What vehicle do I need to tow my 2510

[Daydreamer]

I have a 2510 XLD with a cobia tower and I am thinking about towing it a few times a year to chase the bite. The tow would be about 150 miles each way. Maybe longer if I can quit my job and just fish . I realize the tow capacity on the F-150 is 10,000 lbs but its hard to imagine that it could pull such a large boat. I am thinking that I would have to move up to a 3/4 ton truck. Does anybody have any experience?

Thanks

 

[Burtona]

I think an F-150 sized vehicle would be plenty for your needs.
I pulled a Bertram 25 with one for years including a couple trips a year of 200 + miles. IMO having good trailer brakes is more important than the size of the tow vehicle at reasonable highway speeds.

 

[Fish Frenzi]

I had a 2510xld. You really need a 2500 pick up at min. I tried w chevy 1500 w 6.2 big engine. It was ok but 2500 diesel much better. Especially if your towing 150 miles.


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[wejohns]

I use a 2012 2500 Ram Diesel to pull my 2520XL and it does a nice job. I work in the welding industry and through the years have pulled a lot of heavy with nearly every HD truck on the market. The absolute best towing vehicle I have ever used was a company truck to pull my boat. It was a 2014 Ram 2500 equipped with a either a 6.2 or 6.4 hemi. One of those sizes is in the hemi powered cars and the other is a truck engine. Nothing including any of the big 3 diesels would compare with it.

 

[warthog5]

I use a 2012 2500 Ram Diesel to pull my 2520XL and it does a nice job. I work in the welding industry and through the years have pulled a lot of heavy with nearly every HD truck on the market. The absolute best towing vehicle I have ever used was a company truck to pull my boat. It was a 2014 Ram 2500 equipped with a either a 6.2 or 6.4 hemi. One of those sizes is in the hemi powered cars and the other is a truck engine. Nothing including any of the big 3 diesels would compare with it.

Ha! But it rode like a Dodge. The finish and refinements is not near as good as a Ford.

My brother hauls a lot of horse trailers with Dodge Diesel's. [Cummin's] He said they get the best fuel mileage, but they ain't no ford inside.

Locally I pull with my Lil 1/2 ton Boosted V6, rated to pull 11,800lbs .

 

[B-Faithful]

I tow my boat with Toyota tundra 50-75X a year.. It is only about an 8000lb load. However I towed my fathers boat, which pushed around 10,000lbs with the truck from NJ to MD and from MD to VA. It did well. Key is to have the trailer adjusted well for the boat with the right tongue weight and balance. If you trailer frequently I would go 3/4 ton but most half tons are pretty stout these days with plenty of power and brakes. (I dont know if the weight of the new F150 is a detriment or not)

8000lb load

10,000+ load

 

[Megabyte]

Key is to have the trailer adjusted well for the boat with the right tongue weight and balance.

Greg is correct about proper trailer setup.
Most dealers don't have a clue to setting up their trailers properly.
They want to sell you a boat, and get you off their lot.

There are specialty companies out there that know their stuff.
I used one of those companies when I trailered my Dusky and the difference before and after was like night and day!

Only other thing I would add is to get good disk brakes on every axle.
You don't want that boat pushing you through a traffic light that changes on you quick.
Ask me how I know this... 8)

 

[nicknotsebastian]

Greg is correct about proper trailer setup.
Most dealers don't have a clue to setting up their trailers properly.
They want to sell you a boat, and get you off their lot.

There are specialty companies out there that know their stuff.
I used one of those companies when I trailered my Dusky and the difference before and after was like night and day!

Only other thing I would add is to get good disk brakes on every axle.

x2 on all of this. i can't imagine your f150 isn't enuf truck for the job if your trailer is set up correctly. i tow my 23se 4-5 times a year 200-300 miles each way highway, bi-way, dirt road, gravel road, w/ my LR4 (7700b rated). With a solid, well maintained, professionally set up trailer w/ brakes on both axles i feel completely safe and in control from pull to relaunch.

 

[shawnee83]

I shouldn't post on this one due to only having a 2120 but I'm on the road for work and sitting at the bar so what the heck I'll add my 2 cents. :lol: Anyway, at somewhere around 6K total my experience has been with 5 different vehicles. Boston area to NC was with a 2002 ish model Tahoe. It did ok but I felt it was at its limits. Beaufort to Winston Salem and back (about 300 miles each way) with 3 different.. 2015 Tahoe (no problems and had room to spare), 2016 Ford 2500 with PowerStroke (like it wasn't even attached to the truck and I think I could have drag raced somebody), 2 different Dodge Ram 1500's with Hemi (also no problem at all and I felt they had plenty of room to spare), I've towed locally in Beaufort/Morehead City with my wife's 2016 Ford Explorer Sport with the V6 Ecoboost (plenty of power and no issues there but it's only rated for 5K so I'll only use it for under 55 mph around town stuff. I won't even count the tons of times I've idled to the ramp less than a mile to launch and load using my 2015 4 cyl Checy Eqinox. Totally unsafe on a real road at speed but it will pull a 6k boat out of the water. Only point to that is that pulling power motor wise is less important than suspension and brakes and transmission and of course as already mentioned, trailer set up. Your F150 in my opinion will do fine but if you are really just looking for a good excuse from your pals at CP to buy a new truck then my answer is there is no way that F150 will cut it and you need to run out ASAP and get a new truck. :lol:

 

[wejohns]

I use a 2012 2500 Ram Diesel to pull my 2520XL and it does a nice job. I work in the welding industry and through the years have pulled a lot of heavy with nearly every HD truck on the market. The absolute best towing vehicle I have ever used was a company truck to pull my boat. It was a 2014 Ram 2500 equipped with a either a 6.2 or 6.4 hemi. One of those sizes is in the hemi powered cars and the other is a truck engine. Nothing including any of the big 3 diesels would compare with it.

Ha! But it rode like a Dodge. The finish and refinements is not near as good as a Ford.

My brother hauls a lot of horse trailers with Dodge Diesel's. [Cummin's] He said they get the best fuel mileage, but they ain't no ford inside.

Locally I pull with my Lil 1/2 ton Boosted V6, rated to pull 11,800lbs .

My brother has one of those finished and refined Ford's, it is great unless you actually try to use it as a truck. 2 new engines, 1 new injection system and transmission all in less than 75K miles. It is a great truck to ride in though. Seriously though my wife drove 2 Expeditions and they were both great vehicles. You can get a good one or bad in all brands.

 

[HOTPURSUIT]

I have a 2014 tundra with a 5.7 liter 381 hp, 6 speed auto and 430 gears. Plus It has a haul /tow button and when turned on it is a real work horse. I get an average of 16-17 mpg as a daily driver with no load

 

[warthog5]

You can get a good one or bad in all brands.

So True.

I sure like my Boosted 3.5

 

[moose8420]

My 2004 Nissan Titan 5.4L SE hauls my 2520 ok. I don't haul it far, but I can definitely fell it back there. My longest trip is about 80miles round trip, and it usually pulls about half a tank a fuel to do that.

 

[TWOBOATER]

Your F-150 with a V-8 should be fine. Even the ecoboost 6 will do it but that' pushing it. I agree with having good trailer brakes.

In general the two biggest factors for towing are wheel base and horsepower. If you got length and horses your good to go. 4WD helps on the ramps too.