Oldelevatorman

Looking at a 2016 Eagle HT 26.5 RLS 5er. Hitch wt. 1340, GVWR 9950!
Will upgrade pin box to a 5th Airborne Sidewinder (Reese). Dry wt is 7232, no way I would add more than 1500 to it. Problem is they don't let you load it up and weigh it before you buy it, however dealer says they won't sell it unless it's right because they don't want the liability. A dealer with a conscience, wow!

Truck is 2011 F-150 SCrew, 5.5' bed, max tow, 3.73 rear axle, P275/55 R20's,
GVWR 7650, FGAWR 3750, RGAWR 4050, GCWR 17,100.

Have not done anything to truck yet, i.e. Super springs etc.
Let's hear some feedback please! Jim

Feathermerchant

I don't think there is any possible way for you to tow that and not be overweight. What does the payload sticker on your 2011 say? Your payload is probably about 1400 lb. The way I read it the trailer pin weight is almost that.

Nothing that you can do to your truck (within reason) will increase it's carrying capacity or GVW or GCVW.

Oldelevatorman

Payload sticker says 1796, I know I can't do anything to increase capacities. Any adds would be for a better ride towing.

11screw50

Not a chance. For arguments sake, we will say you weigh in at 150 lb

You - 150 lb
Hitch - 100 lb.
Pin weight (dry) 1340 lb
Extra pin weight for your stuff (1000lb of stuff) - 200 lb (could be more)

So that totals 1790lb. No way it works because we assumed you have nothing in the truck. No spare change, no jumper cables, nothing...not even floor mats unless they were on the window sticker.

Oldelevatorman

Upgrading truck is tough on fixed income, could take awhile to do it. Just a few 5ers out there with lighter pin wts. May look at a trailer again. Just a shame the manufacturers and dealers brand all these rigs as 1/2-ton towable when most likely they're not! Most don't care once you're down the road. I've seen a few 5ers on here that have no business behind an f-150, yet they are!

6.4HemiMan

There are several math equations you can do to figure your actual towing capacity. Don't cheat yourself. I tried to take the easy way out. I had an '05 Screw with the 5.4. My max trailer weight, according to Ford, was 9,200 based on motor and tranny options. We bought a "1/2 ton towable" 30 foot travel trailer. The dry weight was only 5800 lbs. i had to have a weight distribution hitch installed. We picked the trailer up across the state and planned a simple one day camp halfway home from the rv dealer. I knew as soon as we left the lot that the camper was way too heavy. It was a miserable experience. the engine revved just below red line pulling moderate Missouri hills.

Anyway, l did the math and figured out that a 5800 lb trailer was too heavy for my truck. I loved that truck but couldn't return the camper. So, do the math and you'll see that these trucks just aren't made for towing much of anything, unfortunately.

sunofabeach

Either you're mistaken about your 05 Screw 5.4 or there was something wrong with your truck.


a weight distributing hitch is a must with almost all travel trailers being towed by half-tons. its even recommended when towing with super duties.


my 05 Screw 5.4L 3.73 LSD towed my 7300lbs trailer just fine and never came close to redline. this is towing around Alberta and through the Rockies into BC.

Dirttracker18

Pretty certain you just do not know what you are talking about.

There is no math to figure out your "actual" towing capacity. Your towing capacity and payload are set by the manufacturer and no math is needed to figure them out.

On every truck your towing capacity out weighs your payload. This is the limiting factor, payload. In this case the pin weight is the issue you need to be concerned with along with your weight you intend on carrying in your truck.

As for Hemi man, I have an 04 F150 5.4 with 3:73 rear and towover 8000# with little issues and do not run near redline climbing large hills. I have to agree that something was very wrong in your case running that hard with 5800# behind you.

Oldelevatorman

I've done the numbers on all the new lightest fifth-wheels I can find available to me and none of them will work. How do these manufacturers make claims about them when it's all bs and get away with it? Blows the mind.

smokeywren

Wet and loaded pin weight ill be about 1,600 if you keep to your promise to not load the trailer to more than 8,800 pounds gross trailer weight.


UVW = 7310 + 1,500 cargo/fluids/stuff = 8,810 gross trailer weight


Not enough info. What is the payload capacity of the truck. Or better yet, how much does the truck weigh when loaded with all the people and stuff that will be in it when towing, including the 5er hitch and a full tank of gas?

GVWR of the F-150 minus actual weight of the wet and loaded F-150 = real world unused payload capacity available for pin weight. If that number is not more than 1,600 pounds, then you're probably going to be overloaded when you get on the road.