BlackDiamond15

• 2017 F150 5.0 STX 4x4 SuperCrew
• GVWR 3175 (7000lbs)
• GCWR 14300lbs
• Factory 275 55 20
• 3.31 gears
• 145 Wheel base

Ricktwuhk

I suggest you read the threads on this section of the forum...

Your Payload sticker is on your door jamb. From that number, subtract the weight of yourself and all passengers. Subtract every modification you've made to the truck - bedliner, bed mat, tonneau cover, floor mats, ... Subtract everything you're going to put in the truck during a trip - coolers, wood, etc. Subtract 75 - 125 pounds for a weight distribution hitch.

What's left is the max payload that your truck can handle. Divide by .13 (13% is the average weight of the tongue from a trailer) and that's the max LOADED trailer that you can pull. Loaded is often 1,000 or more pounds than unloaded, because you add batteries, propane, linens, pots and pans, ...

Read!

BlackDiamond15

thanks

5.0GN tow

What kind of trailer boats will be closer to 5% pin weight, utility trailers all over the place.

msgtord

Start with the owners manual.

smokeywren

Nice try, but no cigar. That link comes up with:
"The page you're looking for can't be found or has moved."

Adequate for those that know the actual gross trailer weight and the actual wet and loaded tongue weight. But very few newbees know those actual weights.


The only foolproof way to determine the max trailer weight you can tow without exceeding the weight limits of your tow vehicle is to weigh the wet and loaded tow vehicle on a CAT scale.


"Wet and loaded" means full of gas, and with all the people, pets, tools, jacks, jackstands, campfire wood, options such as bedrugs or tonneau covers, and any other weight that might be in the pickup when towing.


Subtract the weight of the wet and loaded tow vehicle from the GVWR of that vehicle and the answer is the max hitch weight you can have without exceeding the payload capacity of your tow vehicle.

Subtract another 100 pounds from that max hitch weight and the answer is in the ballpark of the max tongue weight you can have. {Hitch weight = tongue weight (TW) plus the weight of the weight-distributing (WD) hitch}. Divide that max tongue weight you can have by 0.13 and the answer is the max gross trailer weight you can have without exceeding the payload capacity of your tow vehicle.

For most tow vehicles, if you don't exceed the payload capacity of the tow vehicle, you won't exceed any of the other weight limits of the tow vehicle.

However, the receiver hitch is often the limiter as to the max hitch weight you can tow. On most late-model F-150s the max TW rating is 1,050 pounds with a WD hitch, which translates to a max gross trailer weight of for a tandem-axle RV trailer of about 8,076 pounds. So if your calculations above result in a max trailer weight of more than 8,075 pounds, then receiver hitch limits and not payload limits is your limiting factor.

As a general rule, most F-150s have a max trailer weight capacity of around 6,000 pounds. My F-150 is overloaded with my TT that weighs only 4,870 pounds when wet and loaded on the road. And I don't even haul any campfire wood in the bed. But I haul a nice camper shell that keeps my stuff out of the weather.

Gene K

Most Basic
Look in door jamb:
Certification Sticker has GVWR.
Yellow Sticker has Payload
GVWR - Payload = Curb Weight
Add Curb Weight + Your Weight + any accessories.
Subtract that from GCWR (Owners manual or download Ford Trailer Tow Guide for year of truck) and you have the max you can tow.

Better way:
Go to local truck stop, metal recycler, dump, moving company etc with a scale. Weigh truck with you in it.
GVWR - Truckweight = Payload
GCWR - Truckweight = Trailer Weight

11screw50

OK, well first, listen to Rick and Smokey as far as calcs go but you have to use your own numbers. Smokey does not seem to recognize that current gen F150's have better payload than previous gen. so he will tell you that your limit is less than it probably is. (He is like the weight police except that he towed something near double his tow rating halfway across Texas, then bragged about it...do a search, it isn't too hard to find).

The equations are right, the assumptions often are not.

BlackDiamond15

Thank you. I was looking for a quick simple answer. I didn't realize all the math needed to figure this out. This is as close to an answer that makes sense to me. I wish someone out there would create a simple chart that a 5th grader could figure out. Thanks everyone

Gene K

GCWR 14300
GVWR 7000
Trailer Tow 8900
Curb Weight 4871 (XL 100A Screw 145 4x4 5.0)
Payload 2080 lb
The missing 49 lb is Ford 1% "cushion" for tolerance stack up.

2080 lb - Your Payload = Extra weight of your Truck.

4871 lb + Extra Weight of your truck = Approximate Curb weight of your Truck from Factory.

Approximate curb weight of your truck + accessories + driver + passengers + cargo = net truck weight

14300 - Net truck weight = Max Trailer Weight


If your truck has a 1900 lb payload sticker from the factory it weighs roughly 5050 lb (Ford 1% fudge factor remember).
5050 lb + two 200 lb adults + two 100 lb juveniles+ 50 lb misc. = 5700 lb

14300 - 5700 lb = 8600 lb max trailer

1900 lb - 650 lb (in truck) = 1250 lb payload remaining.

8600 lb x 0.13 (Estimated tongue weight percentage on a travel trailer) = 1118 lb est tongue weight (this is above the 1110 lb your hitch is rated for. The sticker is on the bottom of the hitch.)

1110 lb - 80 lb (Weight of weight distributing hitch) = 1030 lb

1030 lb / 0.13 = 7923 lb trailer weight

5700 lb Truck + 1030 lb tongue = 6830 lb
I know its confusing but WDH weight doesn't count toward tongue load on vehicle but does count toward the hitch rating.

7000 lb GVW - 6830 lb GVW = 170 lb short of GVWR on truck

5700 lb truck + 7923 trailer + 80 lb WDH = 13703 lb GCW

14300 GCWR - 13703 GCW = 597 lb under GCW

In practice you wouldn't be as close on GVWR as that example because the WDH transfers weight off your rear axle not only back onto your front axle but also onto the trailer axle.

Hope this example shows why a simple answer is difficult.