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Help with towing capacity.

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Old Mar 16, 2015 | 12:01 AM
  #1  
Billy Mulek's Avatar
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Default Help with towing capacity.

We are looking to buy this camper.


http://www.coatesrv.com/inventory/39...rokee-32B.aspx

My question is am I ok to tow this with a 2014 supercrew Max tow package EB with 3.73? I believe that I will be okay but wanted to get your thoughts

Thanks.
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Old Mar 16, 2015 | 08:37 AM
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I go to Coates all of the time for parts!

Well, that is a LOT of trailer man. You are pressing (and maybe exceeding) the limits in several areas.

Payload: Check the yellow sticker on your driver door jamb and look for your payload capacity. Your trailer tongue weight is 1,000 pounds DRY. Then you will add your load to the trailer; perhaps another 500 to 1,000 pounds; increasing your tongue weight. Then add in the weight of your family, dog, tools, bicycles, coolers, generator, whatever. Are you still within your payload?

Trailer Length: Then consider the length of this trailer. 35 feet. The rule of thumb is to divide your wheelbase in inches by 5. That is the max length of trailer you should tow. So, if you are 145 inches, trailer length of 29 feet. If you are 157 inches, 31 feet.

Gross Weight: Your trailer will weigh a good 8 to 9 thousand pounds loaded. It is within your limit but pushing the upper end.

Towing Situation: How far are you towing? How often are you towing? Where are you towing? If short, local hauls, that is one thing. If all day tows, say out West, in the wind and in the mountains, that is another thing.

I would urge you to look at something smaller. You could pull this trailer but consider safety and whether you are going to be "happy" towing that much. Your drivetrain will pull this just fine. It is more a matter of safety and control; margin if something goes wrong. Flat tire, gust of wind, meeting a semi, someone cuts you off, etc.

There are a many options out there. Take your time and make a good choice.

Have fun. Be safe.

Last edited by acadianbob; Mar 16, 2015 at 08:47 AM.
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Old Mar 16, 2015 | 08:43 AM
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That's a big camper to pull with a f150
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Old Mar 16, 2015 | 02:34 PM
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You are going to over weight.
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Old Mar 17, 2015 | 04:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Billy Mulek

GVWR 11,127


Tongue weight @ 12% of GVWR = 1335 pounds


Tongue weight when lightly loaded to 10,000 trailer weight = 1,200 pounds.

My question is am I ok to tow this with a 2014 supercrew Max tow package EB with 3.73? I believe that I will be okay but wanted to get your thoughts.
Way too much trailer for your F-150. if you had the HD payload pkg, then you'd have a prayer. But without the HD Payload pkg you'll run out of payload capacity long before you reach the 11,000 pound tow rating of your F-150.


As others noted, your drivetrain is strong enough to pull that 11,000-pound trailer. But the suspension of your F-150 will be severely overloaded because of hitch weight (tongue weight) along with your normal payload of people and stuff.


Load your F-150 with everything and everybody that will be in it when towing. Drive to a truckstop that has a CAT scale and fill up with gas. Then weigh the wet and loaded F-150. Subtract the weight of your truck from the GVWR of the truck and the answer is the max payload you have left to handle hitch weight. If you didn't have the head from your weight-distributing hitch installed when you weighed the truck, then subtract 50 pounds from the available payload capacity for hitch weight.


Divide the available payload capacity for hitch weight by 0.12 and the answer is the max GVWR of any TT you want to consider towing with your F-150. That's the gambler's formula. If you don't want to gamble, then divide the available payload capacity for hitch weight by 0.15, and the answer is the max GVWR of any TT you want to consider towing with your F-150. (Normal tongue weight percent varies from around 12% to 15%.)

Last edited by smokeywren; Mar 17, 2015 at 04:59 PM.
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Old Mar 17, 2015 | 05:15 PM
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You have max tow, what does yellow sticker say?
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Old Mar 17, 2015 | 07:50 PM
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It's to much for your truck I believe. I just traded my f150 just for that reason. I was uncomfortable towing my camper. And mine is smaller than the one your looking at. But I didn't have max tow. But I believe I reached the limits of the suspension of my f150 with mine
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Old Mar 20, 2015 | 07:27 PM
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Thanks everyone for your input. We have moved on from that camper and we are now looking at a smaller lighter camper, but not much. I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on a TT with a 715 tongue hitch.

I have the max tow 157 length truck with a cargo limit of 1780.

We will only be going a few hours max.
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Old Mar 21, 2015 | 02:09 PM
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Question Faulty logic!

Originally Posted by Billy
We will only be going a few hours max.

Whether you're on the road 5 minutes, 5 hours, or 5 weeks, you could be involved in an "accident" that will ruin your life. And the lives of your loved ones and the lives of others sharing the road with you.


Why do some people gamble with their future by towing overloaded? Makes no sense to me, but then I'm educated in logic so I understand the numbers and the risks involved.


It sounds like you are unwilling to match trailer weight to tow vehicle capability - because doing it right is more expensive than towing overloaded? And a TT that fits your tow vehicle is too small for your wants?

Using dry hitch weight for anything is a bad idea. Use the GVWR of the trailer as the likely weight of the wet and loaded trailer, then use 15% of the GVWR of the TT as probable tongue weight until you have the actual weights of your rig as verified by certified scales.


When estimating the max trailer weight you can tow without being overloaded, try to stay within 80% of the max weights of your tow vehicle - GVWR, GCWR and rear GAWR. GVWR will probably be your limiter.


Note that my F-150 exceeds the GVWR of the F-150 by 100 pounds when on the road with my TT that weighs only 4,870 pounds gross trailer weight. I relied on the 8,400 pounds "tow rating" of my F-150, then bought a TT with GVWR of only 5,600 pounds. But the tow rating was extremely overstated, so I would up overloaded.

Last edited by smokeywren; Mar 21, 2015 at 02:24 PM.
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Old Mar 21, 2015 | 02:54 PM
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Please post where you're headed and when, so that we can all get off the road when you're driving. Oh, and remember, Billy Mulek, that you posted on the forum using your name so when something does happen you have increased liability - you can't plead ignorance.
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