old trucks for towing

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water bouy

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Curious how everyone feels about 4x4s and short bed trucks for towing their boats. I found an F150 at a good price today. It's a '99 but anything is better than car payments. My work vehicle is a '99 2wd long bed f150 v6 full of tools and stuff. The last time I towed a boat it slid on the ramp and scared me pretty good. The owner of this one mounted a hitch to the front and back which never occurred to me. Only 110k miles on it which should last from here on out as long as I can feed the big v8. It's the first short bed I've had in a while.

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I drove a plain jane 2000 f150 2wd v6 for 14 years. They are good trucks with no real issues. The 4x4 is awesome for slippery boat ramps. Stay away from the later 5.4 motor with 3 valves due to cam phaser issues. The 2 valve motor is dependable. I’ve always been a Ford guy but the Chevy of that vintage is a good truck as well. As far as the shorter wheelbase, it’s fine. I towed boats with a Jeep for years.


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Depends on how big your boat is.

4x4 is a must on most of the boat ramps I visit

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I have an 06 Silverado 1500 4X4 that pulls mine. My boat is not super heavy though (~2000 lbs), and our ramps are pretty good, I've never needed the 4x4 to pull it out of the water.

Couldn't ask for a better tow rig. 15 mpg loaded and 20 empty.

I used to use a 2wd Ford Ranger when I had a smaller boat, never had any trouble with it on ramps either, but I was careful and stayed out of the slime.

I'd much rather have an extended cab than an 8' bed, that was an easy compromise for me, since you can't get both in anything relatively modern these days.
 
I've been pulling the boat with my 12 year old Nissan Titan 2 wheel drive V8. It is a crew cab with a short bed. Never had anything remotely problematic on any paved ramp. I did lose some traction on a gravel ramp. I was a little heavy on the foot feed I guess. I can't imagine you would have an issue with a V8 4x4, assuming your boat is well within the towing capacity of the pickup. Well, except for gaso consumption, but you already know that. :(

PS: my boat & trailer is under 2,000#.
 
I tow with a reg. cab 1999 Chevy Silverado 1500 4X4 short bed, never had a problem. Biggest boat I tow with it is a 17' StarCraft SFM, which is a lot heavier than either of my 16' Jon boats. My buddy tows a 17' Tracker Targa with his 6cyl ext. cab Tacoma 4X4 with no problems.
 
I Tow with a 2016 Ford SuperCab 2WD, eco boost. I have the elec. rear locker, if a ramp get,s a little greasy I just flip the switch. I also tow a good size camper ,, it,s been a great tow rig.
 
Assuming is the 5.4, The engine is a hoss. I have one, 2000 extended cab 4x2, short bed. Pulls the 7500 race car trailer easily. It's like a diesel as far as low end torque but it suffers from 4000 RPM+. Fine with me. I rarely need to go more than about 3000 anyway, it just pulls great at lower RPM's. You'll be happy with it.

MPG is typically in the low 19 range on the highway. About 16 in town, stop & go. I don't check it much.

Only issues were spark plug threads. I've never had a problem in 396,700 miles, and I change the plugs about every 50k. Manuals say to change them at 100k intervals, but in my experience, at 100k the plugs are GONE, so when you change them at 100k, replace the coils too. All 8 of them. The plug gap at 100k is about .150", which is hard on the coils, usually get a code for misfire when the coil is bad, plus a bucking sensation under medium acceleration/load.

Also sometimes the IAC will stick. Replace it if it does, typical symptom is a REALLY low idle in gear, hard to start unless you use the throttle, sometimes dies when coming to a stop.

They are GOOD trucks and that engine beats the snot out of the GM counterpart, at least in it's low end torque. The GM 5.3 will destroy it in a drag race because it's power is made up higher in the RPM's.

The 4.6 wasn't as impressive, but still way better than the 4.8 GM, and since it's basically the same as the 4.6 Mustang (2 valve), there's plenty that can be done with it. 5.4 is just a taller 4.6 with a longer stroke, and is a close relative to the Navigator 5.4, which is almost a twin to the 5.4's in the hotrod Mustangs....

Seen reference to your work truck (4.2L V6). Had one in '97, brand new, gutless powerless loud engine. It was "supposed" to "replace" the 300 inch inline 6, but all it did was make more noise and use more fuel while making LESS power and torque. Got rid of it ASAP, went back to a New on the lot '96 with a big six, pulled a bone head move and ran a stick through the lower radiator hose and continued to drive it, overheated it, broke the head, and traded it on the 2000. I love the 2000, the engine makes the truck for sure. The newer trucks just don't have the same low end grunt as the little 5.4 does. I honestly think it pulls every bit as good as my 7.3 diesel does.
 
I had a '94 Bronco 5.0 that I towed my glass boat with. Never really had to use 4x4, but the short wheelbase was fantastic for backing down and overall manuverability while towing. Short is better. You could always use a few sandbags in the bed (poor man's 4x4) if needed for extra traction on slimy ramps.
 
All I have ever had is regular cab short bed trucks so I'm used to them. My previous Silverados with the 5.3 were great for towing. My current Tacoma is a little down on the power with the 4cyl only making 159 hp but I don't tow very far. The 454SS pickup was a tank and rated for 9600 lbs towing I think. But it got 11-12 mpg.
 

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Nice pics. There's something about short beds that look right. Mine has the 5.4L which is a lot more than I need to tow my small boat but sometimes I'll buy something just because the price is too good to pass up. I was going to get an older one with a smaller v8 but people on craigslist are asking crazy prices for trucks with 200k miles.

It could be a little closer to the ground for me but I have no idea how you lower one of these.

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There is something about long beds, they tow right.
What is old? I have a 2002 Ford diesel and it is the most dependable vehicle I have ever had out of more than 30.
Most aluminum boats are not that heavy and they are easy on tow vehicles.
 
Older than '99 since it's going to sit most of the time. There's some '80s models people are wanting $5k or more but the rust is free. I do like my long bed F150 v6, it rides really nice.
 
My oldest is an 84, and I get "thats a cool truck!" comments all the time, the last one yesterday afternoon. Tows the snot out of anything I have.
 
ppine said:
There is something about long beds, they tow right.
What is old? I have a 2002 Ford diesel and it is the most dependable vehicle I have ever had out of more than 30.
Most aluminum boats are not that heavy and they are easy on tow vehicles.

A longer wheelbase will make for a more stable and smooth ride when towing compared to it's stubby counterpart.
 
I drove it around today and like it a lot. It's easier to park especially with one eyeball. One guy said I paid half price which was nice to hear. This is the kind I woulda been happy with but it cost an extra 2k:

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/d/1987-ford-f150-4x4/6725315972.html
 
I daily drive and tow with my 99 f250. 7.3 powerstroke, 6 speed manual, 345k miles and climbing.
 

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I agree that the longer wheelbase tows better. My main tow rig is a full size surburban, and it does a WAY better job than anything smaller or shorter. And has a brake controller for the bigger stuff. For towing most tinnies though, a person doesn't need much.....
 
A long bed may feel better for pulling a trailer down the road, but as others have mentioned a shorter wheelbase is easier to back a trailer with. Thus the reason for the gooseneck and 5th wheel hitches in the bed of a truck - closer to the steering axle (front).
 
Short WB is better for backing because the truck reacts much faster to steering especially in tight places, long wheel base is better for the road, more cumfy. Look at the rigs they use to move a mobile home with, very short wheel base on those tractors but, they usually are not towing long distances either. You would only need 4x4 if you are loading on poor quality dirt ramps, I had a 2WD F-150 for ever and rarely had an issue with it on just about any ramp and even launched from some crappy dirt ramps. I do have a 4x4 now though but mainly for off road use, the locker rear end is usually all you need for most ramps as mentioned above. Even limited slip is a big improvement.
 

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