Tow Truck Question

I am thinking of purchasing a 2004 Moomba Outback as my first boat. I am new to all of this, so I am not real sure of a lot of things with boating.

I have a 2002 v6 f-150 supercab, manual tranny, with a 3.55 rear end. Will this be able to tow the Outback I am thinking of getting?

Yes it will tow it. You'll be a bit hard on the clutch at times and don't even expect to hold 65 mph up any hills on the freeway.

I'd be carefull stopping on step hills, it will be very hard to get going again without some serious clutch abuse.

I'm sure that you'll hear get a V-8 with 3.73 or higher rearend. And, yes that will tow better.

Tow rating on a V6 5 speed is 3500 pounds so yes it will tow it.

Just don't expect it to tow it well.

Kevin,

Your truck is big enough that the Outback will not be jerking you around. Should have no problem braking. I think you already get the idea that you are kinda sparse on low end grunt. I am assuming you have 2WD. You might think about having your rear end gears changed. It should cost you between 200-350 depending on where you go, and you will probably lose 2 mpg highway unloaded, but it will give you a great boost on power.

An other thing too... you have a lightweight rear end on that truck. Change the rear diff. fluid pretty often and going to synth gear oil will help a little too.

If you put bigger gears in there, I'd just jump right 4.10 or 4.11 and maybe do an after market diff. cover that increases the oil capacity.

Like Greg mentioned, you are on the edge of the truck's tow rating. Remember to add up other weight in the boat and truck when figuring out how much you are truely towing.

Have fun on the launch ramp at the end of the day! You should be fine though. I know someone who towed a wakesetter with a pre-runnered ranger that had 35s on it that was manual.

i pull my moomba outback with my chevy duramax desial i never know if it is back there or not hahahah

the moomba outback site says the boat and trailer weight about 3700 lbs. Im guessing with gas, cooler full of drinks, some odds and ends, the weight would be close to 3900 lbs.

I really dont want to have any problems on the boat ramps. I definitly dont want to risk putting my truck in the water.

If I do change the gears in the truck, how much will this help me out? Will this increase the weight limit it can pull? I rather do this than buy a whole new truck......

The boat will weigh more than that after you load it up for the day. You'll be over 4200 pounds going down the road.

Gas 6.5 pounds per gallon (tank size) tower, stereo, boards, ski's, cooler, anchor, add up everything. I'll you'll be suprised how fast it adds up. Add everything then add a little bit more.

FWIW, boats tend to tow easier than their weight would suggest, due to their streamlined profile and low tongue weight.

It's much easier to tow a boat than a similar-weighted car on a trailer, or enclosed box trailer, for example.

I even remember an article in a boating magazine saying the same thing, that you can usually get away with towing a heavier boat than you think, because they tow easy for their weight.

I can't fathom a full-sized F150, regardless of engine, having any problem whatsoever with a Moomba Outback, which is a relatively light boat, on a light single-axle trailer.

I towed my Mastercraft PS 205 thousands of miles with a Toyota 4x4, and it was great, although probably 500-1000 over it's rated towing capacity.

If you're concerned, install a tranny cooler, and possibly bigger radiator. Those are usually the limiting factors. As someone said, shorter gearing in the rear would help also, especially on the ramps.

The issue on the ramp will be traction, not power or towing capacity. With 2WD you might have to stand on the bumper to put weight over the back, put some sand bags in the back, etc. depending on how steep/slippery the ramp is.

You won't have to worry about just losing it and sliding off into the water. The only way that happens is if someone is absent-minded, and gets out of the truck without engaging park and/or the emergency brake adequately.

Bottom line, I think you're fine with an F150 V6 and Outback. Don't sweat, just be ready for fun at the lake!

Forgot to mention, since you live so nearby, I'll be happy to pull your boat to the lake with my Dodge 3500, if you have a problem, if I get free sessions behind it. ;) Sorry, couldn't resist!

A friend of mine used to tow his first boat ~1990 sport nautique with a 4 banger Jeep Wrangler. Never had any problems launching or loading and it was way over the limit...

Well of course... Its' a Jeep, it can do anything.

Kevin,

I don't think you'll have a problem with power since:

1. The auto tranny has a MUCH higher rating.
2. The manual V8 acutally has a LOWER rating than the V6.

I think the issue will be clutch abuse. The taller your rear-end ratio, the less you'll have to slip the clutch to pull away at the same speed.

Here, I'll try to quantify how much difference new rear-end gears will make for you:

Taking the 3200 lb. rating for a Super Cab with a 3.55 rear-end and the 2000 lb. rating for the 3.08 rear-end, if we assume that the relationship is linear, a 4.11 rear-end should give you a 4600 lb. rating.

I think you'll be fine. I tow my '86 Centurion with my '99 Exploder. It's go the smallest engine option, the 165 hp V6. It doesn't get up to speed on the highway very quickly, but it does fine on the ramp. Mine is an auto, but your first gear is probably going to be just fine, just practice your standing uphill starts. I wish my truck was a bit heavier so it would be more stable at speed, but it's fine for now. My next truck will probably end up being a full size sports ute.

I tow my Supra SSV just fine with an Acura MDX, the SSV with trailer weight is 550 lbs heavier than the heaviest Outback and I'm sure your F150 has more towing capacity than my MDX.

Use your e-brake to start on the ramp. Pop the e-brake when start to feel the truck trying to move.

Second the emergency brake advice. I used to tow a mobius with a 1995 F150 in the Texas hill country. I kept it floored pretty much the whole 45 minute long trip to the water and had to climb some of the hills at 35 MPH in 3rd, but it did the job.

The only trouble I ever had on the boat ramp was wheel slippage due to the light back-end and no limited slip diff. Sometimes I had to have a couple of people stand in the back of the truck and once, on a really steep ramp that was smooth asphalt in the pouring rain I had to have a jeep help pull me up.
I never had a problem with sliding back in.

I have been towing my X-9 for three years 40 miles back and forth from the ramp with my honda odysey mini van. All loaded with sh_t. Not the coolest but if you don't break any speed limits I have never had a problem. The tow rating is about the dry weight of the boat and trailer. The weaklink is the transmission. Try not to let it shift to much. I live in the ozarks with lots of hills. It is my wifes van.

I towed a Sanger DLX for 7 years with a 93 f150, 300 inline six, man trans. We put all kinds of crap in it. It did fine on the road....a little slow up the hills but just downshift. As stated earlier, the clutch will take most of the wear.

Get a Lincon town car !!! (just joking, and no this isn't my setup I just saw it on the road and happened to have my camera handy)

I would give my money on the Lincoln Town car over a short bed F150 any day when it comes to handling. They use basically the same running gear and motor except the Lincoln is much more stable with a much better ABS system.

I used to tow with a 1969 Galaxy 500 that had a 390 ci in it. It is one of the heaviest duty cars ever built, and would still out pull my old 454 powered Suburban and my newer 496 ci Suburban. The Galaxy was also only 4 inches shorter, but quite a few inches wider. Cars can make great tow vehicles.

I used to tow campers with an 85 grand Marquis Station Wagon. That thing was at least 6 inches longer than my 97 extended cab Ram. Had a 5.0 HO out of Mustang in it and air suspension. Would tow just about anything, heavy enough to never get pushed around, very comfortable.

I would suspect the Lincoln has the auto load-leveling system. It's not really about HP but torque. My Land Rover has about 200Hp but it has close to double the torque. I won't win a landspeed record, but I'll never have to worry about getting going.

I towed my old Ski Centurion, Sport Bowrider with a Toyota Previa Mini Van "around 160 horse". I had a Tranny Cooler installed. It did the trick. Drove that set-up to the river "200 miles" and the Delta "350 miles" many times with no problems. You should be fine. I sold the van to someone I know and it's still going strong with 170,000 miles on it!!

what ever happend to this tread, kevin did you ever pull with you F-1FIXME (f-150)...just courious one of my work trucks has the same drivetrain as your truck...was thinking of throwing a hitch on it but i have been waiting to hear from you!!!!!!

i saw a camaro ss leaving the river down here with a x-2 on the back of it...and that ramp is pretty dang steep...

I had a 1990 cc sport nautique which weighed 3900 lbs thats just the boat dont know how much the trailer was. I pulled it with my jeep wrangler 4 cyc. which is 2000 lbs towing cap. Couldnt pull it far but in 4wd low had no problem getting it out of the water by it sucked pulling it. New truck new boat now so its good.

Jude,
Still waiting on the boat, its ordered. I'll give everyone an update as soon as I get it.

Thats pretty crazy about the camaro ss, thats my other vehical. I pretty much counted that out as a tow vehical though..... bah, it wouldn't match my boat anyways.

Would be nice to hear from some others that use 2wd v6's as tow vehicals.

the big issue with a manual transmission, especially with a smaller engine, is getting the rig started up the launch ramp!


There are a number of ramps that you have to ease the boat up out of the water very carefully. Too much torque and the wheels spin, especially on a pickup truck that is light in the back end. Keeping the entire rig from rolling back as you trasnfer between brake and gas can be interesting as well. Add to this mess a boat/trailer combination where the boat has to be lined up just right and getting the boat out of the water can be real tough.

I have seen people really burn their clutch up and fail to get their boat out of the water on the ramp that I use most of the time. A suggestion: Find a steep hill and test your skills at starting off, uphill, SLOWLY without letting the truck roll back......

Rod