Ricktwuhk

I am constantly amazed at those that do no/inadequate research before spending $30 - $50,000, not to mention jumping to decisions without understanding whether that decision will make any noticeable difference.

I would strongly advise you to read the towing section of this forum carefully and the forum referenced in several places, do the calculations, get the weights, and THEN if needed spend money.

logspec1

I am certainly not ignoring you, quite the opposite. But what am I missing? I have the 7100# package on my F150 + 9400# towing weight with the new 3.55 rearend = 16,500 GVWR. I expect to be traveling with a combined trailer weight of about 8,500#. So why will this be a problem? Help protect me from myself if I am looking at this wrong.

brulaz

Your truck's Payload may not be high enough to carry the trailer's tongue weight as well as people and gear in the truck.

Typically in these trucks you run out of payload before you run out of tow capacity.

Load up the truck with everybody and every thing you want to carry and weigh it. Subtract that weight from the truck's GVWR. That will be your max trailer tongue weight.

EDIT: Go back and read the post by KR Kodi and after on the first page.

Ricktwuhk

this ^^^^

KR Kodi

iTrader: (1)

I just looked in the "SALES" brochure for my truck, and it says the max loaded trailer weight for my truck is 9600 lbs.

The GCWR is 15,5000. So...if I hook up a 9600 lb trailer I have to limit the weight of my truck to 5900 lbs.

Butt.....MY TRUCK WEIGHS MORE THAN THAT EMPTY!!!!!!!!

The GVWR of my truck is 7200, so I f I work backwards and subtract that from the GCWR, I come up with 8300 lbs for a max trailer weight.

My hitch is rated to "pull" a 10,500 lb trailer with a WDH, but with a WDH the tongue weight is limited to 1050.

But weight a minute!!!! (pun intended). With a tongue weight of 12% of 8300, and a 75 lb WDH, that equals around 1075 lbs - and I'm over the tongue weight limit of the hitch.

So....I'll move some stuff in the trailer and get the tongue weight down to a little less than 12% so I'm at 1030 lbs with the combined weight of the WDH and tongue weight.

The payload capacity of my highly optioned King Ranch with my bed liner and tonneau installed is 6180 lbs.

Add 1030+6180 and I'm at 7210 lbs - Uh Oh! Just a little bit over, but I can get the tongue weight down another 10 lbs so I'll be right at my limit.

However.....that's an EMPTY truck (payload is truck empty except for full tank of gas).

So....if I want to be able to put me, my wife, her luggage, the cooler she loads up with snacks and sodas in the cab, and the couple hundred lbs of stuff I want to carry in the bed, I've got to reduce the tongue weight by at least another 600 lbs or so down to:

400 lbs max tongue weight!!!

I'm down to less than 4000 lb trailer - at least I won't need a heavy WDH!


What happened to that SALES brochure max loaded trailer weight of 9600, or the GCWR max trailer weight of 8300 if my truck is loaded to its GVWR?????

Those weights disappeared due to other limits - payload capacity and hitch limits.

So....the "pulling" power of your truck is much greater than the other limiting factors such as payload capacity and hitch rating of the truck.

Bottom line - get the numbers for YOUR truck and start figuring out what you'll carry in the truck, then figure how much payload remains for tongue weight.

When you know how much tongue weight you can put on the truck, then you can figure out what size trailer you can REALLY tow!

BTW - in my case, I have a 6200 lb car hauler with 675 lbs of tongue weight, which puts me over the truck's very limited payload carrying capability.

I got a Trailer Toad that carries ALL the tongue weight, so now when I load the truck up to its 7200 lb GVWR I can easily pull my 6200 lb trailer, or actually up to 8300 lbs to meet the GCWR limit.

Below is the Trailer Toad "hitch extension" carrying the entire tongue weight of the trailer.




.

smokeywren

What KR said. You're ignoring the GVWR and thus the payload capacity available for hitch weight. The 7100# package is the same as on my pickup. But when the wet and loaded truck weighs 6,000 then you add people and other cargo in the truck and that 1,100 pounds of available payload shinks to less than 600 pounds available for hitch weight.


On mine, with GVWR of 7,100 pounds and a TT that weighs 4,870, I'm overloaded over the 7,100# GVWR by 100 pounds. Imagine how much more I'd be overloaded with a trailer that grossed 8,500 instead of 4,870.


So forget the 9,400 pounds tow rating. It's a myth. You cannot get even close to 8,400 without exceeding the GVWR of your F-150.


If you care enough to do it right, then here's the drill:


1] Load the pickup with everything that will be in it when towing; people, pets, tools, campfire wood?, and your weight-distributing hitch.


2]Drive to a truck stop that has a CAT scale.


3] Fill up with gas, then weigh the wet and loaded pickup with everyone and everything inside the truck.


4] Subtract the wet and loaded weight of the truck from your 7,100# GVWR. The answer is the max hitch weight you can have without being overloaded.


5] Divide that max hitch weight by 0.15 and the answer is the max GVWR of any TT you want to tow with your F-150. That's your real-world tow rating.


And I'll guarantee that your real-world tow rating won't be 9,600 pounds, or 8,500 pounds or even 7,000 pounds. Probably around 5,000 pounds, like mine.

Ricktwuhk

I was ready to say "WAIT!" as I read this but you stopped with the specific weights when you got to the section about your wife. PHEW!

KR Kodi

iTrader: (1)

Yeah - I'm not announcing that in a public forum!!

Even though she's a normal size girl, the weight of her luggage is what pushes the weight up. And I'm 6'2" and 220 (heavier than that when I pull on my jeans, Harley vest, and boots).

My big problem is the VERY low payload capacity with all the options and 4x4.

But, the Trailer Toad solved my problem!!

.

logspec1

Sorry to keep bothering you guys but trying to get this right and I appreciate your help. I went and filled the truck up with gas and weighed her. She came in at 5,880#, just the truck, gas and my tool box of junk. The truck has a 7,100# GVWR so subtracting the 5,880# from that leaves me with 1,220#. Subtract from that myself, the boss and the granddaughter plus 200# of stuff that leaves me with 570#. Am I correct that this is my approximate tongue weight that I can handle?

brulaz

Yes, loaded tongue shouldn't exceed 570#.

Anyway, that's what Ford would say. I figure the GVWR is a useful guideline and try not to exceed it. Some will say the Ford builds a safety factor into their ###'s so you can safely go over it. Others don't trust Ford and won't go over 80% of the GVWR. It's really up to you.