Floored150

I guess I need to know my tongue rating and reduce my payload by that much? I probably only load me, wife, some gear...maybe 700 lbs total. That should give me some leeway.

smurfs_of_war

I know it doesn't help your cause here, but I went through this exact same dillema recently with a similarly rated trailer. I am over my payload, and just couldn't avoid it. It was that moment that I realized "I'm in the wrong damn truck if I have to keep compromising at every turn." My next truck will be at least a 250.

For figures- my loaded tongue weight properly loaded is 700lbs. Roughly. I carry 5 passengers. Me (250) my son (210) my wife and two daughters equalling 400 between the three. So 800 plus pounds of passengers. A full 36 gallon tank (400 or so?) And about 200 lbs in the bed. The passenger, fuel and bed weight is what we weighed BEFORE even buying a TT. Sick, isn't it? We are technically overloaded (or close to) for a weekend trip to Medicine Hat.

I have an extra leaf in the truck to help a bit, but the fact remains- my payload is gobbled up before even putting the shank into my receiver. I just take it slow (60mph max), move as much load as I can to the trailer, stay alert and conciously avoid high traffic areas until I can afford to upgrade to a 250.

Floored150

It really is amazing how fast your left with nothing. And to think I towed my TT home with an 06 a Toyota Tacoma! When I got my F150 I thought well, 11000 pounds heck, that's plenty. Until you do the math that is. I think Ford will step up the ratings someday. Making it stronger for towing with a few more standard features many of us on the borderline would be sitting pretty. I don't know Thanks for your input. Happy towing and stay safe!

smurfs_of_war

Yeah. It vanishes fast. I did find that keeping the load in the trailer keeps me within my payload rating. I had the insurance tech check it all out on his scales at their weigh station and I clear all the numbers they look for- did that before I commited. They have an allowance for overages that I fall into and pass with some head room. So I am definitely not grossly overloaded- otherwise I wouldn't pull it. It's just a pain to have to compromise on every decision.

On a side note- my '10 with the 3.55, 5.4 pulled that 26' trailer like a freight train. Coming home today it held 6th for a good chunk of the trip

Floored150

I'm real happy to hear that. I've got the 2011 3.5L also 3.55 axle, ecoboost and have not towed yet with it so I'm really looking forward to seeing how she does. Now all i need is some time off to head up to a diamond Lake. By the way, where were you coming home from?

smurfs_of_war

Cypress Hills.

bchauler

I'm not as familiar with the new f150s as I am with the 97-03 trucks, but I discovered something very interesting with the gvwr of the 97-03 trucks. From the factory, identically equipped trucks had different gvwr's with the only difference seeming to be the tires they were shipped with. On the trucks we looked at, the difference was 500lbs. The conclusion that we drew from that comparison and discussion was that tires play a significant role in determining gvwr. That I am aware of, you can't change the official rating of your truck, but you can certainly infer that upgrading the weight bearing capacity of the tires will give you more practical load bearing capacity.

It is a frustrating dilemma. Good luck.

EcoboostKev

Load the truck and trailer up and hit your local Cat scale and get the actual numbers. I'm willing to bet your within your ratings... Then get out and enjoy yourself!! Can't wait to hear what you think about how the Eco tows compared to the Tacoma!

EcoboostKev

Well I know gas weighs approx 6.2lbs per gallon so for a 36gal tank your looking at 223lbs not 400lbs. So it looks like you just picked up 177 lbs of extra payload.

smurfs_of_war

Sweet deal!