plb

I have been pulling a 9700# fifth wheel with my 2012 King Ranch 4X4, max tow package, super springs on rear short bed for a year. Pulls excellent. The Ecoboost is a great engine. I traded my 5.4 for the 6 cylinder just to pull the RV. The low end torque is excellent. 65MPH 1800 RPM. I am legal on all weights

EcoboostKev

Your doing the right thing by asking questions first. A lot of people end up buying a trailer they like first then crunch the #'s and find out there over there trucks ratings..

The easiest thing to do is load up your truck with everything you would bring on a camping trip. The family, full tank of fuel, whatever gear you would put in the bed and cab of the truck. Then go to your local Cat Scale to have it weighed. Take that number and subtract it from your trucks GVWR. Whatever is left is what you have available for trailer tongue weight.

When looking at trailers just figure 12% of the trailers GVWR for tongue weight to be on the safe side. For example the Jayco you are interested in has a GVWR-7500lbs and 12% of that is 900lbs(7500 x .12 = 900). You will probably not load the trailer to it's max rating of 7500lbs so it should be lower than that. It's just a safe way of not having to worry about going over your available number..
Good Luck,

Kevin

acadianbob

And remember to subtract things like the following from the factory payload sticker on your door: accessories you added (steps, bed cover, etc), additional passengers, pets, WD hitch, anything in the bed of the truck (tools, generator, coolers, yadda, ). The remainder is your actual payload capacity.

EcoboostKev

It's much easier to just load up the truck like I said and have it weighed and then subtract that from the trucks GVWR. This way you know exactly what you have left for available payload/ trailer tongue weight.

golfr67

Thanks for asking the question. I'm also new to this forum and the info was very informative. I have a 2013 F150 SCrew cab, 5.5' box, 4x4, Ecoboost, with 3.31 axle. The axle is a bit different but the towing capabilites are similiar.

12voltman

Thanks again for all the advice you guys have given. I'm definitely going to do some more research before making a decision. With my door sticker having a combined cargo and occupant weight of only 1361 pounds, I'm worried about cutting the number too close. When I add myself, the woman, two boys and gear, that number gets pretty tight. I know there's probably a factory buffer figured in there and the truck would handle it, but I'd rather leave some wiggle room. I'm also concerned with the length of the Jayco at 32 feet. I think an expandable at about 24 feet and a little less weight might be a better choice for a novice puller like myself. Of course, I'm at home now sitting on my couch so it's easy to think clearly. When I'm at the RV show, I will no doubt become much more stupid!

fordmn

We just bought a Whitehawk 28 DSBH, and I too have a 2013 F150 3.55 gears. Before we purchased our camper I have a friend that has the same exact camper, he let me hook up to his and pull it around for a little while. Boy does the truck handle it nicely. I'm a guy that researches the heck out of everything and I agree with people on this forum, saying that you'll be just fine with the camper you're looking at. Good luck

smurfs_of_war

I'm not a novice to towing, but I just recently popped my travel trailer cherry- your decision to keep it lighter and shorter for your first trailer is wise
Our Jayco is 26' and about 5200lbs loaded and the F150 handled it well, but there was a huge difference between that and any of our car haulers or larger utility trailers. It is a giant sail and it will move your truck around a bit. Even more if it's a 32'. To me, my Jayco is almost as large as I would be comfortable with on a short wheelbase half ton. For a 32' I would be looking at a larger truck. That's just me though.
For what it's worth- you should try to stay at or under your door sticker (payload) but having a large family myself, I can understand how tough that is to police- so don't sweat that too much, but don't start overloading like crazy and end up 800lbs overweight. If you can stay under that- that's awesome! Embarrassingly, I have to admit that I go over a bit from time to time when loaded heavy with a trailer

Most importantly- enjoy the hell out of whatever trailer you choose!

KingRancher05

My dad has a 2011 screw 5.0 with 3.55 and tow package and I have hooked my jayco jayflight 29bhs and it does fine just as good as my 05 with factory 4.10 gears and 33s and tuner

sloans4x4

your truck will handle it fine, has plenty of power. I assume you have brake controller, You will be fine there. What I didnt see anyone mention is tires!! Stock tires are JUNK. All P-metric, Get yourself a GOOD set of LT tires (I suggest 10 ply) and they will greatly reduce the sway/squashy feel. And Less worry about a blowout. But thats just me and my opinion. And as mentioned a good equalizer/sway control hitch and pull on


Shane