I have a 03 Ford e250 van with a 4.6. The book says it can tow 5000 pounds max, the same van with the same gears(4.10) can pull 7500 pounds. Aside from lack of power is there any reason why I couldent pull 7500 pounds? I belive they both come with the same tranny and rear end.

 

arg not sure what I did. Didn't post.

Ok, umm that makes no sense. Can you please refraise your question. You're asking why two identicle vehicles don't tow the same? Well, something has to be different.

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heh crap I messed up...I was trying to compare the same van, one with the 4.6 and one with 5.4, it says the 4.6 can pull 5000 and the 5.4 can pull 7500. I wanted to know if I could get away pulling 7500 with the 4.6

 

if all that is different is engine, not brakes or any form of suspension, or gearing then yes you can tow it, it will be considered overweight and illegial, you will run slower but that is all that is different

 

If you run weight distrubtion you can run more weight.

 

NO! You can only tow/load your vehicle up to the manufacturer's ratings for: GVWR, GAWR and GCWR. No matter what you do to it. Unless some "secondary manufacturer" (not sure of their exact name) wants to take the risk of increasing the certification of the vehicle then there is abosolutely nothing you can do to increase the LEGAL capacities of your vehicles. Exceeding these capacities is both illegal and dangerous. Doing so could give your insurance company an out of covering you in a catastrophic event. Which means you will be SOL when the lawyers for the family that you killed when you caused an accident come knocking.

Please people, get a bigger damn truck! You're risking your life, your passengers' life/lives (possibly your family) and your fellow road travelers which include MY family! I'm so friggin tired of these messages. People look through the rest of the forum and you'll see me, rescue and several other people repeat this.

I don't care if you drop a damn CAT 3126B in that van, truck, whatever, you can't tow anymore than what the manufacturer rated it at.

Weight distribution bars/hitch only help to transfer some of the weight that would normally be loading only on the rear axle to the front axle of the tow vehicle. They DO NOT increase the capacity of the truck. Other than you don't look like a goofball with you a** end sitting on the axle cause you are obviously over on the Rear AWR.

Yes, the manufacturers do rate their trucks low. But for a reason. Their own liability if something fails. The 4.6Ls are rated lower on towing because they have less power and less engine breaking which is VERY important when towing, especially when you are towing in hilly areas. When you are having to both climb and more importantly descend multi-mile long grades at over 6% that extra displacement is going to help with compression braking and help to save your brakes. I'm talking grades where you can literally watch the tires going around on big rigs as they make a climb or speed limited on the descent (i.e. The Grapevine and Cuesta Grade out here in CA.)

OK, I'm done ranting for the time being. Carry on.

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hey calm down I was just asking

 

B&W, Well said[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Well, I slightly, and I mean SLIGHTLY appologize if anyone was offended. But I'm just tired of this type of post. I waited and wasn't going to respond. But the whole weight dist. thing set me off.

It reminds me of all the stupid "Which bike X, Y, Z be faster." Or better yet, will a particular dirt bike beat a quad. Grrr

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You know I understand what kinda post your talking about, and I wasnt trying to ask permission to be another moron on the highway. I was considering moving a approx 6200 pound load about 60 miles. It would have saved me a few bucks in delivery charges, yes I know saving a few bucks is not worth a major wreck. I just wanted to know if anyone who might own one of the 2 models might know if the 4.6 had all the same stuff as the 5.4. I thought they might but I wasnt sure. If someone could confirm the engine is the only difference than I would have done it. If the suspension and brakes are different than I would not have done it, but either way it was done today and I just got it delivered. So anyway assuming that each van has the same tranny, rear end, springs, shocks, frame, hitch, and gvw would it be safe to say ford just specified 2500 pounds less for the 4.6 since it has no power at all.