AFMech31042

I purchased a 2012 F150 FX2 Supercrew 5.0 with a trailer tow package back in August. The dealer told me I was safe to tow upwards of 8000-8400#'s. I have been looking at purchasing a travel trailer that can fit my family of 5 (roughly 7000-8000 lbs). After doing some research, my door jamb tells me that I have a GVWR of 7100#'s. And that I have a 3.31 gears. So am I rated to pull what the dealer said? Or am I only rated up to 7100#'s? I feel that I might not have done enough research before hand. My owners manual doesn't state a towing capacity/combined total weight for a 5.0 w/ 3.31 gears. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

jeffinthebag

For a 2012 fx2 crew with a 3.31 it's 8000 for 145 wheelbase and 7900 trailer weight for a 156 wheelbase if I recall right. Just look at your payload number on the door jam and post that and guesstimate the total weight of all the people and stuff you will be carrying in the pickup (including any after market accesories like a cover or cap). Then everyone will jump in and tell you more.

Jeriko

What engine/wheelbase? You can figure this out fairly easily on your own, but without prior knowledge, can seem confusing. On that same door jamb sticker, you should find your GCWR, GVWR, and payload capacity.
GVWR is how much your truck itself can weigh total. That's curb weight, full tank of gas, plus people/cargo/modifications. A canopy shell/tonneau will subtract about 100lb of payload from your max.
GCWR is how much your truck AND trailer can weight combined, loaded properly and legally.
To find your max trailer weight without going into your manual and looking at the chart depicting tow ratings for your specific model, use the following:
(GCWR) - (GVWR) = max trailer weight
Remember that your payload is your limiting factor for towing, as the hitch weight will use up most of the payload. As your truck doesn't have Max Tow, if I read correctly, you will run out of payload capacity before going over tow capacity. A family of 5 (assuming and average of 165/person) can weigh 825# combined, reducing available payload for your hitch weight. A weight distributing hitch, or WDH as it's commonly referred as, will distribute more weight to the front axle and deflect some weight back to the trailer, while also managing trailer sway, making for an easier pull. A properly loaded trailer will have 10-15% (a lot of people like to center it closer to 12-13%). At max hitch weight of an 8000# trailer, you're pushing 1200# hitch weight. You're receiver is only rated to 500 w/o WDH, and 1050 w/ WDH. Know that the average WDH system will weigh close to 100#, and that will actually add onto your hitch weight, reducing the amount you have available. Looking at the ideal 12-13%, it'll still be 960-1040#, putting it uncomfortably close to the limit. The Max Tow package has 500# extra payload, and a stronger receiver, bumping the WDH hitch weight to 1150.

If you load the 8000# trailer to 12% hitch weight, the weight of the WDH won't exceed your receiver rating.

But, and this is a big BUT, your payload is your limiting factor before anything. S*** adds up quickly. Let's take a tally. I'll assume for this example that it'll be you, the wife, and 3 kids (because you're looking to fit 5 people in the trailer, that makes sense to me). 180 for you, 150 for the wife, guestimate at 130/kid. 180+150+130+130+130=720. Plus the weight of the hitch and road snacks, that's creeping up to 1800#. Without Max Tow, your capacity is probably somewhere around the 1200-1300# mark. I wouldn't do it personally, especially with the 3.31 gears.

/rant

Oh, and if anyone notices I screwed something up, speak up and help us all out.

smokeywren

Your tow rating is 7,900 or 8,000 pounds, but you're not safe to tow that heavy a trailer unless your truck has no options other than 5.0L engine and the regular trailer tow pkg, and you haul nothing in the truck except a skinny driver.

There are several weight ratings you need to understand:

GVWR = 7,100. That means that the most weight you can have on the two axles of the pickup without being overloaded is 7,100 pounds. That includes driver, passenger(s), pets, tools, weight-distributing trailer hitch, jacks, campfire wood, a full tank of gas, and the tongue weight of the trailer you are towing.

Payload rating = GVWR minus the weight of the truck. The factory payload rating is overstated because they use the shipping weight of a truck with no options and absolutely nothing in the truck.

GCWR = 13,500. That means the most the combined rig of truck and trailer can weigh without overcoming the towing power of your drivetrain.

Tow rating = GCWR minus the weight of the truck. The factory tow rating is overstate because they use the shipping weight of the truck with no options and nothing in the truck but a skinny driver.


You're right. But it's the same as the 3.55 ratio that's in your owner's guide. The 2012 RV and Trailer Towing Guide confirms my statement. 8,000 pounds for the 5.5' shorty bed and 7,900 pounds for the 6.5' bed.


No. Sorry. Your tow rating is 8,000 pounds if you have the 5.5' bed, but you cannot tow that heavy a trailer without exceeding the GVWR of your F-150. Your truck's GVWR is your limiter, not GCWR or tow rating.

The 7,100 GVWR indicates the weight, including hitch weight, you can haul on the four truck tires. The 8,000 pound tow rating indicates the max trailer weight you can pull if there is no other weight in the pickup.


And one more weight limit may be your limiter: If you have the factory receiver with a max of 1,050 pounds hitch weight with a WD hitch, but your trailer grosses 8,000 pounds with 1,200 pounds hitch weight, then you'll be dangerously overloaded over the max weight the hitch can haul. So you'll need a heavier-duty receiver if you go for an 8,000-pound TT.

For example, my 2012 F-150 SuperCrew has a tow rating of 8,400 pounds, but I'm overloaded with my TT that weighs only 4,870 pounds. I have the same 7,100 pounds GVWR you have but more tow rating because I have a more powerful drietrain. When loaded up with Darling Wife, Sugar the Border Collie, and Marguerita the Chihuahua, plus my toolbox, extra jacks, bed rug, camper shell and weight-distributing hitch, my truck weighs 6,550 pounds before I back up to the trailer. That leaves 550 pounds for max hitch weight without being overloaded. But my hitch weight is 650 pounds, so I'm overloaded by 100 pounds. And recall that's with a TT that grosses only 4,780 pounds when wet and loaded on the road.


Instead of a travel trailer (TT) that will gross 7,000 or 8,000 pounds, consider a pop-up tent trailer with GVWR around 4,000 pounds. That's how I traveled and camped when my kids were home. DW and I could pop that camper up and get out of a rainstorm in only a minute or so. Then worry about leveling and stabilizing the floor of the trailer after the storm had passed. (I still remember doing that 35 years ago at Sequoia Nat'l Park.)

AFMech31042

Thank you all for so much information. I'll be looking into it more carefully next time. I appreciate the time you have taken to answer my questions, you guys are awesome.

06redlongbed

Here is my landfill receipt with my 4.6 hauling my 12x6 enclosed trailer full of asbestos to the landfill 2 days ago (The empty weight doesn't factor in the 2,000 lb empty trailer on the scale by the way). Needless to say you will be fine with 8,000 and I need trailer brakes asap LOL.

raisin

I have '14 5.0 4x4 3.73 and tow 6K long trips. I wouldn't touch 8k period. You can do it/I wouldn't enjoy the ride.