Travel Trailer size for my new (used) 2011 Ford F150 King Ranch
 

Hello all! I am brand new to towing and just bought a 2011 Ford F150 King Ranch. Since it doesn't have a lot of information on it, I was able to get the window sticker from my local Ford dealership yesterday. What I do know is that has the 5.0L V8 engine, SuperCrew cab, 3.73 axle as part of the Off Road Package. It has the 7200# GVWR Package and 145wb. It also has the trailer sway control, along with the integrated trailer brake control. The hitch does not have a sticker on it or it was painted over but it does have the 7 pin trailer plug.

I am really confused about what I can tow safely. Based on what the chart says in the owners manual, trailer weight is 9400 for 4x2 and 9300 for 4x4. Reading what I have so far on this forum is that I shouldn't concern myself with the trailer weight as much as payload, which is where I get confused. I am looking at a trailer that has a dead weight of 5800lbs and a hitch weight of 632lbs.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. The RV dealer yesterday told me that with a 9300lb trailer weight max, I don't have to worry about anything else which I know is not correct.

Thank you

Hello and welcome to the forum.

You are correct that payload capacity is almost always the limiting factor in determining what your truck can tow.

I would guess that a TT with (what I assume is a dry) weight of 5,800 lbs is within your truck's payload capability, but unfortunately the King Ranch is heavlily (no pun intended) optioned thereby reducing the payload availability.

To make sure, you need to check the factory sticker, the one that contains the tire and and load information, on the driver's side door frame. It will contain a statement something like "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should not exceed XXXX lbs".
This is the total maximum safe payload capacitiy of your truck, including the tongue weight of the trailer.

You need to estimate the weight of yourself, your better half, kids, dog, cooler, firewood, and any other gear that is usually in your truck when pulling your trailer. Don't forget to factor in the weight any post-factory additions or modifications, as well as your WDH shank and ball.
Subtract this number from the figure stated on the sticker to come up with what's remaining for your availalbe hitch weight.

A typical hitch weight is approximately 13 - 15% of the total loaded (wet) trailer weight. So take the available hitch weight as calculated above and divide that by 0.13 to get the maximum loaded weight of the trailer.

Hope this helps. I'm sure there are others on this forum that can explain it much better than I can.

So if I am understanding, since the sticker says 1237lbs combined weight, it has nothing to do with what my max tow limit is if I have 3 people in the truck and that is 600lbs then I only have 637lbs total for tongue weight. What happens if I go over that 1237lbs?

You are correct in your math. Also, any aftermarket added options take away from that number as well. Bed Covers, tool boxes, and even the weight distribution hitch you'll need for anything over 5,000 Pounds. Also keep in mind, you'll have gear for those 3 people, so that eats into your payload as well. So, with those riders and gear, you're going to be under a 5,000 pound trailer.

If you go over? Braking and handling are severely affected as you climb over your limit. The engine will pull it, but you won't be able to steer safely.

637 pounds tongue weight, at 13% avg, is a 4,900 pound LOADED trailer, assuming nothing is loaded in the truck besides those people. If you have a tonneau cover, or a bedliner, subtract that weight from 637 and then divide by .13.

Going over payload puts you, your passengers, and everyone else at risk. If something happens, you also put yourself at risk for a lawsuit, or for being criminally negligent by knowingly go beyond capacity of your truck.

A King Ranch is not an ideal tow vehicle.

This^^^^ Also be aware that advertised dry tongue weights are well below the actual trailer tongue weight. The tongue weight for my Micro-Lite is advertised as 398lbs. Loaded up with propane, two batteries and some water and the tongue weight is well over 500lbs.

Mr. Budman - I know this isn't what you want to hear, but as Rick said, a king ranch isn't typically a good vehicle to choose for towing a big travel trailer because all those options leave little left for people, gear and tongue weight. The 2011 trucks were also heavier than the new trucks without correspondingly higher GVWR so typically less payload.

Going over the 1237 pounds will put you over your GVWR which is illegal in every state. In my state (PA) it used to be a dollar fine per pound over GVWR and another dollar per pound over your registration. That was a while back so I suspect those fines have gone up. But what's worse is that if you're in an accident and it's determined you were over weight, you're insurance company could leave you hanging. In addition, you could be found liable for things you wouldn't otherwise be found liable for. So just not a good place to be all around.

The other problem is that dry published travel trailer tongue weights are typically much lower than ready for the road real world weights. My tongue weight is published at 460 pounds dry. It is 900 pounds ready to hit the road. Add my WD hitch and I'm at 970 hitch weight on a trailer that is only about 5,000 pounds loaded. So my 5,000 pound travel trailer set up the way I travel with it would leave you with only 267 pounds for all people and gear in the truck.

There are some things you can do if you need a few pounds.

1. A weight distributing hitch, although heavy will often remove more than it's own weight from the truck and move it to the trailer axles when properly set up. If you have a lighter hitch like mine, it's only 70 pounds and it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for it to move 150 pounds or so back to the trailer wheels. So +75 pounds for people and gear.
2. Pack everything in the trailer, nothing in the truck, and remove the tailgate. Maybe +100 pounds for people and gear.
3. Some people have even moved the truck's spare tire to the trailer. Maybe + 40 pounds for people and gear.
4. Do you need those running boards - they might be heavy and removing them is a pound for pound increase for people and gear.
5. Some have even removed their rear seats - but if you have 3 people, probably cant do that.
6. Does it have skid plates underneath? I think they are about 60 pounds.

Add those up and you've gained about 275 pounds for people and gear. Remember, the yellow sticker "payload" number is for how it left the factory. The important number is the GVWR. The GVWR is the legal number. The yellow sticker number is just a calculation of GVWR minus the weight of the truck with a full tank of gas and all fluids. Take off some factory stuff and the truck get's lighter and you can carry more people and gear legally than the number on the yellow sticker. Also remember, that is with a full tank of gas so half tanking it can save some weight too. None of these are ideal, but you do what you gotta do.

Wanted to add that there are also things you can do to keep the wet tongue weight from climbing too much. My trailer came with 2 x 30 pound propane tanks on the tongue (that's 120 pounds). Going to 1x20 pound tank would cut about 80 pounds from the tongue weight. Batteries are often mounted on the tongue. When I wanted to go with more batter power and didn't want to add more weight to the tongue I build a batter box inside the trailer about 10 feet behind the tongue instead of right on it and vented it outside.

So if you are creative, you might be able to legally tow a medium size travel trailer. I'd shoot for something that you think wont exceed 5,000 loaded for a trip. With that you should be able to keep total hitch weight (tongue weight + WD hitch) to 750 pounds. Transfer 150 of that back to the trailer with WDH and take off the tailgate and maybe the running boards and you're left with ~750 pounds for people and gear in the truck. Just be sure to actually weigh the tongue before buying the trailer and check everything on the scales before rolling out for a road trip. Leave yourself some wiggle room on paper in case something weighs more (or less for stuff you remove) than you think. Better to think you're heavier than you are when hitting the scales than the other way around.

YEP! all that King Ranch bling lowers your payload capacity.
that's why most KRs aren't good for towing trailers.
that's why i got an XLT/XTR with Max Tow package. payload of 1828lbs.

And what most folks wont admit is the weight distribution hitches move some of the tongue weight to the front of the truck and to the rear of the camper so figuring the tongue weight will require a trip to the scales to get a accurate idea of what works and what doesn't,