wondrn

Ok, I have read so many different threads on towing capacity, etc and I *think* I understand. We have a 2011 F150 5.0 with 145" wheel base. Looking at the max tow rating for that vehicle it is 9,300 lbs and has a GCWR of 15,100. The truck itself has a GVWR of 7,200.

The camper we are looking at has a GVWR of 9,000. I *think* we should be ok pulling this. Any input or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

wondrn

Oh, and the payload of the truck is 1560. I know I have read so much about how you will go over payload before what your truck is rated to pull. So even if I figured the trailer was fully loaded to the 9,000, that would assume around 1,080 of tongue weight if I assume the 12%. So that would leave 480 lbs for cargo and people? The dry weight of the camper is 6435, so I think we will be well below the 9,000 max weight on the trailer. I read people that assume about 1,000 on top of the dry weight, so that would put me at 892 tongue weight leaving 668lb for cargo and people.

I just want to be sure I'm not leaving anything out here.

I stand corrected--online it says the payload is 1560, but on the sticker on the truck it says 1230.

wondrn

And on top of that, we have a weight distributing hitch, so does that help to distribute some of the tongue weight? It is just confusing taking into account the payload, GVWR, GCWR, etc to determine if the truck can pull this. We won't be going far distances--125 miles is our biggest trip once a year.

smokeywren

The payload capacity on the door sticker is the unused payload capacity for your empty truck. The payload capacity online is your truck with no options. Apparently, your truck has some options.


But payload capacity of the empty F-150 doesn't tell you anything. You need the payload capacity available for hitch weight. Here's how you determine it:


1] Load the F-150 with everybody and everything that will be in it when towing. People, pets, coolers, tools, toys, jacks, jack stands, campfire wood, everything.


2] Drive to a truck stop that has a truck scale. Fill up with gas, then weigh the wet and loaded F-150, with everybody and everthing still in the pickup.


3] Subtract the weight of the wet and loaded F-150 from the GVWR of the F-150. The answer is the payload capacity available for hitch weight.


4] Divide the payload capacity available for hitch by 0.13 and the answer is a ballpark estimate of the heaviest trailer you can tow without being overloaded.


Note that my 2012 F-150 SuperCrew with 6.5' bed has payload capacity of 1,565 pounds, and I'm overloaded with my small TT that weighs less than 5,000 pounds when wet and loaded on the road. So if you do a good test of the weight of your rig, you'll probably conclude that you don't stand a chance of towing that 9k trailer without being overloaded.


If you don't want to trade for more truck to tow that TT, then consider a pop-up tent camper instead of a TT. There are nice fully-optioned pop-ups available with GVWR less than 4,000 pounds and wet and loaded tongue weight less than 500 pounds.

WXman

How do you have such a low payload and yet such a high towing capacity? My truck is a 5.0 with 145" wheelbase too, and the towing guide lists mine at 7,700 lbs. towing. My payload is a few hundred pounds higher than yours. Odd....

wondrn

If we use a weight distributing hitch does that lower the hitch weight allowing us to pull more?

wondrn

I don't know....that's why this is so confusing to me.

I have the 3.73 axle and it is a supercrew. Looks like yours might be a 3.55 axle?

jp360cj

Not really, as advertised tow rating and actual payload aren't directly related. Apparently his truck has 3.73s and yours has 3.55s. According to Ford, with a SCREW 4x4, that increases the GCWR from 13,500 to 15,100. Their advertised "tow rating" is GCWR-base vehicle weight. So the 1600# increase to GCWR equally a 1600# increase in tow rating because both are calculated with the same vehicle weight. The payload rating on the sticker is for each individual truck, with options included. So apparently his truck has more options than yours, so his payload is lower.

smokeywren

Not exactly, but sorta.


Without a WD hitch, your limiter as to trailer weight is the WC TW of your receiver. Let's assume that limit is 550 pounds. That's a max trailer weight of about 4,230 pounds, or not much of a TT.


Add the WD hitch, and the WD TW goes up to 1,050 pounds. That's a max trailer weight of about 8,075 pounds, or enough for a nice 24' TT. You would probably run out of payload capacity before you reached a trailer weight over 8,000 pounds, but the receiver hitch weight ratings would not be your limiter.


If you replace the OEM receiver with one rated for more than 1,050 pounds WC TW, then the receiver weight limits are not your limiter. Instead the GVWR and payload capacity of the tow vehicle become the limiter.


The WD hitch does not change the hitch weight, but it distributes the hitch weight off the rear axle and back to the trailer axles as well as forward to the front axle. When properly adjusted, a good WD hitch will distribute about 20% to 25% of hitch weight back to the trailer axles and off the axles of the tow vehicle. So that allows a bit more hitch weight before you run out of payload capacity on the tow vehicle.


Example: hitch weight of 900 pounds with a WD hitch is distributed 200 pounds to the trailer axles, giving your tow vehicle 200 pounds more unused payload capacity. That 200 pounds more payload capacity is about 1,500 pounds more travel trailer weight than without a WD hitch.


So if you are right on the GVWR limit without a WD hitch, and assuming your receiver hitch is not your limiter, adding a WD hitch would increase the max trailer weight you could tow without being overloaded by about 1,500 pounds.