BAM298

I'm really close to purchasing a front hitch for my truck so that I'm able to haul my standup jetski while towing my boat. I've seen plenty of pictures online with this being done on other vehicles, but no newer F-150's. So before I put ~500lbs on the front end of my truck I figured I should ask if anyone has done something similar or if I would really notice the weight up there?


Pics for clicks....

BAM298

FYI that is not a standup...here's what I'd be hauling, it's lighter and lower profile.

berty

out of curiosity, how do you get the jet ski on and off? lol

Feathermerchant

He is a badass.

Or he calls Chuck Norris.

130428

just drive down the boat ramp, no, until the jet floats?

BAM298

Lol you guys are hilarious. I have a cart with wheels in my garage I currently keep the hitch mount and jetski on, it's nearly the same height so easier to move on/off. Typically I run it on the back of my truck and just back in until it almost floats, gotta love the backup camera! But when having it on the front I'd probably pull down to the waters edge and lift it off with a buddy. It's only a couple hundred pounds. And this idea is more for vacations/long distance use where I'd have people with me to assist. Locally I don't take both the boat and jetski for a day at the lake.

T_R

The weight should be ok. It's not any heavier than a snowplow blade. My truck does ok with 450 lbs of plow hanging off the front. You'd be ballasted pretty good with the trailer hooked up too. I'd worry mostly about airflow to the radiator and AC condenser. You'd be blocking the radiator plus towing a heavy load. If you are doing this in the summer, I think it might overheat. It's cold when plows are on so this isn't an issue.

smokeywren

Depends on the receiver hitch, the carrier, and the weight of your jetski.


1. The receiver hitch must be rated for more than the gross weight of the wet and loaded carrier when the wet jetski is mounted on the carrier.


2. The carrier (luggage rack or whatever you will plug into the receiver to use as a platform to haul the jetski) must be rated for more weight than the wet jetski.


3. The gross weight on the front axle of the F-150


when the jetski is mounted on the front end of the F-150,


and the F-150 is wet and loaded with a full tank of gas and all the people and stuff that will be in the F-150 when hauling the jetski,


must not exceed the front gross axle weight rating (fGAWR) of the F-150.


4. Guessing at weights will not be good enough.


--- You must weigh the wet and loaded rig on a certified automated truck (CAT) scale. Compare the weight on the front axle to the fGAWR. DO NOT PROCEEDD if you are overloaded. Get rid of some of the weight on the front axle before you weight it again.


--- Also weigh just the jetski with it's carrier (not installed on the F-150)and be sure the weight does not exceed the weight rating of the receiver. (Common front receivers available for your F-150 are rated 500 pounds weight carrying - like this one):
https://www.etrailer.com/fmr-2010_Ford_F-150.htm


--- Also weigh the Jetski by itself and be sure that weight does not exceed the weight rating of the carrier. Most trailer hitch cargo carriers are rated for a max of 500 pounds. You indicated your jetski weighs only a coupla hundred pounds, so you should be good to go with a carrier like this one.
http://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Cargo-...ies/63153.html

xcntrk

I love smokeywren's posts, so detailed and informative!

The bit that I would add is concerning the available front-end capacity to carry the load. Back when I had my 2013 F150 MaxTow, the empty steer axle weight (scaled) was 3475# with a FGAWR of 3750#. That only leaves 275# of front end weight support before the front axle GAWR is exceeded. Not sure what a jetski + rack + hitch weighs but it's got to be close to that if not over. Note this is on a MaxTow F150 too!

At a minimum I would scale your truck (empty) and compare those weights to your door placard and configured maximums before purchasing a front-end hitch. Weighing your rig costs $10 bucks at a CAT scale.

BAM298

Good info, thanks guys!

I know the hitch is rated for 500lbs as is the carrier, and I'm fairly positive the jetski weighs around 300 so I figured it was under, but didn't think about the front axle rating as I was just worried about sag.

I will get the truck to the scales, but will have to figure out where I can weigh the jetski.