Help! Total Freak Out

[SkyBound]

Originally Posted by KCSA75

It's not a toy hauler, but my TT is 32-feet ball to bumper with a GW of 7,800 lbs. and a hitch weight over 1,000 lbs. I tow it with a 2009 F-150 Super Cab with a 4.6 V8 and tow package and a Curt Tru-Track 15K WDH.

We bought the truck to tow the Eagle Pop-up. It's got more than enough umphhh to tow the trailer and the WDH does a pretty good job. But when you get on the open road, the tails sometimes wants to wag the dog. If we were going to travel more I'd move up to an F-250, but most of our trips are less than 10 miles one way from storage to the campground so I'm not going to spend the money right now.

How??? I had the 4.6L in my old F-150 and it struggled with 5K! Screaming in 2nd gear with the torque converter unlocked, boiling the tranny, and getting 6-7mpg. That motor is not meant for towing.

And why are you using a 15K WDH? Is your truck's receiver rated for that kind of tongue weight?

I'm not trying to come across as accusing or abrasive, I just really don't understand how this set up works based on my own experience.

[Jmkinsella54]

For 5 years I towed a 2013 Jayco Whitehawk 31DSLB with a 2012 F150 SuperCrew Lariat 4X4 equipped with 3.6L Ecoboost and tow package. I used a weight distributing hitch. Put about 15000 towing miles on both, from AZ homebase as far east as Arkansas and through the mountains in northern AZ. Wet load on Whitehawk was 7800lbs (actual weight). Towed like a champ; stable, powerful, no overstress of engine, transmission or suspension. Engine and transmission temps always good, and only ever went above the normal range on the really long uphill grades around Flagstaff. It was a great tow combination and the F150 Ecoboost was a champ at altitude. Upgraded to a Class A, or would still be driving the F150.

[nynethead]

Towing
Engine Trans Axle ratio GCWR Max loaded trailer weight Notes
3.5L V6 TT 3.15 14000 8600 8800
3.5L V6 TT 3.31 14000 8000 8600
3.5L V6 TT 3.55, 3.73 15000 9600 9800
3.5L V6 TT 3.55, 3.73 15500 9600 9800
3.5L V6 TT 3.73 16700 11200 11300 Max towing package
3.5L V6 TT 3.73 17100 11200 11300 Max towing package

[Jayco Journey]

Be assured that the truck includes the HD towing package and not just the regular towing package. That makes a big difference in the towing capability numbers.

[DSK360]

I have the SL 161 and tow it with a ram 1500. Haven't gotten it to a scale after my recent additions this winter but I was good last year. Truck is not overloaded and it pulls the toy hauler very well. I think you will be fine with that set up. Just get a good hitch, you'll appreciate that more than you think.

[mgodsey]

You’ve got plenty of correct replies but I’ll give you my thoughts. You are TOTALLY fine! I tow a Jayco Jay Flight 28 RLS (longer/heavier than yours) and I have less payload capacity than you (1450 lbs) and I am always well within my truck’s capacity. The numbers you care about are the GCWR (the max COMBINED weight of your truck and the trailer) , and the GVWR (the max your truck can weigh...in your case, and mine, is 7000 lbs). These 2 numbers will determine 1) how much weight you can PULL (from the GCWR) and 2) how much weight you can CARRY (your payload...derived from GVWR). 7000 lbs (GVWR) minus your trucks weight is your AVAILABLE payload capacity. This includes you, your passengers, any cargo, and your trailer’s hitch weight (700 lbs). In your case, you are at 1700 lbs (from your door sticker). That means your truck’s empty weight is about 5300 lbs (7000 minus 1700). In my opinion, you are MORE than adequate! Now, for how much you can PULL,, you are looking at that GCWR number. I suspect you are WELL within limits there as well. All in all, your truck has better numbers than my 2018 Platinum and I am within my limits. You should be A OK!

[Elefantdude]

You WILL HAVE NO PROBLEMS towing your TT with that truck. Go for it! :-) I have a 2016 Dodge RAM 5.7 HEMI that pulls our 27' Jayco White Hawk 27DSRL with no problems. Get some WDH bars and it will pull silky smooth :-)

[mgodsey]

After reading other replies, just wanted to add one more bit to mine. You will def need a WDH but other than that, you are good! Your truck will do amazing!

[CamperStu]

weight distributing hitch with sway bar kit is the way to go..

[ifallsguy]

Originally Posted by Crabman

Yes those numbers in the first post are for the max payload F150, which according to his yellow sticker he obviously does not have. This changes the entire equation, with less payload to spare. But it's still doable, keeping an eye on the loaded weights.

If, as you suggest, the truck is missing the yellow tag, the dealer or whomever he bought it from is in violation of federal law. I would take it back for a full refund and report it to NTHSB, local district attorney and the nearest big city media outlets. That is a required sticker and the vehicle cannot be sold, new or used, without it.

In the meantime, he could call Ford and tell them it's missing. They should be able to use the VIN to give him all the information he needs.

[nynethead]

When I did pull TT’s I used a Reece system. It was WD and anti sway as a single unit. A friend is using it on a new Jayco TT that’s 36 feet and pulls it with a suburban.

[Johnynorthland]

This may clear up a few things about weight and towing.

https://youtu.be/d-gPwNZgDGA

Hope it helps

[SkyBound]

Originally Posted by ifallsguy

If, as you suggest, the truck is missing the yellow tag, the dealer or whomever he bought it from is in violation of federal law. I would take it back for a full refund and report it to NTHSB, local district attorney and the nearest big city media outlets. That is a required sticker and the vehicle cannot be sold, new or used, without it.

In the meantime, he could call Ford and tell them it's missing. They should be able to use the VIN to give him all the information he needs.

I think you misread what he was trying to say. He wasn't saying that the truck is missing the sticker, he was saying that the sticker is saying he doesn't have the max payload option.

[mlcote]

When I bought a 5th wheel I had the same question. I did end up going to a scale and they weight my truck weight and also the weight on each axle. That was a good thing since my truck was heavier then I expected. In the end my main calculation was using 5 numbers. The 5 numbers are GVWR, GCWR, GAWR Front, GAWR Rear and max hitch weight. My understanding is:

GVWR - Gross Vehicle Weight Rating which is the maximum the vehicle should weight. If you put the truck on the scale and only the 4 wheels of the truck are on the scale then you have you GVWR. If you have a trailer you would need to have it hooked up but the trailer wheels must be off the scale. You also must include all gear and passenger in the truck and trailer.

GCWR - Gross Combined Weight Rating which is the maximum weight of the entire rig including truck and trailer and passenger and gear. This number is larger then GVWR and GCWR - GVWR is you max trailer weight you can tow.

GAWR Front - Gross Axle Weight Rating for the front wheels. If you have your entire setup and you only weight the front axle by only having the front two wheels on the scale.

GAWR Rear - Gross Axle Weight Rating for the rear wheels. If you have your entire setup and you only weight the rear axle by only having the rear two wheels on the scale. This one is difficult to do since the scales are usually too long.

Max Tongue Weight - This one is easy to understand as the maximum weight you can put on the tongue.

Once you understand these numbers it is not too difficult to figure it out especially if you know the real weight of the truck.

The easiest is the GCWR which is the total weight of everything.

The max tongue weight must just be above your actual hitch weight. For my truck this number varied depending on using

The next numbers get a bit more complicated if you have a weight distribution system. Normally the rear axle weight is just the original weight plus the weight you put on the hitch of the truck. With the distribution system some of that weight moved forward to the front of the truck so you can remove some of the weight off the back axle.

For your truck I don't know the real weight but from the vin it should be:

Front axle: 2781
Rear axle: 1815
Total: 4596

Looking at the trailer for 2018:
GVWR: 7500
Hitch Weight: 635

Your GVWR is 7500 so you have 2904lbs left for trailer hitch weight, people and gear. With a hitch of 635lbs you have 2269lbs of margin. In reality the hitch might be 200 more pounds with the propane tank which would leave 2069lbs. My guess is the truck is heavier then that in reality but at 2069lbs minus gas and people and gear you will fine as long as you are careful not to overload it. Just remember if you put 5 150lbs people you are down another 750lbs and the truck may already weight 500lbs more so you would only have 800lbs left for gear. Seems fine by me.

Your GCWR is 12,200lbs min. The trailer has a GVWR 7500lbs which is the heaviest you should ever be fully loaded with gear so your worst case. With the truck your are at a combined weight of 12,096. Now you are in a bit of trouble since you have 100lbs left for people and gear in the truck which is not possible. Again the GVWR of 7500lbs assumes 3030lbs in your trailer of propane and water and gear. Put instead 1500lbs and you now have 1630lbs of margin. If your truck is heavier that goes down so you will still have to manage that to stay bellow the max.

Your hitch weight to me seems close also at 635lbs with-out filled propane tanks but is probably ok.

For your rear axle even if the hitch weight is all on the rear axle which it won't then you have a limit of 3300 and a truck weight of 1815 and a hitch of 635 so your margin is 850lbs. With passengers in the truck if half of it is distributed to the back you have about 1600lbs you can put in the truck.

The front has a limit of 3450lbs with 2781 leaving you 669lbs. You can use some of that weight budget to move weight from the back to the front with a weight distribution hitch but again that is not that much margin.

Hopefully I didn't make any mistakes on my calculations.

So overall you have some margin across the board but it's not large and will require you to manage the weight a bit. Don't load the trail to far forward. Don't fill the truck box with too much weight. Don't overload the truck in general.

I had a 2016 F150 Eco boost V6. I calculated my number for a Jayco 5th wheel and my number were much worst then this. I was not even close to fitting especially once I weight the truck and found out how much it weighted. For your case I'm sure the specs are pessimistic in which case you probably have enough margin. I put a trailer easily as large as your on my truck and it drove like a champ and the Eco boost was a beast.

For my 5th wheel I traded my truck in for a 2018 F350 with ultimate tow package and I'm happy with my choice but not the cost of course.

I hope that helped.