New Guy - Potential Owner
New Guy - Potential Owner
Hey folks. I'm relatively new here, figure I may as well introduce myself. I'm currently in the process of parting out my '05 Subaru Outback XT (turbo wagon) to fund a probably addition of a truck to our fleet. With 2 young kids in the picture now, finding the time to tinker with a 400hp station wagon is getting pretty slim. We also want to upgrade our pop-up camper to a travel trailer of some sort, so need something with a bit more towing capacity than the wife's minivan 
I've pretty much settled on looking for an F-150 after driving a number of different trucks. I like the styling and way that they drive, and the community seems pretty great. This time around I'm trying to get involved in the forums BEFORE buying the vehicle, so really just here doing a ton of pre-purchase research essentially. Right now anything from the brand new truck back to about a 2012 or maybe 2010 truck depending on mileage is in the running. Wish me luck, and thanks in advance for any help along the way!
I've pretty much settled on looking for an F-150 after driving a number of different trucks. I like the styling and way that they drive, and the community seems pretty great. This time around I'm trying to get involved in the forums BEFORE buying the vehicle, so really just here doing a ton of pre-purchase research essentially. Right now anything from the brand new truck back to about a 2012 or maybe 2010 truck depending on mileage is in the running. Wish me luck, and thanks in advance for any help along the way!
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Joined: Dec 2013
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From: SE Michigan
Welcome. If you are buying a trailer, the biggest mistake people make (that you have already indicated you are not making) is to buy either the truck or trailer, or both, before clearly understanding their towing requirements and the truck's abilities. These are 1/2 ton trucks. Depending on how you configure your truck, it can have a Payload of around 1,400 pounds, or it can have a Payload over 2,000 pounds. If you want to tow heavy, you need to buy either a Max Tow or HDPP. Or, don't get options on the truck to keep it light.
I strongly recommend that you visit the Towing section of the forum and READ. Multiple posts, sometimes several per day, asking the same questions with the answer provided. In short, you take the Payload of the truck, subtract any enhancements you put on it, subtract the weight of your family (figuring in what the kids will weight just before you sell the truck), subtract 75-125 pounds for a weight distribution hitch, and subtract the weight of everything you load in the truck for the trip (cooler, dog, ...). Then, divide the remainder by 0.13 and that's the max loaded trailer you can have. Take the true weight of a trailer you are thinking of buying and add at least 1,000 pounds for water, full propane tanks, batteries, and all the crap you will take on the trip. Compare the two and find out that you are lucky you bought neither before doing your research.
For every 100 people that buy a truck to tow, 99% don't do research before buying, so congratulations, you are destined to NOT be a victim of Darwin's Law.
I strongly recommend that you visit the Towing section of the forum and READ. Multiple posts, sometimes several per day, asking the same questions with the answer provided. In short, you take the Payload of the truck, subtract any enhancements you put on it, subtract the weight of your family (figuring in what the kids will weight just before you sell the truck), subtract 75-125 pounds for a weight distribution hitch, and subtract the weight of everything you load in the truck for the trip (cooler, dog, ...). Then, divide the remainder by 0.13 and that's the max loaded trailer you can have. Take the true weight of a trailer you are thinking of buying and add at least 1,000 pounds for water, full propane tanks, batteries, and all the crap you will take on the trip. Compare the two and find out that you are lucky you bought neither before doing your research.
For every 100 people that buy a truck to tow, 99% don't do research before buying, so congratulations, you are destined to NOT be a victim of Darwin's Law.
Welcome. If you are buying a trailer, the biggest mistake people make (that you have already indicated you are not making) is to buy either the truck or trailer, or both, before clearly understanding their towing requirements and the truck's abilities. These are 1/2 ton trucks. Depending on how you configure your truck, it can have a Payload of around 1,400 pounds, or it can have a Payload over 2,000 pounds. If you want to tow heavy, you need to buy either a Max Tow or HDPP. Or, don't get options on the truck to keep it light.
I strongly recommend that you visit the Towing section of the forum and READ. Multiple posts, sometimes several per day, asking the same questions with the answer provided. In short, you take the Payload of the truck, subtract any enhancements you put on it, subtract the weight of your family (figuring in what the kids will weight just before you sell the truck), subtract 75-125 pounds for a weight distribution hitch, and subtract the weight of everything you load in the truck for the trip (cooler, dog, ...). Then, divide the remainder by 0.13 and that's the max loaded trailer you can have. Take the true weight of a trailer you are thinking of buying and add at least 1,000 pounds for water, full propane tanks, batteries, and all the crap you will take on the trip. Compare the two and find out that you are lucky you bought neither before doing your research.
For every 100 people that buy a truck to tow, 99% don't do research before buying, so congratulations, you are destined to NOT be a victim of Darwin's Law.
I strongly recommend that you visit the Towing section of the forum and READ. Multiple posts, sometimes several per day, asking the same questions with the answer provided. In short, you take the Payload of the truck, subtract any enhancements you put on it, subtract the weight of your family (figuring in what the kids will weight just before you sell the truck), subtract 75-125 pounds for a weight distribution hitch, and subtract the weight of everything you load in the truck for the trip (cooler, dog, ...). Then, divide the remainder by 0.13 and that's the max loaded trailer you can have. Take the true weight of a trailer you are thinking of buying and add at least 1,000 pounds for water, full propane tanks, batteries, and all the crap you will take on the trip. Compare the two and find out that you are lucky you bought neither before doing your research.
For every 100 people that buy a truck to tow, 99% don't do research before buying, so congratulations, you are destined to NOT be a victim of Darwin's Law.
Max tow package is pretty much a requirement for whatever truck we get. I'd rather have the headroom and not use it. Are the max tow packages and the HDPP independent? Are there any easy ways to tell if a truck has either or both aside from checking the sticker on the door jamb to check the payload?
One specific question. For the "remainder divided by 0.13" equation, do I need to subtract estimated tongue weight of a trailer as well? I know that impacts payload, just not sure if the equation is accounting for that already in the "divide by .13" part.
EDIT: nevermind, found another of your posts that indicates tongue weight doesn't need to be included, the divide by .13 is based on assumption of 13% tongue weight for the trailer. Makes sense!
EDIT: nevermind, found another of your posts that indicates tongue weight doesn't need to be included, the divide by .13 is based on assumption of 13% tongue weight for the trailer. Makes sense!
Last edited by BarmanBean; May 5, 2017 at 04:32 PM.
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Joined: Dec 2013
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I've pretty much narrowed down my search to XLT trucks with the 302a package ("luxury"). If i build a truck right now, adding the HDPP seems to want to remove most of the options. Makes sense, but this will be more of a daily driver / family hauler than a work truck so I'm not willing to make that sacrifice really.
If I go with a used truck, I'm hoping to pick up a loaded XLT or Lariat (or similar) truck for a decent price. Power folding mirrors would be awesome
We are looking at TTs in the range of 3500-5000lbs dry, and in the sub-25ft size. I have an Equal-i-zer hitch already and suspect that whatever we end up with will be well within the capability of an F-150. I'll crunch the numbers beforehand to be sure though!
I was dead set on looking for either a new 3.5 ecoboost or a used v8. Starting to wonder if a 2.7eco will do the job and return better regular fuel economy to boot. Will have to dig up payload info and such for those.
If I go with a used truck, I'm hoping to pick up a loaded XLT or Lariat (or similar) truck for a decent price. Power folding mirrors would be awesome
We are looking at TTs in the range of 3500-5000lbs dry, and in the sub-25ft size. I have an Equal-i-zer hitch already and suspect that whatever we end up with will be well within the capability of an F-150. I'll crunch the numbers beforehand to be sure though!
I was dead set on looking for either a new 3.5 ecoboost or a used v8. Starting to wonder if a 2.7eco will do the job and return better regular fuel economy to boot. Will have to dig up payload info and such for those.
Well, found my truck! 2015 Lariat 5.5' 3.5Ecoboost Screw with....7,800 miles! Just in time for a road trip starting tomorrow! Thanks for all the advice and tips so far, will be fun getting to learn all the features of the truck, there's a ton of 'em!
