Snoopy49

Hey guys. I have read quite a lot on here about towing but I'd rather just ask my specific questions:

I have a 2018 STX, 2.7 ECO, 10-speed with factory tow package. I am looking to purchase in the next few months a travel trailer and I'm trying to get a idea for how much of of a trailer i can safely tow and still have some reserve capacity for the grill, bikes, chairs and all that crap. I do not plan to go over 24' in length but I would like to stay close to that if possible. I still need to get a good brake controller and equalizer hitch. I assume my truck is equipped with everything else I would need for towing.

Anyone care to throw some advice, suggestions and ideas my way?

Thanks guys!

Here is my sticker:

DarrinT04

the 3.55 rear end will definitely increase your towing capacity. pulling a travel trailer, you will want to use a WDH to better balance out the weight of the trailer on your truck

Sweetlou

Open up your driver side door and look at the yellow sticker. This shows you your payload capacity. Let’s say it’s 1600lb.

Subtract everything that goes in your vehicle from it. Wife 150, kids 200, dog 50, random stuff 100. That’s 500lb of “stuff”. 1600-500 = 1100 remaining.

Take 1100 / .15 = 7330lb trailer. Gross weight (GVWR). Just an example. It all depends on your payload.

Lou

smokeywren

Ford says:
GCWR = 12,800 (max combined weight of truck and trailer)
Tow rating =7,500 (max trailer weight,

Smokey says:
12,800 minus 7,500 = 5,300

So you can tow a trailer that weighs 7,500 only with an unloaded F-150 that grosses less than 5,300.

So ignore Ford's tow rating and compute your own using realistic numbers. Hope for a tow rating determined with the steps below to be close to 6,000 pounds,

GCWR and tow rating tell you only the max weight your drivetrain can pull. They ignore payload capacity, but payload capacity is usually the limiter as to how heavy a trailer you an tow without being overloaded. So here's your assignment to determine an accurate max weight of a tandem-axle "normal" travel trailer you can tow with your F-150 without being overloaded.

1] Load your F-150 with everybody and everything that will be in it when towing. No cheating - put it all in there, including the "grill, bikes, chairs and all that crap". Don't forget the indoor/outdoor patio carpet, firewood/kenling, Dutch oven, etc.
2] Drive to a truck stop that has a CAT scale, fill up with gas, and weigh the wet and loaded F-150.
3] Subtract the weight of the wet and loaded F-150 from the GVWR of the F-150, The answer is the payload capacity available for hitch weight.
4] Subtract 100 pounds from the payload capacity available for hitch weight to get the payload capacity available for tongue weight (TW)
5] Divide the payload capacity available for TW by 13% to get the max weight of any travel trailer with average TW you can tow without being overloaded. If you prefer to be conservative, then divide the payload capacity available for TW by 15% instead of 13%.

Don't consider any trailer that has GVWR (or dry weight plus CCC ) more than the max determined in step 5] above,

DarrinT04

I'd say the truck can safely pull up to 9,500 Ibs. And that's from a guy who has pulled 16,000 lbs with my '04 4.6 with no problems. However, I dont recommend doing that. Long distances especially

jame9259

I have pretty much the same rig, and I pull a Wildwood 263bhxll, with a dry weight of 5850.

It’s just her and me, with an occasional grandchild thrown in for good measure. We travel pretty light, and I really don’t carry much gear in the truck.

I know now that it can all add up pretty quick in the trailer, but if I were a betting man, I doubt that propane, batteries, and everything else surpasses 750-850 pounds. We always travel with holding tanks empty.

With a brake controller and WDH, I travel pretty comfortably, as long as my speed isn’t excessive. I’m a flat lander here in Iowa, but there can be some hilly parts of the state, and those hills can challenge me a little.

With a 24’ trailer, I really doubt that you’ll have any trouble at all. Just load light and keep your speed down, and you should be gtg.

Snoopy49

WOW, thanks for that break down Smokey. That is quite a detailed guideline. I will do that as I too am now curious.

Just "shooting from the hip", I am inclined to think like jame and Darrin noted, staying at 6K or below is probably my safest bet. Since it is just my wife and I now, a 24' trailer would be more than enough room for us. I want something small that is easy to hook up and go most any place without too many provisions for traffic and parking. My wife's only requirement's are that the trailer have a slide out and full bath. If I can find a "reasonably priced" 18,19 or 20' trailer with those features I would go down to that size in a heartbeat.

Does everyone still use a WDH with the single axle 18' & 20's?

VanUno

I’m several thousand miles from my owners manual at this time but I seem to recall a foot note in the towing section limiting the tow rating on vehicles not equipped with a tow package. Didn’t see a tow package listed on the sticker in the OP.

Snoopy49

I have a factory installed hitch, round and flat trailer light plugs. No brake controller. I'm not sure what technically constitutes a factory "tow package if it doesn't specifically call it out on the sticker as a "tow package"?

Based on the info in my sticker, what all else will I need to safely pull a trailer?

I don't even know what model my truck is, I keep seeing DHPP, DP and so on different place on this site, what does all that mean? I've always been a Silverado guy, I'm new to the Ford acronyms and such.

dmatt13

Yeah, I believe VanUno is correct. Those max numbers are based on one equipped with a tow package, and yours does not have a tow package, only the class IV hitch. Crawl under the back and took at the underside of the hitch on the truck. It will give you max weight, and max hitch weight, both with and without weight distribution hitch. You will probably need a weight distribution hitch as you've already noted. While they redistribute the weight back to the front axle and some back on the trailer, don't let the dealer tell you they lower the hitch weight on the truck. That isn't correct and there are some very informative videos out there disproving that claim.

As stated, your payload on the truck will be your most limiting factory, NOT the factory tow rating. Everything you add to the bed of the truck and passengers, etc inside, will go against your payload limit (that number listed on the yellow sticker on the door frame). When you add up all the weight, don't forget to add the weight of the weight distribution hitch....usually 75-100lbs depending on brand.

The length of trailers isn't that big of a deal with your truck, it's the weight. When you're looking at trailers, don't get caught up looking at the manufacturers listed weights. Look at the actual numbers for the trailer as delivered to the dealer. Every manufacturer does it a little difference but if you look at the GVWR and subtract the listed available cargo capacity, you'll get the actual weight of the trailer before any water, etc.

For example, our Lance 2375 is 28' long, has a gross dry weight of 5030lbs and has a listed hitch/tongue weight of 600lbs. Those number excludes propane, batteries, and any options like solar panels, etc. The GVWR is 7000 lbs so subtracting the listed weight leaves 1970 lbs of cargo carrying capacity in the trailer. Now, real world numbers for my trailer were significantly difference. My trailer weighs 5599 delivered with two 6V golf cart batteries and full propane, so my cargo capacity is only 1401 lbs. The biggest difference was the actual tongue weight. I had the dealer weight the tongue when I picked it up (dealers have portable scales so they can do this for you when you look) and the actual tongue weight was 978lbs !! Since my truck has a 1735lb payload - the 978lb tongue, that leaves me with only 757lbs of payload for passengers, dogs, generator, kayaks and other stuff in the bed of the truck.

There are a few ways to lighten the tongue and they depend on how the trailer is designed. Many have front cargo arears so the less you store there, the less your hitch weight is. Another thing to look at is where the fresh water tank is. On my Lance, it has a 46 gal fresh water tank and it is located behind the wheel in the rear. Thus, if I fill the fresh water tank, I can remove some weight from the front of the trailer and lessen the hitch weight. I will be doing this and getting my trailer weighed to see how much I save.

Good luck on you search.