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Input needed....1/2 ton towing the larger Pathys


FINCHASER

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Plan to upgrade soon from the 20 to a 24 or 25.  Currently have a Ford F150, 302 V8 , HD rear axle with 3.73 ratio..... wondering if a truck upgrade is neccessary to tow the larger sled.   Would love to go to a 3/4 ton but the larger pathys arent cheap and it may come down to keeping the 1/2 ton to make it more fiscally responsible to get the larger boat.  Id be towing it several times a week for 60-80 miles a round trip.  So anyone have close estimate how much a 25 weighs with batts, fuel, acc's etc on the trailer?   Those whove are or have done towed largish boats with 1/2 tons please provide input on your thoughts doing so.  

 

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Upgrade both a pathy and truck you are looking at $125-150K......Don't know if you've priced new trucks....NOT inexpensive....

I ran my 22 Pathy for years with a 6 cycl, F150, tranny cooler, limited slip....2x's a month at over 200 miles rt/ to keys and west coast...if you don't have a tranny cooler, that would be the upgrade I would install and is probably the most important.  I sold my F150 with over 250K miles.

Since you are in Florida, not many hills to climb and if you run conservatively, e.g. 60-65 mph, you should have no problem...just keep an eye on the break pads, keep trans fluid and radiator updated with fresh fluids.

DC

 

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You'll be fine with the 1/2 ton. As others have mentioned, be mindful of the load you're towing and your effective braking power. I tow a 23 HPS (no t-top) with a 1/2 ton "max tow package" F-150 that has a V-6 Eco-Boost, and I almost don't now it's back there.

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2 hours ago, BradM said:

You'll be fine with the 1/2 ton. As others have mentioned, be mindful of the load you're towing and your effective braking power. I tow a 23 HPS (no t-top) with a 1/2 ton "max tow package" F-150 that has a V-6 Eco-Boost, and I almost don't now it's back there.

X2

For you That still means a new tow rig .

If I was goin that big , I would go 2500,

Better to have it .

Still , that Ecoboost Gen 2 motor , with a tune , is a real treat to drive .

🇺🇸☠️

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I think just the opposite of everyone else. We have a 23HPS, with a F300 and a hard T top. I would hate to tow it with an F150, or any ½ ton pick up.

I had a 2009 F150 (company truck) set up exactly as above, but a Supercrew and 4 x 4. Towing my 2200V or my 21RF was terrible. At 70 mph, it would constantly downshift from OD, or it would never stay in OD. And of course, it sucked a lot of gas.

I always see / hear guys making long hauls with those half ton trucks; it’s fine, pulls great, etc. I guess they haven’t drove a modern diesel 250 / 350, 2500 / 3500. Bigger brakes, better suspension, a ton more of hp and torque. Cruising along with traffic at 75 mph, 1700 rpm’s and getting 15 mpg, is not a bad thing and less wear and tear.  

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I towed my 25 Pathfinder with a Tundra Crew Cab and it did fine around town. However, I had a situation that scared the crap out of me on the interstate coming back from the keys. A vehicle was passing me and they had a tire blow out right beside me, he shot right in front of me and I did the two foot smash and we were not stopping. I could feel the trailer with brakes that were about a month old pushing the truck right into the side of this guy. Luckily, he kept going onto the shoulder and eventually stopping. I missed him by inches and my wife, son and his friend kind of were just sitting their in disbelief that we did not just cream the guy.

I bought a new 2500HD within a couple of weeks after that incident. I don’t want to ever be in that position again that I feel that I have no control of my load. It is a huge difference between the two trucks. The half ton will tow it just fine and be okay 95% of the time but I am not willing to gamble the 5% with my family in the vehicle.

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Either current 1/2 tons or this site has come a long way in the last few years. It used to be you needed a 3/4 ton diesel to safely tow anything over a gheenoe around here 😊

Yup, Diesels are good for pulling but they come with a price like high maintenance cost and fuel cost and actual price to name a few. The mileage of the new gas trucks are as good if not better than the diesels unless towing.  Don’t forget most service stations have limited diesel pumps and everyone who needs to go inside for something has to park in front of those pumps. It’s a rule  

 

I had a 2002 7.3 I prob never shoulda sold but I did...The sweet spot for diesels was pre - ultra low sulfur fuel, DEF and emissions junk.  So now, while I'd prefer my old diesel  when I pull my travel trailer on the highway ( which is pushing the limit of that and has no aerodynamics)  otherwise give me a modern gasser anyday.   

 

 

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Seems like the braking is the biggest concern and should be....with that said, I guess Fin, if you do go bigger boat with same vehicle, keeping slow is going to keep you safe....

At 55 mph it will take just over an hour to go 60 miles......at 60 one hr, at 65, just less than an hour at 75, probably 3/4 of an hour, but, you risk control....

I remember when I used to go to the keys, I'd never run faster than 55-60 on our crowded turnpike or US1 to the keys....it seems that extra 10 mph makes a big difference and when you approach 70+, in my mind without a larger Diesel, you are at a severe risk in an emergency.

Dc

 

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There is absolutely no comparison between the diesel / gas. Yes the initial cost is (over gas) about 10k but that’s not just the diesel motor. It’s the entire truck; suspension, transmission, rears, hitch, everything is better. The difference between a gas motor oil change and a diesel is about $40. Fuel is about .45 per gal more for diesel. Not that much annually. DEF gets about 4500 miles a tank and about $20 to fill it.

Ford has come a long way from the old 7.3 (sounded like a concrete truck / totally anemic) and 6.0 diesels. I’m on my second one since 2011. My current 2016 F350 has 187k on it, runs awesome and stops with little effort loaded. I’ll take my modern diesel any day…

I look at it like this: Will my 2300 get on plane with a F150? Probably… BUT the F300 :D

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You're good Daren. I pull my 23' SeaCraft with a 5.4 F150 with the same 3.73 gears, does quite well. However disclaimer here, I don't go over 65 as a safety and expense reason. I pull with the OD off to take it easy on the tranny and if I could get 10 mpg I would be ecstatic. As mentioned in other posts, pulling is the easy part, braking is where you have to be sure you have the right truck. Good luck!

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Breaking is always the most important and overlooked aspect of towing. I've always wondered why we don't  see more setups with electric/hydraulic combinations with a break lever to allow the trailer to slow/stop the vehicle rather than pushing the vehicle at a stop.

When have you ever heard of an accident where the vehicle pulling the boat was at fault for taking off to fast vs not being able to  stop.

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3 hours ago, bsh102 said:

I towed my 25 Pathfinder with a Tundra Crew Cab and it did fine around town. However, I had a situation that scared the crap out of me on the interstate coming back from the keys. A vehicle was passing me and they had a tire blow out right beside me, he shot right in front of me and I did the two foot smash and we were not stopping. I could feel the trailer with brakes that were about a month old pushing the truck right into the side of this guy. Luckily, he kept going onto the shoulder and eventually stopping. I missed him by inches and my wife, son and his friend kind of were just sitting their in disbelief that we did not just cream the guy.

I bought a new 2500HD within a couple of weeks after that incident. I don’t want to ever be in that position again that I feel that I have no control of my load. It is a huge difference between the two trucks. The half ton will tow it just fine and be okay 95% of the time but I am not willing to gamble the 5% with my family in the vehicle.

How does a 2500HD stop any faster than the Tundra? In stopping distance tests super duty trucks have longer stopping distances than light duty trucks, with the 2500HD being the worst performer. Yes, with the added towing load things change, but a light duty truck pulling a trailer with brakes on all wheels should stop just as fast as a so called super duty truck.

The vehicle weight difference between light and super duty is not that much, so unless the braking system is dramatically different, a super duty will not be much different than a light duty truck. Better to put your money in the trailer brakes.

 

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Thanks for the input guys.  Braking was / is a major concern for me.... having owned and 3/4 ton 7.3 for 22 years that was the main difference I noticed when towing the 20 with this F150,  but this trailer has no brakes and the next would so figured that would pretty well take care of that issue.  Im a slow driver anyhow even when not towing I rarely run more than 5 over the posted limit and am even more careful when towing my boat... my worst nightmare is to crash it on the road.  

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I'm in Bsh102's corner.  Used to tow a 24 Skeeter with a Tundra. It did fine, but wasn't the quality of pull I desired. Then I had a huge scare on interstate (needed to stop very quickly) and was always nervous after that. 

I bought a used 2500 Dodge and now have 2600 HPS. Love the boat, but a close second is the way the truck pulls it. Difference maker for sure.

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On 5/15/2019 at 11:09 AM, SWilson said:

I think just the opposite of everyone else. We have a 23HPS, with a F300 and a hard T top. I would hate to tow it with an F150, or any ½ ton pick up.

I had a 2009 F150 (company truck) set up exactly as above, but a Supercrew and 4 x 4. Towing my 2200V or my 21RF was terrible. At 70 mph, it would constantly downshift from OD, or it would never stay in OD. And of course, it sucked a lot of gas.

I always see / hear guys making long hauls with those half ton trucks; it’s fine, pulls great, etc. I guess they haven’t drove a modern diesel 250 / 350, 2500 / 3500. Bigger brakes, better suspension, a ton more of hp and torque. Cruising along with traffic at 75 mph, 1700 rpm’s and getting 15 mpg, is not a bad thing and less wear and tear.  

Wow 15 mpg what gears are you running?  I have a 23 and just got home from a tow to the glades and back to Maryland and average less then 12 with 373 gears. I running a 2018 350 6.7. 

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3 hours ago, Sunstone said:

Wow 15 mpg what gears are you running?  I have a 23 and just got home from a tow to the glades and back to Maryland and average less then 12 with 373 gears. I running a 2018 350 6.7. 

2016 F350 6.7 Crew 4 x 4 with 3:55 and 20" wheels. That motor has way too much torque for 3:73 gears (don't need them) but I bet it will light up the tires on dry asphalt   :D 

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On 5/15/2019 at 4:33 PM, FINCHASER said:

Thanks for the input guys.  Braking was / is a major concern for me.... having owned and 3/4 ton 7.3 for 22 years that was the main difference I noticed when towing the 20 with this F150,  but this trailer has no brakes and the next would so figured that would pretty well take care of that issue.  Im a slow driver anyhow even when not towing I rarely run more than 5 over the posted limit and am even more careful when towing my boat... my worst nightmare is to crash it on the road.  

You put a transmission cooler on it and don’t tow in overdrive and you’ll be fine. 

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