NelloSR

Looking to buy an RV travel trailier, and hearing and reading different specs. 2011 F150 XLT 4X4,3.55 gears, installing a weight distributing hitch, truck has tow package, and need to wire up a 9 pin plug. Any ideas on how much with this I can pull? I have looked up and found 7,700 and have been told I should not go more than 80% of that, and have been told the weight distribution set up will allow me to pull up to 8,500. Any help or info would be appreciated! We will be staying on the east coast so mountains are not an issue.

flixden

Most likely, your real limit will be the payload because of the tongue weight, and not trailer weight. Don't forget to look into that before making a decision.

Phyer Phyter

Try http://www.motorcraftservice.com/pubs/content/~WOBF12/~MUS~LEN/36/11f12og3e.pdf find your choice of truck size, engine and gear ratio. You will find what your choice is rated for. Also find the section on tires wheels and loading. More valuable info there.

Good Luck.

Buzam

http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/g..._F150nov18.pdf

Twisty

I've found my truck to be rated at 7200, 7400, 7700 and 7900 lbs.
7700 is the most common or easily found number for it.
A WDH will not increase your tow rating. In fact, EVERYTHING that you carry must be deducted from the GCWR. A WDH setup might weigh 80 lbs and that must be subtracted from the GCWR.
I towed a popup trailer with a Ranger and exceeded the GCWR once - and the Ranger was rated for over 9000 lbs.
I will be buying an "Xtra light" or "super light" TT. I plan on getting a unit with a dry weight or delivery weight of less than 5000 lbs.
I carry tools, parts, water, firewood, ax, shovel, etc. EVERYTHING must be subtracted from that gross combined weight number - duffels, suitcases, clothes, storage tubs, chairs, propane, lanterns, food, dog food, dog bed, pots, pans, cooking utensils,...
I do not agree with the 80% of capacity theory. My truck is rated to safely handle 7700 lbs and I need to use every one of those.

NelloSR

Thanks everyone! I do appreciate all the info. Twisty, I am looking at an ultra-lite also, but they seem to be in the 5200 range, except the one the "boss" likes and it is 7240 dry, so I figured I need to 1) make the "boss" mad and go with a smaller unit or 2) buy a 250 and have a happy boss.

flixden

The problem is that most of the time using 100% of the towing capacity with a half ton truck when towing a TT is difficult or impossible due to payload and / or axle rating restrictions. If you want to stay within the limits, that is (many people just disregard these numbers though).

jdbiz

I am new to this forum, but I wanted to tell for those who dont know, the difference between half and three quarter ton rear axles. In short of being a machinist for nearly thirty years here is what I have seen: There is a REASON that wood haulers do not use half ton trucks. All the weight is on the rear flanges of the car style axles. If overloaded, they will snap off and shove the wheel and tire up into your wheel well and you will have an instant 'dually' rear fender added to your pickup bed. This could result in injury or death of yourself or others especially at freeway speeds. On earlier trucks, say from the 70's and 80's a 3/4 ton had a full floater rearend where you could actually pull your axles out of the rear end and the wheels are still on the rig. A half ton cannot do this. Half tons have one rear axle bearing per wheel, 3/4 tons with full float rearends like a Dana 60, have two bearings per rear wheel. To save money, some manufacturers used a beefed up 1/2 ton single bearing style rearend and call it a 3/4 ton. You can tell if you have a full float rearend if the rear hub extends atleast four inches thru the rear rim. I offer this as a benefit to those who still think the difference is springs and ratings as I once did. In my opinion, half ton trucks with excessive springs are a deadly combo. I once loaded 5500 lbs in the back of a half ton and drove it sucessfully to the job site. I was also only 22 years old then, now 48. Dolphin mini motorhomes had a recall on their rigs due to this problem. they actually made dually rear ends on motorhomes and people were breaking flanges on the freeway and crashing. Multimillion dollar recall was the result and a 6000.00 full float rear end was the fix. FYI to those buying trucks. Get a strong rear end with bigger gears= much more truck for the money, or put a 3/4 ton rear end in your half ton as many do.

Twisty

I get to be the Boss here because I am buying the truck and I am buying the TT and I will be doing all of the driving while traveling.
Laurel will not drive the truck - not even solo. She is a crappy driver so it is fine with me.
I chose the F150 over the F250 for many reasons.
One of which is the fact that it does limit the size and weight of a TT. Hauling a TT approaching 30 feet can be a restriction when driving the highways and byways of this country. Also, many CG's and parks have a 30 foot max. RV limit.

tommo

I have a 2011 F150 Ecoboost and it is rated at 11,300 lbs. I tow a 33 ft Travel tralier that has a dry weight of around 6900 lbs and a tongue wt of about 900 lbs. We don't fill the water tank and I don't tow with full holding tanks but the camper is loaded with supplies. I just came back from a trip to north Georgia and the truck performed great. I'm not sure what engine you have but the manual should give the info you need. I realize this may not be of any help but I did want to share that the F150 will tow a pretty heavy load.