Towing capabilities of F150

[CCHubbard]

You should have no problem with that setup. My TT measures 34'5" long and has a GVWR of 7600lbs. My 2018 F150 Crewcab, 4wd, 3.5L EB, cargo capacity 1852lbs pulls it just fine with no problems.

[77Travco]

Originally Posted by Cloudwalker

I have a question about towing capabilities of the F150. I just purchased a new F150 Lariat with the 3.5 EcoBoost and 3.55 rear end. The truck has a 7,000 lb GVW and a 1,574 payload rating. Is this capable of towing a travel trailer that has a 6,995 lb GVW (dry weight 5,176), 26 ft long and has a hitch weight of 490 lbs?

Easy peasy…
I towed my 8200lb as loaded 26ft toy hauler with my 16 F150 2.7 4x4 with a payload rating of 1430lbs. I was 600lbs over my GCVWR and 400lbs under my RAWR. A 7k lb 26ft TT is no challenge at all for that truck.

[Milford 47]

Originally Posted by TXiceman

Properly loaded you will have a hitch weight of 10 to 12% of the trailer GVWR.

1574 lb minus the hitch weight is what you have left over for passenger and cargo in the truck. So if you r hitch weight is 700#, you will have 874# available for passenger, cargo, actual weight of the trailer hitch assembly without over loading the truck.

Get a good weight distributing hitch with an integral sway control. I like the old style Reese Dual cam hitch. The dealers do not like it as it is a bit more trouble to install and set up correctly.

The dealer should set the hitch up for the trailer as new and unloaded. You need to get the hitch instructions and learn how to properly set the hitch up once you have the truck and trailer loaded for travel.

Seems more of the trucks are going to the 3.55 for towing, but, I'd much rather see a 3.73 for towing near the trucks limits.

Ken

The 6 or 10 speed transmission made the 3.55 locking axle the new go to ratio for many

Works for me

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by Cloudwalker

I have a question about towing capabilities of the F150. I just purchased a new F150 Lariat with the 3.5 EcoBoost and 3.55 rear end. The truck has a 7,000 lb GVW and a 1,574 payload rating. Is this capable of towing a travel trailer that has a 6,995 lb GVW (dry weight 5,176), 26 ft long and has a hitch weight of 490 lbs?

Do you have family and pets that you'd be loading in the truck to travel ?
If so load up with the stuff you think you'd take while pulling the trailer , fill the truck with fuel and get your actual weights at a Cat scale , both axles and total.
Those scale weights will tell you how much of your payload you have left and where ( IF )you can safely add any additional weight.

My first tow vehicle ( 1993 Dakota) had an 1850# payload and I had issues keeping the axle weights below their ratings with a 7,000# GVWR 5er. With only my wife and I in the cab.

[77Travco]

These were my CatScale weights with no trailer and then with the 8200lb toyhauler.
My F150 was very option loaded including twin panel moonroof, hence the 1430lb payload number. Hope this helps...

[move on]

Anything can be towed if you go slow enough. If you want to go on the highway and keep up with the semis though, I would recommend at least 3/4 ton truck. Also, I would not advise to go over any of your truck manufacturers ratings. If you are ever involved in a serious accident while towing a trailer the first thing that the investigators are going to look at is the loading. It doesn't even matter if the accident wasn't your fault. You're guilty if the rig is overloaded.

[tuffr2]

If 77Travco is towing with the 2.7 eco-boost you can tow with the 3.5 eco-boost.

For the most part the 2.7 Eco-Boost is built on the light frame and has lower payload numbers than the 3.5 Eco-Boost truck.

[carriesn]

I really dont get how those of you with similar F150's say you can tow trailers over 6k. We acquired an awesome 2015 F150 w 3.5 Ecoboost, King Ranch trim, supposedly can tow up to 10,700 lbs. Now, I know real world tow numbers are different, but I assumed a 7k trailer wouldnt be an issue. Very wrong. Terrible handling on the interstate AND back roads, even with a Hensley hitch. I know the squirmy feeling could possibly be improved with E tires but... my gosh. The floaty feeling is no fun and its really unpleasant. Without the trailer, the F150 drives like a dream. We tried a friend's 2014 steel EB and it towed much better-- the trailer was still a bit much tho. When I read posts about similar F150s towing similar trailers, I'm jealous. We really want to stick with our current F150 but looks like we will have to go up to a 3/4 or 1 ton. :(

[77Travco]

Originally Posted by move on

Anything can be towed if you go slow enough. If you want to go on the highway and keep up with the semis though, I would recommend at least 3/4 ton truck. Also, I would not advise to go over any of your truck manufacturers ratings. If you are ever involved in a serious accident while towing a trailer the first thing that the investigators are going to look at is the loading. It doesn't even matter if the accident wasn't your fault. You're guilty if the rig is overloaded.

My F150 easily cruised along at 75mph and I was never over my RAWR but was over on my GCVWR. The reason for the lower GCVWR was due to the smaller output engine. The suspension has no idea what engine is up front. Manufacture ratings are not always to do with ability or safety factors. No, you are not automatically guilty of anything. No way any lawyer is going to out engineer me in a court room and I've got an excellent law team to back up the rest. Would a more capable truck be better for the job? Absolutely. Is it necessary? Maybe or maybe not. It all comes down to common sense and experience.

Originally Posted by tuffr2

If 77Travco is towing with the 2.7 eco-boost you can tow with the 3.5 eco-boost.

For the most part the 2.7 Eco-Boost is built on the light frame and has lower payload numbers than the 3.5 Eco-Boost truck.

Nope, I had same HD frame as almost all other F150's out there.
2015+ F150's came with light duty (LD) or heavy duty (HD) frames. Frame thickness has nothing to do with engine size. The LD is .087" thick and the HD is .1" thick. 4x4's will have the HD frame. Actually... 5.0, 3.5 or 2.7... good luck even finding a LD framed F150.
If in doubt, look on the outside of the frame under the drivers seat area. There is a white sticker that has the frame info on it. The sticker will have HD or LD towards the bottom of the text.

Originally Posted by carriesn

I really dont get how those of you with similar F150's say you can tow trailers over 6k. We acquired an awesome 2015 F150 w 3.5 Ecoboost, King Ranch trim, supposedly can tow up to 10,700 lbs. Now, I know real world tow numbers are different, but I assumed a 7k trailer wouldnt be an issue. Very wrong. Terrible handling on the interstate AND back roads, even with a Hensley hitch. I know the squirmy feeling could possibly be improved with E tires but... my gosh. The floaty feeling is no fun and its really unpleasant. Without the trailer, the F150 drives like a dream. We tried a friend's 2014 steel EB and it towed much better-- the trailer was still a bit much tho. When I read posts about similar F150s towing similar trailers, I'm jealous. We really want to stick with our current F150 but looks like we will have to go up to a 3/4 or 1 ton. :(

My 2.7 F150 did it all day long. Did I know that 8200lb trailer was back there? You bet I did! Did it handle and stop good? Yes, it did. My trailer is only 26 feet from ball to bumper which helped. I also ended up loading it so that I had 1100lbs on the hitch. That helped a bunch too. I could cruise 75mph with that setup if I wanted to but 65mph was where I usually kept it. Maybe my secret was the D rated tires and airbags but I can't say for sure why others have so many issues. I think maybe it's more to do with trailer length and hitch weight.

Just to be clear. I ended up switching to a Super Duty about 6 months ago. Where the trip was an event before... now it's just an enjoyable experience. I no longer have to worry about weights or adjusting tire pressures and air bags and such. The Super Duty just makes it easy.

[Milford 47]

What I have found is my 3.5 will tow and run with the wind towing rated loads and more

However fuel mileage is about 60% my F350 6.7 towing twice as much weight

Great engine for sure and the 10 speed transmission coupled to the EcoBoost is a winner, just not economical to tow heavy loads