Hi folks I am new here looking for answers to my questions about a late model truck I just got. Any takers on this one?
It is a 1984 F150 ford pickup. It ‘LOOKS’ bigger than the last truck I had…which raised the question about whether it is a half ton truck or a three quarter ton truck. I had also heard it could be found out by looking at certain parts of the vin number. Well I will stop here and see if I get someone to pop out. Thanks Billy;)
Well, i don’t know the answer to your question, but i have a few questions/observations:
-
Does 1984 still qualify as a “late model” vehicle? By that standard, my '99 Civic must be cutting edge.
-
I’m surprised that this isn’t something you looked into before actually purchasing the truck.
-
As a new member, you would benefit from reading the forum descriptions. There are numerous forums on the SDMB, and each is designed for different types of discussions. We are currently in About This Message Board, which is a forum for questions and comments about technical and procedural issues related to the board. You question properly belongs in the General Questions forum. I have reported your post, and a moderator will probably be along soon to move your thread to the right place.
Welcome to the Boards.
Looks like you aimed a bit high in your forum selection. This was probably intended for GQ. I’ll report it so a mod can move it for you. One of the car guys will be along shortly to provide an actual answer.
I have no idea. 
This place is divided up into different forums for different types of questions. Yours could go in either General Questions or In My Humble Opinion. I’ll report this thread to a moderator and they’ll move it to a place where it’s likely to get more answers.
Loaded 'er up and moved 'er ATMB --> General Questions.
Welcome to the SDMB, moondiver. Please take some time to read over the rules and etiquette of our community, found in various threads in About This Message Board, and also take a look at the forum descriptions on the main page.
twickster, moderator
Looks like it showed up in the General questions. Sorry I aimed to high its been a long day. But I DO have hopes of pulling a 27 foot Airstream one day ‘safely’ down the road and we thought an older model truck would do it. The Trailer itself weighs 4600 pounds according to the owners manual. We also have a reese straight hitch to go with it. One brother of mine said to count the lug nuts and if there were eight that would make it a 3/4 ton truck.
The only real difference between a half ton and 3/4 ton pickup is in the suspension and how much weight the truck can carry. The physical dimensions are the same for the same body style. The easiest way to determine what you have is to count the lug nuts on one wheel. If you have 5, it’s a half ton, if you have 8, it’s a 3/4 ton. The F-150 is a half ton pickup, the 3/4 ton is an F-250.
It’s not that simple moondiver. Your best (safest) bet is to take the VIN to a Ford dealership and have them look it up. Use that information to get an OWNER’S MANUAL for your truck, read it and that will tell you what you can and can’t tow.
Ok I will go outside and look in a minute. Thanks and I will be reading to see how to navigate thru these threads. Think it will pull the airstream?
My half-ton, '93 f-150 with straight six, 4wd and auto trans will pull 5,000 on a bumper hitch or 5,500 with a heavier, aftermarket hitch - but it doesn’t like it.
Be careful how many hot dogs you load in the trailer. You can overload them in a hurry.
F-150’s are all (in theory) half tons.
I say in theory because the 70’s the F-100 was the base 1/2 ton and the F-150’s were “heavy halfs” which were half tons but had some beefier components. Into the 90’s, the whole payload capacity sytem sort of got thrown out and, though the F-150 still occupies the half-ton market position, the actual payload capacity is actually more.
Hi Moondiver,
The advice in the previous posts is good…the F150 is considered a 1/2ton model, F250 is 3/4ton. The lug nut count will usually tell you as well. Additionally, 1/2ton models usually have 15-inch wheels, 3/4ton have 16-inch.
Your truck should handle the trailer well enough, but it will be less forgiving under load than a heavier-suspension model. Be careful how you mount the hitch. The front of the trailer should be level or just slightly lower than the rear. Mounting the hitch too high, or loading the rear of the trailer too heavily will cause the trailer to yaw & sway at highway speeds. Make sure you have heavy-duty tires on the truck. A breakdown or blowout on the highway while trailering is no fun. I’d also recomend a load-leveler-type hitch and overloads on the truck and, if it has an automatic transmission, a transmission cooler would be very advisable.
One more word of advice from an old trailering hand…make sure somone who knows what they’re doing hooks up the trailer wires. One gentleman I know of accidentally connected the trailer-brake wire to the truck’s turn-signal wire.
Going down the road at speed, he signalled a turn and his trailer brakes began alternately locking & releasing making quite a scene and causing him intense embarrasment:smack: We old trailering hands stood around nodding solemnly and saying…“yep, there lurches a man that tried to wire his own trailer lights”.
Right, yeah I swear I am not planning on zooming down the highway. They will assuredly have to pass every time and vent. I did know about the trailer and truck being as horizontal as possible to a level parking lot. We have pulled the trailer twice now by ourselves, and only in short distances, just to get the feel of it. Our first truck which we sold for this Ford one, had a glitch in the electrical and nce it was hooked up to the trailer the lights had a mind of their own! It was either the alternator or the fuse box had been rigged by the previous owner. So our next level up will be doing the electrical running lights next. Well I have you bookmarked and will be checking from time to time. Thanks again,
That was a quick way around the smog laws in force at the time.
If the GVW was over a certain value the truck was exempt from smog controls. As I recall the F-150 had a cargo capacity of 1 lb more than the requirement. 
You may be able to both decode the VIN and get a manual here. Or maybe not. PDF didn’t exist in 1984.
There should also be a label on the door open or on the door itself listing all of the weight characteristics.
There should be a tag on the rear axle that you can decode to find out what axle you have and the gear ratio (unless it was changed). Heavier axles are stronger to carry a greater load, and finding out what axle you have is a refinement of the ‘count the lug nuts’ approach. A decent mechanic can ID the axle easily.
The VIN advice is good. That should ID the truck. If its 1/2 ton you are on
the cusp of its official towing capacity. 3/4 ton vehicle would be much more
appropriate for regular traveling while towing the Airstream.