I am sorry if this was asked before. I have read a ton of threads and still think I want feedback from you experts. I bought a 2015 f150 leftover. It has the tow package and I found out it has a 3.31 rear. It is 4wheel drive and has the 4 full doors on the cab. The dealer said it can tow 10800lbs but I know that is under ideal circumstances. I want to tow a TT that is 4900lbs dry with a hitch weight of 620 lbs. It will be my wife and I in the truck and our 2 boys. Combined they both do not weigh 100 lbs. I know I have to add 8?lbs per gal and it holds 31 gal fresh water. I also figure 500 lbs of who knows what in it. That still puts me under 6k lbs. I wanted to get a f250 but I honestly just couldn't afford it. The "towing expert" at the dealer said I will have no issues but I read these threads and I guess I just want to make sure I did not make a mistake getting this truck. I do not have the ability to return it. I should also mention it is a 3.5 ecoboost.

Am I ok to tow this? I do plan some longer trips and a few in the mountains. I am a total towing noob so any help is appreciated and again I am sorry for another towing help thread.

 

I have towed a 28' travel trailer weighing 6-6500 lbs loaded to camp with the '11 F150 in my sig. Towed it very well.

Officially, I'd certainly recommend you make sure you know what the tongue weight of the trailer is (when loaded) and how much you have on the wheels of the truck when loaded. There are a few limits you'll want to be aware of -- rear axle weight, GVWR (total weight on the truck's wheels) and CGVWR (total weight of the truck and trailer loaded).

 

You will need a weight distribution hitch.

 

They went to the 3.31 due to the weight loss from the aluminum body. From what I have seen you will have no problems towing that. Just add a WD hitch and you will be fine. The 3.5 is a Torque monster.

 

I have never used a weight distribution hitch. Is this something the trailer place can setup or install or do I need to have this done by the dealer? How does it work exactly?

 

The trailer place should be able to do it or you can do it yourself. Here's a good page with info: https://www.etrailer.com/faq-weightdistribution.aspx

Once you decide on the WD hitch see mfg's instructions/videos on proper installation for that specific hitch

 

Should be fine if the payload sticker shows over 1600lb (I imagine it will being a 2015 with the 3.5EB).

Dry weight - 4900
Loaded - 5900
Hitch weight (13%) - 767
Occupants - 550?
WDH - 100
Misc in truck - 150
Total - 1567.

That assumes you carry no water and have 1000lb of stuff in the TT.

One thing to consider as far as occupants weight goes...your boys are probably young if they weigh less than 100 lb combined but they grow fast so make sure you have some cushion in your calculations.

The trailer dealer should be able to set up the hitch BUT do some research yourself as they do not all do a good job (I had my new hitch set up when I bought it and they had the ball too high because they thought the truck would sag more...I dropped it 3" from where they had it to make it right.

 

Thank you all this is exactly the help I need and I appreciate it very much. My door sticker says 1832lbs. I feel more comfortable about it all now. I really like the truck and was hoping it would do the job.

 

Unless you're dry camping (no hookups) don't fill the water tank full just put a little in to use on the road. No use adding that weight if you don't need it. Happy trails!

 

A weight-distributing (WD) hitch is required if your tongue weight might exceed 500 pounds. So yes, your trailer that will gross at least 6,000 pounds when wet and loaded for the road will have hitch weight of close to 780 pounds, so you must have a WD hitch.


A good WD hitch distributes the tongue weight (TW) off the rear axle and onto the front axle of the tow vehicle and the trailer axles. Ideal weight distribution is 20% to 25% of TW to the front axle, another 20% to 25% of TW to the trailer axles, leaving 50% to 60% of tongue weight on the rear axle of the tow vehicle. Plus sway control or sway elimination is a huge factor in a good WD hitch. If you have ever had uncontrollable trailer sway, you'll pay a lot be sure it never happens again. Trailer sway control is the major factor between the cheap WD hitches and the good ones.


There are cheap hitches you don't want, good hitches that will probably be all you need, and the OMyGosh expensive WD hitch that I have. Ignore the cheaper hitches and expect to spend at least $400 for one from a discount on-line source such as Amazon.com or eTrailer.com.


Reese, Curt, and Husky are popular brands that make cheap hitches. Don't buy a cheap WD hitch that can be had for less than $300. Stay away from any Reese WD hitch that is not a Strait-Line. Other good brands are Blue Ox SwayPro and Equal-I-Zer, which do not make cheap hitches. So I would demand either a Reese Strait-Line or a Blue Ox SwaPro or an Equal-I-Zer. Strait-Line and Equal-I-Zer are the most popular "good" WD hitches. Blue Ox SwayPro is probably just as good as those two, but costs a bit more.


With your probable tongue weight of 780 pounds, plus the weight of the WD hitch of over 100 pounds, or total hitch weight of over 880 pounds, you need a WD hitch rated for at least 1,000 pounds tongue weight (TW), and 1,200 pounds TW rating will work just fine.


The Strait-Line is not available with 1,000 pounds TW, so if you want a Strait-Line, then go for the one with 1,200 pounds TW rating. Blue Ox and Equil-I-Zer are both available with TW of 1,000 pounds.


Full Disclosure: I have a Strait-Line on my cargo trailer and a ProPride on my TT. The ProPride cost more than 4 times as much as the Strait-Line, and it will be needed in only very rare conditions when the Strait-Line would not be sufficient. So I don't recommend others invest in a ProPride unless their trailer is way too heavy or too long for their tow vehicle.


Install of one of the good WD hitches is not difficult, but is time consuming to get it installed and dialed in properly. Requires several trips across a certified automated truck (CAT) scale. You can DIY if you can follow directions and have decent tools. I would not personally rely on any hitch installer to get it done right, but maybe allow them to do the major install work then you fine-tune the setup to match your actual tongue weight of the wet and loaded trailer.


To properly set up the hitch, you must know the tongue weight. That requires either two trips across the CAT scale every time you change the weight in the trailer, or a tongue weight scale in your toolbox. I invested in a Sherline tongue weight scale.