healthi

ooops, post is another thread. This one just came about from confusions of the different answers I was getting from Jayco, Ford, and then input here. Most of it has been cleared up as of this point though. Thanks again.

rjacobs

Like I said in your other thread, the tongue rating of the hitch is generally 10% of the max trailer weight rating, in your case 1130 lbs. If you search online you will find most aftermarket Class IV hitches are rated at 1000-1200 lbs tongue weight, which goes along with the 10% rule of thumb. I highly doubt the tongue weight of your trailer will exceed 1130 lbs. Are your propane bottles included in the dry tongue weight of the trailer? Usually they are because they are always there(and they will actually weigh more than 60 lbs because that is simply the amount of gas they will hold, not the weight of the gas and the cylinder). The batteries should be the same, already included in the tongue weight.

If you have talked to your RV dealer about what all is included in the tongue weight of the trailer? If they are installing a weight distributing hitch that is rated at 1000 lbs, I highly doubt they are worried about the tongue weight exceeding 1000 lbs or they would have put on a heavier duty unit.

The only way to up the tongue weight rating for your truck would be to go to a class V hitch, which IMO is not needed for your trailer.

healthi

Hi RJacobs, thanks for the insight,

Some of my confusion has come from talking with the Jayco and Ford dealers. Jayco said that the tongue weigt of 800lbs does not include the filled propane or the batteries (one comes with the unit, but we will have two). Other people say it does. The Jayco service manager was also convinced we had a class III hitch (phone conversation) as "...all the F150's he has seen has come with the class III..". He said that if when they hitch us up, the tech could put on the 1200 rating WDH if he so determines. But no where could anyone explain how to know what is too much for the truck hitch except....
1. it is ok to be 10-15% of total trailer weight
OR
2. it is ok to be 10-15% of what the trucks max. towing capacity is.

Somewhere I just now read that the class IV hitch can take 1150lbs, then I should be ok with a 1000lb tongue (using the WDH hitch of course). I learned how to verify the hitch info located underneith my truck.

We just want to be safe towing and are new to towing heavier than 3000lbs. I think I am feeling more at ease now!

rjacobs

Did Jayco say what the tongue weight included or the dealership? I would call/email Jayco directly and they will tell you. The dealership might not know what they are talking about since every 09 F150(at least that I am aware of) comes with a Class IV hitch and not a III since there is no way to tow what the F150 can tow with a Class III weight wise and I highly doubt Ford would have two different hitches, costs to much money in inventory for a price difference of zero on the parts(class 4 costs same as class 3).

For the max tongue weight you want to use 10% of what the truck can tow for a safe guestimation. 10% of what the trailers max gross weight is is a safe guestimation of the actual tongue weight the trailer has, and then you add what ever you have directly on the tongue, but even that is a bit behind and will add slightly less weight directly to the tongue. Like I said, I think you will be fine with the 1000 lbs weight distributing hitch, but you could put the 1200 lb on there, it wont cause any issues if your tongue weight ends up being less.

healthi

I will call Jayco direct tomorrow.

Now that I know how to find out for sure, Yes we do indeed have the class IV.

I'm feeling more condifent at this point, thanks

big_ole_truck

Don't take this the wrong way, but the answer to your question was in your original thread. Many good points were made by different forum members.

Your truck's actual capacity will likely be less than the maximum towing capacity of 11,300 lbs.

fqtravlr

check out the towing section of rv.net

v_tach

If you need to know the actual tongue weight, weigh it. Its not difficult and requires only a common bathroom scale and a few other common bits. Any competent trailer dealer should also be able to weight it in seconds. Watch the process so you know exactly what it weighs.