timothyroland

Who is pulling one with an f150? I have a bumper pull now but thinking of upgrading. What do you have abs what does it weigh? I've got a 2015 with the 5.0, the chart says I'm good for 9,000 lbs for a 5th wheel.

smokeywren

Read the fine print. It says you can PULL a 5er that weighs up to 9.000 pounds PROVIDED the hitch weight of the 5er doesn't cause the you to exceed the GVWR (and payload capacity) of the F-150. The HAULING capacity is your limiter, not the pulling capacity.


Hitch weight of a small 5er will average about 17% to 18% of the gross weight of the 5er. So a 9,000-pound 5er will have hitch weight (pin weight) of about 1,500 to 1,600 pounds. A decent 5er hitch weighs 230 pounds, so that's 1830 pounds of payload with absolutely nothing else in the truck. Check the payload capacity on the doorframe of your F-150, subtract 1,830 pounds, and what's left is all the weight of people and stuff you can haul in the F-150 while towing.


Assuming your bed is not longer than 6.5', then you need a sliding hitch. Ignore the cheap Pro Series and get at least a Reese 16k slider. The install kit weighs 54 pounds:
http://www.etrailer.com/Fifth-Wheel-...e/RP30035.html


The Hitch weighs another 176 pounds:
http://www.etrailer.com/Fifth-Wheel/...leid=201529314


So that's 230 pounds of payload you'll be hauling when the hitch is installed. 1,600 pin weight plus 230 pounds hitch is 1830 pounds of payload before you load even a skinny driver in the truck. If you'll be hauling more than a skinny driver when towing, then determine how much the people and other stuff weighs and see if you have enough payload capacity to haul everybody and everything you want to haul when towing.

And you won't find many normal 5er RVs with GVWR less than 9,000 pounds but there are a few.

My old 2000 Keystone Sprinter 250RK with one slide has GVWR of 7,900 pounds and actually grossed 7,900 or a bit more when wet and loaded on the road.The current equivalent Keystone 5er is now the Cougar X-Lite (so-called half-ton towable) model 25RKS with GVWR of 8,200 pounds.
But even 8,200 pounds 5er probably has too much hitch weight for your F-150.

To repeat an important point, hitch weight of a small 5er will average about 17% to 18% of the gross weight of the 5er. But tongue weight of a TT will average only 12.5% of the gross weight of the TT. So a 5er that weighs 8,000 pounds will have pin weight of at least 1,360 pounds, and a TT that weighs 8,000 pounds will have tongue weight of only 1,000 pounds. Plus a 5er hitch weighs at least 100 pounds more than a good WD hitch. That 460 pounds difference in hitch weight could be the difference in being overloaded or not.

As a general rule, half-ton pickups cannot tow a 5er without exceeding the payload capacity of the pickup. The only exception is an F-150 with the optional but rare Heavy Duty Payload Package or a GM 1500 HD. (I don't know if Ram make a HD half-ton). Bottom line: Your F-150 will be overloaded with an 8,000-pound 5er, plus a passenger, tools, and other stuff you want to haul when towing. There are very few normal 5ers available with GVWR less than 8,000 pounds, so good luck in finding a 5er that won't overload the payload capacity of your F-150.

timothyroland

Thanks for the info. I was looking at some of the new ones they are making for 1/2 ton trucks. I can't remember the weight on them but they were around 7500 I think. It's not real big deal right now, I'm considering upgrading the truck to a 350 to not have this issue.

Bill_The_PA

Couldn't agree more with smokey.....do you homework my new 2016 lariat won't tow as much as my 2012 lariat. Not because I didn't want it. it was not available unless I bought the HD payload that is again late availability..... Translation I won't likely get it if I tried. Tried that didn't get the truck. Just got a 1000 off a truck I didn't want.

5.0GN tow

It all depends on the truck and it's configuration. I pull a 3 horse gooseneck trailer that is right at my trucks max for gcwr and is under on pin weight. You just have to be careful. My truck is a 2013 STX 4x4 with the 5.0, so it's a basic truck with a pretty high payload. The higher optioned trucks will have a much lower payload.

sunofabeach

I have a 2016 Lariat with the HD Payload option on order. my dealer says I can take delivery in July or so.


from what I can tell, it will end up with about 2200-2500lbs of payload.


a truck like this would be able to haul a 8000lb GVWR fifth wheel but you'd have to be conscious of what you load and where.

Bill_The_PA

would love to hear from you when you get your rig. Not to burst your bubble but you might just get a letter in the mail offering $1-2k off a non HD f150, as the HD payload doesn't usually get built. BTW You should be able to pull 11000+ lbs. good luck. I've tried for the last two years with no avail. I ended up buying 2016 145" WB Ecoscrew lariat with 3.55 and love it but still disappointed with Ford not offering 3.73 in the EB without the HD pkg. even more so in the fact that they don't put the HD payload on the line early. then again maybe there would be less 250's sold.

sunofabeach

As far as I know, the sales manager was told that the HD Payload package was late availability for 2016 which means later build date/delivery so about June/July.


I was pretty adamant about what I was looking for in a new truck so unless they can get it for me, there is no deal.

Bill_The_PA

Been there didn't get that. Good luck. Go online and try to get a 2015. They're very hard to find. If you do buy it.

smokeywren

They're impossible to find, because IIRC Ford didn't build any 2015s with the HD Payload Pkg. You have to go back to the 2014 model year.


But in the 2014 model year, almost all the F-150s ordered with the HD Payload Pkg were "sold" units ordered for specific customers. Most dealers wouldn't order any for stock because they were very slow sellers. So even back when Ford was producing them, there were none in stock, so if you wanted one you had to order it and wait two months for delivery.


Most customers don't want to wait two months - they want it now! F-250s are available in stock, now, so most of those customers either buy an F-250 or move over to a GM 1500HD.