Trucks & Trailers - 6.0 Powerstroke not enough power?

My truck is an 05' 4x4 King Ranch Dually Crew with a Powerstroke Diesel. Last night I had an opportunity to pull my boat out of storage and remove the shrink wrap. Over the winter the boat sunk down about 4-5" in the wet clay soil. Ironically my wife sarcastically stated last fall that we would never get it out and she was almost correct. By now the soil is dry and as hard as a rock so moving the trailer meant lifting the boat 5" plus up an incline to the road. First attempt was in 2wd. Wheels just spun. 2nd attempt 4x4 with front tiers on clean pavement. Accelerated and nothing happened.?. Wheels didn't appear to spin, truck didn't budge... Took 2-3 attempts at full throttle before finally the boat lifted out of the divots and started to roll. I was really surprised the truck didn't just spin all 4's. Perhaps the weight of the boat? Time for a 6.7? :)

You boat was basically concreted in. The 6.0L has more than enough power to pull most things behind it. I used to tow a 30' gooseneck trailer with a LULL (high reach off road forklifts) which total combined weight was pushing 28,000lbs. Truck had no issue's towing that beast around town.

Can't get the turbo spooled up to generate max boost and power. You're basically relying on unboosted power when locked in there at a stop trying to pull the trailer out. Did you try 4Lo?

I've had the same issue trying to pull out at 15,000lb fork lift that sunk in clay over time. Even in 4 low they we're spinning. It did the same to my buddies 3500 DRW 6.6 duramax. It took a tow truck winch to get it out of the grave. After that, I had no problems moving it. I think the statement of like being stuck in concrete was pretty spot on, sometimes you just don't have the right tool for the job. Othertimes you just get lucky :-)

Just 4-High, couldn't figure out how to engage 4-Low. Thought about Googling it on my phone but the trailer broke free first.

Should have used the Rav4.

4 Lo and 1000 rpm's and you wouldn't feel it grunting.

Just because your truck says 4 wheel drive does not mean all 4 wheels will spin. Unless you have a traction device, like a locker or limited slip, only one tire on each axle will spin and the one that will spin will have the least amount of traction due to the differentials being open. And limited slips suck anyways. Ford uses a limited slip and they are about useless in situations like yours. Having more power or going to 4 lo would not have helped since you were already overcoming what traction you had. More power would have just given you more wheel spin. You were able to rock it out which is a great way to get some momentum to start moving over an obstacle. Next time, if you have room, try to back up a little if you can't get it the first time.

If you don't know how to put your truck 4 wheel drive truck into 4 low, you are going to need to give up your man card. But next time, put your transmision in neutral, make sure you are completely stopped, and put the switch in 4lo, to go to 4hi, go back to neutral, make sure you are stopped and switch it to 4hi.

If you don't know how to put your truck 4 wheel drive truck into 4 low, you are going to need to give up your man card. But next time, put your transmision in neutral, make sure you are completely stopped, and put the switch in 4lo, to go to 4hi, go back to neutral, make sure you are stopped and switch it to 4hi.

1 - Based on the Speedometer the wheels were not spinning in 4wd.

2 - As for not knowing how to put my truck in 4low. I googled it afterwords. Of course next year I will probably have forgotten it again.

3 - I really don't own a Rav4. But I have towed the boat with a Ford Expedition with some success. :o

1 - Based on the tach the wheels were not spinning in 4wd.

Tach, or speedometer?

I have to agree with lowcountry, give up the man card.;?

if its automatic just drop it from d to 1 this make a big difference for me when pulling the boat at the ramp.

Nice job with photoshop!!! :thumbsup:

if its automatic just drop it from d to 1 this make a big difference for me when pulling the boat at the ramp.


That makes no sense, the truck is always going to start from first.

One thing you might want to keep in mind, When you put the truck into third, it is actually in third, not low and has no guts at all. Great for snow, lousy for towing.

Try this:

Place your foot on the accelerator slowly and when you feel the tires begin to break, simultaneously apply the parking brake until the truck begins to move forward and then release the brake completely. You'll have 'tricked' your differential into thinking the tires with the most resistance are the tires which are slipping and the tires with the grip or resistance will begin to spin. Common trick in pulling out a stuck vehicle from a snowbank.

That makes no sense, the truck is always going to start from first.

dont know what to tell you but i have a 27' boat 9k loaded and when i try to pull it out in d same issue as above drop it in 1 no problem maybe somone who understands automatic transmission can chime in,

just saying what happens.

Can't get the turbo spooled up to generate max boost and power. You're basically relying on unboosted power when locked in there at a stop trying to pull the trailer out. Did you try 4Lo?

Not true. I can hold my foot on the brake and build significant boost stopped very easily with my Duramax. I am sure a correctly working 6.0 is the same way. Max torque is only around 1600-2000RPM which he should have got fairly close too even without the tires turning just through the torque converter slipping. It may not have been max boost but still up there.

Just a thought for something to check in case your turbo wasn't turboing.

I did an EGR delete kit this past weekend on a 04 6.0. Saw that the line for the MAP sensor was all dorked up while getting it back together. Since it was late, we couldn't get a new hose for it. Went to test drive the truck and no boost what so ever. Replaced the hose and it runs like a champ. The MAP sensor is what tells the turbo to build boost or not. If it can't read what the proper pressure is in the intake manifold, it won't build any boost.

Here is one the pics a took while doing the EGR delete. If you look just to the left of the hose clamp on the blue silicone boot, you will see the port for the hose that goes to the MAP sensor. Check that hose and make sure the port is not clogged. Carbon build up is very common in the manifold (especially is city driving and not towing much) and can clog the port.

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc289/fpettit27/Projects/EGR%20delete/DSCN2307.jpg

auto trans will start in 1st gear even in drive....unless you have a special setting or a problem with your tranny. dropping to 1st only holds the gear back from shifting or on some gm models it will delay shifting.

A folding pointed shovel (GI surplus) and a couple of minutes digging a small ramp in front of each trailer tire will do more than all the tricks in China for abusing your tranny/driveline...

Lots of ideas here but some have hit the nail on the head - if you weren't, you should be in 4x4 LOW RANGE and give it enough juice to get the line pressure up on the transmission. As previously stated, the trailer was practically cemented in and you still needed to lift that entire rig 5 inches - requires a lot of torque.

If you were using 4x4 HIGH then all that was happening was the transmission was slipping (and heating up). In low, the ratio would be so low that the transmission would have locked the torque converter up while the final drive ratio was still only doing like 1 MPH - i.e. gobs of applied power.

Sometimes it's best to air up a lot then air down the trailer tires to get it to break that seal.

You really should have jacked up the axles and placed 2x8's under the tires.

As far as the truck goes, put a power programmer on the ECU and see what it'll do. I have a 03 F250 7.3 engine, and the 80 hp increase is incredible for torque and driveability. It was a pussy cat--and is now a cheetah coming off a traffic light. And, I'm averaging exactly 20 mpg on the open highway @ 75 mph.

One of your front wheels should spin if you are in 4 wheel high or low if the rear wheel is spinning. There could be a problem with your front 4 wheel drive solenoid not engaging. You should check it out.

Your trailer was not that big a load, it should have broken free without much sweat. Next time you may want to engage 4wd before hooking up and rock the boat back, then go forward.

Good luck.

Even though it lights up 4x4 HIGH, that only garantees that your transfer case is locked, those hubs on your truck are Auto/manual. They use a vaccum to engage the hubs if in auto, to ensure they will spin you need to lock them manually. with it being an 06, it is 6 year old vaccum lines, they could have a little dry rot and not be able to suck it in.

As far as locking in 4Low, I always have to put in "N" and try clicking it back and forth, it too works off vaccum lines, so cuttin the ac on and off can help, I also mash the break slip into drive, back to neutral... it will finally go.

You should drive once a month in 4 High not exceeding 50mph or so just to keep everything in working order.