VegasRob

Full disclosure, never owned a truck or travel trailer. However, my wife and I are interested in starting To take some excursions into as she calls it “glamping”. We have done tent camping previously and had a blast so we figured this was the next evolution. My dilemma is after over analyzing everything and poring through RV forums and such i am torn on the size of truck to purchase. Most of the usage of the truck would be as a daily driver with the occasional camping trip thrown in. Which leads me to think an F-150 would be sufficient. But of course all the forums makes it sound that unless you get a 250 or higher I will regret it. It would just be my wife and I and possibly 2 dogs in the camper and truck so we don’t need a TT that is huge by any means So, would an F-150 work for our needs or should I scrap that idea and just focus on a used 250? Signed..Confused in Vegas!

Thanks!

CountryboyNC

First thing you need to do is figure out the trailer you want, that is what is going to determine the truck size. Most people run out of payload WAY before they run out of tow rating. Best way to figure it out is to find the trailer you want, find the max gross weight and find 13% of that. That will give you the tongue weight. Once you have that add the weight of everyone and everything you will carry in the truck. From that point you will be able to figure out how much payload you need and go from there.

I have a 2018 Cherokee Grey Wolf 26DBH that I pull with a 2019 F150 XLT with the 3.5. It pulls it great and is all the truck I need. If you need help, feel free to PM me and I’ll help with what I can. Also, if you wanna buy a used trailer mine is for sale lol

Plumcrazy

I don’t disagree with anything previously said. The payload capacity of the truck is probably the most important number.
i will however say that since the Truck will be your daily driver most of the time you should buy the truck that suits most of those needs first, buy a trailer that your truck can pull second. Since it’s just the two of you you really don’t “need”a lot of trailer.
I’m in my first season of camping with a travel trailer. My wife would rather stay in a hotel than tent camp. Her priority was her own bathroom and some modest cooking facilities. We as a family (2 teenagers and a dog) don’t need 4 slidouts, an indoor fireplace and whirlpool tub if you know what I mean. We are having a blast.
Good luck

VegasRob

Would also like some thoughts trim levels for F-150s that I should be looking for on the used market. From what I’ve gathered 2018+, 3.5 ecoboost seems to be the basics of a good foundational towing platform. Beyond that, all of the trim levels start to blur. I understand the more bells, whistles and gadgets you add subtracts from the overall cargo capacity (which is the true tow limiting factor). But, who doesn’t like air cooled butt seats living in Las Vegas!😂. What about transmissions? 10 or 6? Is it of utmost importance to have a 4X4 if we do not intend to do any off road driving? Sorry, so many questions but I really appreciate the assistance!

MikeD134

You sound like me and my wife. Without question a 150 is fine. I'd suggest a factory order supercab, Your dogs like mine don't need the extra space of a crewcab, and you'll get a longer bed without getting that monster wheelbase. I have lots of bells and whistles on my Larait yet still have 1900lbs of payload. To figure trailer weights take the empty value and add 1000-1500lbs to it. Worthless in my opinion to use the max weight of a trailer for 2 people unless living full time from it, you will never load it that heavy. My trailer has a GVWR of 7700lbs yet the last trip for one week loaded with everything CAT scaled at 6100lbs.

Plumcrazy

Air conditioned seats in Las Vegas would probably be high on my list.......
I'm in the north east. The heated seats are AWESOME. 4x4 is a requirement for me. Vegas has some incredible scenery that can only be accessed with 4x4. I’d think long and hard before I would opt for 2WD. The 10 speed transmission in the Tow Haul mode is brilliant. I’m not so crazy about it in the normal mode. It absolutely sucks in the snow mode. Not that you’ll ever need the snow mode but I find I have the most control in snow with the sport mode, go figure. I like the bells and whistles of the XLT. I’d probably like more bells and whistles of the higher trim levels but it’s my 3rd F150 and it’s what I’m used to. Cargo capacity I don’t think I’d settle for anything less than 1700# or so. There’s a lot of trailers you could pull with that kind of capacity.
Cheers

OldElectric

Well , I had a F250 and in the 20 years of towing the same TT with dirtbike and a ton of crap I didn’t even know what payload was.

Switching to the F150 with same set up minus
dirtbike I have spent countless hours re-configuring my setup including today.

As it turns out I was over my payload capacity with the F250 but never even felt it. I am at or near payload with the trailer on the F150. I definitely know it’s there. So previous posts are correct...consider everything.

Also so features like integrated rear trailer camera are not available for F150, that bummed me out.

llr

Compare payload numbers on any truck you look at. Also get the max tow package unless you plan on an extremely small TT. The longer the wheel base the better it will tow, especially with longer trailers.

I have an 2017 F150 supercrew 6.5' bed XLT with ~1800 lbs payload, My trailer is a Flagstaff 831CLBSS which is about 9500 lbs GVWR. I am over weight but it still tows well without water. This is a daily driver with maybe 10-20% towing and no real mountains. I had a Chevy 2500 and hated it as a daily driver. If I was towing a lot more I would have a 3/4 ton for this trailer.

For a midsize trailer a properly equipped F150 will do great. I like the 3.5EB but the 5.0 would be ok to for a midsize trailer.

Eff0neFitty

Lookup Ford's RV & Towing Guide online and download it. It has detailed towing specs for all the configurations of many vehicles, including the 150 and 250. Some of the specs are harder to find and you might need to visit the dealers and take photos of the stickers:

Eff0neFitty

Once I identified all my specs, I put it all in one printer-friendly cheat sheet in Excel and keep a printed copy in the glove box.