Rick Kocher

Hey y'all
I am changing duty location from Texas to Pennsylvania. My wife, son, and I will be hauling some basics until the rest arrives. My wife doesn't really want to drive separate.

Question is should I tow her 2011 Toyota Camry behind my 2015 F150, with 2.7L V6. Everything says I should be able to tow it... I just wanted to see if it would cause too much strain for a 1700 mile trip.

I was planning to rent a trailer from U-Haul for it.

Thoughts? Thanks

570_OffRoad

You should be able to without issue. Just go by what the weight ratings are for the truck. I forget off the top of my head, but you should be well under them. Since most of it is going to be highway, the only strain is when you're taking off from a dead stop and as long as you're not wide open on the throttle, you'll be fine. Keep in mind that gas mileage WILL decrease with a trailer attached no matter what you do since it's added weight, but everything else should check out. Oh, and of course....plan extra time to stop. As for U-Haul, they go by their standards when loaning trailers out. They tell you if they think the car is going to be too heavy for the truck to tow with it, regardless of Mfgr. spec.

zx12-iowa

Easy peasy. Will tow it no problem and just over half towing capacity.

SixShooter14

Also, don't load the truck with 1500# of stuff and people while you're doing it.

PerryB

That should be a "no sweat" item but as Pete (post #2) mentioned, U-haul may not rent you a car trailer for a 150. Maybe they'll be OK with a tow dolly? That's probably going to be the issue here. I'm guessing you're a US serviceman. If so, thanks and drive safe!

smokeywren

Your F-150 is rated to tow at least 7,000 pounds. So no problem with the power and torque to pull the load.


Take the southern route = I-20 to Atlanta, then I-85 to northern Virginia and stay out of the snow and ice country.

Two potential problems are the tongue weight (TW) rating of your receiver hitch, and the payload rating of your F-150.


Your receiver is probably rated for a max of 500 pounds weight-carrying (without a weight-distributing hitch).. Depending on how you load the Camry onto the trailer, you could easily exceed the TW rating of your receiver. DON'T DO THAT! Weigh the tongue of the wet and loaded trailer, and if it exceeds the weight-carrying (WC) rating of your receiver, then add a weight-distributing (WD) hitch to the trailer tongue before you leave home with the wet and loaded rig.


Your payload capacity of your F-150 is probably your limiter if the receiver hitch isn't the limiter. Payload capacity available for hitch weight = GVWR minus the weight of the wet and loaded F-150. So again, weigh the wet and loaded rig on a CAT scale before you leave on the trip. If you exceed the GVWR of the F-150, you're overloaded.


Maybe move some weight out of the pickup and into the car? The weight of stuff in the car will add only 13% of its weight to the GVW of the pickup, whereas the weight in the bed will add 100% of the weight of the stuff to the GVW of the pickup.


If you cannot get the weight on the two pickup axles (including hitch weight) down so you don't exceed the GVWR of the F-150, then you may have to offload some of your stuff out of the pickup and send it north via fast freight.

How do you determine tongue weight of the wet and loaded trailer? I use a tongue weight scale. Here's my tongue weight scale I haul in my travel trailer:
http://www.etrailer.com/Tools/Sherline/5780.html


Another way to determine TW is to weigh the pickup twice, once with the trailer tied on and once without the trailer. Add the weight on the two pickup axles to determine GVW. The difference in GVW with and without the trailer is TW.


Been there, done that. 12 years active duty during the Vietnam war, then 18 years Air Force reserve, with several PCS moves.

UncleFester

I wouldn't.

- Using and estimated 30 mpg for the Camry, you are probably looking at an extra $140-180 in fuel by driving. The cost of the dolly/trailer and reduced fuel mileage on your F150 will probably come close (if not surpass) that.

- I am originally from Texas and had relatives in PA. I made that trip a number of times with various loads including a self move towing a big uHaul trailer and a separate trip in a loaded van (helping move my sister to college). Between TN, KY, and PA, it is not and easy tow. Plus, when you stop for the night/meals, the trailer will be a PITA.

- If you take three easy days 500-600 m/p/day in seperate vehicles, I think you and your wife will have an "easier" trip.

Finally, uHaul is ok for around town, but I don't really like relying on their stuff for long trips. Some locations don't do the best job with maintenance. If you do some Google-fu, there have been some nasty accidents allegedly caused by it.

corsica

I used a uhaul to move a car about 500 miles and had no issues at all. Uhaul had no issue with using an f150 as the tow vehicle. Truck pulled it like it wasnt even there.

mike243

Hit 40E and let the F150 eat.Va is where the snow and ice will most likely be instead of the Southern route,The Cumberland Platte isn't to bad most of the time and rarely for more than over nite,60 miles or so and your off it ,long hill to get up it and long hill to get off off it,Thanks for your service

lyricspap

ok i know the vehicles aren't the same but years ago i towed a subaru from ft leonardwood misouri to western pa with a 95 chevy caprice on a car dolly and had no issues at all. Plus i believe the dolly puts less load on the hitch so you have more payload in the bed just my 2 cents sorry 85 caprise