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Lrakeahs · 10-01-2016, 06:42 AM

I've been reading tons of posts....full of great information.

But just a quickie question...I realize I will have to get a bit more sophisticated with my calculations.....but right off hand can any one tell me how much weight approximately I can pull with our truck.......

It's a 2000 For F150 4x4 V6 4.2L
Specs:
GVWR 6000lb
Front GAWR 3680lb
Rear GAWR 3550lb
Tires P255/7 OR 16SL

It will be me and my hubby total weight 420 lb...OMG, that sounds terrible....

Diet starts Monday......

Plan on carrying 2 bikes, a 7 year old grandson on occasions....and 4 pups weighing in at 20 lbs total....they're tiny...and of course the usual stuff one needs for camping...ect

I know there are many other factors to calculate in, but just as kind of a rough estimate on what I might be looking at being able to pull....

I'm hoping the advice is not...."Get a new truck"........

Thank you, in advance

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Franka548 · 10-01-2016, 07:08 AM

You need a couple more things, you need the actual weight of the front and rear axles of the truck, also the GCWR of the truck. My guess is that you will have less than 500# available, when you get the weight of the truck, add the passenger and weight of the dogs and grandson etc, then subtract that weight from the GVWR of the truck, that leaves the tongue weight that is left(don't forget subtract the weight of the hitch itself). Tongue weight is usually figured at 10 to 12% of the trailer weight(remember to use the GVWR of the trailer when figuring).
Hope that this helps,
Frank

Lrakeahs · 10-01-2016, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franka548

You need a couple more things, you need the actual weight of the front and rear axles of the truck, also the GCWR of the truck. My guess is that you will have less than 500# available, when you get the weight of the truck, add the passenger and weight of the dogs and grandson etc, then subtract that weight from the GVWR of the truck, that leaves the tongue weight that is left(don't forget subtract the weight of the hitch itself). Tongue weight is usually figured at 10 to 12% of the trailer weight(remember to use the GVWR of the trailer when figuring).
Hope that this helps,
Frank

Oh my....that really made my head spin in circles.....where to I find those numbers...?

What does it mean when you say "you will have less than 500# available"....does that mean that is the max weight my trailer could be? I'll be buying a wagon then....lol!

Sorry, but I do see I have much to learn....and a whole lot more reading to do.

Frank, I really appreciate you taking the time to write!

parkerbill · 10-01-2016, 07:47 AM

No, it's not the weight of the trailer. It's the remaining cargo weight that would be left over for your hitch, the tongue weight of the trailer and any additional cargo you might want to carry in the bed of the truck, I.e., the bikes.

Lrakeahs · 10-01-2016, 07:50 AM

Ahhhh, I see......yes, I can see that is not leaving much!

We were thinking about this trailer......thoughts?

AR-ONE 18QB Floorplan - Starcraft RV

L.C.Gray · 10-01-2016, 08:15 AM

Only running the real world numbers taken from the scales will tell the tale, but based on the GVWR of the trailer you'd be looking at a real world tongue weight of about 490 lbs so you'll be cutting it real close. If you take a long trip you probably won't be happy with the power level of the V6 pulling the amount of frontal area the trailer has.

DanFromGC · 10-01-2016, 10:25 AM

Here is a link to the 2000 towing guide. https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas...0/bbcamper.pdf

Look on page 14. Assuming you have the automatic, 4x4, it looks like the maximum trailer weight is 5500 for the super cab, and the max combined weight of your truck and the camper and everything else is 10,000 lbs.

So, you need to load up the truck with you and the hubby, dogs, full tank of gas and whatever else you want to put in the truck and go to the CAT scales and get it weighed.

Subtract that weight from the 6,000 GVWR and that will be your total "payload" remaining. Your payload is how much more you can put IN the truck bed (including the hitch weight). The payload is going to be reduced by the tongue weight of your camper, which will be about 12% of the camper's weight. So, if you have 500 lbs of payload left, in theory you could tow a camper that weighs 4,100 when it is fully loaded.

Make sense? Again, your Max combined weight of the loaded camper and the loaded truck can only be that 10,000 GCWR

So, get the truck weighed and then you can figure it out from there. You might find some nice "hybrid" campers with the hard sides and tent ends. Those are a nice step up from the pop-ups. They have bathrooms, showers, fridge, ovens, towing breaks, etc. and they can weigh under 3,500 lbs which might be in your sweet spot.

Good luck!

Nana25K · 10-01-2016, 11:57 AM

Also don't foiget. The weight if the trail or you can pull is not its empty weight. You must know the GVW of the trailor. That is its weight with all your stuff it

Lrakeahs · 10-01-2016, 02:15 PM

You guys are amazing.......thank you so much for making all that clear....you broke it down into understandable terms for me....

Next step.....getting my weights figured out!!

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1bigmess · 10-01-2016, 04:04 PM

Also, towing will be a little better with real LT tires, not the P tires that are on there now.

parkerbill · 10-01-2016, 04:42 PM

Curious, but do they make an LT tire for 20" rims? I can't seem to find any. Am I stuck with P's? Although I will add that my F150 Platinum 4x4 3.5 EB Screw with Max tow seems to to tow our 31' overall Bullet pretty well with P tires. What would be better with LTs?

1bigmess · 10-01-2016, 06:18 PM

Parkerbill,

I am responding to the OP. The OP has sixteen inch rims on much older pickup.

Nice try. Next time you really to troll me though, try harder.

parkerbill · 10-01-2016, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1bigmess

Parkerbill,

I am responding to the OP. The OP has sixteen inch rims on much older pickup.

Nice try. Next time you really to troll me though, try harder.

I wasn't trolling you. I was asking a couple of questions looking for some help, so please try to not be so presumptuous in the future.

Franka548 · 10-02-2016, 05:12 AM

Lrakeahs,
The 500# is a guess at the payload left between the actual weight of the truck and the GVWR of the truck. This is what the maximum hitch weight that you can have and still be within the specs of the truck. The weights of the actual truck would be that from a set of truck scales at the local truck stop. The GCWR of the truck is usually found in the owners manual. I realize that this is a lot to take in, if you need more info, just ask.
Frank