trip and I had the same thing happen to my Gen2. I saw the temp numbers for the first time. They had about the same range as yours. I wasn't towing anything and had nothing but some hunting gear in the cab. The only thing is it was extremely windy and I was driving straight into the wind. That was the only time it was showing. When the wind died down it went away. My assumption is the extra resistance made it work a bit harder. Probably right before the auto louvres in the grill opened up to get more airflow to cool it down. As long as it's not giving you warnings than you're mostly likely ok.