good idea?

[Red Betty]

i have a 95 ford f150 long bed 5.0 with an auto can this safely tow my jeep? Before i do any towing i will install a class 5 hitch, trailer breaks, and a trans cooler is there anything else that i should do before hand?

[Guest]

what kind of trailer setup? i dont have a lot of experience with towing vehicles/with fords either but one good investment is a trailer brake controller. i wouldnt tow without one

[Red Betty]

I wouldn't do that either I just forgot to mention it. I don't have a trailer yet but it would be a tandem axle with breaks. I'm just looking a trucks now then I'll look for the trailer.

[Guest]

"Safe" has as much to do with the driver as it does the vehicle.

Will it do it? Yes. Will it do it reliably? Probably.

You've lined out all of the options that are available to make it as safe as can be. The only thing left is to drive within the truck's capabilities to provide effective control (accel, stop, steer, emergency maneuver) and you'll be set.

[93WHY-J]

I have owned several F-150's with the 5.0 and towed a lot with them. Not a Jeep, but other vehicles, and many loads of hay, and other farm stuff.

It will do it, but it will be at it's limits, and you will DEFINATELY know it's back there. Good brakes, and good trailer brakes are a must. You won't win any speed records, but can safely do it with some caution and care. One thing you might consider if you plan to tow a lot, is change the gears for more torque. I put 4.10's in my last F-150 and it made a world of difference. It had 3.55's before.

As TommyG said, "drive within the capabilities and you'll be set."

[cjmoon]

towed with my 90 2wd 5.0 with 3.55 gears, bought it with 150k from a contractor so probably hard miles. I towed a 12' lawn trailer or the jeep for about 30% of my miles. melted 3 spark plugs and finally purt a hole in the piston at about 200k right after a cracked head and bent valve (200 miles or so after) I did pull the jeep home on 7 cyl in the winter then rebuilt the top end which might have had something to do with the hole in the piston. It did fine, the drive to Manhattan loaded i would roll at 80 down hill to carry speed into the hills and wait till 55 or so to step into it for the tranny to down shift and keep the speed, would get 11 mpg doing that. but bought a diesel 3/4 ton and wouldn't ever go back. i will never own a 1/2 ton truck again. get 16-17 towing 20 easy unloaded with the same style

good brakes both axles, i only had one axle and the truck wasn't heavy enough for that

[rjh]

Upgrading the 2nd axle on your trailer to have brakes is about $250-300 in parts, and can be done in an hour or two if you're mechanically inclined. When I towed with a single axle brake and 1/2 ton truck, I kept my brake controller up around 6-7. With my 3/4 ton and brakes on the 2nd trailer axle, I keep it at 1.5-2. I can put it up to about 5 and lock up the trailer brakes, but at 2 I don't even know it's back there most of the time.

[Red Betty]

I have owned several F-150's with the 5.0 and towed a lot with them. Not a Jeep, but other vehicles, and many loads of hay, and other farm stuff.

It will do it, but it will be at it's limits, and you will DEFINATELY know it's back there. Good brakes, and good trailer brakes are a must. You won't win any speed records, but can safely do it with some caution and care. One thing you might consider if you plan to tow a lot, is change the gears for more torque. I put 4.10's in my last F-150 and it made a world of difference. It had 3.55's before.

As TommyG said, "drive within the capabilities and you'll be set."

This brings me to my next question. I had a mustang in my younger days and i have a 8.8 rebuild kit and 373 left over from that but i don't know if the axles are the same?

[Guest]

Mustang 8.8s are narrower than f150s

[Guest]

But afaik the internals are the same

[Guest]

I think most car 8.8s had 28 splines, so the bearings won't match up most likely unless the truck has 28-spline shafts as well since the 31 spline shafts have a larger diameter.

[Guest]

I think most car 8.8s had 28 splines, so the bearings won't match up most likely unless the truck has 28-spline shafts as well since the 31 spline shafts have a larger diameter.

Forgot about that part....

[93WHY-J]

I think most car 8.8s had 28 splines, so the bearings won't match up most likely unless the truck has 28-spline shafts as well since the 31 spline shafts have a larger diameter.

+ 1

I think all trucks have 31 spline.

[spunebil]

I would tow with your original set-up, but I have towed with much less and am still here! Lol

[Red Betty]

I think most car 8.8s had 28 splines, so the bearings won't match up most likely unless the truck has 28-spline shafts as well since the 31 spline shafts have a larger diameter.

Are you talking about the bearings that are on the outside like next to the brakes?