Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

It looks like my old 01 F250 with the 7.3 is having some motor issues and I am going to have to consider either refurb it or go with new tow vehicle. Since taking over the estate and choosing to keep everything money is a lot tighter for about 5 more years. What I am wondering is since I never have had to put the 01 F250 into 4 wheel drive will a full size 2 wheel drive crew cab gas burner do the job?
What are your thoughts?

Rear wheel drive is all you need for towing.

File this under "O" for Opinion, but here goes.

For 35 years, (1979 to 2014) I had a fleet of one ton vans and 18' Box Trucks.

In that time I owned 2 F150 Trucks. One was a 90 and had a 300 cu in. 6 and a 5 spd manual. The newest one, a 2007 bought in 2006 has a 5.7 v8. Both are 2wd.

When I owned the 90, one of my buddies wanted me to pull his SUV out of a snowbank a half mile in on the south side of a tree row. I told him I couldn't make it in there and wouldn't even try. He told me to just put it in 4wd and help him get his truck out. I pointed out I didn't have 4wd. He looked at me and said "I know danged well when we've been out hunting this truck had to have 4wd to get in and out of some of the holes we've been in." and I said "Nope. I've never owned a 4wd and this truck has always been 2wd." He looked all over for the hidden switch and couldn't believe it when he looked at the front end and couldn't find a front drive axle.

NONE of the vans had 4wd. One that we had was a 460 cu in v8 which finally quit at 386,000 miles. For at least 300,000 of those miles, it towed a tandem axle trailer and was running at 20,000 cgvw.

I finally bought a 4wd vehicle when I got my 72 Bronco with a 302, 3spd on the tree and 4wd a few years ago. It's so old school there is nothing electronic in it.

I've had a boat of one kind or another since 81. I've NEVER towed one with a 4wd.

Other than in the Bronco, I've never been anywhere with 4wd in a personal vehicle.

And, having had a fleet, I can tell you that people I know who had 4wd's in their fleet paid more for them and paid more in upkeep and maintenance for them than I did my 2wd vehicles.

So if I were you, I'd look for a suitable 2wd Supercrew with a good receiver hitch and decent rubber.

You can save a decent hunk of change in both purchase and operation costs.

2 or 4 Wheel drive makes no difference in the pulling power. I have had both the differences is when the ram is slick. Sometime the ramp I use gets slick from muck grass mud and such. When that happens I use 4 wheel cause the rear wheels will spin. But as for pulling power there is no difference at all.

My first comment is about NonHyphenAmerican is that those old F150's with a 5 speed and the 300 inline 6 were one of the best dang trucks ever made! Mine had over 300k when I got a newer model of the same truck with fuel injection, never had any major problems with the old carb one.

As far as towing goes everyone is correct about not needing 4wd. I think a F250 of any kind will pull any pontoon boat with ease and F150 would probably do the trick on most as well if its a somewhat newer model. I have seen at least once where 4wd may have gotten somebody out of a pickle at a slick and steep ramp before but that could also have been a factor of having the trailer in too far as well..

I was always amazed at what my little 4cly 5 speed Nissan hardbody (another great truck) could pull when I was young and dumb. It doesn't take a whole lot of engine to pull a lot of weight its more about do I have enough mass to get traction and do I have the brakes to stop it! There is plenty of other suspension stuff involved to make it handle ok too.

To wheel drive will be fine. I rarely use 4WD except on slippery ramps, which is not very often. I also believe a half ton will do fine for you, just check tow and payload specs (payload more for travel trailers, but good to know).

You may have answered your own question, If you never needed it in the past you probably won't need it in the future. We have some horrible ramps, think dirt/mud, That I would never attempt with out it.

I have a ‘12 Dodge Ram quad cab 1500 4X2 with the 5.7 motor that I use to pull an 18’ aluminum and stainless with a big block 454 airboat, 24’ pontoon with 65hp four stroke merc, and I used to pull a 24’ huricane with 200hp Yamaha with it.

No problems at all, including running at 65-70 MPH (or higher) highway speeds.

I have a Ford F250 4x4 Crew Cab 7.3L diesel. I've pulled just about everything with it with no problems. A few years ago I got a BMW X5 35d and have been pulling my pontoon with it. It's an incredibly smooth tow vehicle that still gets about 18 mpg while towing. Twin turbo diesel with auto-leveling rear suspension. I'll choose the BMW over the Ford any day for towing up to 6k lbs.

[img]https://imageshack.com/a/img924/3018/zcvg4P.jpg[/img]

My friend has that X5 as well, I was shocked at how good it was for towing a boat. Aren't they rated up to 7,500 lbs? Those massive, flat sports tires give an incredible ride.

[quote="ron nh"]My friend has that X5 as well, I was shocked at how good it was for towing a boat. Aren't they rated up to 7,500 lbs? Those massive, flat sports tires give an incredible ride.[/quote]

They are rated at 7500 in the EU. The same vehicle here is 6000.

It is the best ride I have ever had in any vehicle, and this is a 5000 lb SUV. I get 26 mpg all day without the toon, with crazy torque and power.

Thanks for all the responses. I am still a little timid about going to a 4X2.

I would say that the question of 4x4 vs 4x2 really depends completely on the ramps you will be using. A Well used and maintained concrete ramp should be ok with 4x2. I've been on a few ramps that were a mix of gravel and rock and ended up having to drop into 4x4 to get out each time. This was with a truck that had limited slip in the rear end.

I'd always want either 4x4 or AWD just to be sure.

All I will say is make sure whatever you buy has a lot of ass to it whether 4 or 2 wheel drive. I take my hat off to you all that drag these things back and forth. I trailer mine ( 22 footer) once a year for the spring once shine up and once over, otherwise its on the lift in the marina. I tow it about 15 miles one way. I drag it with a 2012 Ram Hemi that has an overabundance of ass to it and even it groans ...and drinks that 91 octane 100% gas like drunken sailor on shore leave.
That damned boat is like pulling a billboard sideways down the highway . If I had to drag it back and forth every time, Id either sink it or sell it...lol!!!

my 2wd f150 v6 pulls my 24 ft 115 merc just fine up this steep ass flood ramp. I think it's a matter of opinion.....