trailtraveler

I have a 2008 XLT with 4WD. Factoring installed tow package.
I am looking to upgrade to a lightweight gooseneck horse trailer and trying to decipher my tow capacity!
If you follow the Ford book by year and engine it says 8200 GVWR, but I located my original window sticker from when I bought it is says 7200 GVWR tow package.


I realize I will need to upgrade suspension with this change - Timbrens or SuperSprings? opinions welcome!


Thanks!

smokeywren

The OEM tow pkg does not add any payload capacity. It adds tranny cooler capacity and receiver hitch.

You are misreading the Ford Trailer Towing Guide. The 8,200 GVWR is only for F-150s that have the Heavy Duty Payload Package, and those are rare. Count the number of lugs on your wheels, and if you have 7 lugs on each wheel then you have the HD Payload pkg. But if you have 6 lug wheels, then you have 7,200 GVWR on a 4x4.


There is nothing you can do to increase payload capacity of your F-150. You can mask the effects of being overloaded by adding air bags or otherwise beefing up the rear suspension, but that does not change your GVWR or payload capacity.


Gooseneck trailers have more percentage of hitch weight than tag trailers. On average a gooseneck horse trailer will have hitch weight of 20% of the gross trailer weight, while a tag trailer will have 13%. For a common 7,000-pound 2-horse trailer, that's hitch weight of about 900 pounds for a tag trailer but 1,400 pounds for a gooseneck. And you won't find many 2-horse trailers with GVWR less than 7,000 pounds.


And even a 7,000-pound tag trailer will overload your F-150 if you don't have the HD Payload package. My granddaughter was in that boat of needing a pickup to tow her 7,000-pound 2-horse trailer. There were no new F-150s with the HD Payload pkg available within 1,000 miles, so she bought an F-250. Now she's a happy barrel racer.

trailtraveler

I'm actually looking into the 2H GN style to stay light (4000 GVWR range) and I'm guessing I'd be restricted to an all AL trailer with this tow package then.


Depending on what I find, I may just get a bigger BP with a dressing room... No F250s around here at a price we can afford in addition to the trailer upgrade right now!

smokeywren

Don't confuse trailer weight with GVWR. Featherlite makes 2-horse aluminum gooseneck trailers that weigh as little as 3,600 to 4,000 pounds, but that's the weight of the trailer with nothing inside the trailer. The smaller ones have two 7000# rubber torsion axles with electric brakes, so the GVWR is at least 14,000 pounds.
http://www.fthr.com/products/horse-t...-combo-trailer


If you bought one of the 4,000-pound trailers, then loaded two 1,200 pound horses plus 400 pounds of tack and feed, your wet and loaded trailer weight would be 6,800 pounds, with hitch weight of around 1,400 pounds. When you weigh the wet and loaded truck full of people, gas, and with the gooseneck hitch but without the trailer, do you have 1,400 pounds of remaining payload capacity available for hitch weight?

5.0GN tow

I rarely chime in on these but this is one where I can and will. I tow a 3H GN Sooner Aluminum. DRY it weighs about 4550. Loaded with 2 horses and all our tack it is 7K. The loaded and empty pin are pretty close to 1000 pounds and does not squat my 13 STX 5.0 at all, just bringing it to level from the stock rake. It handles fine and pulls the load really well. My gvwr is 7350. I think you will be fine with a 2H aluminum gooseneck.

trailtraveler

Thanks...I am looking to keep it simple and light - here is what I tracked down today:
Sticker: 2008 F150 4x4 Supercab
XLT 145" wheelbase styleside
5.4FFV V8 Engine
17" wheels
3.73 ratio limited slip axle


Ford book in glove matches this:
Max GCWR 15000
Max trailer weight 9400


So...am I *Safe* to put a GN on this?

5.0GN tow

I would say so. Your GCWR is pretty high, the true question is the payload rating and I am guessing you have a pretty high one. What does the sticker in the door jamb say about rear gawr? My trailer is pretty light on pin weight and does not seem to go up much with load due to axle location I guess. How heavy do you load your dressing room? Mine has an ac unit on the roof and and we have saddles and all our pads,show clothes, and usual tack stall stuff etc in there and it's still pretty light.

trailtraveler

front gawr 3750lb; rear gawr 3850lb


I am researching a new trailer...currently have a small BP without DR so trying to figure out what trailer I can get next

smokeywren

Depends on how much weight you haul in the truck and trailer.


Max GCWR 15000 minus Max trailer weight 9400 = 5600 pounds max weight of your wet and loaded truck before you tied onto the trailer. But your wet and loaded truck weighs a lot more than 5600 pounds, so your actual max trailer weight is a lot less than 9,400.


But the actual max trailer weight is only part of the calculation to determine the max weight of any gooseneck trailer you can tow without being overloaded. The number that's more important for an F-150 is GVWR of the F-150 minus the wet and loaded weight of the F-150 gives you max hitch weight you can have without being overloaded. Then divide that max hitch weight by 0.20 and the answer is the max trailer weight you can probably tow without being overloaded.


Example: Your F-150 has GVWR of 7,200 pounds. Wet and loaded with everybody and everything that will be in when towing, including the gooseneck hitch, it might weigh 6200 pounds. That leaves 1,000 pounds for max hitch weight without being overloaded. 1,000 pounds hitch weight divided by 0.2 = 5,000 pounds maximum trailer weight without being overloaded.


If your definition of *Safe* is the same as mine and of all chassis design engineers, i.e., do not exceed any of the vehicle manufacturer's weight ratings, then you don't want to exceed the GVWR of your F-150. Therefore you don't want to tow any gooseneck trailer that weighs more than about 5,000 pounds.

trailtraveler

So that is 5000lb LOADED GN right or are you saying dry weight? sorry...I'm getting a little lost in the calculations and I'm an engineer! :P