The GVWR listed on the door sticker is 7050, and my recent CAT scale weight (gassed up, with just me as an occupant, and the normal load of gear in the truck) is 5840 (3280 front and 2560 rear).

The sticker lists curb weight of 5416, so I have added (including myself) about 425lbs of cargo (5840 minus 5416), right? Does that mean I cannot add more than 1210 lbs of more weight to the truck before reaching the max of 7050? That would be lowered by any trailer tongue weight I believe.

The door sticker also states the payload capacity is 1634 lbs. Since I have added 425lbs of cargo / driver to the curb weight, does that mean my available payload is now about 1209 lbs (1634 minus 425)?

If I have a remaining payload capacity of 1209, and I fill up a 6X12 dual axle box trailer (u-haul for example) with 5000 lbs (plus the 1900 lbs empty weight of the trailer), I'm towing 6900 lbs. A tongue weight of 897 lbs leaves me an additional payload capacity of roughly 312 lbs?

If running this rig 1x across country, would a WDH be recommended / required? That's a whole other level of complexity and cost I'm hoping to avoid.

Thanks for your input. I, like many others clearly, have a difficult time grasping these concepts to allow for safe trailering.

 

You are correct. And a lot of folks never take that into consideration. I think you'll be OK as long as you don't have more than 1 passenger in the cab with you and if you put most the weight in the trailer instead of the bed. Virtually every truck ever made has been overloaded at some point. If the best I could do would still put me 100-200 lbs overweight I'd probably still pull it.

A WDH is usually recommended if you're pulling more than 5000 lbs. It will probably help but doesn't mean you can overload the truck/trailer.

A lot of folks only look at the tow rating, which on your truck is probably around 10,000 lbs., but as you can see around 7000 is more realistic.

The trim package matters. An XLT would weigh less and have 100-300 lbs more payload to work with. You don't say, but a 4X2 will have 100-200 lbs more payload than a 4X4.

 

Thank you MarshallR. It is a 4X4 Lariat. I do not intend to put more than another 1 or 200 lbs in the bed of the truck, (tools, etc. for road emergencies), the majority of the weight will be in the trailer.

The trailer will go out X-country nearly empty except for some empty totes and moving blankets. It will come back laden. This is because it is much cheaper to rent the trailer "Local" for a couple weeks than to rent it for a point-to-point journey. I will CAT scale the whole thing once again when loaded to ensure everything is within limits. I used the 5,000lbs loaded trailer info as a hypothetical. I can't imagine I would be filling it up with more than that. Mostly tools, tool chests, kitchen pots and pans, art, some furniture, etc. Nothing crazy.

 

You are perfectly correct on all your calculations, good job. A thing about uHaul trailers (I have pulled a few), their tongue weight is closer to 8-10%, they have a unique longer tongue. You can not put a wdh on it. Personally I think you will be fine. Note to self, check and air tires up on uHaul to published max sidewall pressure, best chance of no issues. I also check wheel lug torque, I have gotten ones with probably 50 ft #s torque, I always make them 100, close to spec I believe, if they are more, no touchy.

 

Your math exercise is correct.
Ford doesn’t “recommend” a weigh distributing Hitch at 500# tongue weigh/5000# tow weight, they REQUIRE it. In the owners manual, the Ford towing guide, and the sticker on the bottom of the hitch.
As was mentioned, everybody overloads their truck sometimes. A little bit over specs, once in a while, shouldn’t be a problem.

I accidentally pulled my light (3877# GVWR) travel trailer with a full load of fresh water without using my WDH to a local campground. 695# tongue weight. Really felt the bumps but was unaware of the amount until I got there and weighed it using my HitchHaul gauge at a level site. We were also packed a bit heavy taking my granddaughter and one of her dogs, first camp after Covid. The water was left in from spring that year troubleshooting plumbing issues, camped in early October. I wanted to tow without using the WDH after adding Sumo Springs and under slinging the trailer axle. I also discovered the city water was filling the FW tank through the pump when connected.

As I always taught my sailors, KNOW the rules before you break them. I.e., make it a knowledgeable decision vice a foolish mistake.

Side note. Your mpg will suck on both trips. Even empty, that trailer will be a huge wind drag. It’ll likely bounce around a bit empty, too.

 

Thank you for the feedback. I really appreciate it. Over the years, I have read and followed quite a few of these threads, and the amount of confusion expressed just increased my confusion. Boomerweps, if Ford requires the WDH, but U-Haul's don't have them, it leaves me in a bit of a gray area. Thanks also for the info about the horrific gas mileage. I am expecting that. I am going to try to limit the endless bouncing of the empty trailer by advertising on U-Ship to see if there is some kind of load I can take across country for someone to A) put some weight in the otherwise empty trailer, and B) make a couple extra bucks to help mitigate increased gas usage.

I also now feel like I have the extra couple hundred pounds of payload to throw some more tools in the bed of the truck in case of emergency in the middle of nowhere.

 

A couple of things.

First, if you're renting a U-Haul 6x12 trailer, you should have read their specs before doing anything. Their trailer is limited to 4,400 lbs GVWR, with a load of 2,480 lbs and an empty weight of 1,920 lbs. So, if you put 5,000 pounds in the trailer, you're very, very overloaded.

https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/6x12-...ler-Rental/RV/

This means that even fully loaded, your tongue weight will be fine per the guidelines of 8 to 10%, which is why no WDH is needed and why they don't fit.

Second, note that the max speed of a U-Haul trailer is 55mph.

Third, you should make sure you understand the insurance risks of using the trailer "for hire" to transport someone's load across the country. And whether the trailer has coverage for that. Or your insurance company with you using your personal vehicle "for hire".

I want to commend you on your diligence in doing this ahead of time, and trying to understand how to be safe. Probably 75% of people towing either don't care about safety, or are aren't smart enough to understand it. Kudos!

 

Without repeating what has been said before. I will say this about a WDH. I don't care what Ford says about the 500lb tongue weight being the requirement. When you exceed 60% of the tow vehicle weight, use a WDH. It's amazing what a WDH does for towing stability, especially at highway speed. That would be at around 4000lb trailer/400lb tongue weight BTW. I've towed tens of thousands of miles without one, and someone once suggested I get the WDH. When I did, I was amazed at the difference, especially the first time I had to brake & swerve (at the same time) while towing. I'll never tow a heavy trailer without one again. The WDH has literally saved my life on a few occasions while towing a 4500lb trailer.

 

Great additional info, thank you Ricktwhuk and Justanotherjo. Part of that post sounds like it came from a U-Haul franchise owner, lol. I was using the U-haul as a bit of an example, and I'm thinking I would be below their weight limits with what I am putting into the cargo trailer. However, I do intend to CAT the full load, as mentioned in the OP. I am not in the business of hauling loads or using rented trailers in an on-going commercial enterprise. However, hauling a neighbor's old couch to their beach house for them for a few extra bucks is not something that is below me. 55mph is a great liability limit for a large company like U-Haul. I do not disagree, every 5mph in increase of speed greatly increases the chances of loss of control, collision, damage, and injury. I've had enough years going to traffic accidents and dealing with the human aftermath of same have greatly changed my driving habits from those I held in my younger years.

 

@ElDiabloJoe Just an FYI, those dual axle Uhaul enclosed trailers have an unladen weight of 1,920lbs and a payload of 2,480lbs-about half of the payload you mention. But we can all be pretty sure people overload them.