Towing an Oliver 2 with a F150 V8 2WD

[Imelda]

Hi all, just wanted to hear if anyone out there is using a F150 V8 2WD to pull their Oliver. I am considering buying one of these F150 and not using my F250 6.4 L diesel to pull due to high diesel cost.

 

Imelda

[AZ Wonderer]

2 minutes ago, Imelda said:

Hi all, just wanted to hear if anyone out there is using a F150 V8 2WD to pull their Oliver. I am considering buying one of these F150 and not using my F250 6.4 L diesel to pull due to high diesel cost.

 

Imelda

Hi Imelda.  I will be towing with a 2021 F150 XLT 2WD V8 with the extended cab (2 full doors with 2 suicide doors).  Bear in mind the more equipment you option, the lower the cargo capacity.  I towed my Lance 2075 with it, and that trailer was only slightly less weighty than the Oliver.  It worked fine.

[Imelda]

Thank you 

5 minutes ago, AZ Wonderer said:

Hi Imelda.  I will be towing with a 2021 F150 XLT 2WD V8 with the extended cab (2 full doors with 2 suicide doors).  Bear in mind the more equipment you option, the lower the cargo capacity.  I towed my Lance 2075 with it, and that trailer was only slightly less weighty than the Oliver.  It worked fine.

Thank you. Are you going to need any weight distribution etc. added? 

 

[AZ Wonderer]

Just now, Imelda said:

Thank you 

Thank you. Are you going to need any weight distribution etc. added? 

 

yes, I have used an Andersen hitch on both of my previous trailers and will use it with the Oliver.

[Imelda]

14 minutes ago, AZ Wonderer said:

yes, I have used an Andersen hitch on both of my previous trailers and will use it with the Oliver.

Do I need an Andersen hitch with the F150? That was what was good about my F250, I didn't need it. 

[AZ Wonderer]

7 minutes ago, Imelda said:

Do I need an Andersen hitch with the F150? That was what was good about my F250, I didn't need it. 

I don't know if you "need" it but I would recommend it.  IMO, it's very easy to use and does make towing more stable.

[ScubaRx]

39 minutes ago, Imelda said:

Do I need an Andersen hitch with the F150? That was what was good about my F250, I didn't need it. 

Yes, you will “need” it with the smaller truck. In fact, according to the Ford towing guide, any trailer above 5,000lbs requires a weight distributing hitch.

You’ve already got a 3/4 ton tow vehicle. Why would you not use it? Were I in your situation, I’d use the $50-60K that would be spent for a less capable truck to just pay the difference between diesel and gasoline and drive the half million miles that amount of money will provide for you. 

[Imelda]

39 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

Yes, you will “need” it with the small truck. In fact, according to the Ford towing guide, any trailer above 5,000lbs requires a weight distributing hitch.

You’ve already got a 3/4 ton tow vehicle. Why would not use it? Were I in your situation, I’d use the $50-60K that would be spent for a less capable truck to just pay the difference between diesel and gasoline and drive the half million miles it will provide for you. 

A lot of things to consider here. You are right the $50K need to buy the lesser truck would buy a lot of diesel. My F250 6.4L truck pulls the trailer like its pulling nothing, It's a 2010 84K miles. This year I had some major repairs, brakes, coolant hoses and now fuel pump needs to be replaced. Up to now its been a great truck. And I would just like to have a new truck with lots of buttons and updates. There are no F250s or F350s available here in Texas so I was thinking F150 V8 would do the job but you are right - am I make a sensible decision or just frustrated at chasing down repairs. ..... still thinking 

[John E Davies]

Imelda, you may not know this, I apologize if it is familiar to you.

While the 6.4L Powerstroke offered some improvements over the 6.0, they are still largely unreliable. There are a number of common 6.4L Powerstroke Problems that owners of these trucks consistently encounter. What’s worse is that like the 6.0L Powerstroke, repairing the 6.4 often requires raising the cab to easily access the engine. This makes any repair more expensive.

https://dieselresource.com/diesel-resources/6-4l-powerstroke-problems/

I personally would not keep any aging Ford 6.0 OR 6.4 diesel, things will only get worse IMHO. If you want to get away from diesel entirely, look for a 3/4 ton (2500) gas truck, something like the F250 with the excellent 7.3 liter “Godzilla” engine, or a Ram with the 6.4 gas Hemi truck engine. You do not have to buy in Texas, consider finding a dealer in another state, fly in, buy your truck, drive it home. As long as your current F250 is running well - go ahead and replace that fuel pump first - it should be VERY easy to sell locally.

A F150 will certainly get better mileage and be a better daily driver, if you need that, but it will always be a big compromise for towing, drivetrain strength and durability, and payload.

I am not sure why you think new HD trucks are hard to find in TX, Autotrader shows 230 F250s within 200 miles of Dallas. …. Autotrader New F250 for Sale

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

[Imelda]

Thank you all for the good inputs. I am considering the pro and cons of keeping my F250 or buying a new F150. I still have to fix the fuel pump on the F250 regardless but I am leaning towards a new F150. I will keep you posted. 

 

Imelda

[Flyfisher]

Speaking of buying a truck from a dealer in another state, flying there, and driving home with a new truck, Granger Ford in Iowa will let you order a new Ford truck from them at 3% below dealer invoice cost.   From what I know, together with their low closing costs, they are the lowest priced Ford dealer in the US.  I don’t know how they handle trade ins, if at all, but they get glowing reviews from people from all over the country that buy trucks from them.  Even with the travel costs to get there and back home, you’d still save thousands of $$ compared to buying a new vehicle at full MSRP, which is what many dealers are charging these days.  (I’m not affiliated with Granger, and have never bought a vehicle from them, but read great things about them every day on the F150 Internet forums.)

[John E Davies]

Dennis Dillon Ram in Caldwell ID (Boise) does most of its business with folks who buy and fly, they have a regular shuttle service to the airport,  and they post all their prices as well as the window sticker. In better days, they would show a new Ram HD Laramie with $12,000 off MSRP. Those days are gone, I looked yesterday and they have lots of diesel trucks, just one gasser, a Power Wagon. The 2500s are at MSRP plus a $4000 discount if you finance through the dealership.

My local Ram dealer has an Order now and pay invoice deal. I have no idea how long it takes to actually get a truck this way😳

There are some deals out there, maybe not in Texas.  We bought a new 2022 Acura RDX PMC Edition last November, it is a limited run of just 200 cars. My dealer could not get one, in Seattle/ Portland there were four. Three dealers had them marked up at least $10,000 (20%), plus they had added extra cost “packages.”. We found one at MSRP at an independent Acura dealer in north Seattle. “We are a family run dealership, we never charge over MSRP.” So we bought that one.

It pays to check around. Don’t necessarily buy from the closest dealer! I have bought two used cars long distance, one from Colorado and one from South Dakota, and drove each one home. It makes for a great road trip.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Jim and Chris Neuman]

I have an F150 with the 3.5 Ecoburst.  It gets an average of 12 mpg highway in the mountain west while towing the Legacy II and 21 - 22 mpg highway sans trailer.  Owners of F150's with the V8's I have spoken with report about the same while towing and less without trailer.

What kind of milage do owners of diesel pickups tend to get while towing the Oliver?  The Ecoburst requires 87 octane gasoline which is an upgrade from the 85 octane standard in many states.  

It would be hard to believe significant money would be saved with such a switch.

[ScubaRx]

We get about 13.5 mpg with our Silverado 3500 diesel. With all that we take with us, our entire rig (Truck, Trailer, 2 Passengers, 120 pounds of dogs and gear) weighs almost 18,000 pounds. Our truck has a 3700 pound cargo carrying capacity.

 

[Mike and Carol]

9 hours ago, Jim and Chris Neuman said:

It would be hard to believe significant money would be saved with such a switch.

For me, saving money on fuel is not a reason to choose one type engine over another.  I get a little over 14 mpg normal towing.  Lower in the mountains, higher on flat lands.  20 mpg around town not towing.  I’ve towed with a supercharged I-6 gas, two gas V-8s and now a I-6 turbo diesel.  Ease of towing and ample cargo capacity are what led me to get a 2500 diesel.  Mike

[Roger P]

We took delivery of out Elite 2 in last may and towed it back to eastern Canada with a Ford f150 2020 with v8 engine  4wd. When we got back home, we replaced the truck by a RAM 3500 Laramie 2022 diesel srw, crew cab because of the payload issue and we felt uncomfortable in the mountains of Virginia and Pensilvania with the half ton pick up. We are snowbirds and we travel 6 months in USA in winter time and feel more secure with a bigger diesel truck. The liability in case of an accident was another major factor for us. The mileage on the v8 was good, around 12 m/ g while towing. Sorry for typo, i’m french! 

[Imelda]

All, thanks for the advice. I just bought a 2022 Nissan Titan V8 at a local dealership. I will keep you all posted on how it does pulling my Elite2.  I will be taking it to the Smokey Mtns, Tennessee from here in North Texas early October.  I tried to upload a pic but it looks like there is a problem uploading. 

[ScubaRx]

3 hours ago, Imelda said:

All, thanks for the advice. I just bought a 2022 Nissan Titan V8 at a local dealership. I will keep you all posted on how it does pulling my Elite2.  I will be taking it to the Smokey Mtns, Tennessee from here in North Texas early October.  I tried to upload a pic but it looks like there is a problem uploading. 

From a towing capacity, you won't have a issue. A 2022 TITAN Crew Cab will have a towing capacity up to 9,310 lbs.

Cargo capacity is and will always be an issue with any brand of the smaller trucks. A 2022 TITAN Crew Cab will have a cargo capacity up to 1,650 lbs. From this comes the weight of all passengers, and any gear being carried plus the tongue weight of the trailer.

 Since this is a 1/2 ton rated vehicle, even with a tow package, the Class III hitch mount is only rated for towing up to 5,000 lbs so it will require that you use Andersen WDH for towing an Elite II. The Andersen hitch weighs 52.49 Pounds. Don't forget to subtract from the vehicle's cargo capacity.

[Imelda]

20 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

From a towing capacity, you won't have a issue. A 2022 TITAN Crew Cab will have a towing capacity up to 9,310 lbs.

Cargo capacity is and will always be an issue with any brand of the smaller trucks. A 2022 TITAN Crew Cab will have a cargo capacity up to 1,650 lbs. From this comes the weight of all passengers, and any gear being carried plus the tongue weight of the trailer.

 Since this is a 1/2 ton rated vehicle, even with a tow package, the Class III hitch mount is only rated for towing up to 5,000 lbs so it will require that you use Andersen WDH for towing an Elite II. The Andersen hitch weighs 52.49 Pounds. Don't forget to subtract from the vehicle's cargo capacity.

There is actually a class 4 hitch on this model but I am checking into getting an Andersen WDH also. I think the cargo weight should be under 1200lbs, (400lbs Oliver tongue weight plus 2 medium size people and 2 dogs 400lbs approx.  and plus no more than 400lbs misc. stuff like coolers, lawn chairs etc. in the bed).  I am going to be finding out in a months time when I go to Tennessee. I see no more than approx. 7000 miles of towing the Elite 2 with this Titan per year and mostly will be flat land towing. I live in N Texas and the non flat land will be when I go to Colorado in the summer. 

[bhncb]

26 minutes ago, Imelda said:

400lbs Oliver tongue weight

For planning, figure on 600# tongue weight for an LEII. Check the Titan owners manual for WD hitch requirements. I wouldn’t use the Andersen unless WD is required.

[Imelda]

The main reason for trading in my F250 6.4L for the Nissan Titan was that the Ford was getting up there in years (13yrs old) but not a lot of mileage (84K). It needed the fuel pump replaced (~$5000) and I was told it was going to turn into a money pit by a Ford diesel mechanic and others. Next to go out would be engine seals and so on - So I thought this Titan would be good comprise for my mostly flat land Elite 2 pulling and also I could use it for running around in without breaking the bank in fuel costs. So time will tell if I made the right decision - if not then I will trade the Titan for something bigger. I will keep you all posted.

[Imelda]

4 minutes ago, bhncb said:

For planning, figure on 600# tongue weight for an LEII. Check the Titan owners manual for WD hitch requirements. I wouldn’t use the Andersen unless WD is required.

Thank you. I will do the math again. I may have to jettison a dog or my 😏 passenger

[Patriot]

1 hour ago, bhncb said:

For planning, figure on 600# tongue weight for an LEII. Check the Titan owners manual for WD hitch requirements. I wouldn’t use the Andersen unless WD is required.

Not required but recommended which likely gets Nissan off the hook should something catastrophic happen and puts it on the owner. 

Open source -
In both the 2021 Titan and Titan XD, Nissan recommends a weight-distribution hitch be used for trailers over 5,000 pounds.

[Zodd]

Just something to keep in mind with towing at altitude with a smaller truck. Engines lose power at altitude. Something that is often forgotten. Just keep that in mind. Here is some info on it. I just bring it up since you said you where headed to the Smokey Mountains (granted not the elevation of the Rockies). 

F-150 and Chevy 1500 overheat

Quote

 

Ford's RV and Trailer Towing Guide: "Gasoline engines lose power by 3-4% per 1,000 ft. elevation. To maintain performance, reduce GVWs and GCWs by 2% percent per 1,000 ft. elevation."

Nissan states in its owner's manual that engine performance will suffer at higher altitudes, but says nothing about towing or hauling: "An engine will lose about 4% of its performance for every 1,000 feet above sea level that you travel. If you will be towing in high altitudes, it is a good idea to allow more time than usual due to the engine's reduced performance."

Steve Parrett, manager of Nissan's southeast and south central region communications, said the performance loss applies "specifically for naturally aspirated" engines and Nissan does "not place any restrictions on GCWR as a result of elevation change."

Nick Cappa of Ram communications said, "Ram is the only pickup manufacturer to use SAE J2807 towing criteria for all three full-size pickup truck segments, and we do not reduce the towing or payload capabilities of our pickups as elevation increases."

 

from PickupTrucks.com. Other brands say they essentially take elevation into account and have enough 

Just something to keep in mind depending on where you are headed and how heavy you are loaded. 

[Trainman]

Personally I would sell the diesel, in Texas today it will bring a ton of money and be done with it. As far as what you would replace it with, be it a Ford V6 3.5 Turbo, Ram 5.7 V8 Hemi, or the Chevrolet/GMC 5.0 V8 all will do a good job and be new and free of repair cost for 3 plus years. My Ram 1500 4X4 will get 13.0 MPG pulling the trailer on average and 20 around town and 24 on the highway, why would I want to have anything else. 

trainman