Trucks & Trailers - How much will an F-250 diesel really pull?

I have a 2006 F-250 single rear wheel 4 x 4 with the 6.0 diesel and the 3:73 rear axle. I have a 34 foot Venture that went across the truck scales on the trailer at 12,060 pounds. The launch ramp I use is fairly steep and it seemed like it took a fair amount of throttle to bring the boat up the ramp.

That made me curious about how much force the truck would actually generate at the hitch. So, I borrowed a crane scale - one of the kind that you can hang from a crane to weigh the load. I got one with a capacity of 5,000 pounds and hooked the scale to a tree and the truck to the scale. On dry, level asphalt in drive with Pirelli Scorpions, the truck would exceed the 5000 pound capacity before the tires lost traction. 2 wheel drive would generate 3400 pounds before the tires spun. I was impressed. Over 5,000 pounds of pull is more than I would have expected.

One critical note: The test was done in drive, because when you put the trans in 3rd, it starts out in third. The trans starts in low only in drive or low. I left "tow/haul" off.

I have a 2003 F-250 4 x 4 with a 7.3 diesel. I have a excavator that weights 13800 pounds and i pull it on a 24' trailer that weights 4200 pounds. I have been pulling that around since i bought the truck in 2003 and ive never had any problems. I have 190 thousand miles on my truck and counting.

That's interesting..were you in 4 High or low?

Can you pull into any truck scale on the highway and weigh the trailer? Do they mind? Fees? Thanks.

My 01 7.3, with a 3.73, in 4 low, pulls my 348 Intrepid, no strain. I feel it when I need to stop and quick, it is not fun. I only trailer for service.

JAGSARE1 - 10/12/2008 10:38 AM

Can you pull into any truck scale on the highway and weigh the trailer? Do they mind? Fees? Thanks.

I like this info too. Anyone with some local knowledge regarding this?

UaVaj - 10/12/2008 3:50 PM

JAGSARE1 - 10/12/2008 10:38 AM

Can you pull into any truck scale on the highway and weigh the trailer? Do they mind? Fees? Thanks.

I like this info too. Anyone with some local knowledge regarding this?

I have had my truck on the scales at three different truck stops. As long as you are willing to pay I am sure they will be willing to weigh. :grin:

I would hop onto a ford truck forum and ask around... I am member of FTE ford truck enthusiasts (ford-trucks.com) and they have a lot of information about ford trucks. They are all very knowldgeable and a lot of folks have 1st hand experience because they haul everything from tractors to boats.

Any public scale will weigh your boat and trailer. Most of them are in truck stops, but they are not usually busy. You'll usually find the scale is in sections, with a short section at the far end for the steering axle. Park the trailer on the scale with it disconnected from the tow vehicle and with the tongue or jack on the steering axle section. When you get your scale "ticket" it will show the steering axle weight, which is pretty close to your tongue weight and the trailer weight. If you want the exact tongue weight, you'll need to bring something like a piece of 4 x 4 to put under the tongue to support it at the coupler instead of farther back at the jack.

It costs about $12.00 for steering axle and trailer weight. You probably should walk around and look at the scale layout and get a price before you pull on it

I got my highest number in 4 low.

I am still surprised at the amount of pull at the hitch. Obviously, there is a limit which cannot be greater than the weight of the truck multiplied by the coefficient of friction of the tires. I always felt a coefficient of 1.0 is a theoretical maximum for tires and was surprised the Scorpions had as much traction as they did. I figured they'd only reach about .7 before losing traction, but they seem to have hit closer to .8

I see no reason why a GM or Chrysler diesel with similar weight and tires would not make similar numbers. It is purely a function of torque, weight and traction.

This month's Consumer Reports has a pretty good article on SUV tires, which include results on wet braking. Wet braking performance has a lot in common with a wet launch ramp.

They'll move a lot....when I had a 7.3 PSD I moved 20000# grain trailers around. I routinely towed 12000# in cows or horses with it on the highway.

maximum towing capacities for your truck 2006 f250 4x4 3.73 with a 6.0

Maximum towing capacity for a conventional hitch
reg cab, supercab, and crew cab - 12,500 pounds

Maximum towing capacity with Gooseneck or 5th wheel
reg cab - 15,800
supercab - 15,700
crew cab - 15,500

I weigh 22,600 pounds combined weight on certified scales with my 5th wheel hooked to my '04 F350 SRW, 6.0 3.73 4x4. (basically an F250)

Weve been on some of the worst grades in the Smokies with that rig. But we can never break traction even in 2wd with 2500 lbs of fiver weight in the bed. But I definately can break traction on smooth asphalt with my 28 foot boat on the rear hitch in 2WD (about 9000 lbs). ((not enough weight on the rear tires with the boat behind me.))

Kernos figures and his test are interesting, but the reality of towing such loads is what is really astounding about these beasts!

Yeah, you probably could hook one to a big oak tree and burn the rear tires completely off of it in 2WD if sitting on concrete...if that's your goal????

There's been a lot of debate here about the need for 4 wheel drive in launching. Since I'd already shipped my 2006 F-250 to Hawaii with the ill-fated Jupiter 31, I found a great deal on a 2005 2 WD f-250 Diesel which I bought and used to tow the 34 Venture from Florida to Los Angeles. The 2 wheel truck had posi and handled the job with no problem, but I never tried it on a steep or wet ramp. I tried the same test in 2 wheel with the scale and found that the pull dropped to about 2800 pounds before the tires lost traction.

The difference between having 2,800 pounds and over 5,000 pounds of pull is huge on the launch ramp. With a boat and trailer that's under about 7,000 pounds, it is probably not an issue, but it seems to take most of the 5000 pounds I have to get the 12,000 pound boat and trailer out of the sand that covers the bottom of our ramp and drag it up the wet ramp.

kerno - 10/13/2008 12:48 AM
I got my highest number in 4 low.

I am still surprised at the amount of pull at the hitch. Obviously, there is a limit which cannot be greater than the weight of the truck multiplied by the coefficient of friction of the tires. I always felt a coefficient of 1.0 is a theoretical maximum for tires and was surprised the Scorpions had as much traction as they did. I figured they'd only reach about .7 before losing traction, but they seem to have hit closer to .8

I see no reason why a GM or Chrysler diesel with similar weight and tires would not make similar numbers. It is purely a function of torque, weight and traction.

This month's Consumer Reports has a pretty good article on SUV tires, which include results on wet braking. Wet braking performance has a lot in common with a wet launch ramp.

I am just thinking out loud with this. The principle behind that is very close, but it seems that there would be a few more variables. A vehicle should be able to put more force on the scale than the weight of the vehicle if it is properly equipped. I used to have a Willys Jeep that weighed 2,600 pounds. I used to pull different things around just to see if I could do it. I pulled a 1995 F250 with no difficulty (person was sitting in vehicle pushing the brake to make sure no tire spun). I also pulled a 5,000 pound pallet across the ground with no problem. The Jeep had a detroit front locker and a limited slip in the back. The tires were 33" x 12.50 all terrains (non-radials). I have no clue how low the coefficient of friction would be for a wood pallet on dirt.

Another example would be the test provided by MythBusters. They hooked a Dodge neon to a scale similar to your crane scale (probably more accurate than the crane scale). The neon (which weighed 2587 pounds) was able to exert a force of 3200 pounds from a dead stop on a thin layer of snow.

If a Neon can exert a force of 3200 pounds from a dead stop, a f250 with 2wd should be able to pull at least 5000 pounds from a dead stop.

Patrick: I like Mythbusters, but there was something seriously wrong with the data on the Neon test. I'd believe 320 pounds, not 3200. Here's why:

I was a drag racer for many years. As you'd expect, traction is a huge issue in drag racing. Slicks are made with rubber compounds that become very sticky when heated and VHT traction compound applied to the drag strip lets racers achieve a coefficient of friction greater than 1.0. With a coefficient of friction of 1.0, it would take 2000 pounds of force to move a 2000 pound object. If the coefficient of friction was .5, it would only take 1000 pounds of pull to move a 2000 pound object. If you nail the object to the ground, the coeffiecnt of friction increases a lot. Likewise, if the tires of a racer car had teeth that matched teeth on the track, there would be no issue with traction because there could be no slip.

Here's my opinion: If you put a 3000 pound Neon on a thin layer of snow, there's no way it is going to have a coefficient of friction greater than 1.0 and more importantly, the Neon drive train is simply not capable of putting out that much force. My F-250 has a lot more torque than a Neon and 3200 pounds is about its limit on dry pavement with 2 wheels being driven. Cut the weight in half, decrease the torque by at least 60 percent and put it on snow? I say "No way".

If you want to play with friction, see how much more force it takes to move your boat trailer with the tires and wheels on and then take 'em off and try dragging it on the frame. The amount of force required to move anything depends on the friction holding it in place. A child could push the Neon on ice - if the child had enough traction.

5000 pounds of horizontal force is more than enough to move a 100,000 pound object, providing the object rolls or slides easily. That's also why that same 5000 pounds can tow a 12,000 pound trailer around with ease. But if the trailer falls over the edge of a cliff, the truck is going to need a lot more than 5000 pounds to dead lift it back up. Toyota ran a commercial that showed a Tundra pulling an ocean shipping container up a cliff. I'd like to see Mythbusters take that one on. Those things weigh a lot more than the dead pull of the Tundra.

JAGSARE1 - 10/12/2008 1:38 PM

Can you pull into any truck scale on the highway and weigh the trailer? Do they mind? Fees? Thanks.

There are other scales besides truck scales on the highway. I weighed my trailer boat at a recycling transfer station (actually a jubkyard). Lumber yards and sand and gravel lots may have scales also. And moving companies. Look in your phone book and give them a call. Ask them what time of day is not busy. I paid $5.00 to be weighed twice.

How much will an F-250 diesel really pull?

The important question is - How much will it stop? ;?

Of course another important question is - How much will it pull on a regular basis without damage or undue wear? For that, we can look to the manufacturer's maximum tow rating figure. The people who designed and built the vehicle have already figured this out.

Kerno: I agree that I don't put a lot of trust in anything MythBusters does. I just happened to see that episode and remembered they hooked the vehicle to a scale. It just came to mind and I figured I could get an unbias number. I agree that the Toyota commercial with the shipping container was also an interesting display. The truck was supposedly weighing in less than 5,500 pounds and the drawbar pulled a shipping container (6420 lb) up and over the side of a cliff. According to Toyota, it was an actual test and I believe that is true. The cables were wrapped around pulleys connected to the shipping container. The normal force exerted by the pulleys would reduce the force required for the hitch to lift the container.

way more then you will want to try and stop with it.....

You would be surprised. I've pulled our Yamaha boat (around 5,000 lbs) up a slippery ramp with our '08 F250 diesel a few times this month and have found consistently that I spin wheels in 2WD. I can put it in 4-lo or 4-hi and no wheel spin. (I also have a Volvo SUV with AWD that never skips a beat even on the slipperiest ramps.)

kerno - 10/13/2008 2:40 PM
...

The difference between having 2,800 pounds and over 5,000 pounds of pull is huge on the launch ramp. With a boat and trailer that's under about 7,000 pounds, it is probably not an issue, but it seems to take most of the 5000 pounds I have to get the 12,000 pound boat and trailer out of the sand that covers the bottom of our ramp and drag it up the wet ramp.

rdollie - 10/15/2008 12:26 AM

You would be surprised. I've pulled our Yamaha boat (around 5,000 lbs) up a slippery ramp with our '08 F250 diesel a few times this month and have found consistently that I spin wheels in 2WD. I can put it in 4-lo or 4-hi and no wheel spin. (I also have a Volvo SUV with AWD that never skips a beat even on the slipperiest ramps.)

I, on the other hand, have pulled my 7,200 + lb boat and trailer up the ramp several hundred times with my 2003 Toyota Tundra 2WD with limited slip rear and only spun a half turn of a wheel a couple times.

Part of it is driving skill. Just like driving on ice or snow. ;)

rwidman - 10/15/2008 3:55 PM

rdollie - 10/15/2008 12:26 AM

You would be surprised. I've pulled our Yamaha boat (around 5,000 lbs) up a slippery ramp with our '08 F250 diesel a few times this month and have found consistently that I spin wheels in 2WD. I can put it in 4-lo or 4-hi and no wheel spin. (I also have a Volvo SUV with AWD that never skips a beat even on the slipperiest ramps.)

I, on the other hand, have pulled my 7,200 + lb boat and trailer up the ramp several hundred times with my 2003 Toyota Tundra 2WD with limited slip rear and only spun a half turn of a wheel a couple times.

Part of it is driving skill. Just like driving on ice or snow. ;)


And yet......no one drives 2wd trucks in MN. We must not have the winter driving skills..... ;)

I'm sure a lot of people do fine with 2wd at the ramp, but 4wd is nice to have when you need it.

I have heard many times that a dually won't pull as well on slippery ramps as a single rear wheel truck. It would seem that a DRW truck would have twice the surface area, and the same amount of downforce. I can't comment, only have had srw trucks. How about trying the same experiment with the force gauge, but with a DRW truck?

Ive been towing a 25 Contender (8500lbs ready to fish on the trailer) for going on three years with a F250 two wheel drive and have no problems at any of the ramps I use. My last truck was a 4 wheel drive and never used the four wheel drive pulling a older heavy Robalo. I guess we just have good ramps......Mark

Have you ever watched a person roll back a couple feet and then hit the gas pedal to drive up the ramp? That's one good way to spin tires. And how about the person who, once he starts spinning tires, just gives it more gas? Or once he gets going, stops before the top of the ramp?

I watched a guy spin tires the other day untill there was a cloud of smoke at the ramp. :roll

After several tries and several minutes, he finally found someone to pull his truck and trailer up the ramp. They used a dock line.

kerno - 10/11/2008 10:39 PM

I have a 2006 F-250 single rear wheel 4 x 4 with the 6.0 diesel and the 3:73 rear axle. I have a 34 foot Venture that went across the truck scales on the trailer at 12,060 pounds. The launch ramp I use is fairly steep and it seemed like it took a fair amount of throttle to bring the boat up the ramp.

That made me curious about how much force the truck would actually generate at the hitch. So, I borrowed a crane scale - one of the kind that you can hang from a crane to weigh the load. I got one with a capacity of 5,000 pounds and hooked the scale to a tree and the truck to the scale. On dry, level asphalt in drive with Pirelli Scorpions, the truck would exceed the 5000 pound capacity before the tires lost traction. 2 wheel drive would generate 3400 pounds before the tires spun. I was impressed. Over 5,000 pounds of pull is more than I would have expected.

One critical note: The test was done in drive, because when you put the trans in 3rd, it starts out in third. The trans starts in low only in drive or low. I left "tow/haul" off.



Really interesting...and in 4 lo too...What were the tire pressures ? Normal road pressures ?

Yes, they were the normal road pressures that I run, which are about 55 in the fronts and 60 in the rear. The Pirellis are a highway tread pattern and were almost the same as another truck with BFG Rugged Trails. The BFG's sure look more aggressive on the truck, but the Scorpions work just fine on the ramp.

I have never lived in snow country, so I found the fact that shifting into 3 while stopped actually starts in 3 from a dead stop a bit strange. It may be good for slippery situations, because the pulling force was (as you'd expect) way down.

I have an '02 F250 7.3L 2WD with Uniroyal Laredo HD/H tires at 70lbs. I have never had wheelspin pulling either my boat or my neighbor's boat up the ramp, high tide or low, at any of the ramps we use.

My boat is is a 20' SeaCraft Seafari, only about 4000 lbs on the trailer.
His boat is a 26' John Allmand Flybridge, with twin diesel IB, and weighs 11,700 lbs with the trailer.

I have to confess, though, even though we've never had a problem, there are a couple of ramps we don't use because we're not sure we can get back up the ramp with only 2WD.

A test like you did is more a test of traction than anything else...

MakoMyDay - 10/24/2008 6:20 PM

A test like you did is more a test of traction than anything else...

Well, yes and no. There is no doubt that traction plays a part in it, since no matter how much power you have, the game is over once the tires break loose.

But I wanted to get some ideas of what the static (like tied to a tree) pull really was. Sure, you can read the torque specs, but there is no real way of knowing what the loss through the converter and tranny really is. It is sheer torque that comes into play. With a V-6 in the truck, traction may no longer be the limiting factor.

Frankly, I was surprised that the tires actually had that much grip. That also says the truck ought to be able to generate the same amount of braking force. If so, it should have a braking force of about eight tenths of a G. I'd be impressed. I think the weight transfer in braking is going to hurt that number.

I read the ads that say it will tow 15,000 pounds. But I've also sat at the end of the ramp with 12,000 pounds of boat and trailer, knowing that all six tires had sunk into the sand. That's where the B.S. stops and the real dead pull capability comes into play. Truthfully, I was not happy at the amount of throttle it took to break it loose. There were times when I've nearly had it on the floor - which means there was no reserve. That is not a happy thing. Being stuck at the ramp is frowned on, no matter where you are.

But I also found that since it was only about 100 feet from the parking spot to the ramp, the turbo was still pretty cold. All it takes about 10 seconds of half throttle to build some heat in the turbo and the needed power appears. Half throttle on the ramp will not move the boat, so the heat builds pretty quickly.

But even if I solved the problem, I still wanted to know how much the thing would actually pull. One crane scale and a couple 12,000 pound tow straps and we had an answer.

I'll bet that a truck with 4x4 in low range, traction is always the limiting factor. I had an old Toyota 4cyl. with lockers on the axles and I would drag F-250s all over the place with it. As long as the motor has enough power to break the tires loose, traction limits. With gears as low as these trucks have, it would take very little hp/torque to break the tires loose. I'll bet a V6 in your truck would still be able to pull hard enough to spin out, and would yeild the same readings. Obviously, it wouldn't be able to pull a boat down the hwy at any speed, but I think geared very low, in the same size/weight truck, the power becomes far secondary to gearing. Look at the amount ao work a 80 hp tractor can do for instance.

So, gearing is a MAJOR mechanical advantage in your test. There's no way to measure it, but I'll bet your truck is pulling harder at 75 with the boat in tow. Actually pulling aand pushing due to tremendous wind resistancw,,

In my case, the tires are definitely the limit, as pointed out by the difference in 2 wheel and 4 wheel drive. But the critical thing is what it will actually do in the real world. I'm sure that something like a set of Yokohama AVS tires (if they were made in the correct size) would pull harder because of their softer compound. Again, I was surprised that the OEM Scorpions did as well as they did. They are a highway pattern tread.

I did not have a good way to test it on a wet ramp, but I'm sure the result would be quite a bit lower owing to the traction loss. With a smaller engine and/or less gearing, the powertrain could well be the limiting factor. I have a 5.4 in an F-150 that I don't think would stand a chance of breaking the "sand suction" loose. I'm not going to unhitch the boat on the ramp to find out either!