[Vetteran63]

I have a '78 F150 2WD 300-I6 w/ C6 Auto.

I bought this truck wrecked and rusted in 1989 & did a resto/custom job on it. I am still running the 300-6 in it now (less than 90K miles), but I've had plans for dropping in a 351C I have from a '71 Cougar I used to show years before that was totalled in an accident. Just no time anymore to rebuild, repaint, & install.

I'm planning on buying a new 22' 5th wheel camping trailer. UVW on this unit is 3740# (2991 axle + 749 pin).

When I restored this truck, new doors were installed and all else was stripped and painted, inside & out. I removed the rear helper springs from the camper pkg. it had when I bought it to reduce the rattle (I still have them somewhere, never throw anything away).

I don't have towing, payload, GVWR data anymore. Can anyone tell me what this truck can handle with or without the extra leafs? I'm pretty sure it can handle this trailer okay, just need some confirming piece of mind.

[polishbear]

try going to www.blueovaltruckparts.com they have alot of good info. As far as the engine swap, and this is my opinion nothing more, I would recomend sticking with the 4.9/6. They are very dependable ( mine is at 320,000 without any major rebuild on it.) and the torque is as good as it gets. I have not had one with the auto. but with a manual there is no stopping them. I would recomend bigger springs no matter what, as the stock ones never do well, maybe even some overload spring shocks. They look like regular shocks but have a helper coil around them. AT J.C. Whitney is where I got mine, I think. Hope this helpedyou with all my rambling on, sorry about that.....

[BlackFord77]

With a heavy load you may want the helper springs, because if you crack a main leaf (as I once did) you may have a very big problem while towing. They are at very least a backup system. Plus if you rig a piece of rubber (cut up an old tire sidewall) around the helper brackets somehow it should stop the noise as long as you dont clamp it on the contact surface. I don't know why they never came out with some kind of polyurethane cover for these?

[Vetteran63]

BlackFord77, on Apr 7 2005, 11:10 PM, said:

With a heavy load you may want the helper springs, because if you crack a main leaf (as I once did) you may have a very big problem while towing. They are at very least a backup system. Plus if you rig a piece of rubber (cut up an old tire sidewall) around the helper brackets somehow it should stop the noise as long as you dont clamp it on the contact surface. I don't know why they never came out with some kind of polyurethane cover for these?

Thanks for the info! Instead of going with the fifth wheel, we decided to buy a tow behind for a few reasons: We chose to leave tow vehicles optional so we didn't have to dedicate the pickup, less weight on the back of the truck (the tongue weight is only 288# empty), and we wouldn't have the fifth wheel obstructing the box for other uses. We could also haul the ATV in the bed if we wanted to take it along. I still would like to find out what the actual towing capacity is for this truck. There are no longer data labels since the restoration.

[Straight6]

If you want info on the Ford 300 inline try www.Fordsix.com. If they don't know try your local Ford dealer. Hope that helps.

[corn fed]

That 4.9 300 is by far the torquiest, most reliable gas engine for has produced.