doit2010

New to this forum and new to me is my new 2013 F150 Lariat, what is the “Trailer Tow Pkg” and what does it do for me? What is the “Trailer Sway Control” and what does it do for me? What is the “7350 GVWR Pkg.” and whatdoes it do for me?

Thanks
ESW

jeffinthebag

What did you buy the truck for (purpose)? The things you mentioned are for towing. Are you going to tow if so what?

doit2010

I bought the truck so I could get in and out of my mountaincabin and haul fire wood to and from my cabin to my city home. It was also oneof the cheapest trucks with the navigation, 4x4, crew cab, things I wantedbecause we take are grandkids and being retired we do a lot of traveling byvehicle and the navi is very useful to us when we are in unfamiliar places. Andyes, I might be interested in towing a 5er. So now if you care to go back and answermy question instead of being a SA that would be nice.

jeffinthebag

Be nice.......trailer sway control stops the trailer for swaying by applying brakes. Tow package means there a tow reciever back there. As for a 5th wheel on a crew cab unless you bought the heavy duty payload version, that's almost out of the question. What does the payload capacity cargo sticker say on the driver side door. Unless yours say 1800lbs or more (mine says 2210lbs) available. I bumper tow is more in line.
What engine, rear end, what level trim and what payload is available?

ccc150

To answer a question correctly good information is needed.

smokeywren

You need it for towing a "bumper pull" trailer.


TRAILER TOW PACKAGE (535)


• Class IV trailer hitch receiver

• 7 pin wiring harness

• Upgraded radiator

• Auxiliary transmission oil cooler


The receiver is included, so you just have to add a shank/ball mount and a ball to tow a light-weight trailer. If the trailer has a hitch weight over 500 pounds, then you also need a weight-distributing hitch.

The 7 pin wiring harness gives you the plug near the receiver hitch to plug in the trailer wiring harness. That plug has both a 4-pin and a 7-pin plug so you can tow most kinds of "bumper pull" trailers. The 4-pin plug gives you trailer lights, and the 7-pin plug adds trailer brakes and trailer battery charge circuits.

The upgraded radiator and the auxiliary transmission oil cooler lets you tow a small trailer without overheating the tranny. Heat is the tranny killer, so you need that bigger radiator plus the oil-to-air heat exchanger to control the increased heat caused by pulling a trailer.

The trailer tow pkg does not include telescoping trailer tow mirrors or the trailer brake controller. The trailer brake controller is optional, but the only way to get the tow mirrors from the factory is with the Max Tow pkg. The Max Tow pkg includes the regular tow pkg plus the tow mirrors and brake controller, plus an additional 500 pounds of GVWR (payload capacity) to handle the hitch weight of heavier trailers.

Since you don't have the tow mirrors, and you need them to tow a travel trailer or cargo trailer, you can buy them from the F-150 accessories catalog or the parts department. I replaced my small mirrors with the factory trailer tow mirrors from the accessories catalog. The tow mirrors are plug and play for the options that are included in both your tow mirrors and the stock wiring harness.

Quote:

What is the “Trailer Sway Control” and what does it do for me?

Trailer sway control is an electronic gizmo built into the ABS system computer of your pickup. It doesn't stop trailer sway, but it can help control smaller sways. It does NOT replace the need for mechanical trailer sway controls that's part of a good weight-distributing (WD) hitch, but it can help for lighter trailers that don't require a WD hitch.

That's simply the GVWR of your pickup. It tells us that you have a 4x4 drivetrain with standard suspension. The GVWR tells you the maximum weight you can have on the 4 tires of the pickup without being overloaded. Higher weight limits are available only with the Max Tow Pkg, which adds about 500 pounds more GVWR, or with the Heavy Duty Payload pkg, which gives you 8,200 pounds GVWR.

If you don't want to be overloaded over any of Ford's weight limits, then you can pretty well forget about towing a fifth wheel trailer. You'll be severely overloaded with even a 25' 5er that hat has a GVWR of 7,900 pounds. They make some really small 5ers that you might could tow without exceeding your pickup's GVWR, but those are few and far between.

jeffinthebag

I tow a 7x14 cargo trailer daily highway and local without tow mirrors. But for anything wider than 7 feet requires tow mirrors. Driving in mid town Manhattan with a trailer is hard enough without worrying about the dumbo ears.

smokeywren

Disagree. I also have a 7x14 cargo trailer. Sometimes I get on the road without telescoping the tow mirrors out to their widest position. But I notice it immediately, then stop at the first chance and telescope the mirrors out. It's much more comfortable towing that trailer with the tow mirrors extended than not - because I can much better see what's behind the trailer.

Been there, done that. Also LA, San Fran, Seattle, Dallas, Denver and other big cities. The tow mirrors when telescoped in don't stick out much more than the stock tiny mirrors. But they make a world of difference in what you can see of the traffic around you.

smurfs_of_war

How the hell do you even do that? I'd want a tank.

jeffinthebag

If regular mirrors are 96 inches tip to tip (8 foot) why would you need larger mirrors to pull a 7x14? As I see it, f150 tow mirrors are 111 1/2 inches (9 1/4 feet) tip to tip.
The Tappen Zee bridge over the Hudson River about (2 miles long) has lanes only 10 feet wide. That doesn't leave much room for error! I know when I'm bouncing around at 60 mph over the bridge (7 lanes) I have traded paint and touched a few mirrors a few times. Specially when the wind is pushing you around. So basically you have 2 inches of margin on either side and hopefully if your driving straight the guy or SEMI at 80,000 lbs is driving straight also.