2011 Ford F-150 and Jayfeather 23M

[GuitarLefty]

I've got a Ford F-150. 5.0 8-cylinder engine that I want to tow a Jayfeather 23M travel trailer with, the truck has a tow package and is rated for 7,339 lbs.

The Trailer is 5000 lbs and 23 ft long, the braking system and hitch will be installed upon delivery.

I don't want the truck to feel overwhelmed therefore we intentionally shopped for as light as possible and still have a slide, any info in regard would be much appreciated, thanks

[TXiceman]

Just from the limited info, you should be OK.

Ken

[tuffr2]

I used to have a 2011 5.0 litre F-150. Great truck !!! I towed a 5,000 lb trailer. To me it was a very acceptable towing experience. There will be a slight movement as semi's pass or visa versa. Gas mileage will drop to just over 10mpg. I was getting 10.5mpg driving 62 to 65mph.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by GuitarLefty

I've got a Ford F-150. 5.0 8-cylinder engine that I want to tow a Jayfeather 23M travel trailer with, the truck has a tow package and is rated for 7,339 lbs.

The F-150 rated for 7330 pounds trailer weight is probably the "tow rating". That means your engine and drivetrain can pull a trailer that weighs up to 7339 pounds without overheating something and burning it up, provided there is nothing in the truck but a skinny driver. But add family and tools and other normal stuff in the pickup and your actual tow rating goes way down.

The Trailer is 5000 lbs and 23 ft long,...

The box length is about 23', with a GVWR of 6,500. Count on the wet and loaded trailer to gross about 6,000 pounds in the middle of your third camping trip.

Floorplan 23M
Unloaded Vehicle Weight (lbs) 4,645
Dry Hitch Weight (lbs) 635 (13.67%)
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (lbs) 6,500
Exterior Length 26' 4"
Exterior Width 96" (ready to travel with slide in)



If your F-150 has neither the max tow pkg nor the HD Payload pkg, then your limiter is the GVWR of the F-150. The dry hitch weight percent on that trailer is 13.67%, which is close to normal for a TT. When you load the trailer to 6,000 pounds, it will have a hitch weight of about 820 pounds. So when you load the pickup with family and fill it with gas, It should weigh at least 820 pounds less than the GVWR of the F-150. Else you're going o be overloaded.

My F-150 has a tow rating of 8,400 pounds, but I'm overloaded with my TT that grosses 4,870 pounds when wet and loaded for a long trip.

...the braking system and hitch will be installed upon delivery.

Be certain you get a weight-distributing (WD) hitch. That's way too much trailer and hitch weight to try to tow with a weight-carrying (WC) hitch.

[GuitarLefty]

Originally Posted by SmokeyWren

The F-150 rated for 7330 pounds trailer weight is probably the "tow rating". That means your engine and drivetrain can pull a trailer that weighs up to 7339 pounds without overheating something and burning it up, provided there is nothing in the truck but a skinny driver. But add family and tools and other normal stuff in the pickup and your actual tow rating goes way down.

The box length is about 23', with a GVWR of 6,500. Count on the wet and loaded trailer to gross about 6,000 pounds in the middle of your third camping trip.

Floorplan 23M
Unloaded Vehicle Weight (lbs) 4,645
Dry Hitch Weight (lbs) 635 (13.67%)
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (lbs) 6,500
Exterior Length 26' 4"
Exterior Width 96" (ready to travel with slide in)

If your F-150 has neither the max tow pkg nor the HD Payload pkg, then your limiter is the GVWR of the F-150. The dry hitch weight percent on that trailer is 13.67%, which is close to normal for a TT. When you load the trailer to 6,000 pounds, it will have a hitch weight of about 820 pounds. So when you load the pickup with family and fill it with gas, It should weigh at least 820 pounds less than the GVWR of the F-150. Else you're going o be overloaded.

My F-150 has a tow rating of 8,400 pounds, but I'm overloaded with my TT that grosses 4,870 pounds when wet and loaded for a long trip.

Be certain you get a weight-distributing (WD) hitch. That's way too much trailer and hitch weight to try to tow with a weight-carrying (WC) hitch.

Thank you for the information, Upon further review, that F-150 Lariat is the SuperCrew - 5.0 litre - 3.55 ratio limited slip axle, with trailer sway control and trailer towing package. The Ford F-150 Lariat manual states - GCWR 13,500 lbs (I take this as truck, contents, passengers, trailer-everything) Maximum trailer weight 8,000 lbs. it talks about weight distribution and the weight at the hitch being 10-15% which from the previous info seems to be OK, any further thoughts, thanks !!!

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by GuitarLefty

The Ford F-150 Lariat manual states - GCWR 13,500 lbs (I take this as truck, contents, passengers, trailer-everything) ...

Yes, the GCWR is the max combined weight of the truck and trailer. But that tells you only how much weight your drivetrain can pull up a decent grade at a decent speed without overheating something in the drivetrain.

Maximum trailer weight 8,000 lbs.

The GCWR minus the wet and loaded weight of the pickup gives you an idea of the max weight of a trailer you can tow with an empty truck that has no weight in it but a skinny driver. The "tow rating" of 8,000 pounds means Ford estimates the weight of your wet and loaded truck at 5,500 pounds. (13,500 GCWR minus 5,500 truck weight = 8,000 tow rating).

But you won't be towing with nothing in the truck, so the GCWR is not your limiter. When you weigh your truck that is loaded ready to tow, you'll find that it weighs a lot more than 5,500 pounds, so you can't use the tow rating to determine the weight you can tow without being overloaded. Your Owner's Guide tells you to NEVER exceed any of the weight limits of your truck, including GVWR. The GVWR, not the GCWR, is your limiter on almost all half-ton pickups. Because of hitch weight and other payload in the truck, such as passengers and tools, you will exceed the GVWR before you get close to the GCWR of your truck.

... any further thoughts, thanks !!!

Same thought. Watch out for exceeding the GVWR of your F-150. That's the culprit that will bite you in the butt if you don't plan ahead for it.

To prevent being overloaded over the GVWR of the F-150, load it with everything that will be in it when towing (including the ball mount for the WD hitch but without the trailer tied on), fill up with gas, then weigh the wet and loaded F-150. Subtract the weight of the wet and loaded F-150 from the GVWR of the F-150. The answer is the max hitch weight you can have without being overloaded.

For the trailer you mentioned, divide the max hitch weight you can have by 13.67% (0.1367), and the answer is the max weight of that trailer you can tow without being overloaded. If your computation shows less than about 6,000 pounds trailer weight, then you'll probably be overloaded when on the road for a camping trip with that trailer.

My F-150 towing my TT is a good example. SuperCrew 4x2 EcoBoost 3.15 axle. GCWR is 14,000 pounds with tow rating of 8,400 pounds. GVWR 7,100. But the tow rating is a joke, because when on the road with my TT that grosses 4,870 pounds, here are my weights with my weight-distributing hitch cinched up tight:

3,360 Front axle
3,840 rear axle
-----------
7,200 GVW (compare to GVWR of 7,100)
4,220 trailer axles (+650 hitch weight = 4,870 gross trailer weight)
-----------
11,420 GCW (compare to 14,000 GCWR)
===========

So nowhere near the GCWR, but overloaded over the GVWR of the F-150 with a trailer that weighs only 4,870. Imagine how much overloaded I'd be if I used Ford's tow rating and tried to tow an 8,400 pound TT that my tow rating says is okay. So my truck has plenty of power to pull a TT that weighs over 8,000 pounds, but not enough suspension to haul the hitch weight of even a 4,870 pound TT without being overloaded.

Bottom line: Hitch weight is your problem, not trailer weight. So determine your max hitch weight, then buy a TT that will have less hitch weight than that when wet and loaded for the road.

[GuitarLefty]

My best friend has the same model f-150 and "beefed up" his rear end - looks like an extra set of springs that are on the suspension moving towards the rear of the truck, he's been very pleased, uncertain however how it changed his towing capability, but he tows a 10k piece of equipment intermittently
Thanks for the info, I was going to buy the trailer tomorrow but will refrain for now.

[GuitarLefty]

Originally Posted by GuitarLefty

My best friend has the same model f-150 and "beefed up" his rear end - looks like an extra set of springs that are on the suspension moving towards the rear of the truck, he's been very pleased, uncertain however how it changed his towing capability, but he tows a 10k piece of equipment intermittently
Thanks for the info, I was going to buy the trailer tomorrow but will refrain for now.

Dang, didn't realize the hassle

[GuitarLefty]

Originally Posted by GuitarLefty

My best friend has the same model f-150 and "beefed up" his rear end - looks like an extra set of springs that are on the suspension moving towards the rear of the truck, he's been very pleased, uncertain however how it changed his towing capability, but he tows a 10k piece of equipment intermittently
Thanks for the info, I was going to buy the trailer tomorrow but will refrain for now.

Any chance from the info I posted that you can help with determining the hitch weight? Thanks

[GuitarLefty]

Originally Posted by guitarlefty

any chance from the info i posted that you can help with determining the hitch weight? Thanks

h. E. L. P.

[GuitarLefty]

Originally Posted by SmokeyWren

Yes, the GCWR is the max combined weight of the truck and trailer. But that tells you only how much weight your drivetrain can pull up a decent grade at a decent speed without overheating something in the drivetrain.

The GCWR minus the wet and loaded weight of the pickup gives you an idea of the max weight of a trailer you can tow with an empty truck that has no weight in it but a skinny driver. The "tow rating" of 8,000 pounds means Ford estimates the weight of your wet and loaded truck at 5,500 pounds. (13,500 GCWR minus 5,500 truck weight = 8,000 tow rating).

But you won't be towing with nothing in the truck, so the GCWR is not your limiter. When you weigh your truck that is loaded ready to tow, you'll find that it weighs a lot more than 5,500 pounds, so you can't use the tow rating to determine the weight you can tow without being overloaded. Your Owner's Guide tells you to NEVER exceed any of the weight limits of your truck, including GVWR. The GVWR, not the GCWR, is your limiter on almost all half-ton pickups. Because of hitch weight and other payload in the truck, such as passengers and tools, you will exceed the GVWR before you get close to the GCWR of your truck.

Same thought. Watch out for exceeding the GVWR of your F-150. That's the culprit that will bite you in the butt if you don't plan ahead for it.

To prevent being overloaded over the GVWR of the F-150, load it with everything that will be in it when towing (including the ball mount for the WD hitch but without the trailer tied on), fill up with gas, then weigh the wet and loaded F-150. Subtract the weight of the wet and loaded F-150 from the GVWR of the F-150. The answer is the max hitch weight you can have without being overloaded.

For the trailer you mentioned, divide the max hitch weight you can have by 13.67% (0.1367), and the answer is the max weight of that trailer you can tow without being overloaded. If your computation shows less than about 6,000 pounds trailer weight, then you'll probably be overloaded when on the road for a camping trip with that trailer.

My F-150 towing my TT is a good example. SuperCrew 4x2 EcoBoost 3.15 axle. GCWR is 14,000 pounds with tow rating of 8,400 pounds. GVWR 7,100. But the tow rating is a joke, because when on the road with my TT that grosses 4,870 pounds, here are my weights with my weight-distributing hitch cinched up tight:

3,360 Front axle
3,840 rear axle
-----------
7,200 GVW (compare to GVWR of 7,100)
4,220 trailer axles (+650 hitch weight = 4,870 gross trailer weight)
-----------
11,420 GCW (compare to 14,000 GCWR)
===========

So nowhere near the GCWR, but overloaded over the GVWR of the F-150 with a trailer that weighs only 4,870. Imagine how much overloaded I'd be if I used Ford's tow rating and tried to tow an 8,400 pound TT that my tow rating says is okay. So my truck has plenty of power to pull a TT that weighs over 8,000 pounds, but not enough suspension to haul the hitch weight of even a 4,870 pound TT without being overloaded.

Bottom line: Hitch weight is your problem, not trailer weight. So determine your max hitch weight, then buy a TT that will have less hitch weight than that when wet and loaded for the road.

Any chance you could tell me the hitch weight from the info I've listed thus far ? Thank you

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by GuitarLefty

Any chance you could tell me the hitch weight from the info I've listed thus far ? Thank you

The answer is in my first reply to this thread: "The dry hitch weight percent on that trailer is 13.67%, which is close to normal for a TT. When you load the trailer to 6,000 pounds, it will have a hitch weight of about 820 pounds."

If you want to fool yourself by claiming you won't load the trailer to 6,000 pounds, then the approximate hitch weight will be about 13.67 percent of whatever is the gross weight of the wet and loaded trailer.

[GuitarLefty]

I'm asking what the hitch weight per the specs I posted about the f150 what will this model of pickup truck is safe, thanks. Not the trailer.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by GuitarLefty

My best friend has the same model f-150 and "beefed up" his rear end - looks like an extra set of springs that are on the suspension moving towards the rear of the truck, he's been very pleased, uncertain however how it changed his towing capability,...

It didn't change his towing capability one bit. The engineers use a lot more than rear springs to determine GVWR, and he didn't change any of those other components - wheels, tires, brakes, frame, etc. It did mask the appearance of being overloaded by raising the back end of the overloaded truck enough that the headlights are not aiming at the stars.