Towing a 5th Wheeler with a Ford F-150

[JIMNLIN]

Disagree.

cumminsfan point is correct and has nothing to do with being overweight nor does his reply point in that direction.
The fact is many F150 trucks are towing a 5th wheel trailer. Its pure speculation that those folks are over weight.

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joepic

Looking at Fords truck body advisory specs shows the F150 has 17 different GVWRs from 6450 lbs on up to 8200 GVWR. Also the F150 has 5 different RAWR packages from 3500 lbs up to 4800 lbs.

If your wanting the 11xxx lb tow rating your gonna' need the 8200 GVWR package with the 4800 RAWR E tires and wheels and up to 3000 lb payload depending on truck selection. The 8200 GVWR package with the 4800 RAWR can handle the size 5er you mention.

Use this guide from Ford for researching the different year models and weight packages. https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas.../techspec.html

[joepic]

JIMNLIN - I appreciate the input!
The Ford link you posted has a lot of spec's that are to find and will help a lot! Thanks!

[elkhornsun]

Ford has both a Heavy-Duty Payload Package and a Max Trailer Tow Package. No question that the Max Trailer would be the best choice for a TT but uncertain which would be better for a 5th-wheel trailer or whether it would be best or possible to get both. Good aspect of Ford trucks is that they have many options available. The negative aspect is in trying to determine what you actually need to get without having to rely on the salespeople at the local Ford dealership.

[wandering1]

Wheeler??????

[Groveite]

Originally Posted by elkhornsun

Ford has both a Heavy-Duty Payload Package and a Max Trailer Tow Package. No question that the Max Trailer would be the best choice for a TT but uncertain which would be better for a 5th-wheel trailer or whether it would be best or possible to get both. Good aspect of Ford trucks is that they have many options available. The negative aspect is in trying to determine what you actually need to get without having to rely on the salespeople at the local Ford dealership.

I ordered both Max tow and max payload on my 2011 but missed that the trailer mirrors were an extra!!! Have managed to get by without them but sorry I have to...2013 may be different

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by Groveite

I ordered both Max tow and max payload on my 2011 but missed that the trailer mirrors were an extra!!! Have managed to get by without them but sorry I have to...2013 may be different

You're in Canada, and the Order Guide is different there. In the USA, the trailer tow mirrors are not an option - they are part of the Max Tow pkg.

I didn't want the 3.73 axle ratio that came with the Max tow pkg, so my F-150 came with the little mirrors. But they are not safe for towing a TT, so I bought the TT mirrors from the F-150 Accessories catalog and installed them. Mine were less than U.S.$300 for the pair at dealer cost.
Trailer Tow Mirrors - Manual, Telescoping w/black skull caps | The Official Site for Ford Custom Accessories

Don't allow that word "manual" confuse you. They are power, heated mirrors, but the telescoping is manual. They have puddle lights, turn signal lights, and other normal stuff, but no memory and no power fold. The ones with memory are available, but cost a lot more. I don't need the memory, so I saved the money.

I'll bet the Ford-CA accessories catalog has the same mirrors for your F-150, but it's no problem for you to pick them up "down south".

It takes about 15 minutes to install each mirror. I tell myself that I'll reinstall my little power fold with memory mirrors when I'm not planning to tow for a while, but somehow I never get a round toit.

[MuzikMan]

Hello All,
New to this forum and jumping in a little late on this thread but just wanted to add my two cents.
My wife and I have been fulltiming for about 2 1/2 years in a 30' TT. With our recent purchase of a '13 F150 Ecoboost with 3.55's and no max tow package we started to shop for a new 5th wheel. Our mission was to find one that the truck would handle well and have enough space. 3 Weeks ago we took delivery on a 2014 Cougar High Country 315RES. 34' 8" with a dry weight of 8620#. I had all of the normal questions about what the truck would handle and worked directly with my Ford dealer and the techs there, the RV dealer as well as having a conference call with the RV dealer and the factory. The Cougar High Country uses Helium Technology which shaves an enormous amount of weight off the rig and leaves you with length, needed space and a very well constructed 5'er. I installed a set of Timbrens and a set of Hellwig Pro Series helpers on the truck but that is it as far as suspension goes. The ease the EcoBoost tows this 5th wheel is amazing. I live in Santa Cruz, Ca. and in the Santa Cruz mountains and at no time in the few times I have towed the new 5th wheel has there been a question if the truck can handle. Hands down this truck is meant to tow and tow very well. Coming through the Santa Cruz mountain range there are some very steep grades up and down. In tow/haul mode by touching the brake pedal on a downgrade the truck shifts down and the engine holds very well. Again I cannot say enough about the ability of the truck and the stability of the truck towing our new 5th wheel. Very happy with it.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by MuzikMan

New to this forum...

I dislike being the curmudgeon, but we cannot allow other newbees to think they can tow an 11,000 pound 5er with an F-150 that doesn't have the HD Payload package and not be overloaded.

'13 F150 Ecoboost with 3.55's ...2014 Cougar High Country 315RES. 34' 8" with a dry weight of 8620#.

Your F-150's GVWR is probably 7,100 or 7,200. Dry trailer weight is meaningless. As a full-timer, you'll have that 5er loaded right up against the 11,000 pounds GVWR of the trailer. Plus you'll probably haul stuff in the bed of the F-150 when moving from one place to another. The trailer's pin weight is probably between 16% and 18% of gross trailer weight, or between 1,760 and 1,980 pounds. If your pin weight is only 1,760, that leaves only 5,340 pounds for the max weight of the wet and loaded F-150 before you tie onto the trailer. That 5,340 includes driver, 5er hitch, passenger(s), pets, toolbox, and anything else that will be in the truck when towing.

My F-150 EcoBoost with 7,100 GVWR and only 650 pounds hitch weight is overloaded over the GVWR of the F-150. So imagine how much more overloaded you'll be with up to 1,330 pounds more hitch weight than I have.

Your F-150's GCWR is probably between 15,200 and 15,500, with tow rating between 9,500 and 9,800. With an 11,000 pound 5er, you'll be at least 1,200 pounds overloaded over the tow rating. And the tow rating is overstated by at least a few hundred pounds. For example, my tow rating is 8,400 pounds, but I'm overloaded with a TT that grosses less than 5,000 pounds.

Bottom line: you're going to be severely overloaded when full timing on the road with the 5er.

Yeah, that EcoBoost engine is a marvel. Powerful and gobs of torque. It will easily tow any trailer that won't overload the tow vehicle over the GVWR or GCWR of the F-150. Or as you stated, "The ease the EcoBoost tows this 5th wheel is amazing." But weigh the rig on a CAT scale and you'll see that you're overloading the suspension of the truck. Add the weight on the truck's front and rear axles to get the gross vehicle weight (GVW). Compare the GVW to the GVWR of your F-150.

An F-150 was never meant to haul so much cargo and hitch weight that the GVWR would be exceeded.

[MuzikMan]

I appreciate your input on this Smokey but again my dry weight is 8620 and I have towed very large trailers as well as extremely large powerboats over the past 40 years and I disagree with you that I am overloaded. If it wasn't for me taking the time to work directly with my dealership personnel on both the truck and the 5th wheel I would think differently. The key to towing is to have the right combination of vehicle and trailer, I get that. I purchased my new truck in Dec.'12 with the intention of buying a SD but after spending some time on the Ford Forum, talking to the master techs at the dealership and the owner (which is a personal friend of mine) I do not feel they have steered me in the wrong direction. The suspension changes that I have made are better than the Max Tow you get straight from the factory and similar to the heavy payload other than mine is an add-on. The truck is not over loaded and it is not close to 11,000 pounds. Our normal gear weighs out a little over 800# and my wife and I are lightweights. I am not new at this and although I live in Cali, I started my journey in Northern New York towing my 30 footer. Down the east coast and all across the southwest to California. If anything I was overloaded with my 30 footer coming across and towing with an '06 F150 FX4. The grapevine on Route 5 in Cali was the only time with that rig that I was concerned. Again I have earned my position in towing. The EcoBoost is a wonderful tow vehicle and I feel comfrotable with it and the 5th wheel. We wil be trekking to Florida later this year and most definitely looking forward to it.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by MuzikMan

I disagree with you that I am overloaded.

The proof is on the CAT scale. If the CAT scale says you have more than 7,200 pounds on the front and rear axles of the pickup, you're overloaded.

[ralphie]

No F150 can pull anything; they're just not made for towing. Hell, a 350 can't safely tow 6x8' flatbed landscape trailer if there's a mower on it. Whenever I need to take my trash to the dump I have to borrow my neighbor's HDT.

[Cumminsfan]

Originally Posted by MuzikMan

Hello All,
New to this forum and jumping in a little late on this thread but just wanted to add my two cents.
My wife and I have been fulltiming for about 2 1/2 years in a 30' TT. With our recent purchase of a '13 F150 Ecoboost with 3.55's and no max tow package we started to shop for a new 5th wheel. Our mission was to find one that the truck would handle well and have enough space. 3 Weeks ago we took delivery on a 2014 Cougar High Country 315RES. 34' 8" with a dry weight of 8620#. I had all of the normal questions about what the truck would handle and worked directly with my Ford dealer and the techs there, the RV dealer as well as having a conference call with the RV dealer and the factory. The Cougar High Country uses Helium Technology which shaves an enormous amount of weight off the rig and leaves you with length, needed space and a very well constructed 5'er. I installed a set of Timbrens and a set of Hellwig Pro Series helpers on the truck but that is it as far as suspension goes. The ease the EcoBoost tows this 5th wheel is amazing. I live in Santa Cruz, Ca. and in the Santa Cruz mountains and at no time in the few times I have towed the new 5th wheel has there been a question if the truck can handle. Hands down this truck is meant to tow and tow very well. Coming through the Santa Cruz mountain range there are some very steep grades up and down. In tow/haul mode by touching the brake pedal on a downgrade the truck shifts down and the engine holds very well. Again I cannot say enough about the ability of the truck and the stability of the truck towing our new 5th wheel. Very happy with it.

I would seriously look at your door sticker to see your CCC rating. Min of 20% pin is normal so even at 8620, you looking at 1724lbs for a pin. All loaded up you'll be near 2000lbs on the pin with batteries and propane plus front storage. No way on earth your F150 has the CCC if it's not maxtow. I don't know who told you you could handle that 5'er with the F150, but they haven't got a clue. The dry brochure pin is 1600 to start with. I might add that you check your RAWR, no doubt your over that too.

Whats that saying? You can't fix ?????

[DaveTN]

The V6 EcoBoost tows more than the 5L V8 which is nonintuitive until you look at it and realize it actually has more horsepower and torque.

For those mechanically inclined - how does this work? Is it a turbo?

[RustyJC]

There is a substitute for cubic inches - it's called mass airflow (lbs of air per minute). The amount of air an engine can "swallow" per minute determines how much fuel it can burn and how much power it can make. The turbo (or any other supercharger) pumps and compresses more air into the smaller displacement engine, increasing its mass airflow and enabling it to burn more fuel and make more power than the naturally aspirated 5 liter V8.

That's why almost all modern diesels have turbochargers as well.

Rusty