Towing concerns, maybe?
 

New to forum and F150s. Looking at buying a certified pre-owned 2015 xlt sport 4x4 with 3.5eco tow package. low miles, only 23k. truck coming from Michigan. My concern is that in the bed of the truck, I can see where holes were drilled and a 5th wheel or goose neck hitch was installed in the bed. I wouldnt expect a 1/2 ton pickup to pull a 5th wheel/goose neck. seems like overworking the truck. truck is setup with 302A package and split seats with center console/shifter. looks to me like it was prob pulling a camper of some kind, as opposed to being a farm truck pulling equipment. but im just speculating. either way, what say you experts of the ford F150 community? would this concern you?

Another thing, this is a super cab. does the super cab have a different drive shaft than the quad cab? This drive shaft looks like a one piece heavy duty aluminum shaft (no rust, as id expect aluminum to look). the quad cabs i looked at all seem to have a 2-piece drive shaft that is rusted (steel?) and appear to have some type of joint in the middle. all these trucks were 4x4. any thoughts on this? Being CPO im not too concerned but i'll prob also up the premium warranty for a few years to get a little piece of mind.

these new f150's are rated to pull the weight of some 5th wheel trailers and campers. go to youtube and look up f150 pulling 5th wheel, there are tons of videos. wouldn't concern me that it pulled a 5th wheel if it wasn't frequent

I'm willing to bet the previous owner tried pulling their camper a couple times because their dealer said "it'll tow it fine". They probably quickly found out a 3/4 ton would serve them better so they traded it in for something larger. If it were me I'd probably pass, but who knows, they may have only towed with it for a couple hundred miles and the rest of the time it was a grocery-getter.

you could be right bassjam, maybe had the intention of pulling camper. One thing for sure, the truck was traded back in to dealer just before the expiration of the 36 month bumper to bumper warranty and certainly under the 36k mile mark. At this point im set to go on it Saturday. Truck is 150 miles away and the dealer is meeting me halfway with paper work and truck. long story but the dealer owes me a favor and was willing to do this when i asked. I plan to get it...along with an extended bumper-to-bumper warranty just in case, im not a gambler.

Aside from the annoyance of the holes in the bed, the thought of it pulling a 5th wheel a couple thousand miles doesn't bother me. If you like the truck, haggle 'em down a couple hundred extra and buy a good rubber bed mat. I started my 5th wheel "journey" 23 years ago with 1/2 ton trucks pulling modest trailers. I turned in a couple 150's with those same holes in the bed. Most often (as with me) you soon wish you had a bigger trailer, and then realize you are also going to need a bigger truck.

If you throw out all the weight rating numbers discussed in your other thread, you can probably do a 5er. But chances are the pin weight exceeds the payload of that truck (unless it's a HDPP truck) and you're just asking for trouble.

5'er? i dont follow.

I got a copy of the tire and loading information sticker on the panel of the driver door. the payload is 1949lbs.

i dont know much about towing 5th wheel trailers or goose necks but i would imagine they could easily exceed the weight ratings.

however truck appears to be fine. at this point im planning on buying. sure im a little concerned about the towing. other than straining the transmission, what else would be of concern?

im also planning to get the bumper to bumper warranty from flood ford or ziegler, should cover this type of wear n tear IF there is some future failures.

Look at Page 17 in the attached PDF file. It is the page with this on top. Then decide for yourself.

Edit: Looks like the PDF was too big. Google Ford Towing Guide.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...307212c6da.jpg

Thanks for posting this. I had looked for this and didnt find it. apparently i didnt look hard enough. This does give me some relief, at least ford is putting out some guidelines for what is okay when pulling a 5th wheel with your 1/2ton pu.

Try this. Google is your friend. He knows everything, LOL.


https://www.fleet.ford.com/towing-guides/