I have a 2020 F150 Lariat SCREW with Max tow package with I believe roughly 13000 pound towing capacity and a 7000 pound GVWR. I currently have a 36' (overall length) travel trailer with a GVWR of 11019 pounds. I only tow it from our campground to my work for winter storage across town. Even though it tows the weight just fine, I know that it's too much trailer to tow long distances and would never attempt it. I think I understand hitch weight, payload and GVWR and all that and also understand that I would definitely need the correct weight distribution setup.

I am looking to downsize my trailer and have read lots of places that the general consensus is about 30' overall length should be all you tow with my truck. My question is, I am having a hard time finding a trailer with all the amenities my wife wants in an under 30' trailer. I found a trailer that has everything she wants but it's a little over 30'. I'm looking for some opinions based on my truck, the length of the trailer, and the weights of the trailer. Would you tow with this setup, would you not, etc. The trailer I'm looking at is a 2023 Alpha Wolf 26RB-L. The overall length is 32'8". The hitch weight is 720 pounds. The UVW is 6143 pounds. The GVWR is 7720 pounds. The CCC is 1577 pounds.

Thanks

 

Plenty of people here tow TT's over 30', staying within their truck's ratings and have no issues.

Your first limiting factor will likely be your truck's payload capacity. Take a look at the yellow/white Tire & Loading Information sticker on the driver's side door jamb and see what it indicates is your truck's cargo carrying (payload) capacity.

Next, forgot about published hitch weights. They are based on an empty trailer, and no one camps with an empty trailer. Instead, figure 13% of the trailer's GVWR will be hitch weight. For the Alpha Wolf you are looking at, that would be about 1000 lbs.. To this 1000 lbs add the weight of everyone that will be in the truck, 100 lbs for a weight distribution hitch, and the weight of all other gear you will have in the bed or cab of the truck. If this figure is over your truck's payload cap you are overloaded. Final note on payload - that value on the door jamb was valid when the truck left the factory. If you added anything after that, like a toolbox, running boards, tonneau cover, topper etc. - the weight of those options needs to be deducted from the 'sticker' payload.

For a while I towed a 33'3" TT with my F150 SCREW. I was able to stay under payload by a couple hundred pounds but only had about 40 lbs to spare of rear axle capacity. Your Alpha, while roughly the same length, has a much lower GVWR (mine was 9500 lbs) and IIRC, it scaled at about 8300 lbs loaded up for camping. You won't be near that, so depending on the payload on your truck, you should be OK.

 

A key consideration when discussing trailer length as a deciding factor is are you referencing living box length (sail area) or overall length (ball to bumper). If you having the towing skills/ability, the overall length tail swing and axle distance from hitch aren’t that big a bother. Side winds affect everybody and can hit you almost unawares. I think that is the important factor of why using length of the TT is a consideration.
Your chosen TT appears to have a 26’ box based on its series number. IMHO, that’s a reasonable, large length for an equipped F150, when the weights are in towing specs.

 

I frequent many RV forums, and I've been a avid RV'er for over 10 years now. The tow advice you will get on most of the RV forums will be in stark contrast to what you will see on this one.

Fully realizing you cannot generalize anything, MOST in the RV forum would tell you to stay under 30' w/ a half-ton. MOST would tell you keep it around 26', with 28' being a stretch. As you have a Ford, you at least have decent payload compared to the RAMS and Tundras of the world.

There are members on this forum posting no problems towing much more. Again, I find the contrast fascinating.

Personally, for my truck 26' and 7k GVWR on the trailer (+/- a couple hundred) is about as far as I'd go with it.

 

I'd probably tow that with my similar truck (2017 Lariat SCREW Max Tow). Many of the manufacturers make this same layout a couple of feet shorter by giving up the sofa and just having the dinette. If the comfortable seating area is desired over a dinette, many times you can option a sofa or theater seating in place of the dinette. Looks like Alpha Wolf offers a 22SW-L, that is a similar layout, however it appears you give up some kitchen counter space. Just a thought for keeping length/weight/tongue weight in check.

 

I think part of the contrast is the fact that, as far as I can tell, Ford F-150s and Nissan Titans are the only lines of half-ton trucks offering heavier duty versions complete with upgraded frames. Of course, Nissan's Titan XD (8800 max GVWR) has a significantly higher rating than even the highest rated F-150 (7850 max GVWR). But when you compare that to Chevrolet's top Silverado 1500 rating (7300 GVWR), Toyota Tundra's top rating (7375 GVWR), and Ram's top 1500 rating (7100 GVWR - except the TRX which is 7800 GVWR), 7850 is still a lot.

 

Right, but isn't the HDPP version (7850 GVWR you are referencing) pretty much impossible to find unless you order it? I never considered your angle given how rare they are to find on a lot; I had assumed most were pulling these longer trailers with the ~7000 GVWR spec'd trucks.

 

Here's where the trailer manufacturer misleads you.

Fact - a trailer such as this should have between 10 and 15% tongue weight. Ideally, 13%.

Fact - 720 is 13% of 5,538. UVW is 6,143. So they're saying that the unloaded trailer has a tongue weight of 11.7%.

The problem is that the GVWR, which is the loaded trailer, is 7,720, so 13% is a tongue weight of 1,004, assuming you load the trailer perfectly.

What's the payload of your truck? Subtract 1,004 from it, and that's what's remaining for the tonneau cover, bedliner, bedmat, floor mats, and anything else you added after buying the truck, then for you, and your family. You will likely be very close to payload.

If you had 3 big guys, plus you, you'd likely be over payload.

 

If the pickup is a "Max Tow" setup, you won't have a problem from a GCVWR standpoint. Where you potentially will have a problem is your pickup's payload capacity. As others have mentioned (or should have), tongue weight (and you'll need a WDH) subtracts from your available payload as does EVERYTHING else that is added to the pickup that wasn't present when it rolled off the factory floor. The TT you mention very well could end up with a tongue weight around 1,000 lbs. Add another 80-100 lbs for the WDH. Figure you have about 400 lbs left over for ALL the rest of the stuff - including you, your wife, and whatever else goes into the pickup.

In my case, have a roughly similar pickup, but the tongue weight including WDH is about 600 lbs for a 4,000 lb trailer (actual weight guys!). I weigh about 250 and wife/kid/dogs about that as well. This leaves me with just over 400 lbs available payload and I'm nowhere near the limits on individual axle weights.

If I were towing your TT twice per year as you have apparently been and for a very short distance, I personally would not have an issue with that. However, if the plan was to regularly tow because you're now going out and about and all over the place instead of simply relocating to/from storage twice per year, that's a whole different ballgame. I truly don't think the truck will have a problem from a GCVWR standpoint... but you very well could have a payload problem so be absolutely certain you're under that limit too!

That all being said, if you're doing LOTS of towing close to your current pickup's payload rating, you might be better served with an F250 (or an F150 HDPP) with a payload rating above 2,000-2500 lbs.

Just food for thought!

 

For "lots of towing" with weight like that you'll always be better off with a F250.
F150's are great for occasional towing, but mostly unloaded usage. They can achieve good mileage unloaded.
For frequently loaded situations, I would choose a gas F250. Much better suited to handle such a load. Way more durable in every way but especially in engine and trans cooling, stronger powertrain, frame axles, brakes etc.