Ford Fan#1

just to be on the safe side I wouldn't buy it might ruin your truck

EcoboostKev

If that is the case then how well do you think your truck will handle keeping that much weight in control coming down a long 6-7% grade ??? It's one thing to be a couple hundred pounds over your trucks limits. But you are talking thousands of pounds over. You need a bigger truck for that trailer.

My trailer is 7500lbs and my truck with the max tow pkg is almost maxed out with payload. I couldn't imagine what it would be like adding another 4-5000lbs!...

beginner80

Thanks ecoboostkev. As I was saying stopping is the only issue that people should be worried about and I am not sure about your trailer but mine has electric brakes on both axels. So my point being doesn't matter what truck you have if you have your breeks set right that what stops you, not the size of your truck.

oya

Since you have the locker on the back you have the regular payload I think this one is way too much for your truck. Loaded your pin weight could get up to 2500pd and your truck should have around 1500pd payload.
If you had the Hd package I think you could've carried it around town for short trips but not long trips.

You should get a bigger truck or get a lighter trailer.

beginner80

Thanks to all. I have decided to pass on it

brulaz

I agree, but unfortunately, the electric brakes on our trailers are the weakest part of the whole show. They are usually drums and fade quickly when hot, most do not auto-adjust, and usually the axle weight rating (and brake size) is just barely enough for the trailer (and often excludes the tongue weight). My previous trailer had a 3500# rated axle under a 4000# loaded trailer.

The brake wires can break and the grease seals can give way, greasing the interior of the brake drum and making the brakes useless. I've had both happen to me. And you don't realize this unless you check them frequently. I was half way across the continent before I realized that one of my brakes had been greased. The only way to test for that is by drum heat after a hard stop.

Brake controllers have improved, Ford's built in controller is one of the best. But they still need to be adjusted depending upon conditions, and re-adjusted as the drum brakes heat up on long downhill grades.

Compared to your truck's brakes, trailer brakes are pathetic. Sometimes I'm tempted to ditch the TT and get a Motorhome, just because of this. But for now I'm really careful and check/adjust my brakes frequently.

And after cooking my truck's brakes down a steep grade with only a 7500# trailer, I wouldn't want anything much heavier, at least not down that hill. https://www.f150forum.com/f82/cooked-brakes-254457/

ecobeest

You made the right choice. Would your truck suddenly burst into flames and take out everything within a 3 mile radius, nope... Would it be a pleasant experience to pull something like with your truck, nope. It also wouldn't do the truck any favors in the long run either.

With the right build of F-150 this rig could be doable without issue.

With that being said you'll have ZERO issue with a TT on that truck if you still want to haul a rig.

Cheers.

Boulevard

FORD tow ratings are about as meaning full as throwing voo-doo bones but they are a legal limit so like it or not you do have to use them. Fifth wheels have a high CG and they catch a lot of wind and not a lot of people consider these 2 items to be a factor but they are. A 10 mph crosswind may push an F150 and a 5th wheel all over the place.


My guess is that you are right at the hairy edge of what that truck will do and you won't have much, if any, in the way of safety margin. Even if you are on good roads and travelling slow any mistakes on your part will be amplified by the load on the truck. Swerving to miss a cute fluffy bunny, putting a couple of wheels on the shoulder, these things may be enough to put an F150/5th wheel out of control and may even cause a wreck. I myself would never pull a 5th wheel with an F150 but I do know numerous people who have tried. In the end they all wound up with F250's and they all say the same thing....that they would never go back.

ecobeest

Careful now, there are many that DO pull a 5'r with a F-150 and also do so within ALL limits. I am one of those. I've put a LOT of mileage on my combo thus far (including a winter tow from Ontario to Key West through the mountains of WV/V) with zero issues. I have years of towing experience and my current combo is far better paired than my travel trailers and my previous trucks ever were. In fact they were over ratings...

With the right truck, fifth wheel towing is completely possible and there is no need to upgrade to a super duty.

uzikaduzi

I really appreciate that you took the time to get the right 5th wheel for your truck; but (and i'm completely making this number up from what i see on the highway and on rv forums) for every person like you, there are 10 who are towing a fifth wheel with a 1/2 ton truck and loaded up in a way that it would be pushing the limits of certain 3/4 tons and say "it pulls fine and it's completely safe... you're truck won't explode and kill everyone in a 3 mile radius being a little over loaded" and while that last part is true, many aren't just a couple hundred pds over payload, rear axle, or towing capacity.