mbopp

A 3.73 rear end is required to get the Max Tow. IIRR it is a larger housing than the 3.31 / 3.55 housing and gets you another 500# on the rear axle.
And the Max tow gets you a 51-tube radiator vs the 41-tube one in the Standard tow package per a chat I had with Ford.

Fastbikeman

My thanks to all of you for your responses. It looks as if the F150 will in fac meet our needs

smokeywren

Read it again: For the Flying Cloud model 25FB the hitch weight with no options and absolutely nothing in the trailer with an empty trailer weight of 5,540 pounds is 837 pounds

25FC: "Hitch Weight w/o Options or Variable Weight: 837"
http://www.airstream.com/travel-trai...pecifications/

That's a hair over 15% hitch weight, or the same as my 2012 Nomad 196S. So you'd better count on 15% wet and loaded hitch weight, or about 1,095 pounds.

With a max trailer weight of 7,300 pounds, the EcoBoost engine with 3.73 axle ratio will walk away with that trailer, even when crossing the mountains. But when those twin turbos begin working hard to drag a trailer up a mountain grade, you can literally see the gas guage dropping.

With over 1,000 pounds probable hitch weight, you'll probably be overloaded over the GVWR of the F-150 if you don't order the HD payload pkg along with the max tow pkg. You need the HD Payload pkg to get the payload capacity for the hitch weight of the FC. You need the max tow pkg to get the telescoping trailer tow mirrors

For my F-150, GVWR with the regular trailer tow pkg is 7,100 pounds. It will pull a mountain, but it won't haul the hitch weight of that mountain without being overloaded. My TT when grossing 4,850 pounds overloaded the GVWR of my F-150 by 100 pounds.

The max tow pkg brings the GVWR up to 7,700 pounds, which is almost but not quite enough payload capacity to haul a nomal load in the pickup plus 1,095 pounds of hitch weight. The HD payload pkg pumps it up to 8,200 pounds, and you'll probably need that much GVWR if you don't want to be overloaded.

On Ford build&price, choose the 3.73 limited slip axle with the EcoBoost engine and the system will automagically add both the HD Payload Pkg and the Max tow pkg. If you insist on the 3.73 e-locker axle, then they won't offer you the HD payload Pkg.

Fastbikeman

Smokeywren

You are correct. I should have read it closer. also can you tell me the difference between the 3.73 limited slip axle and the 3.73 elocker axle. In either case I plan on getting the heavy duty payload pkg and max towing package to include power extending mirrors, 4x4.

Can also explain to me the 11000 pound rating for the 150 ecobooster

Thanks
John

I

flixden

The HD payload package requires the 3.73 limited slip rear end.

jcain

Limited slip is a mechanical rear end that will send power to the wheel with grip, or both. Elocker is always an open diff that sends power to one wheel, unless you pull the elock switch in the cab, then it'll lock the two rear axles/tires together mechanically. Also, even though the elock is open, until engaged, the traction control system will brake the spinning one wheel and act as a limited slip rear end in a round about kind of way. As mentioned earlier, max tow and hd pay will make you get the LSD 3.73.

smokeywren

jcain did a decent explaining that, so I won't add to his answer.

The factory tow rating is the GCWR of the vehicle minus the wet and loaded weight of the tow vehicle. The GCWR of the EcoBoost drivetrain with HD Payload Pkg and Max Tow pkg is 17,100. Ford's optimistic tow rating is 11,000 pounds, so Ford assumes the wet and loaded truck weighs 6,100 pounds. But your truck is probably going to weigh a lot more than 6,100 pounds when wet and loaded for the road, so your real-world tow rating will be less than 11,000 pounds.

Also, the tow rating ignores the GVWR of the truck, and assumes you have enough GVWR to handle the hitch weight of an 11,000-pound trailer without exceeding the GVWR of the truck. Bad assumption if you don't have the HD Payload Pkg, and a really bad assumption if you try to tow a fifth wheel trailer that weighs 11,000 pounds and has a 20% hitch weight of 2,200 pounds.

In other words, the tow rating is not very useful info for anything other than bragging rights at the bar during the ball game.

To compute your real-world tow rating, you need to know the weight of the wet and loaded tow vehicle, including people, pets, tools, jacks, coolers, spares, extra fluids, trailer hitch, a full tank of gas and anything else that might be in the truck when towing. Subtract that weight from the GCWR of 17,100 pounds and the answer is the max trailer weight you can tow without exceeding the GCWR of your truck.

That's half the equation. The other half is to subtract the weight of the wet and loaded tow vehicle from the GVWR of the truck, and the answer is the max hitch weight you can have without exceeding the GVWR of the truck.

TTs in the 10,000 pound weight class have a hitch weight of about 12 to 15 percent of gross trailer weight, so you have to use 15% when matching trailer to tow vehicle. Most fifth wheel RVs in that weight class have a hitch weight of 17 to 20 percent of gross trailer weight, so use 20% if you don't want a big shock the first time you cross the CAT scale with a wet and loaded rig.

The GCWR and GVWR are real numbers. The tow rating and payload rating are made-up numbers, assuming a vehicle with no options and nothing in the truck but a skinny driver.

GCWR indicates how much your truck can pull at a reasonable speed over hill and dale without overheating, bending, or breaking anything.

GVWR indicates how much weight your truck can carry without exceeding the weight limits of your suspension, including tires, wheels, springs, frame, ect.

You should never exceed any weight rating, but the limiter for most half-ton pickups with ordinary drivetrains is the GVWR of the truck. So that's why you want to pump up the GVWR of your pickup to the max available.

flixden

Good write-up, smokeywren!

Fastbikeman

Again thanks to all of you, It sure can get complicated buying a TV but with all of your assistance I think I have it down. I suspect my Airstream will never reach it max weight of 7200lbs but I can see it being 6500lbs. As for the F150 I can see at times carrying max of 4 adults in the cab. In the bed I can see two honda 2000s, a small grill, gas can, up to four bikes, some wood (100 lbs) extra tent, screen house, a few tools, two lounge chairs. I believe that this would be the max load and most of the time it would be significantly less.

So with that I think I will order the F150 4X4 with the ecobooster with the 3.73 limited slip axlealong with both the HD Payload Pkg and the Max tow pkg. As to the trim, not sure, but I suspect it will be the Lariet. Just have to see if they have the options I need. One that I want is the deployable running boards as they are easy for my wife to climb in an dout of the cab.

Again thanks

John

flixden

Yes, with that stuff in the bed, 4 adults, and the tongue of the trailer, you will need HD payload for sure if you want to stay within the limits. It will be about 2K lbs, maybe even more.