acdii

If you read enough of these posts you will find that some of us Experts will always say, get it weighed. Otherwise it is just pi$$ing in the wind. There is an easy calculation I came up with for the what can I tow list. GVWR of the trailer * 13%. This is the maximum @13% that will be on the ball. So a 7600# trailer @ 13% will be 988 pounds, add in the weight of the hitch, lets say 80 pounds, and you have 1068 pounds on the receiver. Subtract that from the payload and you now have your left over capacity for people and goods.

HOWEVER, unless you have your actual curb weight, not the payload tag, but the weight of the truck as driven, with a full tank, and the driver, you are still guessing.

Here is my method
Truck as driven every day, with full tank, and me, 6000 pounds.
GVWR 7050
I have 1050 pounds payload left.

Subtract the trailers estimated max TW. Anything left over? If not, then consider a lighter trailer. While more than likely the trailer will never be maxed out, some trailers, like those with sliders have very little cargo capacity, maybe 1200 pounds at the most, which makes them heavy to begin with. My trailer is a 7600# gross, but I have nearly 3000 pounds of cargo capacity, no sliders, which makes it a fairly light trailer, and at the most I have been at 6400 pounds.

So my after scale weight is 6400, and at 13% I am at 832 pounds, plus 80 for the BO hitch, for a total of 912 pounds. When set up and distributed I am under on all axles with 400 pounds spare payload.

Not rocket science but simpe math, but you MUST use a scale to get the correct figures, otherwise it is nothing more than a guessing game.

BlackBoost

Now ^ this ^ is the best way to know for sure. Unfortunately, it can't always be done when shopping for a truck and/or trailer. Taking the dealer's word for it is a really really bad idea.

"Can I tow this 13,000 lb trailer with this truck"
"Oh yeah that's no problem"

Common response from someone who's just trying to sell you the truck because in the end, it's YOU that is responsible for towing a trailer, not the salesman. So unfortunately yes there is a lot of homework and number crunching that needs to be done. But you'll be much happier in the end having a nice smooth towing experience instead of a white-knuckle heart-pounding nightmare on the highway

Make sure everything lines up before buying anything. Much easier starting off with everything being more than capable vs trying to shift cargo and max out a WDH to make the drive bearable.

acdii

And for those who already have a truck and want a trailer, same methodology applies. Weigh the truck, subtract from the GVWR on the white tag, and go from there. That is what I did when shopping for my TT. I knew the payload and figured the maximum amount of TW and figured the GVWR from there and just shopped trailers with that weight or less.

Ryan_2020

Further to Acdii's point, my method while I don't actually have access to a convenient scale location:

Took payload sticker from truck.
Less inventory of all my truck supplies, google/amazon searched their weights.
Less people weights.
Less 100 lbs for 'extra crap that gets added to my truck'
--------
Available payload for trailer, I also use the 13% of full trailer GVWR.
This gives me the max GVWR trailer I could tow.....if I was looking at getting anything remotely close to this I would go weigh my truck prior to purchase.


Since I keep a pretty clean/organized truck at all times in my opinion I will be pretty accurate. My trailer is also only 4500 GVWR so I am no where near my payload.

thrifty biil

I was pretty surprised looking at a friend's new XLT 4x4 F150. Payload on his truck, without a ton of options, was 1510 pounds. You are fortunate to have 1942 pound payload. Part of it is having an XL model.

If you buy a truck without checking payload first, you can luck out, but chances are, the payload is going to be low.

Another thing some who tow trailers do is add a camper top on the bed of their truck (200 pounds). Then if you carry a generator, that can add another 150 pounds between generator and fuel for the generator. Then in my case, I have the two Ford bed side steps (not original to the truck), say another 75 pounds there. Add a dog (most campers have a pet or two with them). Payload starts going away fast.

Buy a loaded truck like a King Ranch or a Platinum, and you can see some really low payloads.

acdii

I forgot to mention that in my above referenced weight, that also included a topper, generator tools, and a few other items in the bed. Other than the tools and genny, everything in the truck is in there daily.