lyoung

HELP!! I am not even CLOSE to being the sharpest knife in the drawer...in fact, I may be a spatula. I am a 58 yr. old female with a 2010 F150 SuperCab 4x2 and am looking to buy a travel trailer. I've tried to figure out all of the codes, numbers and ratios on my own, but to no avail, and I need those things to see what the truck can pull. I did find my axle ratio (h9) nad have no idea what that is. I also can't figure out if the truck is a 4.6L 2V or a 4.6L 3V. How do I find what the hitch weight limit is? It does have the factory installed towing package. ANY help would be greatly appreciated!

rigrat2011

first of all, welcome to the site.

second, there's a thread about towing and hauling, i don't remember the name of it, but you'll be able to find it.

third, if you could post pictures of your door stickers, that will be able to show and help you out more than anything. for instance, the GVRW on my 2010 4x4 super crewcab 5.4L with a 5.5 foot box is 7300lbs. (and if i had the max tow package, i'd be able to haul 11 000lbs on the same truck)

anyways, this means that my pickup can haul a trailer that has a "fully loadded capacity" of 7300lbs. this number INCLUDES, all water cargo, propane tanks... everything!! if i get pulled over by the department of transportation and he weighs my trailer, i'll get a major fine if i'm higher than 7300 lbs.

to find the hitch weight limit, simply look on the hitch, or on the door... even go to the dealership and ask to get informed on everything.

even go to a RV trailer salesman, and ask him about the trailers, once you figure out your GVRW of course.

btw, short box or long box truck?

could you tell me what the VIN number of your truck is, i'll be able to tell you everthing about your truck if i had it. it's a 17 digit number which contains numbers and letters. it's located on the door sticker, and on the driver side of the dash, only able to be seen from the outside.

you can also input your vin number here on this link, it will tell you everything that mbullock and i would tell you about your truck.

https://www.f150forum.com/vindecoder.php

21RRF150

iTrader: (1)

I can answer this^ the 8th digit of your vin number. If it its an "8" that's the 4.6 3v, if its a "w" then its the 2v.

lyoung

THANKS so much to mbullock and rigrat2011 for the help and quick replies. I now have 2 more pieces to the puzzle!

rigrat2011

no worries, btw.. what is the vin number. i'm curious to be able to help you out with everything about your truck.

also don't forget, tires do play a factor in towing. you'll have to talk to a tire professional regarding load ratings.

oldguy1946

lyoung, I know it wasn't intentional, but some wrong information was given to you in a previous post by rigrat2011 regarding exactly what GVWR is on a truck. GVWR stands for Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. It has nothing to do with trailer weights or towing weights. It is simply the maximum weight that the truck plus cargo should not exceed.
An example would be a truck that has a GVWR of 7,200 lb that weighs 6,000 lb empty would be able to haul 1,200 lb of cargo in the bed and or cab and be within the 7200 weight GVWR limit.

Trailering goes by GCWR and stands for Gross Combined Weight Rating. This is the combined weight of truck, trailer and all cargo. Ford has this trailering info on their web site. An example from their web site would be a 5.0 v8 supercab, 2 wheel drive, 331 axle ratio, 145" wheel base.
It has a GCWR of 13,500lb and a max loaded trailer weight of 8,100lb.
This example may be a little more weight than what your truck is rated for but should be close. I would advise you to go to a Ford dealship and talk to them about what you have and what you can tow.
Hope this helps. This is for 2013 F150 http://www.ford.com/towingguides/
Here is a link for the towing guide for 2010 F150 http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...45107431,d.aWc

CaSCrew11

I can say that the H9 means that you have a 3.55 limited slip differential and it is more than likely the 8.8 rear end vs. the 9.75 which is a bit more stout. The gear ratio of 3.55 will help when looking at the towing guide for that year.
:-) Typically, the Lower the gear ratio, the more geared it is for towing. For example, a 3.31 gear ratio is great for highway mileage, and not so great for towing. A 3.73 or lower gear ratio in comparison to the 3.31 will be much better for towing with a smidgen less hwy. mpg because it multiplies the torque from the engine much faster than the higher gears like 3.31 and will give you a higher rpm at hwy speeds. 3.31 gearing will still tow almost as much, but it will be a bit harder to get it up to speed and to maintain that speed. The 3.55's you more than likely have are a good medium between the two for a good combination of descent hwy mileage unloaded and pretty descent towing capabilities while loaded. Finally, keep in mind that these rear ends are also set up for factory size tires. The larger you go with tires, the numerically higher your final gear ratio will end up being if you do decide to swap out tires at all. Good luck and have fun! You will find plenty of good folks who will help you out Along the way. As someone mentioned, the towing section on this forum will give you tons of information and more acronyms and numbers than you know what to do with, but keep on reading through tons of it and you will find the consensus on most everything you would be looking for. :thumbs up:

johng52

https://www.f150forum.com/vindecoder.php

rigrat2011

lol, beat ya to it john... lol.