3/4 ton towability

[gayle]

I own a 1999 F250 4x4 superduty with a 5.4lL/v-8 and a rear axle ratio of 4.1 and we were thinking about buying a 5th wheel trailer that has a dry weight of 9610 lbs and a gross of 14040. Would we be able to pull this without stretching the limits?

[CD]

gayle
Welcome aboard. You will get good advice here. The answer to your question is yes and no. Yes you can tow it but will you be happy with it? A friend had a 28' Nash that he towed with a later model F250. He said it always felt like there was a big load on his back and was not comfortable with it. After several trips he sold it and bought a TT. He's happy now. You will most likely overload the rear axle. Others will give you more.

[SuperGewl]

The 1999 F250 can tow any where from 6900 to 9700 depending on if it's a 4x4, Crew Cab, Super Cab, automatic, manual, trailer Tow Package,
You see where I'm going, actually NO you shouldn't be towing it becasue the GVWR of the TT is >14k
This is the number that will make the difference. Your truck is not set up to properly do the job safely. Not only that you will most likely not like the way it tows with that engine. If you are luckly maybe 6-8mpg down hill on a calm day.
Personally it's time to go diesel, 350 or 450, better fuel mileage and a better piece of mind pulling the load.

[dayle1]

Not a good combo, you could try it for some short runs if you want, but most likely a different truck is in order. You will probably never use the full carrying capacity of +4400 lbs for the trailer, so you may never hit the 14K GVWR. But 9600 lbs dry is a bad starting point for the 5.4L. How big is your tank and at 6-7 mpg, what range will you have?? Are you prepared to stop that often to refuel?

I have a diesel to pull my 7600 lb dry, 11K lbs GVWR fiver and while I know I'm towing, most of the time it is pretty uneventful. At 11 mpg and a 45 gal tank, I usually fill up only once per day.

Previous rig was a GM 5.3L towing an aerodynamic fiver of just 5k lbs dry, 6500 lbs GVWR. Towing was OK and I towed lots of miles, but there were times even on level roads it was a challenge to maintain 60 mph with strong headwinds and the A/C on. The fiver you are describing is very likely taller and less aerodynamic. You will likely be exhausted behind the wheel feeling like you need to get out and push the rig down the highway.

[450Donn]

While adequate for daily commuting that 5.4 is not capable of hauling any where close to that much weight. Get a TT under 8500 GVWR and you will be good to go. Or a small fiver, like 20 foot maximum. Any more and you will hate the day you bought it until you remedy the situation.