Towing Question
 

Will a 2003 Ford F250 4x4 gas V10 be able to pull a 1988 22 foot Stingray Maxim, truck has an 8 inch lift. My question is the hitch we have on it says max 5,000lbs, do I need to upgrade the hitch?

youre all good :)

truck will tow it with ease but being lifted you will need a custom heavy duty drop bar.

Does that include gear/fuel and trailer?

what does the boat weigh ?

See this thread:
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/t...-up-grade.html

I would strongly suggest an upgrade to a Class-V hitch. Overkill? Maybe, but they are NOT expensive, and if there is anyplace you want overkill in your rig's setup, it's in the towing hardware.

Also, I wouldn't tow much more than what you are talking about here. I don't think your transmission is going to hold up, given you probably have 38" tires. If you have not changed your differentials, you probably have a corrected gear ratio of about 2.7; which is not good for towing.

Also, make sure you go with a SOLID drawbar/receiver, that is a drop hitch appropriate for your trailer. I am going to bet that the trailer coming with the boat has Surge Brakes, which means when you slow down the boat/trailer/weight is going to literally surge against your drop hitch to engage the trailer brakes. That's going to snap off any rinky-dink drawbar you get at Advance Auto. You need something solid like from Curt or the like:

http://www.curtmfg.com/Category/168/...0Ball%20Mounts
http://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mount

Don't buy ANY adjustable aluminum hitch drawbar product. They can't be trusted, no matter how well they are marketed; and especially not with Surge Brakes.

the boat weighs around 3200lbs

We're running 35's with our lift

It will tow it, but it won't be quick; not that such is a big deal when towing, Just don't be surprised; as you are going to "know it's back there."
If you have a 4.10 axle ratio, you are going to be much better off than 3.73.

Just remember, you want your drop hitch as such that it tows the boat level. This let's the axles distribute weight evenly, allows tires to heat and wear evenly, and most important: enables your trailer brakes to work properly. Also, lifted trucks tend to squat, as the lift kit is designed to support the weight of the truck, but doesn't have the same compression rates as the factory suspension. Take this into account when selecting your drawbar.

Why are aluminum draw bars bad? Is there proof or myth?

And another thing to add. All of the OE round tubing hitches and stronger pound for pound then square hitches. Square does not like torsional flex, as in a hitch moving its load up and down hitting bumps or forward and back under braking, Square tubes loads stress and eventually breaks. Car/truck manufactures have high dollar forming tools and good engineers and can work with round tubing. Most hitch makers use square tubing for ease and speed of production. So don't let the round hitch worry you.

It would not be my choice:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]553982[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]553983[/ATTACH]


And also, comparing the Curt and the Factory GM hitches...
...the GM is a Class-III hitch and the Curt is a Class-V hitch.

That is a weld that should never been done. too high of a stress area.. most good aluminum draw bars a cut from billet or forged 1 piece. and you will never have a problem and they look cool

look cool , that's extremely critical and or important ! what is rating on the [ good looks drop tow bar ] BTW rates will be null and void with surge brakes / surge brakes are not real brakes as in large heavy load apps / u guys ever worry or think bout insurance?

My LOOKS COOL is 15000 Lb 2000lb tongue wt

Can you share a link?

I can take a picture and see if I can remember where I finally bought it. It took me a while to track that capacity down with the drop needed

[ATTACH=CONFIG]553984[/ATTACH]Diversi-tech 2.5 inch. And I was wrong. It's 12k and 2k tongue

I bought one of these.. #ws-10 2.5 its pricey...
its works great..
https://www.weigh-safe.com/

Nice setup. I like the forged construction. In doing some searching though, I can only find said product rated for 10K though. That may be all that's available now.
I still prefer a fixed drawbar over adjustable.

Really neat product. I had not seen that before. It's a shame it only goes up to 12,500 lbs. though. :(

I bought this 12" drop so I can use it on both my truck a 3500 and a 2500 that has a 6" lift. It works great on both. I would have bought 2 if they were cheaper. Stainless balls could raise the price another 100 or so

That's real nice. I think that's the biggest part of the problem is not getting the tongue weight right. When it is. It's worlds better. I tow something everyday from 10000lb skid steers to 100000lb excavators

I used to pull a 25 sensation aggressor with a 2000

s-10 4wd 70 down expressway no problems. I am pretty sure you're ok.

looks like quality products , cool