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Thanks for the info and answers. Rookie mistake! I actually thought I could tow a 13,000 lb trailer.
towing newbies always focus on towing capacity, instead of payload capacity. you'll always run out of payload capacity before even coming close to the towing capacity. ESPECIALLY for trim levels with lots of bling, like the Platinum.
that 1424 number has to account for all occupants(including driver), truck cargo, WDH weight and loaded tongue weight.
another newbie mistake: using fictional brochure "dry" weights. NO trailer weighs its "dry" weight when it leaves the factory.
Knowing that truck and that Payload I know you can tow a Coleman CT274BH with it, just pack it light as it has a large cargo capacity. It is what I have and towed it with a 14 Screw EB RWD that had 1470 payload and I had a topper, yet was able to stay within all weights and remain stable. Just get a really good hitch like Blue Ox or Equlizer, and it will tow fine. Just watch what is in the truck and get it weighed.
Well looks like the album is short lived, can't find my recent picture of my rig setup.
I'll see if I can find that other one that is larger. In the mean time here is one I recommend, it is actually a really nice trailer, got it over 2 years ago and have had zero issues. https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/201...BHS-5002734415 It meets the weight that your truck is rated at and tows well.
There are some pretty light trailers out there that can weigh 5000 lbs ready to tow and still be decently sized. Keeping the trailer weight at or under 5000 lbs simplifies a lot of things. You can probably get by with the factory hitch and save money and some tongue weight. The tongue weight of a 5000 lb trailer will be about 650 lbs leaving you almost 800 lbs for passengers and cargo. That is a realistic number if you pack carefully. Putting more weight in the trailer, and less in the truck helps a lot. Every 100 lbs you can take out of the truck only adds 13 lbs to tongue weight.
If you go over 5000 lbs on the trailer then you have the added expense and weight of a different hitch which cuts even further into payload.
FWIW all truck manufacturers do this to a degree. They advertise the maximum amount their trucks can tow, and then brag about them getting 25 mpg. Yes, they all make trucks that will tow 10K to 13K, and they make trucks that will get 25 mpg. But the same truck won't do both. Most are somewhere in the middle. Very few, if any trucks made by any manufacturer will actually tow the max amount possible. If you check the payload sticker on a bunch of them the numbers range from about 1200 lbs up to a little over 2000 lbs with about 1600-1800 being more common. You'd have to go with a very basic, no option regular cab truck to see a 2000 lb payload. The Supercrew's loaded up with a lot of options weigh more and cut down on payload.
I think that it seems worse with Ford because they offer far more options than the most of the other manufacturers. They offer 4 different engines, 4 different axle ratios, 3 different bed lengths, 3 different cab configurations, 2X4 and 4X4, and I've lost count of the number of trim levels and then multiple options after that. A Ford dealer could have 200 trucks on the lot and none equipped the same and all with different towing/payload capacities.
If you go over 5000 lbs on the trailer then you have the added expense and weight of a different hitch which cuts even further into payload.
Correction: If you go over 5000 lbs on the trailer, or 500 pounds tongue weight (TW), then you have the added expense and weight of a different hitch which cuts even further into payload.
Almost all travel trailers(TTs) will exceed 500 pounds wet and loaded TW before they reach 5,000 pounds gross trailer weight. Because the 5000 pounds number assumes only 10% TW. But a properly-loaded TT will have 12% to 14% TW, and average 13% TW.
With 13% TW, 500 pounds TW is a TT that weighs not more than about 3,850 pounds. So if you load the trailer to 5,000 pounds and have the average 13% TW, then your TW will be 650 pounds. Oops! Overloaded weight-carrying hitch.
07-06-2018, 11:49 PM
