heed71

Hi All;

I am new to the forum and new to my 2010 F-150. I bought it to tow a fifth wheel and my eyes are bigger than they were before I bought the truck. The fifth wheel I am looking at is 9000lbs and has a pin weight of 1970lbs. I realize there is more to payload than leaf springs, but I would plan to add one to help overcome the payload weight overage.

My truck has the Max tow package and has a stated towing capacity of 11,100lbs and payload of 1840 lbs. We never carry more than 500 lbs of stuff with us and are a small family and always will be.

So I have read 100 posts about how ford ratings are useless and to not tow anywhere near the ratings, I have read 100 posts about how they are underrated and can be exceeded and another 100 posts about how they are bang on and shouldn't be exceeded by even one pound. To muddy the waters, everyone has a different idea of what is safe, what is comfortable and what makes a good towing truck (For Ex. if you can't haul it up a mountain at 60 Mph, then you better get a F-450)

So I am looking, not for opinions on whether I should or should not tow this trailer, but to hear from someone who has actually towed a fifth wheel similar in dry weight and pin weight. I am interested in hearing if the experience was nerve racking or leisurely and if they felt that the truck could comfortably cruise a flat highway at 55MPH and maybe not be the first one to the top of a gentle hill, but get there at some point.

I look forward to your responses and hope to sift through my stalemate of information.

Platinum_Sean

Check the link in my sig.

In short, a 1970 pin weight, which is an unloaded weight with no cargo in the trailer, nothing in the truck (and you still need a hitch), is WAY TOO MUCH for the F150. You need a dry pin weight of 1100-1200 max to be able to tow a 5er with the F150.

The max tow of 11,100 is a lot, sure, but its the GAWR/GVWR that kills you way before the total pull weight ever will.

I pull a 5er, and did a lot of research on this, I am also an engineer. I can state with knowledge, that a 2000 pin is too much for this truck. You need a 250, even a 350 at that weight.

S

PuddleJumper

Platinum's right, basically think about it, we have half ton pickups (roughly 1k load plus gear/ppl). If your wanting 2000lbs you need a 1 ton pickup. allthough you may be able to get away with an F250 depending. Platinum is also right in the sense that 1200 is about what you will have (depending on your truck) I have done estimates and weighed all items and had to get a custom trailer made for what I wanted to do with it. It will be a gooseneck car trailer for the camper and rock crawler

PuddleJumper

Oh and my recomendation on if you do go and buy that trailer and tow it regardless is to try not to get pulled over and weighed. and more so, dont let Ford find out because they would probably cancel your drivetrain warranty on the spot... Like I said in my previous post. Im having to get a custom gooseneck trailer made that allows my GVWR/GAWR to stay under as well as for it to still be safe to tow.

johndeerefarmer

What kind of engineer are you? If you don't design rear axles or suspension systems that means nothing. And so what, you did some research on the internet and made a post about towing. Who says that the information that you got is factual. The question is what real experience do you have? Do you know for a fact that adding helper springs or air bags overloads the springs? Don't you know that manufacturer's overrate every thing for safety?

For the OP: I have been towing farm stuff for over 30 years. I towed with a 92 F150 with 351 for 13 years. I hauled cows, fertilizer, and hay with loads from 5000 to 12000 lbs. I added helper springs and had no problems with the axle or frame. Now your truck has more torque than my old 351 but here's what you can expect from towing that much with a 1/2 ton.
1. It's gonna take a while to get up to speed and on some inclines don't expect to gain much speed.
2. Expect lots of down shifting which just wears you out- the constant shifting is very annoying.
3. For my old truck, 5000 lbs was about right for a max load. The larger loads were all short trips of a mile or two or less.

In 2005 I went up to a Superduty with the 6.0 diesel. Towing became effortless, the truck very seldom down shifts. On the downside it rides like a tank and shakes the stuffing out of you. I probably tow about 20% of the time and all of my towing trips are less than 100 miles round trip. I personally am going to buy an ecoboost in a few months and sell the diesel. For me the other 80% use of the truck is important. I want better fuel economy and a smooth ride.

So in my opinion (and that's the problem, all that you get on these forums is opinions)- I would add some Firestone airbags and take your vacations. Just don't try taking it to Colorado or other steep mountain roads. If you become a full time RV'er then I would have a 3/4 ton truck.

Read this article on pickuptrucks. com about the new towing standards. Notice how the standards allow 0-60 times to take forever and speeds to drop to 35-40 mph. If you are ok with that type of performance, go for it!

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2009/12...explained.html

Adobe2X

I am dealing with the same issues with my recently purchased 2010 Max Tow 150........towing over 11k and finding tongue or bed weight that the truck is rated for seem to be two different things.
Keep in mind that when you are quoting the weight your truck is carrying, you need to include you and your family of five (and all of their gear) ...and if the trailer you are looking at is 9K unloaded........you can be pretty assured that you are going to be VERY near your 11K limit all loaded up and ready to hit the road. This will also increase your tongue weight......
I am trying to stay around 7,500 UVW for the 5er or TT I am going to tow as that is going to be plenty when you take the above into consideration (and its only going to be my wife and me in the cab!)....

myowneq

Good luck with finding the answer you're looking for.

But despite what JohnDeereFarmer says, and with respect to his experience, I'd still back PlatinumSean. It's not just what he posted here, but also on another forum that I'd put stock into his experience with his situation. He did spend a lot of time on his setup.

That also said, you are not going over Ford ratings by just a little with that type of pinweight. And that's just the trailer. Why not see if the dealer will let you give it a quick tow if you happen to already have your hitch?

Platinum_Sean

See picture below. That's me, my F150, my 5th wheel, my seadoo, and most importantly, my family, SAFELY towing.

Bucky Badger

Your truck may end up like this one. For safety sakes I would never do it.

f150cwcw

A trailer that size is too heavy for your trucks payload. Dont do it. And i dont think adding springs is something that i would do to a truck that wasnt meant to have more springs on it.