smokeywren

Yes, you are correct.

No. Because you don't have towing pkg, you cannot use the tables that show "max" towing capacity. Your F-150 cannot handle the max towing capacity because it does not have the cooling capacity to get rid of the heat caused by heavy towing.


But you're misreading something somewhere bout the towing capacity with the towing pkg.



The 2.7L EcoBoost engine with trailer tow pkg and 3.73 axle ratio has tow rating over 8,000 pounds. The 3.5L V6 (not EcoBoost) has tow rating of 5,000 pounds with 3.55 axle or 7,100 to 7,600 pounds with 3.73 axle. Your 3.5L EcoBoost drivetrain has tow rating over 10,000 pounds if you had a towing pkg, but only 5,000 (or maybe 7,000, depending on timing and source of your specs) without a towing pkg.


But the Ford receiver is rated for 5,000 pounds max trailer weight without a WD hitch. So any trailer that weighs more than 5,000 pounds requires a WD hitch, regardless of the tow rating, with or without a tow pkg.


Any trailer that weighs more than 5,000 pounds requires the trailer towing pkg to get the increased cooling capacity for towing.

With a towing pkg, the 2.7L EcoBoost engine has more towing capacity than the standard V6 engine, but not nearly as much as the 3.5L EcoBoost engine.


Yes. Your 3.5L EcoBoost drivetrain has limited towing capacity because it doesn't have the increased cooling capacity of a towing pkg. The 2.7L EcoBoost drivetrain with the towing pkg can tow over 7,000 pounds whereas your 3.5L EcoBoost without a towing pkg is limited to 7,000 pounds or maybe 5,000 pounds.

clarkbre

This thread is very interesting and I'm learning a lot about the new trucks and their towing capabilities...or lack of.

This is one option on the Ford's that I believe they should go back to their roots and say "You can have any color you want as long as it's black!"

If they put a Class IV hitch on the truck and show in their charts that 10,700 is the tow rating, that should be it. It is very misleading, even in their own literature, to a potential customer buying a truck.

Add to that, salesman from truck and trailer dealerships that really know nothing about the specifics of what they're selling...other than a sale means commi$$ion.

I hate to say, but it sounds like the 2.7L would have been a better option. It has a much higher towing capability because it is properly equipped to tow. The salesman knew nothing if he told you that your 3.5L Eco was better simply because it was a larger motor.

This is frustrating too on the travel trailer side. "Half-ton Towable" is a B.S. term. Just because the weight of the trailer is less than 8000lbs gross doesn't mean all half tons can tow it. Preparing to purchase my trailer, I researched the heck out of my truck's capabilities and the potential trailer I could buy. Although my truck is rated for 9700 lbs, the max trailer I could buy was 7500 gross and I keep it below 7000 with an 11% tongue weight....Why? Because my axles and payload are only rated for this. My trailer salesman and service department were completely blown away when I started rattling off these crazy numbers that limited the size trailer I wanted to buy.

z_zk_z

I like to add some additional data to the great information provided by Smokeywren (THANKS), make a conclusion about my trucks max towing capacity (based on the additional data), and ask if others concur.

As Smokeywren mentioned, there are three trailer tow packages for my F-150 truck, and they are called (PS. I have attached two photos, showing the descriptions of these items):

53A – Trailer Tow package ($995)

53B - Class IV Trailer Hitch Receiver ($95)

53C – Max Trailer Tow Package ($1295)



The FORD 2018 RV & TRAILER TOWING GUIDE (Rev 1, Sep 29, which is located @ http://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/...e_r1_Sep29.pdf) talks (on page 37 of 41) about “Factory-installed Trailer Hitch Receiver options, and shows Option Codes 53A, 53B, and 53C for F-150 Pickup. Since my truck came with a “Class IV Trailer Hitch” (also listed on the window sticker), I concluded that I must have the 53B. Now the TOWING GUIDE (page 16 of 41) shows that 53B comes with “Radiator Upgrade” and “Higher-Power Cooling Fans”. I have attached a photo of my radiator, to find out from others, if they can recognize an upgraded radiator. QUESTION: I have seen max towing capability of 7000Lbs for my engine size (3.5L EB, V6) with 53B package (see photos). Could the “Radiator Upgrade” and “Higher-Power Cooling Fans” be the reasons for 7,000Lbs instead of 5,000Lbs?

Let me now point to other confusing data in the TOWING GUIDE. Page 15 of 41 talks about required equipment for F-150 and says “for trailers over 5,000 pounds – Trailer Tow Package (53A) or Max Trailer Tow Package (53C)” needed. Since, I have neither of those, I revised my truck’s max towing back to 5000Lbs (ignoring the radiator upgrade).

TOW GUIDE (page 19 of 41) says my truck can have a max tow capacity of 10,700Lbs and the footnote says “(2) Maximum Loaded trailer weight requires weight-distributing hitch”. The footnote (page 21 of 41) says “5th-wheel towing requires 53A or 53C.

My conclusion is that my truck can tow 5000Lbs (page 37 of 41) using a regular hitch and if I had either 53A or 53C, I could have been able to tow up to 10,700Lbs (10,600Lbs for 5-th wheel) using a weight-distributing hitch. Anyone concurs????

smokeywren

Thanx for that link. I hadn't printed our the 2018 towing guide yet, so now I'll have it to go along with previous versions going back to the 1997 model year.


There should be a similar footnote on the tables for conventional towing over 5,000 pounds, but the editors haven't found a round toit yet.

Concurs.

z_zk_z

There may be conflicting information in different documents. However, it seems 53B (Class IV Trailer Hitch) is more than just the “Smart Trailer Tow Connector, 4-pin/7-pin wiring, and Class IV trailer hitch receiver”. The TOW GUIDE table (on Page 16) shows 53B having: 1) radiator upgrade, 2) higher-power cooling fans, and 3) (std) engine oil cooler (in addition to connector & hitch receiver).

I started searching more to see what all these things do to the towing capability and found out in the 2018 F-150 Order Guide (PAGE 39, posted @ https://www.f150forum.com/f118/2018-...-guide-382822/ ) that Class IV Trailer Hitch (53B) has towing capability up to 7,000 LBs on 3.5L EcoBoost engine (see photos below).

I am now more confuse, but it seems I can tow up to 7,000 LBs (still utilizing a WD hitch) instead of just 5,000 LBs with my F-150 XL, 3.5L EB (53B).

atwowheelguy

I think it would help if you understood what a weight distribution hitch (WDH) does. When the trailer tongue is set down on the hitch ball, the tongue weight pushes down on the ball. The hitch acts as a lever with the rear truck axle as the fulcrum. The result is that weight is lifted from the steer axle. With weight lifted from the front, the tires have less traction available for turning and braking. An extreme case would result in the front tires just skidding right off the road instead of turning in a curve. The Ford engineers have determined that a 500 lb. weight placed on the hitch receiver is enough to create a dangerous condition with an F150. At the very least, your headlights will be blinding oncoming motorists. Thus the 500 lb. limit without a WDH. Since any trailer should have at least 10% of the trailer weight on the tongue, that 500 lb. tongue weight limit results in a maximum trailer weight of 5000 lbs. A 5000 lb. trailer produces at least a 500 lb. tongue weight. Get it?

The WDH acts as a lever pulling in the opposite direction as the tongue weight and transfers some weight back to the steer axle. The tension bars pulling the trailer tongue down via the chains or brackets also transfers some of the weight to the trailer axles. So if you have 500 lbs. on the hitch ball, no matter what the trailer weight is, you should install a weight distribution hitch. In my case, without the WDH the rear axle was overloaded to 104% GAWR. The WDH lifted 480 lbs. off the rear axle, transferring 320 lbs. to the steer axle and 160 lbs. to the trailer axles. After applying the WDH, the rear axle weight was at 92% GAWR.

My trailer weighs 6700-7200 lbs., depending on how I load it. I think once you hook up a 7000 lb. camper behind that F150, you may well decide that is as much as you want to tow. The alternative is to buy the extra parts and put them on the truck. I wouldn't tow a 7k lb. trailer without at least the transmission and oil coolers.

Lux194

Great chart. Very informative and eye opening. I have a feeling this is a stupid question, but how did you position the truck and/or trailer on the scale to achieve the readings?

clarkbre

Not a stupid question at all. To complete the spreadsheet, you need to make 3 passes on the scale. And, there are 2 ways to weigh your truck and trailer depending on what kind of scale you're at.

1. CAT Scale - This type of scale you drive onto but it is really 3 separate scales that weigh the truck's front and rear axles separately and trailer axles together.

2. Standard Drive On Scale - This is one big scale that takes a bit of math (or the very right column on the below spreadsheet) to weigh each axle as you drive on. Drive the front axle on, take a reading. Drive the rear axle on, subtract the front axle weight. Drive the trailer axles on, subtract the truck axles.

z_zk_z

Lux194 : Also take a look at the end of the 2018 Towing Guide (see an earlier message for its web link). It has good information and shows how different weight terms are related to each other (see pages 36 & 38).


atwowheelguy: Can you please post the web link for those parts (also the Excel file)? Thanks. I can say for sure (based on your parts photos) that 53B (aka CLASS IV TRAILER HITCH) comes with 1) radiator upgrade, 2) higher-power cooling fans, and 3) (std) engine oil cooler (in addition to connector & hitch receiver). I went under the truck and looked for those parts (based on your parts photos). I also completely understand your discussion about WD hitch and trying to tow too much with F-150.

raiderjer60

8 foot box and its 141 wheelbase? I think one of those numbers is wrong