Siskiyou

I am looking at purchasing a 2016 F150 with the Max Trailering Package and the 3.5 Eco Boost, I tow a 24' 6500lb when fully loaded Travel Trailer. Should I also be looking at the Heavy Duty Payload Option? What would this do to the ride while using it as a commuter vehicle?
Mike

Velosprout

It should be a firmer ride when empty, but the safety and comfort in not being overloaded on payload when vacationing with the family should be worth it. I do wish that some had been built so we could do more than speculate.

smokeywren

You can "get by" without the HD Payload pkg and without being overloaded if you pay close attention to how much weight you haul in the truck. You'll probably be right on the borderline of exceeding the GVWR (and payload capacity) if you don't haul a heavy toolbox, heavy jack and jack base, tonneau cover or camper shell, bed rug, and don't have a bunch of heavy options such as cab steps, bed steps, tailgate step, spray-in bedliner, etc.


Personally, for that much trailer, I would insist on the HD Payload pkg so I don't have to worry about exceeding the payload capacity of my new truck. Yeah, I know, that means a special order for the exact truck you want. That's no problem for me because I've ordered every pickup, car, and SUV I've owned in the last 20 years or so to get exactly what I wanted to pay for. My experience in ordering new vehicles to get exactly what I want goes way back to my 1965 Corvette Stingray coupe. (Yes, I'm an old man now, and my "other" vehicle is a 2015 Mazda Miata MX5 roadster that I also had to order and wait about two months for delivery).


Other vehicles I've ordered (and waited for delivery) are
1971 AMC Hornet Sportabout V8 (the V8 I needed for dragging a camping trailer was rare),
1986 Toy Camry LE w/manual 4-speed tranny (stick shift with LE trim was rare),
1995 Toyota T-100 V6 pickup with stick shifter - by then everybody wanted automatics,
1999.5 F-250 XLT diesel pickup (heavier 5er required more truck than the T-100),
2000 Toyota Avalon,
2007 Honda Odyssey,
2012 F-150 EcoBoost, and
2013 Toyota Venza.

acadianbob

I've been playing on the Ford site with "Build Your Own F150". I've discovered that the HD payload package is available only on select configurations. Also, it precludes some of the nicer option packages as some of the features of those packages are incompatible with the HD payload package. Want 502A? Forget about it . . .

Feathermerchant

True. I love my XLT HDPP

11screw50

OP: How heavily optioned a truck are you planning?

If you can find a similarly optioned truck on the lot you might have a better idea about where your payload will stand.

Run the numbers and see how much payload you need.

flc

I'm one of the ones that are waiting for a special ordered HD pkg truck. For a long time I pulled a 29' travel trailer that weighed about what you are talking about. I had a 2013 SCrew EcoBoost with tow pkg (not Max tow) and had absolutely no problem pulling that trailer. It did cause my rear end to drop about 2 inches when hooking up but I used an Equalizer hitch and it took care of any problem. Didn't even know it was back there if I hadn't seen it in the mirrors. Took several trips into the mountains and half way across the country. I wouldn't hesitate to pull that size trailer with the F150. Just watch your tongue weight, do your calculations and you should be fine. A friend was borderline and he added SuperSprings to his and all was good.

The only reason I am going with the 6.5 bed with Max Tow and HD Payload is I now pull a fifth wheel. If I were towing a smaller travel trailer again I would get the Max Tow pkg but not the HD Payload. Good Luck!

5.0GN tow

Again it comes down to options and loading. Smokey has said, and so have I, if you can live without as many options, you can get a non HDPP truck with pretty stout payloads. Also pay attention to keeping heavier items in the trailer and not the truck, these trucks can tow a lot more than they can haul.

ColbyL

I was going to get HD payload on my XLT, and had most of the 302A options added for maybe a few hundred$ difference. Then I found out that HD wasn't available and the dealer couldn't tell me when it would be, so I went without it. Funny- I forgot to change the other options and Ford changed me to 302A anyway, so I ended up with a few options like backup sensors and heated seats that I could not get otherwise. My payload, factoring in options, ended up at 1607#.

The dealer, BTW, said that for towing the 25' 7300# Airstream, I would be fine, and I could add airbags to handle excess load

JLTD

I've owned two '13s, one HDPP and one not. I preferred the heavy duty. It rode a bit firmer unloaded (5/8 ton?) but I liked not having to worry about how much stuff was getting loaded into it....YMMV but as mentioned by smokeywren, if you always want to count every pound then get the normal duty.