Freedom express and half ton
10-25-2013, 05:10 AM
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Freedom express and half ton
Hi, just signed up here as I am seriously getting in the market for a toy hauler. Already have my first question.
My truck is an 2011 F150 SCREW 4x4 with 3.73 gears and the 5.0 engine. Has an integrated TBC. Has the towing package but not max payload or max tow. Towing capacity is 9300 with 1312 payload. I towed 8000 with it from arkansas to alaska and know it would pull it safely.
Trailer in question is a 2014 Coachmen Freedom Express 301BLDS. Specs are....
Hitch weight- 980
Dry weight- 6170
Cargo capacity- 3688
With me the wife and the dog that would put my payload down to about 980. Not worried about hitting the 9300lb limit because it will be mainly for weekend trips so we will not be loaded down to the hilt. My worry is the hitch weight, I know with a polaris RZR in the garage it will take some weight off the hitch but I am not sure where the tanks are on the trailer if that would add more tongue weight. I have seen people post their weights loaded and unloaded with TH and sometimes it seems the hitch weight does not go up much due to having all the weight in the back.
The obvious things I know is that I would be better off with a F250, but that is not going to happen as my truck is less than two years old and wife will not go along with trading it in (she makes more than I do so she has a legitimate say in this). I have basically already told her we would possibly be overweight but she seems stuck on this trailer and I do admit it is very nice.
The other problem is finding a toy hauler that is half ton friendly that will fit a polaris rzr height and length wise. Seems like they are hard to find and to complicate things more we live in Alaska where selection is very limited. The seller said he towed it with a 1500 Ram quad cab no problems, and I have seen other video review saying it is half ton friendly.
Any words of wisdom from the experts here? Would I be ok pulling this at least until my truck gets a little older and I can justify moving up to a 3/4 or 1 ton?
My truck is an 2011 F150 SCREW 4x4 with 3.73 gears and the 5.0 engine. Has an integrated TBC. Has the towing package but not max payload or max tow. Towing capacity is 9300 with 1312 payload. I towed 8000 with it from arkansas to alaska and know it would pull it safely.
Trailer in question is a 2014 Coachmen Freedom Express 301BLDS. Specs are....
Hitch weight- 980
Dry weight- 6170
Cargo capacity- 3688
With me the wife and the dog that would put my payload down to about 980. Not worried about hitting the 9300lb limit because it will be mainly for weekend trips so we will not be loaded down to the hilt. My worry is the hitch weight, I know with a polaris RZR in the garage it will take some weight off the hitch but I am not sure where the tanks are on the trailer if that would add more tongue weight. I have seen people post their weights loaded and unloaded with TH and sometimes it seems the hitch weight does not go up much due to having all the weight in the back.
The obvious things I know is that I would be better off with a F250, but that is not going to happen as my truck is less than two years old and wife will not go along with trading it in (she makes more than I do so she has a legitimate say in this). I have basically already told her we would possibly be overweight but she seems stuck on this trailer and I do admit it is very nice.
The other problem is finding a toy hauler that is half ton friendly that will fit a polaris rzr height and length wise. Seems like they are hard to find and to complicate things more we live in Alaska where selection is very limited. The seller said he towed it with a 1500 Ram quad cab no problems, and I have seen other video review saying it is half ton friendly.
Any words of wisdom from the experts here? Would I be ok pulling this at least until my truck gets a little older and I can justify moving up to a 3/4 or 1 ton?
10-25-2013, 06:00 AM
#2
I have nearly the same truck and faced the same decision. I ended up bring too concerned with payload/hitch weight so I moved down to an xlr that weighed 5500/550.
I will say this, I tried to tell myself I would load light but it rarely happens and there is almost always something in the truck bed so I have no regrets. While I am not sure I would be comfortable towing more I have encountered many who did go up to the size you are looking at without regret and it does make me second guess a bit.
At the end of the day I would guess you will nearly always be over payload no matter what with propane, battery and wdh. You will need to decide how much that matters to you as the truck can probably still manage it but it will be over ideal weight.
I will say this, I tried to tell myself I would load light but it rarely happens and there is almost always something in the truck bed so I have no regrets. While I am not sure I would be comfortable towing more I have encountered many who did go up to the size you are looking at without regret and it does make me second guess a bit.
At the end of the day I would guess you will nearly always be over payload no matter what with propane, battery and wdh. You will need to decide how much that matters to you as the truck can probably still manage it but it will be over ideal weight.