Ricktwuhk

Exactly.

"little things like payload ratings" hopefully was in jest.

Hopefully Scott91370 either doesn't tow or learns a lot more before he does.

rliles1

It was more sarcasm than jest.

rliles1

Ford says my truck has a "towing capacity" of 11,800#. Ever wonder how they got that number?

My truck has a payload rating of 1895#. A truck HAS to have a driver, so subtract 150# from that, giving 1745#.

Since a trailer should have 13% to 15% of its weight as tongue weight, Ford went conservative and used the 15% figure. Dividing 1745# by 15% gives a towing capacity of 11,600#.

Ford wants that "towing capacity" to look as high as possible, so they used a base model XL with no options which weighs less than my truck. When they did the "towing capacity" math with the lighter base model XL and one 150# driver, they came up with a "towing capacity" of 11,800#.

Now, if you add weight to the truck, you reduce its payload capacity, pound for pound. All your options add weight. All your camping gear adds weight. All your passengers add weight. Every pound of weight you add, from any source, subtracts a pound of payload capacity. Every pound of lost payload capacity (using the 15% number) reduces your "towing capacity" by 7#.

Scott91370

Ricktwuhk , I do tow but nobody said tow rating, even yourself in your original post. And by the math you should be able to see the difference in what you said (tow rating) and what the OP said (payload). If you would have explained, in the beginning, what you were talking about I wouldn't had to have asked.

rliles1, thank you for taking the time to explain and clear up where I was confused.

Gas is does not figure payload capacity though.

rliles1

You are welcome. You would be surprised just how many people do not know how all of these numbers and ratings relate to each other. I am glad you were already aware, but I bet someone else learns something.

This is true. Federal regulations require the vehicle manufacturer to include a full tank of fuel in the truck's curb weight, so fuel is already accounted for.

naplesbill

I could have sworn I read that the driver weight is included in the payload rating.

Also, when towing something like a TT, you can use the payload of the trailer for gear as well. That is the purpose of the forward storage compartment. Unless you have a family of four and 1k plus pounds of gear, it is unlikely you will run out of payload between the truck and the trailer.

I have a panoramic roof and I still have 1783lbs of payload.

Stu Cazzo

All my vehicles (4 of them) all have sunroofs - moonroofs whatever you want to call them. I wouldn't buy a vehicle without one. Over the years they have not leaked but they do sometimes squeak and creak as suggested above. I have always used silicone spray on a clean microfiber cloth and wipe down the inside area where rubber seal sits and also a good rubbing and cleaning with silicone spray on the rubber seal around the sunroof glass panel. I do this at least 3-4 times a year. Keeps everything quiet, keeps rubber seal supple and clean and maybe thats why I get no leaks.

That said, I'd still prefer the regular sunroof over the pano roof.

Ricktwuhk

It is not. Explained in many posts on the Towing section of the forum.

As to running out of payload, in short that depends on the payload you have (some have 1,200, some have 1,700, some have over 2,000 with HDPP), the weight of your trailer, and how you load it. The more you put on the front of the trailer, the more you increase tongue weight.

Many posts on the towing section of the forum, where people want to tow a trailer of X pounds and are quickly shown that they are about to (or already did) buy much too heavy a trailer.

As to gas and payload, it is with a full tank. So while payload doesn't change ever, available payload would technically be higher if you had 10 gallons of gas instead of 36. However, you wouldn't make 100 miles without running out of gas.

rliles1

It used to be. When the feds mandated adding fuel weight, they did not mandate the driver's weight, so the manufacturers dropped that to try to keep their numbers as high as possible.

Not all trailers have a large carrying capacity. My Airstream is almost maxed out with a full tank of fresh water, groceries, clothes, etc. I can add a little gear to it, but most of my camping gear must go in the truck.

There are 2 of us (and we are "fluffy"), a big dog, an A.R.E. topper, a portable boat on racks on top, a generator in the back with gasoline, camping chairs, grill, charcoal, etc. You can run out of payload capacity faster than you think.

If you subtract your 1783# from my 1895#, that gives a difference of 112#. The pano roof is 64#, giving a difference of 48#. You must have some other options that I don't. My truck is a SCab, if yours is a SCrew, that would make a difference too.

Ricktwuhk

This is a great example of how Ford's information is misleading the consumer.

That available payload of 1,745 pounds in this example is meaningless crap. Why? Lay down and read the sticker on the hitch for the maximum weight that it can handle with a weight distribution hitch attached. It's 1,200 or less. In other words, 1,200 / .15 = 8,000, no where near 11,800.

The reality is that most F-150s aren't stripped, and many buy Lariats and above all optioned out. There are many posts of people with payloads of around 1,200. Then they put in a family of 4 with a total weight of 400 pounds, and they're at 800. 800/.13 = 6,154 pounds max trailer.

So, if the moonroof was 64 pounds, removing it would take that number up to 6,646. Every pound counts for some people.

Of course you can PULL a heavy 2 axle hay wagon behind an F-150 and because it has little tongue weight, it can be quite heavy. But most people tow travel trailers.