sledneck666

hey guys got a question , i got a 2003 king ranch 4x4 with the 5.4l and factory towing package with a good brake controller , im in the market for a travel trailer / camper its a 2005 coachmen 26ft with 12ft slide out , he says it weighs around 8600 , i know the truck says its rated for 7000 or around there , do you think she can handle the weight ? he also has the weight diistrubting hitch and sway bars for it etc etc its a beautiful trailer and the wife loves it i dont want to pass it up ! thanks in advance lads !

Old Red SCrew

Im sure it could handle it but itd be a safe bet to upgrade leaf springs or look into airbags if you plan on towing it long distances

jferg92

I think this was 30 ish foot keystone with a 12'slide and it weighed around 7000lbs at most so i think his estimation is wrong. If you looked up the new specs of the same size coachman its dry weight is around 4300lbs. Loaded with gear, water, firewood, etc i dont see you pushing much over 5000lbs.
With that said, in my experience it is a decent chore for the truck and i dont tow long distances. In your case, If you tow intelligently, your truck should be more than adequate for this camper

V8Addict

My grandpa had about the same size camper, and he would only pull it short distances (30 miles max) with his 02 2wd 5.4. It had the towing package and everything. The rear end sagged down quite a bit, but it would pull it. I'd say some load assists would help, and it would more than likely be okay with them.

Fastfwd

No real experience in towing but I read a LOT about it lately.

I think the weight won't be a problem as long as you don't need to go uphill and even then it could probably be done slowly. Emergency braking is going to be a problem and braking while going downhill could be very dangerous.

I see a lot of people with crew cab F150s carrying huge fifth wheels. There is no way they are within the numbers limit but they keep doing it and I have yet to see a single truck/trailer combo in the ditch so it can't be that bad.

I myself am getting a F250 to make sure I have some margin for braking and payload.

B4manek

We had a 32' jayco eagle with a single slide out. The truck would pull it but in don't think it would pull much more, whenever you drive it the rear would squat so much that it felt like your front tires were off the ground. after a few years of that we had to replace a couple leaf springs. your trailer probably isn't as heavy as ours was but I would definitely go with upgraded leaf springs if you're in it for the long run.

Carcrazygts2

With a load leveling hitch with sway away it wont be a problem. Weight wont be the killer it is how unaerodynamic the campers are. You may want to upgrade the rear leaf springs to something a little stronger. You will also want to upgrade your transmission cooler fr something larger such as one from a V10 Superduty from 99-03 or a Tru-Cool 40k.

sledneck666

ya i kinda thought he was wrong after i got looking at the specs of others , 8600 is a little much, he sent me the floor plan and it had a model # i looked it up and the trailer is a 30 footer, but i dont plan on going very far maby 30 min trips here and there and a odd long haul , and i baby the **** out of my truck when towing i know it aint no powerstroke lol

mayday

you should be fine if you have the weight dist set up, I pulled an ext cab f150 on top of our heavy duty 20 foot trailer for 300 miles with worn out 5.4 expy and she did fine except the hills

MikeWV

I've had 12000 behind mine with the same set up 2003 crew lariet fx4. No issues plenty of power to spare.