Trailer Match for F150

[1bigmess]

Originally Posted by tvromero

Max Payload 1) 2890, 2)3490

As discussed in this thread the real limiter is still the tongue weight which looks to be the same between the two trucks, based on the Max Tow amount.

I left the important figures from your quote. I got F150 info from this site:
2016 Ford F-150 Full Size Pickup Truck | View All Specifications | Ford.com

Remember that tongue weight changes based on the location of propane bottles, batteries, water tanks, how you load the trailer, what you put on or in the truck.

There is a six hundred pound difference in cargo capacity (which is what tongue weight eats up) between the 150 and 250. This is also eaten up by passengers, accessories, truck bed topper, anything in the truck bed you are taking camping (firewood, gennie(s), extra gas for toys or gennie(s), etc. Six hundred pounds of cargo is nothing to sneeze at, many folks don't know what anything they take camping with them weighs.

And you don't need to know the capacities of the trailer you might buy to use the RV Tow Check | Salesperson Fact Checker calculator. It will tell you how much trailer you can tow safely based on the GCWR, GVWR of the tow vehicle, and estimated weights of your passengers and various accoutrement.

I ran the numbers from Ford for the largest payload capacity F150 I could find and RV Tow Check told me the max weight trailer I could haul was just over 11K pounds with a 15% tongue weight. That seemed reasonable after estimating 500 pounds of passengers and 500 of stuff in the truck loaded for camping. 15% of 11K is about 1625, which isn't bad. If the F150 you're looking at comes with a class 4 hitch receiver, it's max is 10K. You've lost 1k pounds towing capacity, so make sure you get a class 5 hitch receiver. This doesn't raise the max towing capacity, but allows you to go over the 10K max for the class 4.

For the 250, the same figures except using the higher cargo capacity of the 250 and GCWR, the max trailer weight goes up to 14,700, and you have better brakes, suspension, drivetrain components, and higher cargo capacity for all the thing you will throw in the truck bed for camping. It will come with a class 5 hitch receiver and integrated trailer brake controller standard.
2016 Ford Super Duty | View All Ford Super Duty Specifications | Ford.com

Let us know what you get, because in for some of us, there ain't nothing more pretty than a brand new truck!

[puttin]

Originally Posted by tvromero

Hi All,

I am looking to get a Travel Trailer and Tow Vehicle for my family of four. I would really like to limit the TV to an F150 as it will be my daily driver as well as a TV.

I will be going to an RV show and wanted to get an idea of what type of trailer weights I should be considering when using an F150 for a TV.

The current 2015 F150s with a SuperCrew cab, 3.5L Ecoboost and the Max Towing Package with the 3.55 axle in a 4x4 look to have a GCWR of 17100 lbs. and a max towing of 11600 lbs. In addition the GVWR looks to be 7000 for a max payload of 2260 (this includes one 150 lbs driver)

The current 2015 F150s with a SuperCrew cab, 3.5L Ecoboost and the Max Payload Package with the 3.73 axle in a 4x4 look to have a GCWR of 17100 lbs. and a max towing of 11400 lbs. In addition the GVWR looks to be 7850 for a max payload of 2890 (this includes one 150 lbs driver)

I have not been able to find a specification for the max tongue weight, what would it be?

I have seen a few different general guidelines, using the Max Towing Package as an example

#1: 17100 – 7000 = 10100 * .85 = 8585 max for the trailer.
#2: 11600 * .6 = 6960 max for the trailer.

Obviously these are very different to let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Tim

Tim, You'll want to check this out. The calculator is easy to use and there are many other useful links here:

RV Tow Check | Salesperson Fact Checker

[timetogo]

I'm sure an F150 can tow a small lite trailer safely. Have fun.

[smurfsofwar]

Agree. 6-8k well within F150 territory.

[1bigmess]

Thirty two and a half feet long? Wow! That's gonna be challenging with a half ton pickup. The wind will blow that thing all over, and the truck with it. Get the longest 1/2 ton wheelbase pickup you can, it'll help.

I believe I've done my best here. Good luck however you decide. Don't forget to post pictures.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by tvromero

Thanks SmokeyWren, what is the payload figure from your truck on the door jam?

1,566

Generally though it would seem that a max TT weight of 8K is the limit for the F150.

And that requires the HD Payload pkg. They didn't make any HD Payload packages for 2015, and last I heard it's still on hold for 2016. And they made very few F-150s with HD Payload package in 2014 and earlier. They are very rare used pickups, so good luck in finding one.

Customers didn't want them because of the 7-lug wheels and stiff unloaded ride, so they didn't sell well at all. Dealers would not stock them because they were such slow sellers, so the only way to get one was to factory order and wait 6 to 8 weeks. Lots of folks that considered them bought F-250s instead. Including my granddaughter. She drags a 7,000-pound horse trailer to rodeos all around eastern Tennessee, and she needed the HD Payload pkg to be sure she was never overloaded. There were no new ones available in stock anywhere, and she didn't want to wait while Ford built her one, so she bought one of the hundreds of F-250s that were in stock at all the dealers near her. She loves her F-250, BTW. Supercab shorty with gas engine. Perfect for a teenaged cowgirl.

[cwsqbm]

Originally Posted by SmokeyWren

My TT has GVWR of 5,600 pounds, and it overloads my F-150 by 100 pounds when wet and loaded on the road.

I tow with a 2002 Silverado. 4.8L V-8, 3.73 gears, and is rated for a 7300 lb trailer.

My TT has a GVWR 5400 lbs and scales 4200 lbs empty (far more than the advertised 3600) with 600 lbs of tongue without battery, propane tanks, or 40 gallons of water under the front bed. Loaded, my tongue weight is probably around 1000 lbs and make my truck's rear sag but not excessively even with a couple hundred pounds of stuff under the heavy cap on back. I use weight equalizing bars lightly loaded to make the truck level. As set, none of the axles of my truck or trailer are overweight, and I'm comfortably less than GCWR.

I've towed this combination from Portland, OR to Portand, ME, and Greenbay to South Padre. I've been down winding mountain roads at speeds that would make you blush and spend days with a strong cross wind. Stability and stopping are just fine even in "panic" situations. The only issue really is the little 4.8 has a torque peak at 4600 rpm and doesn't come on hard until 3000 rpm, but I can still out run the big rigs up the mountains (which is my definition of enough horsepower) without having my engine spin past 4000 rpm.

To say a modern truck can't tow 75% of what is is rated is just silly.

[justafordguy]

Originally Posted by cwsqbm

To say a modern truck can't tow 75% of what is is rated is just silly.

I agree 100%.

[SmokeyWren]

For the brand bashers, here are the final numbers for 2015:
Top Selling Light Vehicles

.........Dec. 2015......................................12 mos.
1 Ford F series.............85,211.......Ford F series............780,354
2 Chevrolet Silverado....62,992.......Chevrolet Silverado...600,544
3 Ram pickup...............43,135.......Ram pickup..............451,116

[1bigmess]

What if one isn't a brand basher? Then what?

[SouthpawHD]

Originally Posted by SmokeyWren

For the brand bashers, here are the final numbers for 2015:
Top Selling Light Vehicles

.........Dec. 2015......................................12 mos.
1 Ford F series.............85,211.......Ford F series............780,354
2 Chevrolet Silverado....62,992.......Chevrolet Silverado...600,544
3 Ram pickup...............43,135.......Ram pickup..............451,116

You forgot the Chevy's brother, GMC

3. GMC Sierra...27,438...........GMC Sierra...224,139

[Loraura]

Originally Posted by 1bigmess

Thirty two and a half feet long? Wow! That's gonna be challenging with a half ton pickup. The wind will blow that thing all over, and the truck with it. Get the longest 1/2 ton wheelbase pickup you can, it'll help.

I believe I've done my best here. Good luck however you decide. Don't forget to post pictures.

It's not as bad as you imagine.

i tow a 33.5 ft overall length trailer (6104 dry) with a RAM 1500 5.7L hemi crew cab. Yes, I feel some push as semi's pass, but I never feel like i'm being pushed all over the road by wind or passing trucks. One important piece here is the Blue Ox WDH. When I left the dealership I had their cheap EAZlift friction WDH and it was horrible. I was pushed all over. I was pushed and pulled by minivans passing me. The BlueOx, set up correctly, made a HUGE difference in my comfort level. Our next truck will be a 2500 or 3500, but I have no concerns about the safety and comfort of our current combination. We live in the Texas hill country. I haven't towed through mountains (unless you count the area near Lost Maples State Park, which is steep and long enough to have switchbacks) , but we drive plenty of steep ups and downs. I-10 around Kerville is a wind tunnel with heavy semi traffic. No problems there either.

That said, I wouldn't go longer or heavier without expecting to upgrade the truck. At least i think I feel that way. If I towed a longer or heavier TT and it felt fine, I might be convinced to stay with our 1/2 ton. We still have a little wiggle room on all our limits.

With the newer trucks it really takes looking at the numbers and doing the math.

[1bigmess]

Originally Posted by 1bigmess

Thirty two and a half feet long? Wow! That's gonna be challenging with a half ton pickup. The wind will blow that thing all over, and the truck with it. Get the longest 1/2 ton wheelbase pickup you can, it'll help.

Originally Posted by Loraura

It's not as bad as you imagine.

i tow a 33.5 ft overall length trailer (6104 dry) with a RAM 1500 5.7L hemi crew cab.
(SNIP)
One important piece here is the Blue Ox WDH.

You have a long wheelbase truck, and paying a fair chunk for a great hitch helped. You are helping to prove my point, you know. I may have come off as alarmist, but it appears there is enough truth to my opinion. Thanks!

Bottom line, don't cheap out. Safety is not a friend of cutting corners. Kick out the cash for the best darned F150 for the job there is, get the right hitch for what you are asking the truck and trailer to do, or go for the higher capacity of the 3/4 ton.

[JIMNLIN]

The Higher payload of the F250 lets you manage to a higher tongue weight but you are already getting 2890 with the F150 so the extra 600#s of the F250 seems overkill.

This is a good example of the fallacy of using GVWR to determine payloads from a trailer which places hitch weight over the axles or on the bumper.
There is no F150 that can safely/legally carry 2890 lbs in the trucks bed.
Run some numbers.
The F150 7850 GVWR has a 4800 RAWR. The trucks rear axle may weight in the 2300 lb range. Now add 2890 lb payload in the bed = 5190 lbs. Now the truck has a overloaded rear axle.

About the most weight the reg cab F150 with a 4800 RAWR can carry in the bed is around 2400-2500 lbs.
The numbers were even worse with with Fords old F150 8200 GVWR figured payloads.

Now the 3/4 ton has the much larger 6100 RAWR and can actually carry a 3k + lb payload in the bed and not exceed axle/tire load ratings and GVWR in some cases.