2018 Lariat 5.0 F150 Towing 83" by 20' trailer
#1
Ultra Member
Thread Starter
2018 Lariat 5.0 F150 Towing 83" by 20' trailer
Hey guys I've never hauled anything with a half ton before. And I don't know much about buying utility trailers or what accessories are required to level it out. I'm looking to buy the largest utility trailer that I can easily pull with my F150. I will use it to move furniture or household items, cars, toys, yard equipment and maybe a skidster or a bobcat.
I've been looking at a few trailers
Here are the details of the 20' trailer
-83" X 20' COMMERCIAL UTILITY TRAILER 7K
-2 X 3.5K EZ LUBE AXLES WITH 2 ELECTRIC BRAKES, SPRING
-4" CHANNEL FRAME
-2' DOVE TAIL
-3' GATE WITH SPRING ASSIST
-205/75 R15 RADIAL TIRES
-2" (7K) RAM A-FRAME CAST COUPLER
-2K FLIP JACK, TOP WIND
-WRAP TONGUE
-DIAMONE PLATE FENDERS
-SIDE RAILS OPEN
-SIDE RAIL RAMPS
-TREATED YELLOW PINE FLOOR
-BLACK POWDER PAINT
-SHIP WEIGHT 2100 LBS (953 KG)
-GVWR 7000 LBS (3174 KG)
So my question is, if i go with the 20' trailer, will I have any problems with towing? And what else do I need to know when it comes to buying utility trailer? I am also searching a lot on the internet. Do I need to buy a special leveling hitch?
Thanks
I've been looking at a few trailers
83 X 20' LAMAR COMM UTIL TRAILER 7K, 2' DOVE TAIL, 3' GATE
83 X 12' COMM UTIL, 7K, 4" CHANNEL FRAME, STRAIGHT DECK
83 X 18' LAMAR COMM UTILITY 7K, 4" CHANNEL FRAME, 2' DOVE TAIL
77" X 14' LAMAR UTILITY TRAILER, 3K, ELECTRIC BRAKES
83" X 14' LAMAR CLASSIC UTILITY TRAILER, 3K
Here are the details of the 20' trailer
-83" X 20' COMMERCIAL UTILITY TRAILER 7K
-2 X 3.5K EZ LUBE AXLES WITH 2 ELECTRIC BRAKES, SPRING
-4" CHANNEL FRAME
-2' DOVE TAIL
-3' GATE WITH SPRING ASSIST
-205/75 R15 RADIAL TIRES
-2" (7K) RAM A-FRAME CAST COUPLER
-2K FLIP JACK, TOP WIND
-WRAP TONGUE
-DIAMONE PLATE FENDERS
-SIDE RAILS OPEN
-SIDE RAIL RAMPS
-TREATED YELLOW PINE FLOOR
-BLACK POWDER PAINT
-SHIP WEIGHT 2100 LBS (953 KG)
-GVWR 7000 LBS (3174 KG)
So my question is, if i go with the 20' trailer, will I have any problems with towing? And what else do I need to know when it comes to buying utility trailer? I am also searching a lot on the internet. Do I need to buy a special leveling hitch?
Thanks
#2
Since with those axles starting out with a 2000 load before you load anything on the trailer I think many 1/2 ton pickups can manage pulling a 7K pound load. Sounds like a nice trailer. They are easy to find but I am holding out for 5-7K axles since on paper I am good up to towing 11.2K pounds and never to expect more than half that 92% of the time.
Lighter trailers are easier to manage and pull as long as one is not going to max them out. Since I am going the used route the heavier the axles the less likely they have been over loaded much but not always. Bowed axles are telling however.
20' sounds long and is long but gives more loading options to adjust tongue weight when hauling tractors, etc.
Lighter trailers are easier to manage and pull as long as one is not going to max them out. Since I am going the used route the heavier the axles the less likely they have been over loaded much but not always. Bowed axles are telling however.
20' sounds long and is long but gives more loading options to adjust tongue weight when hauling tractors, etc.
#3
Grumpy Old Man
Originally Posted by HDET87
So my question is, if i go with the 20' trailer, will I have any problems with towing?
Do I need to buy a special leveling hitch?
But don't bargain hunt for a cheap WD hitch. You want a good one with good sway control/prevention, and those cost about twice as much as a cheap hitch. Go for an Equal-I-Zer, or Blue Ox SwayPro, or Reese Strait-Line, or the Husky Centerline HD 31390 with spring bars rated for at least 1,000 pounds. Here's an Equal-I-Zer:
https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Dist...EQ37100ET.html
The other good WD hitches cost about the same as the Equal-I-Zer.
Last edited by smokeywren; 07-27-2018 at 01:24 PM.
#4
Ultra Member
Thread Starter
Since with those axles starting out with a 2000 load before you load anything on the trailer I think many 1/2 ton pickups can manage pulling a 7K pound load. Sounds like a nice trailer. They are easy to find but I am holding out for 5-7K axles since on paper I am good up to towing 11.2K pounds and never to expect more than half that 92% of the time.
Lighter trailers are easier to manage and pull as long as one is not going to max them out. Since I am going the used route the heavier the axles the less likely they have been over loaded much but not always. Bowed axles are telling however.
20' sounds long and is long but gives more loading options to adjust tongue weight when hauling tractors, etc.
Lighter trailers are easier to manage and pull as long as one is not going to max them out. Since I am going the used route the heavier the axles the less likely they have been over loaded much but not always. Bowed axles are telling however.
20' sounds long and is long but gives more loading options to adjust tongue weight when hauling tractors, etc.
#5
Ultra Member
Thread Starter
Depends on the F-150, how much you haul in the F-150 and on the trailer. Your first concern is that you have adequate payload capacity to handle the hitch weight of a 7k trailer. If you load the trailer to the gills so it grosses 7,000 pounds, that's a hitch weight of about 1,000 pounds including a good weight-distributing hitch when the trailer is properly loaded to have 13% tongue weight. So does your F-150 when loaded with your normal load of people, tools and stuff have 1000 pounds of payload capacity available for hitch weight? The only way to answer that question is to load the F-150 with all the people, tools and other weight that will be in it when towing, drive to a truck stop that has a certified automated truck (CAT) scale, fill up with gas, then weigh the wet and loaded F-150. Subtract the weight of the wet and loaded F-150 from the GVWR of the F-150, and the answer is the payload capacity available for hitch weight.
Ford requires a weight-distributing (WD) hitch for any tongue weight over 500 pounds. So that's any trailer that grosses more than about 3,850 pounds when properly loaded to have 13% tongue weight plus a WD hitch that weighs around 100 pounds. Your 7k trailer will probably gross over 3,850 pounds often, so yes, you need a WD hitch. I assume that's what you mean by a "special leveling" hitch. A WD hitch distributes the tongue weight off the rear axle and onto the front axle, thus somewhat leveling the truck.
But don't bargain hunt for a cheap WD hitch. You want a good one with good sway control/prevention, and those cost about twice as much as a cheap hitch. Go for an Equal-I-Zer, or Blue Ox SwayPro, or Reese Strait-Line, or the Husky Centerline HD 31390 with spring bars rated for at least 1,000 pounds. Here's an Equal-I-Zer:
https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Dist...EQ37100ET.html
The other good WD hitches cost about the same as the Equal-I-Zer.
Ford requires a weight-distributing (WD) hitch for any tongue weight over 500 pounds. So that's any trailer that grosses more than about 3,850 pounds when properly loaded to have 13% tongue weight plus a WD hitch that weighs around 100 pounds. Your 7k trailer will probably gross over 3,850 pounds often, so yes, you need a WD hitch. I assume that's what you mean by a "special leveling" hitch. A WD hitch distributes the tongue weight off the rear axle and onto the front axle, thus somewhat leveling the truck.
But don't bargain hunt for a cheap WD hitch. You want a good one with good sway control/prevention, and those cost about twice as much as a cheap hitch. Go for an Equal-I-Zer, or Blue Ox SwayPro, or Reese Strait-Line, or the Husky Centerline HD 31390 with spring bars rated for at least 1,000 pounds. Here's an Equal-I-Zer:
https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Dist...EQ37100ET.html
The other good WD hitches cost about the same as the Equal-I-Zer.
#6
Grumpy Old Man
The first time, before you tie onto the trailer, measure the distance from the ground to the top of the front fender well. Remember that measurement, because you will use it every time you tie onto the trailer. When you drop the coupler onto the ball, the rear end of the truck will drop and the front end will rise. So here is the goal: After the trailer is connected to the truck and the spring bars are tight,
1] the floor of the trailer should be level, front to rear. (If you cannot achieve a perfectly level trailer, then slightly lower in the front is better than slightly high in the front of the trailer)
2] the rise in the front end should be returned to the unloaded height, or not more than about a half-inch more rise with the trailer than without the trailer. (Note: I usually try for not more than a quarter inch rise, but I have a ProPride hitch that is very easy and quick to fine tune the tension on the spring bars.}
You adjust the level of the floor of the trailer by raising or lowering the ball mount on the adjustable shank of the WD hitch.
You adjust the rise in the front end of the truck by adjusting the tension on the spring bars of the WD hitch. Tightening the spring bars should reduce the rise in the front end, and loosening them should increase the rise in the front end.
After you get it right the first time, then all you need to do for subsequent towing jobs is to adjust the spring bars to achieve the correct rise in the front end. Keep a yard stick or measurement tape handy and it shouldn't take but a few seconds to adjust the spring bars to result in the correct rise in the front end. Also keep a 4' carpenter's level handy to be sure the floor of the trailer is still level front to rear.
The above assumes you always properly distribute the weight in the trailer so you have 12% to 14% tongue weight. To do that, I keep a tongue weight scale handy (stored with the yard stick and carpenter's level in the "basement" of my trailer). Here's my tongue weight scale: https://www.etrailer.com/Tools/Sherline/5780.html
Yeah, you have to guestimate the gross trailer weight until you can weigh it on a CAT scale. Using the trailer axle weight from the CAT scale ticket, add the tongue weight to get gross trailer weight. Then divide tongue weight by gross trailer weight to get percent of tongue weight.
Last edited by smokeywren; 07-28-2018 at 09:13 PM.
#7
Tomorrow I am going to look at a 10 year old 83" wide between the fenders with an 18' tilt bed plus a fixed 7'x4' bed up front.
If empty its tongue weight pushes the tires flat I will pass.
Not sure where I will park it if I get it however.
Did you come up with a trailer yet? If so what did you get.
If empty its tongue weight pushes the tires flat I will pass.
Not sure where I will park it if I get it however.
Did you come up with a trailer yet? If so what did you get.
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#8
Senior Member
Here some pictures of the 20' trailer I bought 3 weeks ago to haul my Mule and 4 wheeler on.
At the trailer dealer
At the trailer dealer
Loaded up for some fun.
It is a PJ trailer with 3,000 pound axles under it. It weights 2,050 empty which gives me 4,950 pounds of capacity which I never plan on getting close to. Loaded with Mule and 4 wheeler it comes in at a little over 4,700 pounds.
So far I've pulled it once with the 2 toys on it and it pulled like a champ with no issues over a 120 mile round trip.
It has removable side rails, ATV ramps up front and spring assist ramp. It has the ready rail system which allows you to attach accessories to the uprights. It is really a neat system.
Here are the specs on it.
2019 PJ 83"x20' Channel Utility w/Side ATV Ramps
Patent Pending Ready Rail System
*2’ Dove Tail w/3’ Spring Assist Gate
*Side ATV Ramps
2-3,500 lb Dexter EZ Lube Axles
Electric Brakes on Rear Axle
205/75/R15 6Ply Tires
2 3/8" Removable Angle Top Rails
Patent Pending Ready Rail System
Flushmounted DOT Lighting
LED Flushmounted Tail Lights
2" Genuine Bulldog Coupler
5,000 lb Bulldog Flip Up Jack
Aluminum Diamond Plate Fenders
4" Channel Frame & Tongue
2" Treated Wood Floor
7 Way RV Style Plug
Stake Pockets
Powdercoated Black
GVWR 7,000 Ibs
Empty Weight 2,050 Ibs
At the trailer dealer
At the trailer dealer
Loaded up for some fun.
It is a PJ trailer with 3,000 pound axles under it. It weights 2,050 empty which gives me 4,950 pounds of capacity which I never plan on getting close to. Loaded with Mule and 4 wheeler it comes in at a little over 4,700 pounds.
So far I've pulled it once with the 2 toys on it and it pulled like a champ with no issues over a 120 mile round trip.
It has removable side rails, ATV ramps up front and spring assist ramp. It has the ready rail system which allows you to attach accessories to the uprights. It is really a neat system.
Here are the specs on it.
2019 PJ 83"x20' Channel Utility w/Side ATV Ramps
Patent Pending Ready Rail System
*2’ Dove Tail w/3’ Spring Assist Gate
*Side ATV Ramps
2-3,500 lb Dexter EZ Lube Axles
Electric Brakes on Rear Axle
205/75/R15 6Ply Tires
2 3/8" Removable Angle Top Rails
Patent Pending Ready Rail System
Flushmounted DOT Lighting
LED Flushmounted Tail Lights
2" Genuine Bulldog Coupler
5,000 lb Bulldog Flip Up Jack
Aluminum Diamond Plate Fenders
4" Channel Frame & Tongue
2" Treated Wood Floor
7 Way RV Style Plug
Stake Pockets
Powdercoated Black
GVWR 7,000 Ibs
Empty Weight 2,050 Ibs
#9
Blunt
The great thing about a setup like ^ this ^ is that you can position that mule to counter the weight of the 4-wheeler so you don't have too much tongue weight. Just be careful of not having too little weight as well...
#10
Senior Member
We are planning on going riding this weekend and plan on loading the Mule just a few inches farther back on the trailer to see if I can tell much difference.