I tried posting this yesterday, but it never showed up....so take 2.

I have a 2019 SCREW with the following: 4x4; 5L V8; HDPP; tow package; 7850 GVWR package. I'm confused about max tow capacity as I've found conflicting numbers from Ford. I know with the HDPP I have the 3.73 axle ratio. In this guide, it states a max tow of 11,600 (last page). However, in this guide, max tow is either 10,700 or 11,500 (p.2) depending on whether my GCWR is 16,300 or 16,900...both are listed for the 3.73 axle ratio. Where would I find my GCWR? And why the difference between the two guides?

Reason I'm asking...I'm wanting to upgrade our travel trailer, and I'm looking at an Imagine 2910BH. Unloaded tongue weight is 720...and I have payload of 2,455. So I should more than fine there. But the GVWR is 8,995...and my goal is to keep the weight of the trailer under 80% of max tow. So that 800 pound variance in the second guide makes a difference in my decision.

That being said, any thoughts on towing something of this size (just under 34 feet) with the F150 HDPP? I'd love to keep it smaller...but with a family of six it's hard to do.

 

Do you have 18s? That is the note (2)(4) that will be unobjectionable on the second link.

The 17s come with an E 121 and 51psi I believe, and the 18s are like 116 or something with less PSI.

I run my f350 dually with around 50 psi rears. Same tire as the 17” hdpp. To put it in perspective.

 

IF you keep it at 80% of GVWR that's 7,196 lbs. The published DRY weight of that trailer is 7,087 lbs so I think you will be hard pressed to keep it that low. To be safe, figure you load up to 8,500 lbs. That will put your tongue weight in the neighborhood of 1,105 lbs at 13%. Another 100 for the hitch is 1,205, leaving you 1,250 lbs. to cover the weight of the family of 6 and any other gear etc. that's going in the truck.

I towed a very similar (33.3', 9500 GVWR) with my '19 non-HDPP, 5.5 bed, max tow. It was 'adequate' but right at the limit of it's capabilities so I upgraded. Having an HDPP, I think that trailer should be a pretty good fit.

 

I have 18s...LT275/65R18C. Does that mean I have the lower of the two weight capacities? I would have thought larger wheels are better...but this is my first foray into the truck world.

 

Maybe bad phrasing on my part. I meant that I want the GVWR of the travel trailer to not exceed 80% of my max towing capacity. In this case, if my max tow is 11,500, then I want a trailer that is less than 9,200 GVWR. I like having the cushion.

With your non-HDPP, did you have issues with sway? That's mostly what I'm concerned about with the length of the trailer I'm looking at. My current trailer is a hybrid that is only 25 feet long...so no issues with towing it. We're just outgrowing it....

 

Not so much bad phrasing....not enough coffee on my part before reading/replying!

No sway to speak of. I used and still use an Equal-i-Zer 4 point hitch. Our primary reason for the truck upgrade was to have something beefier in the event I needed to make an emergency stop/maneuver. We go from Arizona back to Ohio every summer and wanted to have more truck for 'just in case'.

With the F150 I could sense approaching semis and feel that little pull on the trailer, but nothing crazy. Where I sometimes felt the truck overmatched was on downgrades. It was sometimes then that it felt like the trailer was running the show....then engine braking really worked well, however. There were never any real white-knuckle moments in the 6 months or so I towed around Arizona, but it is definitely a night and day feel with the 1-ton - as it should be.

With your truck having a longer wheelbase, beefier frame etc, your F150 towing experience will likely be an improvement over mine.

 

Many thanks for the response and sharing your experience!

 

Larger wheels permit tires with smaller sidewalls, which decreases wallow while towing, but wheels aren't just rated to hold up the vehicle.

The big difference with the max tow wheels is they are rated for 80psi in the tires. The bead lips are thicker.

 

I greatly appreciate the response...but everything you just said is a foreign language to me!

 

I think those notes answered your questions. Its only a few hundred off, I would rather have the 18s as that particular tire would ride better empty over the E rated tire.

Along with the weight rating the 17 is shorter which allows mechanical advantage as it puts more rpm down per revolution spun. So that may be a consideration as well.

The 17E is probably more of a work truck safety factor as fleets with random drivers end up with them.

I wouldn’t worry. Get a good WD hitch and if your rear shocks bounce put a quality unit back there like Bilstein 4600.