Scoty G

I just bought a Lariat 4x4 off road 2013 super crew ecoboost 3.5 with 3.55 rear end 145 bed. I am wanting to get a travel trailer or 5th wheel.

I am new at towing and looking for the optimal weight of a trailer i should shoot for assuming there are 4 adults. Is the weight ratings mean fully loaded? Dry weight does not include fuel, food or water etc correct?

Also - can someone explain how tongue weight works? It sounds like from previous posts that the trailer sales people will say anything

Thanks Much

Scoty G

Scoty G

I have the towing package - where it has a jake brake type system and a trailer brake in the cab....so not sure if it is the max tow or just standard tow package.

offroadeco

First if you have a super crew with the 145inch wheelbase witch is the 5.6ft bed you can't pull a fifth wheel. Sec you need to find out what your towing capacity is.

Scoty G

thanks for the reply - it looks like it will need to be a TT. my total combined weight for both the truck and trailer is 15,500 lbs totally loaded.

93Cobra#2771

iTrader: (2)

You can pull a small fifth wheel with your truck, but there are very few that would work. You will have many more options with a travel trailer.

Go to rv.net and start studying up. Look at the yellow sticker in your door for your total cargo capacity (prob around 1400# give or take). That is the total amount of weight including passengers your truck is rated for.

You almost always run out of cargo capacity before towing capacity.

Sammy77

If you need to tow 15,500 you will need a different truck

love2rvcamp

You should look at TT and not FW. With that said, first thing to look at is the yellow sticker on the drivers door. Look at the number that says max cargo capacity. This is how much cargo you truck can handle, this includes anything you put in your bed, additional people and the hitch weight of the trailer and the WDH that you use.

When looking at TT look at the GVWR and not the dry weight as you will be surprised at the amount of stuff you put in them. This way you will stay with in your limits. Your hitch weight will be 10-15% of your fully loaded trailer weight also don't go by the dry hitch weight either.

You will run out of cargo capacity before you run out of GCVWR.

Like the previous poster mentioned jump over to RV.net and look at the Travel Trailer and Towing forums over there. Let me know if you have any other questions and good luck.

Scoty G

I am new to full size trucks and towing - this has all been good info