Hey guys-
I have a 06 SC with the 5.4 L and I would like to know what people have experience with towing. My family and I are looking to buy a fifth wheel and want the biggest I can comfortably tow and stop. What do you guys tow and what do you think?

 

I am not sure about the tow ratings, but your local RV dealer should be able to tell you exactly what you can tow with your truck. That is what they do for a living, sell RV's and camping trailers.

Good luck!

 

All the tow info is for using the hitch. Nothing about fifth wheel hauling so as Dewman said, the RV center should have the info.

 

Be careful with the RV stores recommendation. I read a lot of them will sell you on something that's really a little to big just because your truck is rated to tow that much. I believe the weight rating on RV's is a dry weight. Make sure you factor the weight of all the gear you'll need to haul, fuel and water as well as the weight in the truck (you and your family) with your decision. should never max out your towing capacity just because your truck is rated for it. Comfortably you should try not to exceed 75% of what your truck is rated for.

What every you decide on make sure it doesn't exceed the GVWR(gross vehicle weight rating) or the CVWR (combined vehicle weight rating). The GVWR/CVWR is located on the sticker on the drivers door jamb.

Give you an idea: My boat only weights 4500lbs dry but I am actually pulling around 6500lbs by the time I add the trailer (1100lbs), 60 gals of fuel (320 lbs) 25 gals of water water (200lbs) plus my gear. Add the family (Wife, two kids and myself) that's almost 500lbs right there. I may be a little over 6500lbs. My truck handle this without any issue but pulling a boat is totally different than pulling a camper. With a camper headwind will affect you too.

 

Your truck is the exact same as mine ( except mine is crew) and they are rated by Ford as having 9500 lbs towing capacity. I two a 4200 lbs travel trailer with about 800 lbs of "kids gear" and I don't have a problem at all. In fact is anyone has seen the Coquahalla hwy here in BC you would know that that hwy will test any truck/ trailer and I can go from Bellingham, Washington to the interior of BC, towing over that hwy in about 4.5 hours and still have over a 1/4 tank of gas to spear.

My Ford tows awesome !!!

 

My 07 with 3.73s has a cargo capacity of about 1600#. Deduct the weight of any add-ons, cargo, passengers and the 5th wheel hitch itself and what is left is your maximum pin weight.

Your maximum towing weight should be about 9300# or so. Take the trailers dry weight, add all fluids, propane and cargo (food, bbq, etc) and see what the total would be. If you stay on flat lands you could probably push the limit, but if you get into the mountains I would limit the weight to about 75%.

Do not trust the rv dealers. An old subaru brat could pull a 40 foot trailer, but not very fast or for very long.

 

I would suggest that any "reputable" RV dealer will not steer you wrong on what trailer will work with your truck. Not if they want to stay in business, they won't. If they give you bad advice, you are not going to come back and buy anything else from them AND you will tell all your friends about their crappy service. This should be enough reason for them to be "straight up" with you about buying a trailer.

 

reputable dealer....probably not but lasttruck speaks the truth. They are the same as a car salesman. If it's under the weight rating of the vehicles capacity then it must work right. Lets forget about all the other factors that add to the load. Then you find yourself needing more power. It happens more than you would think

 

Don't trust RV salesmen. I was at an RV show awhile back and none of the salesmen had any clue what my 04 screw could haul around. Some were trying to sell me a trailer with a dry weight within 500 lbs of my trucks max capacity. The RV people are desperate to move units. They don't care if you trash your tow vehicle.

 

i dont know about the older manuals... but the newer ones i thought had all the weights in it.. and also had how much area you could have facing the wind and how many lbs you could pull like that...
then had it broke down into 3.73 or 3.55 or which wheelbase you have and also which tires ytou have... 17 inch wheels and tires are best for higher hauling lbs.18inch drops it 500 lbs and 19 inch drops it another 500 lbs.