I have a 2001 f-150 supercrew with the 3.55 axle and 4.6 v8 so my towing limit is 6600 pounds.

I found a 5000 pound RV that I am going to rent before I buy anything.

It seems that I have 1600 pounds to hold my wife, kids, luggage, food etc.

Three questions:

1. Should I dump most of the gear into the trailer or into the truck bed?

2. If I hook up a 5000 pound trailer do I need a weight distribution hitch?

3. Do I need to hook up the RV brakes to my truck or can I wing it for one weekend trip?

Thanks!

 

You should load your gear so that it is distributed evenly. I load most of my gear in the trailer,leaving the bed open for extra gear like firewood,bicycles,ice chest etc. Ideally,you should take it to a scale and find the proper tongue weight,but you can estimate by judging how much drop there is in the rear with the trailer hooked up.It should not drop more than a couple inches and definitely shouldn't take any weight off the front wheels.

You might get by without a WD hitch if you are towing a short distance,but would be better if you had one. They can get squirrely real quick without a WD hitch with anti sway. If you tow without one,you need to be more certain of your weight distribution and tongue weight. I am talking from experience!

Definitely need to hook up the brakes no matter the towing distance. I would think the rental company would insist, but for safety I would do it no matter what. An F150 alone does not have the stopping power to stop a 6600# trailer safely. Will the trailer brakes even release without being hooked up? I'm not sure..