towing with new 2018 f150 help!

[mesuezee]

We have a '17 28bhbe. gvwr 9250. dry weight 6510. hitch weight 685. equalizer wdh with sway bars. the truck we estimate to have 1600lbs of payload. estimating 650lbs of cargo in truck leaves us 950lbs payload. loaded total trailer weight distributed in trailer approximate 8000lbs. 13% of that is 1200lbs. Max towing package on truck, 3.55 gear. max gcwr 18,100, max towing 12,700. I know we are close to capacity but having the weight distributed correctly what are your opinions on this being a good set up? We were pulling with a 2014 f 150 with a 3.73 max towing of 11,200 but looking to change trucks since the lease is up.

[Ottawasteve]

Originally Posted by mesuezee

We have a '17 28bhbe. gvwr 9250. dry weight 6510. hitch weight 685. equalizer wdh with sway bars. the truck we estimate to have 1600lbs of payload. estimating 650lbs of cargo in truck leaves us 950lbs payload. loaded total trailer weight distributed in trailer approximate 8000lbs. 13% of that is 1200lbs. Max towing package on truck, 3.55 gear. max gcwr 18,100, max towing 12,700. I know we are close to capacity but having the weight distributed correctly what are your opinions on this being a good set up? We were pulling with a 2014 f 150 with a 3.73 max towing of 11,200 but looking to change trucks since the lease is up.

The hitch-weight on our 28BHBE Eagle was also advertised in the brochure to be 660 lbs which must have involved a lot of helium balloons. The brochure TT weight was supposed to be 6,700 lbs but ended up being 7,200 delivered. With 1000lbs of stuff and camping gear loaded for camping our trailer weight is 8200 lbs with a 13% tongue weight of 1050 lbs. There have been forum members that have claimed hitch weights of 1400+ lbs on the 28BHBE so it can really make a difference in hitch weight depending on how you pack.

You will be close to capacity and will have to pack carefully(ie avoid heavy stuff in front pass-through) and will probably want to avoid travelling with full fresh water tanks and shift as much weight as possible from the F150 into the trailer. 200lbs taken out of the truck box/cab and placed in TT will equate to 26lbs of tongue weight at 13%.

You may also want to look into a high quality anti-sway WD hitch and ensure it is properly adjusted. There have been forum members that did not have good quality hitches and/or did not know how to set up their hitches that have had stability issues with that TT/TV combo. There are many forum members that have had relaxing trouble free towing with Propride/Hensley hitches. They are not inexpensive, but worth every penny when you are towing heavy.

There are some other threads regarding towing the 28BHBE. Try to ignore the uninformed opinions that insist that a "half-ton" is unsafe to tow a TT with and focus on the weights and experiences of forum members that have actually towed with similar setups to what you are contemplating.

Feel free to come back with any additional questions you have.

[dougk53]

Until 2 months ago I had a 14 F150 Screw Ecoboost 157" wheelbase. When we first got it we had a Salem LA that was 33 feet long and ready to camp 8400# with a measured tongue weight of 1100#. Truck also had 5000# airbags for reasons other than towing.
Towing that trailer was never white knuckle but also never really relaxing even though I was within all specs for the truck. By chance about 4 months after acquiring the F150 we came across a TT that had a great floorplan for us and coincidentally was 2 feet shorter, 800# lighter and lighter on the tongue at 840#. Towing home empty was great and after loading the TT made some minor adjustments to WDH and never looked back. The Ecoboost was a great platform for towing. That being said I would not feel comfortable towing with an aluminum body F150 with the inherent weight loss.
That being said there are many posts on various Ford forums both swearing at and swearing for the lighter F150 platform when towing. I can only relate my experience with a steel body truck.
Of all things my DW wanted a new truck so in my pursuit of a deal at years end we went with a 17 Ram 2500 6.4 Hemi with 3150# of payload. I really liked the F150 but for all the other hauling I do with the truck this is a better fit and I got 25% off MSRP. My opinion is the Ecoboost would outperform the hemi due to the low Rpm the peak torque came in but I guess you got to give up some to get some.
Can you do it , more than likely yes, will you enjoy the experience will only be determined by you.
By the way if having a leased vehicle is a priority Ram leases Heavy Duty and I believe GM also but Ford is questionable as far as leasing.
Good luck in your pursuits.

Doug

[rkresge]

Originally Posted by mesuezee

We have a '17 28bhbe. gvwr 9250. dry weight 6510. hitch weight 685. equalizer wdh with sway bars. the truck we estimate to have 1600lbs of payload. estimating 650lbs of cargo in truck leaves us 950lbs payload. loaded total trailer weight distributed in trailer approximate 8000lbs. 13% of that is 1200lbs. Max towing package on truck, 3.55 gear. max gcwr 18,100, max towing 12,700. I know we are close to capacity but having the weight distributed correctly what are your opinions on this being a good set up? We were pulling with a 2014 f 150 with a 3.73 max towing of 11,200 but looking to change trucks since the lease is up.

Not enough info about the truck. But from what I've been reading about the 2017-2018 F150s with max tow, you may be underestimating your truck's payload capacity. Some recent F150's with max tow go as high as 2250 lb payload capacity!

FWIW, based on 15% GVWR of the trailer, it should put nearly 1400 lb. on the truck's rear axle. You should base your towing on that number for starters. If the total payload exceeds the truck's payload capacity by more than a few pounds, you're asking for trouble; WDH, air bags, etc. can't correct for too much weight in/on the truck!

Remember that you have to drive it, and you have to be able to stop it.

Good luck!

Roger

Anyway

[LiftedAWDAstro]

Will the new F150 pull it? Sure will. Plenty of power for that. Will it be a comfortable tow...maybe, maybe not. It's a LOT of money to correct that mistake after the fact. I towed mine with a 2013 Tundra and my ProPride hitch and it was very stable but due to the total weight and always having to rev the engine to maintain speed, I swapped the Tundra for a Ram Cummins. Now, I pull with cruise set, one hand on wheel and all I do is keep a look in the mirrors for people wanting to pass. I don't care about hills whether up or down now. Much more relaxing to pull. I had quite a bit of equity in the Tundra so it was a relatively cheap decision to make. Would not be if you by a new 1/2 ton and need to upgrade to a 3/4 ton after a season of pulling. Better to go ahead and grab a 3/4 ton now. No need for a diesel unless you just want one, like I did.