Chevrolet 1500 5.4L V-8 tow pkg

[Shortpig]

I'm looking at and considering buying one of these. I have an older straight load w/front tack room trailer that I want to pull. Right now I have a 97' Ford F150 that is giving me issues with the brake controller. I will not tow without the brakes working right. I can get a good deal on this vehicle and it only has 63000 miles on it. Nice vehicle. It is all setup for towing including the brake controller. It also has a nice expensive Leer canopy and bug rug in the bed. Perfect for hauling dogs and tack type items. Not so good for hauling hay. But we can make it do if need be.

It will need to pull the trailer with two 14.2h horses in it also. Not just minis. I tried to tell my daughter the salesman said it can't tow a trailer to the beach but she isn't buying it. Well I tried.

So looking for opinions as quickly as possible.

Marie aka shortpig

 

[Marty]

Hey Marie, Just a thought before you buy a new vehicle: I don't know what it is with some Fords but I have three of them, 2 of them are F150 and always had trouble with the automatic brake systems/tow package thingy no matter what we did. Its supposed to be something with the "brain" on certain Fords and the Ford place was of little help. When the RV lot opened up, I brought all the vehicles and all the trailers down there and they fixed all the problems. See if there is something like that in your area where they sell and service RV's.

 

[Sue_C.]

Funny...a friend of mine is looking into a new Chevy 1500 because their Ford 150 doesn't have the guts to pull their two horse BP trailer.

I drove a Chevy 1500 4X4, with the 4.3 V-6, for 11 years, and that baby pulled any two horse bumper pull I hitched it to, as well as my small (15 ft bed) gooseneck trailer. We never had any problem with the brake controller, and the truck never laboured at the workload. I have upgraded tol a Chevy 3/4 ton 4X4 Silverado, as my "new-t-me" bigger gooseneck with L/Q is too big to be hauled with a half ton; otherwise I wouldn't have changed from a 1500 Chevy.

 

[RedWagon]

We have a Chevy 1500 5.4L V-8 with tow package and we pull our almost 30' travel trailer, loaded down, with 6 people in the truck with no problems!

 

[Floridachick]

I have a 2006 F-150 w/Triton V-8 I LOVE IT! No problems and I towed a Percheron and an Arab with the truck and 3 horse slant loaded from Maine to FL no problems!

 

[Shortpig]

I have a 2006 F-150 w/Triton V-8 I LOVE IT! No problems and I towed a Percheron and an Arab with the truck and 3 horse slant loaded from Maine to FL no problems!

I'm sorry but I just couldn't resist. Wouldn't it have been easier to put the horses in the trailer and then just tow the trailer?

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Chevy doesn't make a 5.4L engine

That's a Ford engine, and its a great motor. I've had two F150 trucks, both with the larger (5.4L) V8 engine. My 2002 towed my 20' gooseneck stock trailer tens of thousands of miles (trailer weighed 4200lbs empty). Its got plenty of guts, I don't know who's complaining about lack of power with one. Maybe they have a smaller engine that really isn't designed for that load.

Sounds like you need to fix your brake controller

A $85 repair seems far cheaper than a new truck. Its 100% seperate from the truck, so there is nothing on the truck itself that will cause any brake issues other than maybe a bad wire, and that's easy to fix. Replace the controller with a Prodigy and you'll feel the improvement.

That said, I just bought a Chevy 3500, since my F150 was totalled a few months ago. Can't wait to get it, once the current owner finds his title.

 

[wildoak]

I hauled with Chevy Suburbans for years (2 and 3 horse BPs), but finally made the switch a couple of years ago to an F-150 with the bigger engine. Gas mileage aside, I love it and love the way it pulls. Tows better than the Chevys did but I have been having issues with my brake controller as well. When they installed it they had to change the wiring to match my trailer - evidently Fords are wired backwards to Sundowners LOL. The brakes are working fine, but the display on the controller is not coming on except briefly. Guy that installed it said they have more trouble with Fords and getting all the electrical connections working consistently. I have to doublecheck my trailer lights when I start out, as the connection isn't solid and sometimes they don't come on - have to unplug and clean off the plug in good. Never had those problems with the Chevy, and I'm pulling the same trailer.

Jan

 

[Floridachick]

I have a 2006 F-150 w/Triton V-8 I LOVE IT! No problems and I towed a Percheron and an Arab with the truck and 3 horse slant loaded from Maine to FL no problems!

I'm sorry but I just couldn't resist. Wouldn't it have been easier to put the horses in the trailer and then just tow the trailer?

LOL WOW I must have been tired.

 

[Margo_C-T]

I'm with Nathan; betting that the best bet would be to see about having the brake controller fixed or replaced.

That said--I pulled a basic no frills two-horse Stidham trailer-weight about 2200 lbs.including the old-type mats, made of woven strips of old tires(and boy, were they GOOD, but heavy, and eventually, the wire they were woven together with would rust out, which is why you don't see them anymore except as door footwipe mats)--with an F-150 with a 390 engine(I don't really know how that 'compares' to the now-in-use 'liters' designations, but I do know, it was one good strong engine---for years, often w/ two 1000 lb. or better horses in it.

I've NEVER had anything but a Ford PU, starting with the one I traded my nearly-new '65 black MUSTANG back in for in '66(I know---in hindsight, I *might* not have done that....LOL!...but, I was a single working mother with a daughter and a horse, and I had to be able to 'move' the horse, too!) That truck, a very basic F-150, didn't have a 'big' engine, but pulled the afore-mentioned trailer w/ horse in one side, furniture in the other, to move us, going over the Guadalupe Mts. very handily--and for years afterwards. There were NO brakes on that trailer, either, and it was NEVER an issue, with any of the five pickups I, and later, WE, owned while I had that two-horse trailer(all were 'quarter tons', AKA 150's or 1500's.)

Today's 'quarter tons' aren't the trucks they once were, IMO...they are built more for 'casual' users, not those who really NEED a TRUCK! I'd suggest looking into hooking up your trailer, taking it down to an RV or trailer place that can diagnose/fix your controller problems, IF you are otherwise satisfied w/ the performance of your current PU. Can't speak to how 'good' ANY Chevy is; never owned one, myself.

Margo

 

[Shortpig]

First let me thank everyone who responded. All your input was very much appreciated.

Now the decision and the reason. First the reason, Forums are wonderful. I located a forum for Ford F-150's. It is great and very responsive. I posted my problem and received the response I somewhat wondered about. The controller light will not work without the trailer being hooked to the truck to complete the circuit. I suspected this. So we will hook the controller back up, it is a brand new controller by the way. Then we will hook up the horse trailer and see if we get a light. Then next we will get it set up to stop properly and off we go I hope.

Afterall how many people own a 1997 Ford F150 with less than 95000 miles on it. I really don't go anywhere. I usually only put about 1500 miles a year on my vehicles.

It has the 5.4L V8 and will tow up to 7600lbs.

I'm still trying to convince my daughter and Erin that the truck won't tow the trailer west to the beach only North, South and East. They aren't buying it at this moment.