TT Length, towing with F150

[sd75mac]

Originally Posted by Cumminsfan

That's about the dumbest thing I've read lately.
What year F250, what motor and what were they towing and did they even want to race you? Good grief.
Hey I smoked a 2015 Corvette the other day.

What he smoked was not a Vette, rather some high-grade steer manure called Barnyard Fruitcake.Yuk, yuk, yuk

[Parrott_head]

I've run the numbers on my truck. It's 5.0 CrewCab, 3.55 rear end and 145 wheel base.

I'm aware of the other factors such as payload that contribute to the actual load you can tow safely.

My questions were more in line of wind buffeting and camp ground manoeuvring.

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by Parrott_head

I've run the numbers on my truck. It's 5.0 CrewCab, 3.55 rear end and 145 wheel base.

I'm aware of the other factors such as payload that contribute to the actual load you can tow safely.

My questions were more in line of wind buffeting and camp ground manoeuvring.

If you are within the numbers you will be OK.

Buffeting will be problematic as you are near the limit. The trailer is heavier than the truck so any forces on the trailer will affect the truck. With increased square footage any winds or truck traffic will have more effect on the trailer and hence the truck. You are pulling a large sail that has a mechanical advantage on the truck because the hitch is behind the axle. Slow down or pull off if it is too uncomfortable.

Campground maneuvering will depend upon your skill and how much you practice. Longer sometimes is easier as a short trailer can turn quicker than your truck, long trailer turns slower. You just have to be prepared to be patient. Get out as often as necessary to evaluate where you are with the trailer and where you want to go.

[04266832]

Originally Posted by Parrott_head

I've posted previously about towing capacity for my vehicle and have gotten some good feedback and thoughts.

There are a lot of Light and Ultra Light units out there that are appealing to me. However what are your collective thoughts about the length being an issue towing with a half ton with the 145 inch wheel base.

Two areas of concern:

1) Just getting down the road with a longer trailer, even if the weight is well within the limits of the vehicle.

2) Getting into camping spots. At what point doe the length of the vehicle/TT really complicate things to a point that camp ground navigation is stressful?


Anyone with a half tonner towing a 27+ trailer much?

I'm on my third RV which is now a fifth wheel. First was a 34' TT and second was a 37' TT. The 34' was around 9500 lbs and the 37' was an ultra lite a little under 8k (6800 dry).

I've towed both travel trailers with my 2013 F150 King Ranch EcoBoost using an equalizer hitch.

Power wise, it was amazing. I live in the East Tennessee mountains and it never strained to pull straight up a 7% grade. Every time I towed I was amazed by the power. The length, however, was my problem.

It was a white knuckle experience every time I got above 55. I specifically avoided the interstate which means I was limited on how far we could reasonably travel. There didn't have to be any traffic or semis passing; the slightest wind would make the rear end squirrley. The hitch was properly adjusted and my next step was to upgrade the tires and get a Hensley hitch. Instead I chose to upgrade to a more capable truck that wasn't near its limits.

I wouldn't hesitate to tow the weight with an F150 but I wouldn't do it with such a long trailer again.

[wrvond]

I used to tow with a 2006 regular cab 5.4L F150. The wheelbase was 156" and it was 4 wheel drive. My weight distribution hitch is a Reese dual cam with anti sway that was new in 1989. My Coachmen Catalina 25RKS is 28 feet long and weighs about 6500 lbs. When hooked up my rig was perfectly level, I never experienced sway of any kind, not from weather or tractor trailers. What I did experience was a truck that was towing near it's practical limits. Sure, I could pass semi's going up the mountains, but I was in second gear (out of four) with the pedal to the floor, getting 7 MPG or less in a head wind.
I switched to my F250 6.2L gasser, and the ride is so much more comfortable. Where I used to get tired from working so hard at towing the camper, I am now much more relaxed at the end of the drive.
It's odd, but you can buy a well equipped F250 for about the same price as an F150. I guess it's because the F150 is so popular.
I'm 6'4" and cannot reach the firewall in the 250. There isn't anything pressing on my knee, either. It's amazing how much more space I have now.
If you follow the Towing Guide honestly, you'll not have any problems pulling anything that falls within specifications. But there's towing, and then there's towing with style!

[Parrott_head]

Thanks for the replies, some very practical experiences.

[SeabeckS]

[QUOTE=wrvond;2869227]I used to tow with a 2006 regular cab 5.4L F150. The wheelbase was 156" and it was 4 wheel drive. My weight distribution hitch is a Reese dual cam with anti sway that was new in 1989. My Coachmen Catalina 25RKS is 28 feet long and weighs about 6500 lbs. When hooked up my rig was perfectly level, I never experienced sway of any kind, not from weather or tractor trailers. What I did experience was a truck that was towing near it's practical limits. Sure, I could pass semi's going up the mountains, but I was in second gear (out of four) with the pedal to the floor, getting 7 MPG or less in a head wind.
I switched to my F250 6.2L gasser, and the ride is so much more comfortable. Where I used to get tired from working so hard at towing the camper, I am now much more relaxed at the end of the drive.
It's odd, but you can buy a well equipped F250 for about the same price as an F150. I guess it's because the F150 is so popular.
I'm 6'4" and cannot reach the firewall in the 250. There isn't anything pressing on my knee, either. It's amazing how much more space I have now.
If you follow the Towing Guide honestly, you'll not have any problems pulling anything that falls within specifications. But there's towing, and then there's towing with style!

Very nice looking set up you have, I'm envious.

Interesting that you also discovered the small price difference from a max loaded F-150 to a 250. Similar experience about a year and half ago after taking advice from Smokey and others on this forum. After easy negotiations with a Ford Fleet Manager at one of the local shops, we took delivery of a factory ordered 350 in early August last year. The price difference was on the order of 500 bucks for a 250, and for less than the cost of bed liner we opted to go up to the 350. Still looking for a trailer, as most of this last year was dedicated to building and moving into our new home. We'll have plenty of options open to a slightly used trailer, when we find it.

Cheers and Merry Christmas! Bill

[Loraura]

My tow vehicle and trailer are in my sig. TT is 33''5' from tip to tail. I've only had trouble getting into one spot with it, and it had nothing to do with the spot length. It had to do with a narrow park road, and an ill-placed tree that made it so my truck could not swing out and follow the camper on around as I backed.

I tried to wiggle and re-arrange, but after 2 tries went around the camp loop again, this time coming in VERY narrow on the campsite side so my truck would have enough room to swing around on the opposite side as I backed in. I also put the TT closer to the picnic table side than I would have normally, but that gave the truck the room it needed to swing around.

If I had been brand new at backing this rig up, I probably would not have known how to handle it. Being familiar with exactly when the rig reacts and how far the truck is going to have to swing helps a lot.

I would not go longer or heavier with this truck/TT combo. Once I got used to how many feet i'd need, in reverse, before the trailer starts taking corrections, life got easy and i generally have no trouble at all putting it wherever i want.

I use a Blue Ox WDH and it works very well, however I do feel semi's passing me and high winds. It's only nerve-wracking if there is construction barriers right against the outside of the lane. If that's the case, I simply slow the hell down. 55 or 60. Usually there is a lowered speed limit there anyway.

I have not taken this combo up into the mountains yet, but we plan to sept 2016 (Texas --> Durango --> Moab, UT and back). We will see how it does. There's at least a 50/50 chance that we will be in the market for a 2500 before another mountain trip. Diesel would also be preferred and exhaust brake would be great.

One little drawback is that one of the parks we have gone to several times in our previous TTs only has a "cozy circle" loop listed as long enough to handle us now. I did not care for that particular loop, so we haven't been back there since we got the new camper. I could probably get it in one of the other loop spots, but spots are FCFS (can not reserve a specific spot) and I am afraid I'll get there after work on Friday and all the longer spots will be taken, so I haven't chanced it. We are big fans of Army COE parks, and hit some Texas State Parks. If we were to stay in a National Park, (which would be a long way from home), I'd stay for several days and prefer a spot with full hookups, including sewer, so we have not stayed in a national park with it.

[daveRG]

I have a 29' Jayco, tow with a Tundra Crewmax 5.7 TowPackage, and an Equalizer. Only had it a few months and a handful of trips. So far, no sweat, and no issues with trucks, etc.

[sprayman]

get an equalizer hitch that will fix the "wind buffeting" you can pass

or be passed by semi's. ,i think your F150 will do the job.

have the equalizer installed.

Jim

[Mopar1973Man]

Something most are not talking about is true scale weights. I know I'm a 3/4 ton truck but I want to show you some interesting facts about towing capacities. Like my truck is stated for 13,250 pound trailer and 20,000 pounds GCWR.



Just because something stated you can doesn't mean you can. As you'll see I'm sitting on the scale (3 pads) and my weights are listed in the photo. Take notice I'm 160 pounds short of GVWR on the truck and quite a long ways from trailer rating. Why? Because all cargo in the truck including pets, people, etc. All has to be subtracted from that number. Even the weight on my canopy, hitch, etc. So don't get all wrapped up on towing number go find a scale and find out what you really got with your family in the truck.

[schrederman]

My TT is 29' and weighs around 7,000. When I was pulling with my '11 F-150 (5.0) I was really conscious with the weight and it was about 6,400. I got really tired of trucks and cross winds blowing me around, and running near red line up hills. I also knew a bigger trailer was in my near future. In my opinion, my trailer was just too big for the F-150. It was within the numbers... and it was adequate, but just.

[Badlands Bob]

I'm towing a Winnebago Minnie 2201ds which is 27' with a 2015 F-150 Screw. I have the 5.0 L engine with 3.55 axle. I have all the trailer towing options on the truck. I use the equal-i-zer hitch. Loaded my trailer weighs 5640 lbs and has a tongue weight of 720 lbs. I have no problems towing but the gas mileage is about 11 mpg. Transfer trucks give me a little push when they pass me but just enough to let me know they are there.