Twisty

Read an owners manual. It will tell you exactly what you need to know. Nothing more - nothing less.
Also, consider where you will be traveling and camping. Do you want a 13 of 14 foot tall fiver?
Would it be easier to travel the scenic byways with an 11 foot tall travel trailer?

You've been given some good info and some typos and mis-information and dyslexic statements that have done nothing but wasted your time.

Do you want a big fiver? If so, get a 1 ton truck and map out your travels carefully.

"The way I'm looking at this, is that 100-200lb will be the contingency. I want to have this spare capacity so that I don't push the truck to the limit. Hence I need every lb I can get."
If you take one friend with you you've blown your numbers.
If you buy a canoe and rack you've blown your numbers.

IMO, you made a mistake in buying the F150.

brulaz

My most recent CAT scale weights show the tongue weight to be 500# and trailer is 4000#. Not using a WDH. CAT also showed:
6460# under the GCWR (16900#)
500# under the truck's GVWR (7500#)
150# under the truck's rear GAWR (4050#)

It's a MaxTow SCab 145" wheelbase with ~2050# payload. And we've got a lot of junk in the back of the truck (cap, kayaks, ...).

So can only put another ~150# in the back of the truck when towing. That's limited by the truck's GAWR, not its GVWR. Add some firewood and I'm there.

This may not be a typical situation for most here, but shows that even with a light trailer and MaxTow, you can get close to your limits, especially the truck's rear GAWR, when you load up the rear of the truck with gear.


If I used a WDH, could get more into the back of the truck, but as I'm within 180# of my single axle trailer's GAWR (and the back of the trailer wasn't loaded as much as normal when doing the CAT), I hesitate to do so.

We're looking at new, heavier, double-axle trailers which, despite more tongue weight, will allow me shift weight off the truck's rear with a WDH. I may then run up against the truck's GVWR before the rear GAWR. But it will be close.

Buck50HD

Well, there's the proof right there, before I got a chance to reply. Max Tow near RAWR and not even close to GVWR while the 7100GVWR base F150 is ok on RAWR. All it takes is a little math.

In addition, even a properly adjusted WDH leaves a little extra on the rear axle. You will nearly always have more than the tongue weight on the rear axle.

6.2screw

You sure about that? From Ford's own web page, fuel weight is **not** included and must be considered along with passengers and cargo. A full tank weighs over 200 pounds.

https://owner.ford.com/servlet/Conte...=1239636411265

brulaz

Think that web jockey screwed up, or Ford has changed its tune?

This is what the 2011 Ford Towing Guide says:

"Payload
is the combined maximum allowable
weight of cargo and passengers that
the truck is designed to carry. It is the
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating minus the
Base Curb Weight."

"Base Curb Weight
is the weight of the vehicle including
a full tank of fuel and all standard
equipment. It does not include
passengers, cargo or any optional
equipment."

Also, have read that some here weighed their empty truck with a full tank (BCW) and subtracting that from the GVWR matched the sticker payload.

Buck50HD

Yeah, I think they have some screw-ups. Check out the towing guide.

http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/g...rv&tt_f150.pdf

Check out page 4, they say the payload takes into account a 150 passenger in each seating position. I don't think so...

smokeywren

Learn to comprehend what you're reading.

That page has nothing to do with payload or hitch weight of a trailer.

That page is only for computing the "Maximum Cargo Weight With Slide-In Camper".

Cargo Weight Rating shown in chart (on that page) is maximum allowable (weight of a slide-in camper), assuming weight of a base vehicle with required camper option content and a 150-lb. passenger at each available seating position.

Buck50HD

that's what I get for skimming through

atvtinker

Isn't that chart a little presumptuous of camper weight? What if your camper weighs more or less. Finding more and more errors on Ford's website doesn't ease one's mind!

smokeywren

That's not as "error". That's misunderstanding what the information is trying to tell you. When matching a truck camper to a truck, it's extremely easy to be overloaded when you hit the road. So if your wet and loaded camper is going to weigh more than the max weights in that table, then you need to buy more truck to haul that camper.

If you're not going to have (on average) a 150-pound passenger in every seat with a seatbelt, then you can haul a heavier camper than the table shows. But don't forget to subtract the weight of all options and tools and toolbox and bedliner and pets and other stuff that will be in the truck when hauling the camper. And also note those weights require the factory camper package on the truck. So if your truck doesn't have the factory camper pkg, then don't haul a truck camper with it if you value your factory warranty.