2014 FX4 3.5L EcoBoost Towing Capacity
 

I have a 2014 fx4 3.5L ecoboost and recently purchased a 37' travel trailer, dry weight is just over 8800 lbs. I went to several rv dealers and as soon as I told them what kind of truck I had and what size motor, they said "oh yeah, you wont have a problem "! But I'm still nervous about towing it cause it's so long. I also have an equalizer hitch for it. Can anyone tell me if my f150 can handle the job... I'm picking the rv up next week!

Unless you are a very experienced at towing, it will be very dangerous. I think that it is way too long\heavy for a half ton pickup. Just my opinion. I wouldn't do it.

I wouldn't

I'm sorry to say that you were the "sucker" at the rv lot that day. The rv (and truck) industries are full of crooked sales people only trying to make a commission. Rv salesmen are a distant cousin and a step more idiotic than the used car salesmen of yesteryear. They will tell you anything that you want to hear in order to hook up a trailer to your truck.

If your dry weight is 8800, your trailer is likely close to 11000 GVWR. (2, 5000 lbs axles and your tongue weight). The reality is, your truck can pull about a 30' (ball to bumper) trailer weighing no more than 7500 total. That's in order to safely pull, handle AND stop that big trailer. 37'.....about 9 feet too long for me. If you want to tow the maximum rated tow rating, the truck needs to be empty of all gear and people and the driver is allowed to weigh 150 pounds.

My best suggestion, if you haven't signed for the trailer, DON'T!!!

If you have, have the dealer show you how your tongue weight, people, and gear on the truck is still within your payload rating on your door sticker. It's likely not.

That being said, if you're hellbent on that model and size of trailer, start pricing out F250 or F350s. Gas or diesel will be fine but your upgrade will truly be a truck that can handle your trailer properly.

To mirror what others have said. WAY too much trailer for a 1/2 ton. Too heavy and way too long. 32-34 max for an F150 and that had better be with a really good WDH like a Blue Ox or Equalizer.

I was at an RV show yesterday and overheard a sales guy telling someone that the 41' 10800 pound trailer they were looking at could be towed by their Ram 1500. I stepped in and said, oh, really? Whats the tongue weight at 13% with 1200 pounds of cargo? Since I had already seen the supposed "weight" they tend to list, I already knew the answer. It was over 1200 pounds, 1300 with the WDH. Then I asked what the hitch rating was on a 1500 Ram, He was clueless. I looked at the guy asking and told him, thats a 1 ton truck trailer, no way in hell would a sane person tow it with a light duty truck. The sales guy was pissed, but I looked at him and said, your commission isn't worth their family's or any one else's lives. So the guy who had asked then asked me what does he think the truck he has can tow. He didn't know the payload or the hitch ratings, so I said, if you can't find the payload, look for the white tag and look for GVWR, go weigh the truck with the family and subtract the weight from GVWR and that is your payload. Divide that by 13% and that would be the GVWR of the trailer you can tow, and keep it under 32' if you want to have a comfortable tow, then I pointed out a couple trailers that are easy tow with a 1/2 ton, none of which were from the sales guys place.

Never trust a sales guy, they will tell you anything you want to hear to make a sale, once the paper is signed, it is all yours whether the truck can handle it or not.

as others have said the trailer is way to long for a half ton truck. that 8800 lbs is empty, and that is pushing the trucks towing capacity. it won't take much of a load in the trailer to surpass your trucks limits. i wouldn't do it either

The 3.5L EcoBoost twin-turbo engine is a powerhouse. You won't have any problem PULLING that trailer, that will probably gross over 10,000 pounds when wet and loaded for the road.

Cross winds and passing semis will probably blow you around some, because of the huge wind sail the side of your big trailer will have , so stay off the road when high or gusting winds are blowing. And invest in a very good weight-distributing hitch with very good sway control/prevention

But because of the ~1,400 pounds hitch weight, you'll be overloaded over the GVWR (and payload capacity) of your F-150.

Assuming you don't want to tow while overloaded, then cancel that trailer and find one a lot shorter and lighter. I would stay less than 30' overall length (less than 26' box length) and GVWR less than 7,000 pounds.

For a better estimate of the max weight of any TT you can tow without being overloaded,

1] Load the F-150 with everybody and everything that will be in it when towing. Everything. Patio furniture and outdoor carpet, tools, jacks and jack stands, toys, generator? fuel for the generator, cast iron dutch oven, grill and fuel for the grill, etc.
2] Drive to a truck stop that has a CAT scale and fill up with gas.
3] Weigh the wet and loaded F-150.
4] Subtract the weight of the F-150 from the GVWR of the F-150. The answer is payload capacity available for hitch weight.
5] Subtract 100 pounds from the payload capacity available for hitch weight. The answer is the payload capacity available for tongue weight (TW)
6] Divide the payload capacity available for TW by 13%. The answer is the max GVWR of any trailer you want to consider.

If the trailer specs do not include GVWR, then assume dry weight plus cargo carrying capacity (CCC) = GVWR.

If your sweetheart insists on that big heavy trailer, then that's your ammunition to use to convince her that it's time to trade for a SuperDuty tow vehicle so you won't be overloaded when towing with the family in the cab.

Some have high payloads, but weigh in at around half of the weight of that trailer. 37 feet is too long for even the longest wheelbase f150 (at 163"). The tail will wag the dog and you will NOT enjoy the trip.

No, not exactly. He has a 2014 FX4, and that tells me all I need to know about whether his tow vehicle will be overloaded when towing a 10k TT. That means it is steel body and without HDPP. The FX4 means 4x4 including lots of heavy off-road stuff. So his payload per the yellow sticker is probably around 1,500 pounds or less. So he's going to be overloaded with a TT that has 1,400 pounds hitch weight. That's not condemning the F-150, it's just recognizing that it's a half-ton pickup that will be overloaded with that heavy trailer. Ford makes lots of trucks that can tow that wet and loaded trailer without bein overloaded, but a 2014 F-150 FX4 is not one of them.

That would be a really rare bird, and certainly not a 2014 FX4. Maybe a 2015-up (alloy body) regular cab XL 4x2 with absolutely no options except the engine and HDPP.