Jayco 30.5 HT

[UpNorthMGOBLUE]

So I just purchased a 2019 Ford F150 with upgraded towing package and was going to tow 2015 Jayco JayFlight 27RLS, but now have fallen in love with the Jayco 30.5 Fifth Wheel with Middle Bunkhouse. My question is the 5th Wheel weighs 10,000 lbs and the truck is rated to tow 10800, am I pushing it. Most we trailer is about 3 - 4 hours from the house. Both the Ford and the Jayco say yes. I will upgrade to 3/4 ton in 3 years when I retire and we travel the county. What say you, am I safe to tow. Want the Grandkids protected and safe.

[1carguy]

I have a 30.5 MBOK and tow it with a GMC 2500HD Duramax. This is a big FW and although my truck doesn't have any problem with power...I know I'm hauling a good sized load when hooked up. Personally, I wouldn't want a half ton truck to tow this trailer. The half ton has much smaller brakes than a 3/4 ton and much lighter duty front/rear suspension. Would your dealer let you hook up for a test drive to see how it does before you buy it?

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by UpNorthMGOBLUE

So I just purchased a 2019 Ford F150 with upgraded towing package and was going to tow 2015 Jayco JayFlight 27RLS, but now have fallen in love with the Jayco 30.5 Fifth Wheel with Middle Bunkhouse. My question is the 5th Wheel weighs 10,000 lbs and the truck is rated to tow 10800, am I pushing it. Most we trailer is about 3 - 4 hours from the house. Both the Ford and the Jayco say yes. I will upgrade to 3/4 ton in 3 years when I retire and we travel the county. What say you, am I safe to tow. Want the Grandkids protected and safe.

I would think that your rear axle weight rating is going to be exceeded before you put an ounce of equipment in the FW. Towing capacity and the amount of weight sitting on your rear axle are light years apart.

[Nature Ist]

I recently paired a new '19 30.5 CKTS to an F250 SuperDuty with the 10,000 lb GVW and factory fifth wheel puck system, I would not want to run so close to your truck's trailer towing capacity rating. I use a guideline of no closer than 85% which means you should only pull about 9200 lbs of trailer. You will have a lot more cargo weight than you think, and you need to include your passengers and their "stuff" as cargo. You can probably get away with it, but know that you are going to over-tax the transmission and the brakes on the F-150.

[Soan]

Originally Posted by 1carguy

I have a 30.5 MBOK and tow it with a GMC 2500HD Duramax. This is a big FW and although my truck doesn't have any problem with power...I know I'm hauling a good sized load when hooked up. Personally, I wouldn't want a half ton truck to tow this trailer. The half ton has much smaller brakes than a 3/4 ton and much lighter duty front/rear suspension. Would your dealer let you hook up for a test drive to see how it does before you buy it?

I have the exact same truck and fifth wheel and agree 100% with what 1carguy said.

[NYMarty]

First of all, both Ford and Jayco are going to say yes, they're ONLY concern is the sale.

Inside the drivers door on the door pillar are 2 stickers which list the GVWR, both front and rear GAWR, and the payload capacity of your truck as it left the factory.
You're likely to exceed those numbers before coming close to the towing capacity of the F150.

The 9820 lb Unloaded Vehicle Weight of the 30.5MBOK as defined on Jayco's website is the "typical weight of the unit as built at the factory... and does not include cargo, fresh water, LP gas, options or dealer installed accessories."
Meaning the battery, propane, 2nd A/C, generally anything listed as an option is extra weight and not represented in the 'unloaded weight' number. And that's before you put a single pot, pan, flashlight, camp chair, water hose, sewer hose, etc. in the trailer, or the hitch in the bed of the truck to pull it with.

[Scott_Trailer_Newbe]

I’ve seen people towing even smallish 5th wheels with newer F150’s and have to say it did not look like a comfortable ride at all. Even the latest 1/2 tons with lofty tow numbers are not designed for hauling a 5th wheel.

[Nature Ist]

To update my previous reply: I took your reference to the weights to be the total gross of the trailer and the total weight capacity of your F-150. If you are actually looking at the 30.5 MBOK you are referring to the empty weight, not the total gross, which Jayco lists as 11,950 (with an empty weight of 9,829.)
To learn more so you know what to look for, look at a towing guide such as the Good Sam (Trailer Life) Guide to Towing to see what tow vehicle options are available and how to match engine, transmission, axle ratios, tire size, etc etc to get a sense for how tow ratings are arrived at. Also look very closely at the specifications of a trailer you want to match to a given vehicle making sure you look at the total GROSS weight of the trailer, including hitch weight specs for a fifth wheel.

[chas111]

I have a 2018 MBOK and 2016 F250 6.7. I am very comfortable pulling the unit. We've pulled as close as 11 miles and as far as 600 miles over different elevations. I'm not sure I would be comfortable pulling the same trailer with a F150. That being said - check the weights and measures as mentioned by the other above...

[Razoredge178]

Originally Posted by UpNorthMGOBLUE

So I just purchased a 2019 Ford F150 with upgraded towing package and was going to tow 2015 Jayco JayFlight 27RLS, but now have fallen in love with the Jayco 30.5 Fifth Wheel with Middle Bunkhouse. My question is the 5th Wheel weighs 10,000 lbs and the truck is rated to tow 10800, am I pushing it. Most we trailer is about 3 - 4 hours from the house. Both the Ford and the Jayco say yes. I will upgrade to 3/4 ton in 3 years when I retire and we travel the county. What say you, am I safe to tow. Want the Grandkids protected and safe.

You’ll burn up a 1/2 ton. I haul with F250 and it’s a load.

[Each]

Originally Posted by UpNorthMGOBLUE

So I just purchased a 2019 Ford F150 with upgraded towing package and was going to tow 2015 Jayco JayFlight 27RLS, but now have fallen in love with the Jayco 30.5 Fifth Wheel with Middle Bunkhouse. My question is the 5th Wheel weighs 10,000 lbs and the truck is rated to tow 10800, am I pushing it. Most we trailer is about 3 - 4 hours from the house. Both the Ford and the Jayco say yes. I will upgrade to 3/4 ton in 3 years when I retire and we travel the county. What say you, am I safe to tow. Want the Grandkids protected and safe.

For what its worth, payload is the issue 90% of the time. I have a 2016 F250 6.2L and a 2019 30.5MBOK. With a family of four, the 5th wheel hitch, odds and ends, and a ready-to-camp camper, I tip the scales about 100lbs over my GVWR of 10,000lbs. It adds up quick. To the 6.2's credit, it handles it fine up the mountains in the Smokies. It is still very stable. I've always heard 3/4 tons are derated to hit the 10,000lb mark; maybe that's why. I do have the stiffest springs available due to the way it was optioned and added Timbrens.

[UpNorthMGOBLUE]

So I showed everyone involved in my purchased what you have so graciously shown me and we went over everything and both said I should be fine. One of the other Ford dealer salesman said he has a 5th and a 2018 Ford F150 eco and does just fine. Since my Ford dealer did not want to sell me something else(which I find strange) I am going to try the F150 and see what happens. Thanks everyone for your input.......... We shall see what we see I guess

[Nature Ist]

If you are buying a 2019 30.5 MBOK to pull with a 2019 F-150 you are being misled by the sales people. You really need to investigate the details of this with a third party. Go to a website that offers consultation on this topic before you move ahead!
The 30.5 MBOK is almost at your max trailer rating of 10,800 before you load anything in it.

[Mopar_Earl]

Scales, door sticker and trailer sticker is all that is needed. That will tell you completely unbiased if your truck is good or not. I have my doubts a 150 will be within it's capacities with a 30.5 5th wheel. My 293 has 2300 lbs of king pin weight and over 12k lbs. It was over my payload/GVW of my 2500 truck. I now have a 3500 truck with much more payload/gvw.


Earl

[Subaru297]

NYmarty told you where to get your payload information on post 6. Have a look at your door jamb sticker and tell us what it says under "Max combined payload should not exceed xxxx".

Unless that number is well north of 2000lbs that 5th wheel is too heavy for a F150.

9820lbs dry means at least 10,000lbs delivered weight. You will likely load another 1000lbs into it. So towing weight will be 11,000lbs.

20% hitch weight is 2200 lbs. So you will need at least 2200lbs of payload just to carry your trailer. That does not include additional payload for the hitch, passengers, driver, gear or anything else you have or want to carry in your truck.

Cheers

[Each]

Originally Posted by Subaru297

NYmarty told you where to get your payload information on post 6. Have a look at your door jamb sticker and tell us what it says under "Max combined payload should not exceed xxxx".

Unless that number is well north of 2000lbs that 5th wheel is too heavy for a F150

My F250 door jam has 2700lbs available and (as noted a few posts above) I’m overweight (so is my truck). Once you see what’s on the door jam you can use that as reference. I’m sure the Eco Boost is up to the task, it’s the suspension and axle that would concern me.

[Big1]

Originally Posted by UpNorthMGOBLUE

So I showed everyone involved in my purchased what you have so graciously shown me and we went over everything and both said I should be fine. One of the other Ford dealer salesman said he has a 5th and a 2018 Ford F150 eco and does just fine. Since my Ford dealer did not want to sell me something else(which I find strange) I am going to try the F150 and see what happens. Thanks everyone for your input.......... We shall see what we see I guess

Okay but please when you do for it let us know what you think.

[Big1]

This is one guy at a dealer said about it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iTwp4VjeNpI

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by UpNorthMGOBLUE

So I showed everyone involved in my purchased what you have so graciously shown me and we went over everything and both said I should be fine......snip

IMO the statement "should be fine" translated means "conditional". Sales personal tend not to think in terms of real world loaded weights, personal loading habits, and/or one's personal towing expectations.

I would take your F-150 to a CAT scale ($9 & 3 minutes) and weigh it under loaded conditions (full fuel, passengers, etc.). If a multi-pad CAT scale isn't available and you are using a single pad scale, make sure you also weigh the rear axle separately as well.

Subtract the CAT gross weight from your F-150's GVWR, the remaining weight is your "available" payload capacity to support a 5th wheel hitch, "loaded" pin weight, and any other weight not accounted for at the CAT. Also subtract the CAT scale rear axle weight from your F-150's rear GAWR...., this is your "available" rear axle weight. The lower of the two "available" weights trump's the other.

Working with actual scaled weights from your F-150 eliminates "available" weight assumptions when shopping for a FW, TT, etc.. RV sales folks hate it when a customer walks in with a yellow CAT scale weight receipt

I found a sampling of four 2019 30.5MBOK "as-shipped" yellow sticker UVW's ranging from 10,400lbs to 10,630lbs.

Hypothetical/Moderate Loading: (10,500lbs UVW) + (800lbs cargo, no water) = 11,300lbs gross weight. (11,300lbs Gross) = 2,260lb - 2,825lb loaded pin weight range (20% - 25%). Add another 625lbs gross if fresh water tank filled.

If you can get the 30.5MBOK "projected" loaded weights to fall within your F-150's actual available weights, then all that's left is will your personal towing expectations be met.

Just food for thought.

Bob

[NYMarty]

I usually try to temper my responses due to being a little too blunt at times.
The SALESman's job is to sell. No sale, no paycheck. They will tell you you can tow a 25k trailer up Mt. Everest with a toro lawn tractor if they think it will result in a sale.
If your F150 doesn't have the HDPP (Heavy Duty Payload Package), and maybe even then depending on options, you'll be overloaded driving off the lot with that 5th wheel.
And every mile you drive, loaded or not, wears on the engine, transmission, drive train, differential, axle bearings, and brakes.

[Rant/ on]
So when you replace your worn out truck in a few years, and then again a few years after that I'll still be towing my 8250 lb GVWR TT with the same F350 I own now.
And yes, it's my daily driver.
I wouldn't put my wife or grandchildren in a 5,000 lb truck pulling 11,000 lbs on a dare.
I don't understand why people come to these forums to seek advice and then dismiss all the 'real world' experience for the advice of salesmen whos only motivation is to SELL
[Rant/ off]

Good luck and well wishes on your travels