Advice needed - for safety, want to upgrade my tow vehicle

[Monheganlover]

Kicking myself because, as a newbie Jayco HT purchaser, 24.5 ckts (2018) I fell victim to the marketing at the RV dealer (easily half ton towable fifth wheel they said) AND the Ford dealer who said he carefully checked the specs on the F150 I ordered and that I would be fine . I bought the fifth wheel and truck within a month of one another.

Buying the truck, I checked the Ford Towing guide carefully and my beefed up F150 was fine on payload and towing capacity. However, after a trip to the CAT scales today, I can tell that any load I put in the camper for more than a 1 week trip, will put me, potentially, 100-200 pounds over my GAWR. Out of an abundance of caution as my wife and I want to see the National Parks and tow in the Rockies, I believe I am going to have to admit my mistake, yell at my Ford dealer and upgrade, ideally, to an F250, Ram 2500 etc. with the right specs this time and a nice cushion in all the key categories.

Here is the question, in looking at used or even new F250s, Rams etc., online, how can I find the rated GAWR, GVWR etc. so I know I am good? Or is the only solution to call a dealer and have them send me a picture of the door sticker? I really can't afford to make the same mistake again.

Thanks in advance for any help from people more knowledgeable than I.

[mbwatson11]

Search for towing specifications on the year model you are interested in. E.g. 2018 ram 2500 towing specification

You should get a pdf that you can download. If you are shopping for current year model, you may have to search for last year’s model. If possible, you want the SAE J2807 specs.

[AmericanBiker]

Originally Posted by Monheganlover

Kicking myself because, as a newbie Jayco HT purchaser, 24.5 ckts (2018) I fell victim to the marketing at the RV dealer (easily half ton towable fifth wheel they said) AND the Ford dealer who said he carefully checked the specs on the F150 I ordered and that I would be fine . I bought the fifth wheel and truck within a month of one another.

Buying the truck, I checked the Ford Towing guide carefully and my beefed up F150 was fine on payload and towing capacity. However, after a trip to the CAT scales today, I can tell that any load I put in the camper for more than a 1 week trip, will put me, potentially, 100-200 pounds over my GAWR. Out of an abundance of caution as my wife and I want to see the National Parks and tow in the Rockies, I believe I am going to have to admit my mistake, yell at my Ford dealer and upgrade, ideally, to an F250, Ram 2500 etc. with the right specs this time and a nice cushion in all the key categories.

Here is the question, in looking at used or even new F250s, Rams etc., online, how can I find the rated GAWR, GVWR etc. so I know I am good? Or is the only solution to call a dealer and have them send me a picture of the door sticker? I really can't afford to make the same mistake again.

Thanks in advance for any help from people more knowledgeable than I.

That trailers GVWR is only 9950lbs.
Two words of advice... WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION.
Figure out your true pin weight and adjust from there.

[CampNow]

Originally Posted by Monheganlover

Kicking myself because, as a newbie Jayco HT purchaser, 24.5 ckts (2018) I fell victim to the marketing at the RV dealer (easily half ton towable fifth wheel they said) AND the Ford dealer who said he carefully checked the specs on the F150 I ordered and that I would be fine . I bought the fifth wheel and truck within a month of one another.

Buying the truck, I checked the Ford Towing guide carefully and my beefed up F150 was fine on payload and towing capacity. However, after a trip to the CAT scales today, I can tell that any load I put in the camper for more than a 1 week trip, will put me, potentially, 100-200 pounds over my GAWR. Out of an abundance of caution as my wife and I want to see the National Parks and tow in the Rockies, I believe I am going to have to admit my mistake, yell at my Ford dealer and upgrade, ideally, to an F250, Ram 2500 etc. with the right specs this time and a nice cushion in all the key categories.

Here is the question, in looking at used or even new F250s, Rams etc., online, how can I find the rated GAWR, GVWR etc. so I know I am good? Or is the only solution to call a dealer and have them send me a picture of the door sticker? I really can't afford to make the same mistake again.

Thanks in advance for any help from people more knowledgeable than I.

Yup, I'd suggest having them send you a pic of the door jam sticker (which has the tire specs, front/rear axle ratings, payload and GVWR). That's the only way to be absolutely sure. I would not trust data from any other source, including the dealer or the manufacturer---unless the data is directly associated with the VIN number of the truck.

Be careful with any 250/2500's in the higher trim levels. All the additional weight of the options can reduce the payload rating. It can sometimes be the difference between 2,000 lbs. or 2,500 lbs. of payload on a diesel 250/2500. 2,000 lbs. is not much higher than some 1/2-tons---don't want to go down that road again. Also, gas 250/2500's will generally offer 500-750 lbs. more payload than the diesel version (gas engines are lighter and increase the truck's payload rating).

If it were me, I'd pass on the 250/2500 and purchase a 350/3500 SRW (single rear wheel) . This is assuming you don't have additional hassles licensing/registering a 1-ton truck (GVWR > 10,000 lbs.) in your state. In some states a 350/3500 truck is considered commercial. Although the 250/2500's are basically the same truck as the 350/3500 SRW, the 350/3500 provides additional payload/GVWR from a legal perspective. That's important to some, and not to others. Your call.

Lastly, you mentioned you were very close to your GAWR on your F150. IF the truck handles ok, you may want to consider moving more gear to the back of the trailer to lower the pin weight, installing a set of airbags (for sag), and upgrading to E-rated LT tires---and calling it a day. FWIW, tires are typically the weakest link in terms of axle ratings. Just something to think about.

Good luck!