Hi
I'm a doing a little research on towing with a 300.I have diesel I normaly use but out with problems at the moment.I have a 84 two wheel drive crew cab that needs a motor but have two good 300's here with a\t.If I install one of these will they pull a 7000lb race trailer.Anything that would make them pull better.How about fuel milage expected.Any suggestions appreciated.
Thanks

 

forgot to mention these are both carb not fuel injected

 

It will pull 7000 lbs. Slow.

To pull faster, install both engines, or do a performance build on one, and regear to suit your new powerband.

MPG? 10-15, ymmv.

 

The carb'd 300 is 122hp @ 3000 RPMs and 255tq @ 1400 RPMs.
They're also known to be power drained by auto trannies.

However, it'll definitely pull it. It's a low end torque "diesel-like" gas engine. Just not all that fast.

As said above, regearing would help a lot, as would some performance mods. And agreed on the 10 - 15mpg.

 

Thanks,I'm finding some good info on this site,What gearing would be recomended and what would be the best rpm.Tires are 235\85-16.

 

31x10.5's, 4.11 gear ratio, automatic ransmissio. My truck will drag aound 7,000 lbs like it's nothing. Stopping, however, is another issue.

Unloaded I get 16 mpg at 60 mph at 2,200 rpm. Your truck is heavier than mine though.

The 300 will pull it with no problems. Just keep an eye on the fluids. A 3.73 gear set would be great. 4.10 would be great too. Don't expect it to be fast or pull the load at a fast clip on the highway.

The 300 is an excellent working man's engine. Back in the day this engine was used in UPS trucks. It's been used in tractors and many other applications like generators.

There are much better engines for your applicaton. I would recomend a 351 for 7,000 lbs. With that said, a 300 will pull the same load, and get better fuel mileage unloaded (albeit not by much).

It's up to you. Just do your research. The 300 will do it and do it without problems. You just won't like the speed of it.

 

Easy carb'ed 300 mods:

Offy/clifford "open plenum" intake, Motorcraft 2100 2bbl (1.08 venturi), and EFI exhaust manifolds or headers. That'll increase power everywhere on the carb'ed 300, and extend the "meat" of the power band another 1000RPM to 3500 (or so).

Next step is a mild dual-pattern cam (260-270 advertised duration), with no loss in low-end torque, and power out to 4500RPM.

300 has 7 main bearings, 4" stroke, and huge cooling capacity. 300 pickup owners often have to cover part of the radiator in the winter to keep the trucks/cab heat warm.

Good luck!

 

the 300 will do fine. if you have trailer brakes on the trailer you should get a brake controler. i have recently pulle 2 cars for a friend one was a dodge neon with a skid steer trailer and the other a honda crx with a homebuilt car trailer. pulled both no problem. i have a 3.08 gear ratio, i pulled the trailer empty at 2000rpm in 4th gear and with cars (basically no weight added) did about 2000rpm. got good milleage also.

 

In no way do I want to disrespect you. What I'm about to say is simply an opinion and thoughts. My thoughts are few and far between and my opinion is formed by information learned from reading, not so much real world experience.

It's my personal opinion when towing anything heavy you should keep the truck out of OD, especially with a highway gear ratio. The truck and engine might be able to pull 2,000 lbs with no issue, but it's harder on the transmission due to it kicking in and out of OD more.

Just because your truck can pull it with a highway gear does not mean that you should. Pulling a load heavier than what the truck is rated to tow with said gearing can really load down the engine and transmission and all the parts inbetween. If you have the means to do so a gear swap isn't a bad idea if you plan on towing heavy loads regularly. I know of men who pull loads all the time with highway gears and they have no problems. All I'm saying is use common sense for your truck's sake and for your own wallet's sake. Instal coolers and keep an eye on th tempature and fluids.

Make sure your truck can STOP! Very important. ha ha!


All that I'm saying is that it's better for the truck, engine and transmission if you are geared for the load and know when to turn the OD off. Don't just jump in the truck and GO and never think about the load on the engine or tranny.

This isn't directed to the OP or anyone. I'm not trying to insinuate anyone here does this. I think all the posters here who pull heavy loads regularly know how to drive.

Just trying to be helpful!

Bill

 

i would agree never tow in OD cause i had a friend with a 2005 f250 6.0l and he tow's regularly and i was with him towing a 20ft camper and he was towing with overdrive and he did the same thing pulling a jacked up 84 f150 for a friend. then after towing the campper he had 4 bad injectors. but yeah get a good gear ratio for your sake. im looking at upgrading mine. just have to find someplace that i can get a new one. i dont want to go to a junk yard cause you dont know if it is going to last you 10miles or even 100,000miles.

 

The 300 will tow 7K, I pulled 8K about 40 miles each way with mine. I wouldn't want to go 65 but it holds 55 just fine. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Just stay out of OD.

I don't think an automatic would work as good though, they rob power and you can't fully use the low end torque. Example- you floor it at 2k RPM and it kicks down and revs up, wheras with a stick, you can floor it at 2K, stay in the same gear and actually USE the torque.

 

Back off the automatics. They pull just fine too. The only difference is our auto's have to rev up a bit due to the flywheel. Reguardless it pulls just fine - surprisingly smooth too. The problem I had was stopping the beast.

 

Check his sig; he's got an M5OD and 4th ain't overdrive. 2000RPM in his truck is around 50mph in 4th. M5OD trucks even have a warning on the sun visor saying stay out of 5th when towing.

Last time I did major interstate hauling I wished I had an automatic because of the smooth, seamless shifting.

I will give 6.2D some credit- the high stall converters on newer automatics loose the ability to use low-RPM torque and "finesse" a load. The converter on my old Mercedes was stiff as wet cement, and I could lug smoothly through the snow where most vehicles were just spinning tires. I think it's mainly for MPG/emissions purposes so the engine isn't "under load" sitting at a stoplight. Other times, manufacturers are using high-stall converters to compensate for super-high "economy" rear ends. My wife's Impala is a pain to drive in traffic with the 2.86 axle and factory 2000RPM converter (final drive on the highway is 2.0:1!). In the old days, you had to stand on the brake to keep the car from creeping forward at 5mph. Now you have to burp a modern automatic to 1200RPM (or higher) just to move an inch!.

 

My truck drags it around just fine. There's a reason automatics have to rev more than the manuals. I'm glad it does. If it didn't, bad things would happen. =)

Unsubscribing. Yall have fun with this.

 

Bill's got a 4.11 rear end, I wouldn't worry about having an auto if I had 4.11 gears either. I'm sure his truck pulls just fine.

To the OP: You probably already know this because you say you've towed with your diesels before, but with 7000 pounds, trailer brakes are a must. Like people have said, I'd be more worried about stopping the load than getting it going.

The 300 won't have a problem, i would just make sure that you have at least 3.55 gears, 3.73's or 4.10's are better.