Max Towing Question
#11
What kind of tongue weight is that. If its 10% then thats 950lbs and most likely only leaves 6-700 lbs for the family and stuff in the bed which isnt much. I'm not trying to be the weight police because I go overweight for short trips, but if you are worried about being legal about it you will exceed payload and axle ratings pretty quickly with that heavy of a trailer. Any of the 11 engines will pull that weight no problem. The 5.0 eb and 6.2 can easily move 13-14000lbs but the rest of the truck cant handle it. If you dont care about being overwieght for that one trip a year go for it. If you want to remain legal then you at least need a 250.
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 206
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Wow! A lot of Joe knows it all here!! The brother of the sister-in-law said that a friend of a friend's father in law...!
Where does that leave you? With a lot of unanswered questions, right?
I had a 2008 F250 FX4 Screw with the 5.4 (3 valves) that could tow 9200 lbs. And I tried it. In the Canadian Rockies. I must have been very close to 9000 lbs when I did it. It could to no problem, effortless? No, not at all.
Then I went shopping for a newer truck with my wife. She thought that I would get a Diesel SuperDuty. But I had something else in mind. So we went for a ride with the EcoBoost. And we liked it very much. But, she was very, very concerned about the trailer behind that truck. So what we did is take the truck for a spin WITH the trailer around our town. And we have some steep grades around here. And the truck didn't feel out of breath at all. Unlike the F250 did. There's a big step saying that it felt like there was nothing behind me, but it still ran strong. And it cleared the wife's questions out.
Then I tried the same with the 5.0 engine. It somewhat felt a "little" undertorque. The tranny would downshift where the EB's tranny didn't have to.
So, instead of paying attention to people trying to prove a point, take your trailer out with the vehicle your planning to buy and forge your own opinion. Explain what you want to do to you dealership, and if they really want to sell you a good truck that suits your needs, they'll even help you hook it up!
That's my 2 cents. And if anyone feels like this was pointed at them, well so be it. Man up and don't hijack this thread for no reasons...!
Where does that leave you? With a lot of unanswered questions, right?
I had a 2008 F250 FX4 Screw with the 5.4 (3 valves) that could tow 9200 lbs. And I tried it. In the Canadian Rockies. I must have been very close to 9000 lbs when I did it. It could to no problem, effortless? No, not at all.
Then I went shopping for a newer truck with my wife. She thought that I would get a Diesel SuperDuty. But I had something else in mind. So we went for a ride with the EcoBoost. And we liked it very much. But, she was very, very concerned about the trailer behind that truck. So what we did is take the truck for a spin WITH the trailer around our town. And we have some steep grades around here. And the truck didn't feel out of breath at all. Unlike the F250 did. There's a big step saying that it felt like there was nothing behind me, but it still ran strong. And it cleared the wife's questions out.
Then I tried the same with the 5.0 engine. It somewhat felt a "little" undertorque. The tranny would downshift where the EB's tranny didn't have to.
So, instead of paying attention to people trying to prove a point, take your trailer out with the vehicle your planning to buy and forge your own opinion. Explain what you want to do to you dealership, and if they really want to sell you a good truck that suits your needs, they'll even help you hook it up!
That's my 2 cents. And if anyone feels like this was pointed at them, well so be it. Man up and don't hijack this thread for no reasons...!
#13
Senior Member
Does Ford say you can only tow the 11300lbs "occasionally"?
I think a lot of you are missing the point with the new 150 in that they are building them to do the job of a 250.
So IMO, if you are going to be towing anything over that at all, then yes you should step up to the Super duty.
If you build the truck appropriate to what you'll haul, you'll be fine.
Don't forget that any company's safety ratings are always lower for "just in case" scenarios.
I think a lot of you are missing the point with the new 150 in that they are building them to do the job of a 250.
So IMO, if you are going to be towing anything over that at all, then yes you should step up to the Super duty.
If you build the truck appropriate to what you'll haul, you'll be fine.
Don't forget that any company's safety ratings are always lower for "just in case" scenarios.
#14
Go ahead and tow 11000 pounds with a half ton. If it breaks while it's still under warranty Ford will fix it. Then compare how long it takes for something to break after the warranty runs out with a truck that wasn't used to it's max all the time. Just because something is rated to a max capacity doesn't make it good to run it at that max capacity all the time.
Towing 7K with anything isn't effortless, it puts a lot more strain on the driveline.
Also, I never said I was an expert, it was my opinion. Go take a poll of how many contractors and such are pulling 11K daily and see how many of them are doing it with a half ton.
Towing 7K with anything isn't effortless, it puts a lot more strain on the driveline.
Also, I never said I was an expert, it was my opinion. Go take a poll of how many contractors and such are pulling 11K daily and see how many of them are doing it with a half ton.
#15
Senior Member
Obviously anything that's worked to its max will fail sooner - Fix it if it breaks and keep on going. Ford engineered the truck for all the main parts to last 150,000 miles under maximum load conditions without a serious failure. Even at 150,000 if something breaks, just fix it and keep going - you got your money out of it.
#16
#17
I'm going through a very similar thought-process.
First, though, when you say "trailer dry", do you mean literally the trailer and the boat dry? Or just the boat dry? A dry boat by itself will generally weigh almost double when trailered and full of fuel/supplies. If you're towing a 7200 pound dry boat, you're looking at at least 11k+ pounds loaded.
As noted, I'm in a very similar situation, only a few thousand pounds lighter. I want a daily driver that can also tow my 6K loaded/wet boat regularly, and my 11K boat 3-4 times a year. Forums tell me that in addition to saving 3K+ off MSRP. I'll save roughly 1K a year just in gas if I choose the ecoboost over the 6.2 F250.
It's a tough decision.
First, though, when you say "trailer dry", do you mean literally the trailer and the boat dry? Or just the boat dry? A dry boat by itself will generally weigh almost double when trailered and full of fuel/supplies. If you're towing a 7200 pound dry boat, you're looking at at least 11k+ pounds loaded.
As noted, I'm in a very similar situation, only a few thousand pounds lighter. I want a daily driver that can also tow my 6K loaded/wet boat regularly, and my 11K boat 3-4 times a year. Forums tell me that in addition to saving 3K+ off MSRP. I'll save roughly 1K a year just in gas if I choose the ecoboost over the 6.2 F250.
It's a tough decision.
Last edited by andrew72; 07-21-2011 at 06:25 AM.
#18
andrew72, my dry weight is the for a travel trailer.
The wet weight included everything else you put in it - cloths, food, water, propane, etc, thus a wet weight that is much higher.
As of now, I am leaning towards a 2012 f350 6.2 when they start making them in the fall, but I just can't shake the ecoboost bug.
The wet weight included everything else you put in it - cloths, food, water, propane, etc, thus a wet weight that is much higher.
As of now, I am leaning towards a 2012 f350 6.2 when they start making them in the fall, but I just can't shake the ecoboost bug.
#19
For that type of weight, you're definitely in F250 area. I'd get the F250 with the 6.2L. These F250 are only about $3K more than a similar optioned F150. Of course you get terrible fuel mileage but with a trailer that big, you made the decision that doesn't matter since you have to have the vehicle to tow it.
With the F150, tow ratings and GCWR don't matter one bit. Your biggest limiting factor is the payload with the standard tow package and axle ratings with the Max Tow Package. After you load your family and gear into the truck, you'll likely be overloaded where a F250 would be needed.
Read more on my post here.
#20
Senior Member
My trailer is nearly as heavy as yours and my FX4 Ecoscrew 6.5 maxtow pulls it so easy and relaxed I am amazed. I just traded in a 08 3500hd gm 6.0 and prefer the F150 for towing by far. You will need a good equalizer hitch, have truck and trailer sit as level as pratical and it will drive very nice and stable. Power is not an issue at all, the eco pulls along stronger than a big block while cruising.