The Ford Man

[mikeydeloge]

I have just bought a 1997 Ford F-150, V6, 4.2, 2wd, 5 speed. Truck is rated for towing 5,00 lbs. I have a 22 foot Cuddy Cabin boat.
My concern is, will I have trouble pulling my boat out of the ocean using this truck?

 

[oldjeep]

Re: The Ford Man

No way a 22ft is 3500lbs with trailer.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: The Ford Man

you should be ok on most ramps... obviously good tires will work better than bald... You also should consider making sure the parking brake works very well

I suggest that you actually weigh the boat and trailer.... pretty simple..... weigh the whole rig and then drop the trailer and weigh again.... subtract and you have the actual weight

 

[mikeydeloge]

Re: The Ford Man

Do you think its more or less? I'm just going by what the previous owner of the boat said.

 

[wifisher]

Re: The Ford Man

It is most likely much more than 3500. Boat only 3500 would sound about right. For the boat and trailer with all of the gear and fuel, I would guess 5k or maybe even more, depending on how much stuff ya got on it.

 

[mikeydeloge]

Re: The Ford Man

Thanks. Im just concerned mostly about the truck and with it being 2wd, with a 5 speed-which is geared high, if I would have trouble pulling the boat out of a steep boat ramp.

 

[NYBo]

Re: The Ford Man

Welcome to iboats!

I think you will be at or over the towing capacity of the truck. Retrieving at low tide will likely be dicey with 2WD.

 

[wifisher]

Re: The Ford Man

If it is a slippery ramp, a 2wd can have trouble on it. Seaweed, and slime do not give much traction. I used to pull a boat with 2wd and never had trouble, but it was a 18 footer not a 22.

I wouldn't worry about the gearing, as you will only be in 1st gear when pulling out. It will be plenty low for your needs. My only concern would be to keep good tires on the back, and watch out for slime on the ramp. I would also suggest wheel chocks, just in case the rear axle does slip. It could keep your rig dry.

 

[mikeydeloge]

Re: The Ford Man

Thank you all for the advice.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: The Ford Man

I have an S10 4.3 automatic towing a 21 foot cuddy outboard. 4500 towing capacity and boat/trailer weighs about 3900 gross. The truck pulls it ok but some ramps, the boat will pull the truck down, even with my foot on the brake, so I keep a set of chocks to block the wheels. Some ramps, I need to have a couple of people jump in the bed for traction.

The stick concerns me as you will not have the fine control coming up the ramp and will need to slip the clutch.

 

[KD4UPL]

Re: The Ford Man

I used to drive a Ford of similar description and year. It had a five speed and was geared way too high, even in first gear, for slow speed maneuvering and off highway driving. We ended up having the trans. swapped to a 4 speed that had a lower first gear but no overdrive. The truck was rarely used for high speed highway driving so that didn't matter. Depending on how heavy your boat turns out to be at the scales you may want to put in a lower axle gear. That would be a perfect time to put in a good limited slip differential. That will be the best money you ever spent.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: The Ford Man

I had the same truck, the gearing is very high, I had problems pulling my 19' center console up some ramps because first gear was so high, there was a lot of clutch slipping going on. These trucks are also very light in the rear, so traction on a slippery ramp is iffy. There is no cheap solution, but changing the gears in the rear end will help. To be honest you should have purchased a different truck if you wanted to pull that boat.