How to Improve Towing Performance on a 2007 Ford F-150

Updated 08/17/2017 | Published 08/16/2017

Question:

I just bought a travel trailer with a dry weight of 5000 lbs. The truck struggles a bit on hills and I live at about 500ft elevation. I would like to take a trip to the Rockies. I have gotten advice from different sources saying I could get better pulling performance from the small V8 by changing my 3.55 rear to a 4.10. I realize this will reduce fuel mileage, increase engine rpm and I would have to recalibrate my speed odometer. I do plan to get a programmer and possibly converting to an electric fan. The truck is in great shape and has 130k miles. I am not planning to replace the truck for at least 2 years. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

asked by: Mike

Expert Reply:

You are correct in that replacing the gears on your 2007 Ford F-150 with a taller gear set will increase towing performance. Therefore, changing the stock 3.55 gears in your truck for a set of 4.10 gears will likely help address the lack of pulling power you have while traveling up an incline at high elevation. I am also glad to hear that you are aware of the trade off from doing so as increased RPM's will drastically reduce your vehicle's MPG rating.

With that being said I would only replace the gear set for a taller option if you are only using the vehicle to tow a trailer. If you are using the vehicle as a daily driver and only tow a trailer a couple times a month then I would advise against changing your gear ratio.

For a performance tuner compatible with your vehicle, I recommend using the Edge Gas Evolution CTS3 Performance Tuner part # EP59YR as one of the preset tunes is specifically designed to increase towing performance.

expert reply by: Conner L