Wait a minute, your a single gal, AND you have your OWN truck and trailer?

All jokes aside an F-150 is plenty of truck for your setup. You would likely get better mileage with a 3/4 diesel but it may not be cost effective. Might look around for 2 year lease returns on the diesels, That's what mine was it had about 18,000 miles on it and was a little cheaper than a new 1/2 ton. Just tell your local dealer that's what you are looking for and to not bother you with any other "great deals".

Originally written by ArabHorseLover on 2008-02-29 5:18 PM

ha! I do! and I own my house too. single gal looking for a single cowboy too. But back to the subject of the post... thank you for the info. I'm hating to give up the gas mileage (if I keep my current F150 at 55 I can get up to 20 mpg) but I will if I've been given the wrong info and the F150 shouldn't be pulling my trailer safely. I'll look into the 2 year lease returns. What kind of mpg would the diesel get?Another question... a farmer friend of mine mentioned that if I started to haul 3 heavier horses he would think about putting something-or-other on my truck..... . And of course I can't think of what he called them - but it was something to do with the springs? It didn't involve changing the springs but adding something?? Make any sense to anyone?

My diesel 3/4 ton gets the same city and highway mpg as my dads 1/2 gas.....gets more mpg towing, not to mention the stupid amount of power.  You should be able to find a lightly used diesel for the same price of a new 1/2 ton.  Not everyones situation is the same, do your research.  Good luck.

I should probably also mention is SC Im paying ~.50 cents more per gallon for diesel.

Hi,

I have a 05 F150 5.4 4x4 and pull a 4h slant pumper pull(4Klbs):altough with moslty only 2 horse...one draft 1500lbs(not full grown yet..put still takes up 2 stalls) and another 1,100 one.

We are in your same dilemma: the F150 works fine but up-hill it has its limits and the transmission/engine are working hard...you might want to wait for the 09 F150 which will have a few more features for towing, more power and 6-spd auto(better mpg)....but it will be more expensive. Another thing you could do is get a different differential for improved towing

We are probably going the used F250 diesel way since we want to keep it for a long time and be able to tow up to the Sierras

Good luck

Hi there,

I pulled my three horse slant load bumper pull (6000 pounds empty) with my 2005 4.6 litre F150 4x4 crew cab. I used it once a week to take three horses (average size quarter horse and arabs) to 4h. While it did pull just fine I was always worried about the safety of it. Could I stop if I needed to? Also, I never did have any mechanical problems with it during the 10 months I had it I could have sworn that the engine had a funny hugh pitched hum to it when I hauled the trailer with three horses in it. I asked the same question that you are asking on this site and I received very good advice.

I traded my F150 in for a 2000 Chev Silverado one ton dually 4x4 extended box (it only had 64,000 km on it). It is a gas and not a diesel. I also use the truck as my daily driver. Aside from an initial "operator error", once I got my trailer brakes set correctly I noticed a HUGE difference. The engine didn't work nearly as hard and the RPMs are below 2. I would never go back to hauling with an F150 even though the dealership that sold me the truck swore up and down that it was perfectly safe.

Pay close attention to the advice you receive in this forum as there are many wise experienced people who will give you some really good tips.

Good luck with your decision making process.

 Jodie

What is the problem? I will assume your trailer brakes are serviced/adjusted properly.

There are directions for those things? Now you tell me!

haha

Jodie

I had my friend's husband set my brake controller (mine is a voyageur) for me after my bad first experience. I haven't had to adjust it since. I did read the directions so I would know which direction to turn the knob if the brakes grab too much or, not enough.

Good luck,

Jodie

http://www.tekonsha.com/instructions/Prodigy%20Instruc%207689_H%20web.pdf

What did not make sense?

All right, this is the third time in this thread stopping has come up.

Of course the truck is capable of stopping.  For that matter there is a possibility the smaller lighter truck can stop the same trailer sooner than the larger truck......physics you know.  More weight takes longer to stop, not less.  Size of the brakes has little to do with a single emergency stop as most modern vehicles have enough brake power to cause the ABS to cycle.  Traction is generally the issue, not brake size.  Consider this, the new model 1/2 ton Tahoe has larger diameter brakes than my 05 3/4 ton Dmax.......I havent run into the back of anyone yet.  I would put a fair amount of money on the Trailblazer I used to have being able to stop quicker than the 3/4 ton I have now, especially since Im running agressive A/T tires on the 3/4 ton.

When you have an emergency, the first few seconds are spent in a reflexive reaction. You don't have time to think, and your body automatically reacts based on what it has been taught. It takes a few seconds to realize what has happened, and to start a plan of correction.

Because each emergency is different, the appropriate reaction will differ. At first you have to depend on your rig to help correct the problem. You first try steering and braking, slowing towards the shoulder. But if it is your rig causing the problem, you have to experiment to find an appropriate reaction. This may include just steering with no brake application, or using just the brakes with the wheel centered. It may include no vehicle brakes, but a full application of the trailer brakes.

The weather will change your responses; if you were hydroplaning or sliding on snow or ice, you would brake differently than if you were on dry pavement.

Only by using your rig, can you learn when something doesn't feel right. In many cases, you will have a feeling that something is wrong, before the rig actually misbehaves. Other times an instantaneous action occurs that gives no warning.

Surviving a mishap with your rig is just like driving your car. It's a crapshoot, if, when and what is going to happen. Your behind the wheel, mileage experience, will help you if you're lucky. You can't plan and practice for every eventuality. There but for the grace of God go I.

Gard

Your brakes 'should' be fine if youve only used them a few times since the last adjustment.

Warm brakes have more "stop" than cold brakes, that is why the instructions tell you to warm them before adjusting the controller. After they are warm, you use the trailer brakes only to stop the rig from 25 mph. If the trailer brakes lock up, turn the power down. If they dont lock, turn it up until they do......then turn it down a little. Your are looking for a setting just under lockup. According to the instructions, and my guess of what your trailer weighs, B1 sounds like the correct setting. If you have the setting right there should be little difference in braking 'feel' with or without the trailer attached.

In an emergency you generally dont have to use the manual lever on the controller, the Prodigy will apply full brake power on its own.