Hoping those that do a fair amount of towing with their vans to weigh in here. I am looking at a nice E-250 EB w/ a 351 and am wondering if this is going to be enough engine. My previous F series had a tow capacity of over 10k. But I have never had a van before. I will be using this to tow a boat around the PNW that weighs in on the trailer at about 7,000. I am not a led foot, don't need to be the fastest guy on the road but want to know this won't be beyond it's capacity. Thoughts?
Re: Is a V8 Gas powerful enough? Towing 7,000 lbs.
I struggled with the same question before I bought my van. I ended up with an EB350 with a 5.4l v8. I tow a ~3k lb trailer regularly and it is adequate for that, but when I hook up the car hauler (between 6k-8k lbs depending what I've got on it) or travel trailer (7k lbs) it is definitely slow going on anything resembling a hill. First tow vehicle I've owned that I had to turn on the flashers going up a few steep grades. It does get the job done though. I'll be changing the rear axle gears from the current 3.55 to 4.56 soon and that will certainly help, but I'm not expecting a miracle. On the flip side, it is great as a daily driver (power wise) and manages over 14mpg on the highway and 10mpg towing the bigger trailers... I can't complain about that coming from a hemi ram 3500 (9.6mpg) and a big block k30 chevy (5mpg!) I have a trailer behind me for about 1/3 of my miles driven, if I towed much more often than that I would have rather had the v10 but since the majority of my miles are unloaded the "little" 5.4 does fine.
Re: Is a V8 Gas powerful enough? Towing 7,000 lbs.
It is enough, but be prepared for lots of V10 and diesel guys to tell you it's not. As far as ratings go, I'm curious what Ford says. The 5.4, which I had, towed a 7k Airstream (31') fine, but I'm not sure about the 5.8. Get a trans temp guage for sure!
Re: Is a V8 Gas powerful enough? Towing 7,000 lbs.
Put on a better muffler, and cut out the intake baffles and it'll pull that pretty well. I used to tow 8,000 pounds, with another 3k in the van, with a '94 5.8L. Did several cross country trips and even Death Valley. I did however also stuff the 460 radiator in it because of the amount of really hot weather towing I did.
Re: Is a V8 Gas powerful enough? Towing 7,000 lbs.
Sounds good - I usually stay around that 7-8,000 as max towing. I think although light the gas v8 should be ok. I won't be traveling far though with that load maybe a few hundred miles. Better than stock muffler, upgraded air filter, all the easy mods to gain some extra hp. Thanks again!
Re: Is a V8 Gas powerful enough? Towing 7,000 lbs.
I have a 5.4 with a Quigley 4x4 setup. I towed 6,000lbs up and over the Rockies from California to Chicago. There is plenty of horsepower, in fact I would be more concerned about the brakes and overall stability. Keep it in the slow lane and be safe.
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