Need advice on Ford F150

When I had a 32 ft FW, I thought I would be ok with a 2500HD Silverado.  I was wrong and had to trade it for a 3500 RAM.  Then my problems vanished.  Get a 3500 truck for the FW you want. Otherwise, you will be trading trucks in the future like I did.

Lmao i love this post i find it amazing that some people only hear what they want to hear and ignore the invaluable advise given

IriteI said:

This forum is great!  I've been trying to read up on so much stuff, my head is spinning!  I'm hoping to get a 5th wheel, about 27-32 foot - seen some pretty nice used ones advertised that are in the 10K GVWR range.  I have been told to get a truck first, then buy a FW that I can tow with it.  The 2015 F150 specs I had been looking at show the 3.5L V6 can tow from 10,500 to 11,800 lbs depending on cab/bed size.  Now it looks like I need to consider the rear axle weight rating, is that right? 
Right now, my girlfriend and I are not planning on being full-timers but we would sure like to take some 2 or 3 week trips.  Lots to see and do, and never enough time to do it all!  Thanks, Larry

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I would say you need to down size from a 5th wheel trailer that size.
  My 28RK weighs 11200-11400 lbs depending on how its loaded and has a 2200-2400 lb hitch weight. Works fine for my 2500 Dodge/Cummins however by the time you add the 2400 lbs hitch weight plus a 180-200 lb hitch/rails/mounting brackets and another  couple of hundred lbs in the bed... there is no F150 that can carry that much weight in the bed.
Ford gives these trucks a 10k-11k lb tow rating for all types of trailers not just a rv trailer. Example is one of my 10k car haulers which would work with the right F150 simply because the load on the trailer can be placed  for any required hitch weight. We can't do that with a 5th wheel rv trailer or a TT.

I'll run some numbers at you for the F150HD 7850 gvwr 4800 rawr. These trucks rear axle may weigh 2400-2500 lbs range which leaves around 2300-2400 lb payload in the bed before exceeding a wheel/tire/rear spring pack. Now subtract that 200 lb hitch system = 2200 lbs and another 200 lbs for stuff in the bed and back of the cab = 2000 lbs for a max load.

If your sticking with a F150HD  I would look at 5th wheel trailers with 1600-1700 lb dry pin weight.
 






 

IriteI...  You might buy a F150, it might pull a 5 wheel on flat land, but I'll bet your F150 that you'll upgrade to at least a F250 after one trip.  Be smart, these guys have been pulling and rigging trailers for years.  Buy a used F250 if money is an issue, buy a Diesel, and you'll really be happy.  Nothing stinks worse than being under-Powered.  And above all else, don't listen to a salesman when it comes to specs.  You are doing the right thing.  Research the heck out of this, and this site has tons of great information and advice.  Welcome...

Real world CAT scale numbers.

2010 F-150 4x4 with e-boost engine 356 hp. towing capacity 15,000, cargo capacity 1411. weight of truck and trailer when ready for the road is 13,000 lbs.
2011 25 FT Dutchmen Lite tow behind when loaded for the road 6200 lbs. 700 lbs. tongue weight. (dry weight 5004 lb. 406 on tongue.) So, dry does not mean much.
2 adult, dog and camp gear in bed of truck 650 lbs.
So if you do the math you will see that I am very near my trucks cargo capacity.

The F-150 had done a great job of towing the Dutchmen for the last 30,000 mile. We have crossed the Rockies twice with no problems and the turbo charger provided low end torque when needed.

I really enjoy my rig combo but in all honesty I could not find a FW light enough for my F-150 when loaded for the road.

I think an F-250 is sound advice.     

Like many have said, find the trailer you want FIRST, then the truck to pull up it. You will come out way ahead of the game.  If you want a gas truck, the 3/4 ton gas trucks will get the job done, and still have a softer ride when unloaded.  After working on the industry (both truck and rv repair) the F150 ECOboost is a awesome truck, with a staggering payload. BUT I would never recommend a 5th wheel and a 1/2 ton to anyone

Consider a F250 or F350.  You can get into those trucks for approximately the same amount as a F150 with the 3.5 EcoBoost.  I just went through this process in August.  I landed on a F250 Lariat with the 6.7 diesel and the truck is amazing. 

The price of the F150 I was looking at was $58K.  I got the F250 for $60K.  The Super Duty trucks are in a different league.  A F350 is only about $600 more than a F250 and you pick up even more cargo capacity.  Important for a 5th wheel customer. 

Owned a 2015 F150 3.5 supercrew and did lot of homework.  Actually Bought a Cougar 29RLI for the F150 3 weeks ago Sunday.  Monday I bought a 2017 F250 6.7L and then changed my order to a 344MKS and picked it up that Sat.  Long story, but bottom line is for your F150... keep the hitch weight 1200-1400 and total dry weight around 7K and you will be fine.  F150 3.5 has tons of TQ (420) and 340 HP.  Just remember, do your own homework.  Towed a 5K lb TT with F150 and barely knew it was back there.  Everyone has an opinion and this is mine.

ammotroop1991 said:

Owned a 2015 F150 3.5 supercrew and did lot of homework.  Actually Bought a Cougar 29RLI for the F150 3 weeks ago Sunday.  Monday I bought a 2017 F250 6.7L and then changed my order to a 344MKS and picked it up that Sat.  Long story, but bottom line is for your F150... keep the hitch weight 1200-1400 and total dry weight around 7K and you will be fine.  F150 3.5 has tons of TQ (420) and 340 HP.  Just remember, do your own homework.  Towed a 5K lb TT with F150 and barely knew it was back there.  Everyone has an opinion and this is mine.

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Depending on how the F250 is equipped, you may still not have enough payload capacity.  You didn't offer much info about it....2WD vs. 4WD....Crew Cab vs. Regular Cab...Lariat vs. stripped down model...camper package vs. standard springs!  My previous truck, a 2011 F250 diesel CC 4x4 XLT came with 2148 lbs of payload capacity.  The 344MKS shows a GVWR of around 12.5K, so that's close to 2500 lbs of pin weight without the hitch and all your other stuff.

ammotroop1991 said:

Owned a 2015 F150 3.5 supercrew and did lot of homework.  Actually Bought a Cougar 29RLI for the F150 3 weeks ago Sunday.  Monday I bought a 2017 F250 6.7L and then changed my order to a 344MKS and picked it up that Sat.  Long story, but bottom line is for your F150... keep the hitch weight 1200-1400 and total dry weight around 7K and you will be fine.  F150 3.5 has tons of TQ (420) and 340 HP.  Just remember, do your own homework.  Towed a 5K lb TT with F150 and barely knew it was back there.  Everyone has an opinion and this is mine.

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To each his own opinion, but this is a recipe for real trouble.  A DRY wt of 7K will mean a pin wt of 1400 lbs (20%) and a loaded weight of 8K or 9K, which is the true weight of what you are towing, not some misleading mystery spec from the manufacturer.  With a 8K or 9K weight, the ACTUAL pin wt will be 1600 - 1800 lbs.  Add a 200 lb hitch and a couple passengers and you are significantly overweight for almost all ? ton trucks not owned by a construction company or for other industrial use.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

Sure they can pull that much trailer weight, but they can't carry anywhere near that much 5W pin weight. A 27,500 lb 5W RV would load the truck down with a 5500 lbs pin weight!  Further, the stated tow ratings do not fully account for frontal area resistance either. The base assumption in the Ford Tow Guide is a max of 75 sq ft of 5W frontal area, but a typical large 5W RV will be more like 100 sq ft.  Ford has an entire page in their tow guide on frontal area considerations and says "Exceeding these limitations may significantly reduce the performance of your towing vehicle".

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Yes they would have a 5500# pin weight but there are Ford F350 DRW regular cab trucks rated for over 6700# payload. I know this would have to be a stripped out model but they are there. Heck my Ram 3500 Lariat Mega cab dually is rated for a payload of 5445# payload (this is the yellow sticker on my door frame)and it is heavily optioned. I aslo know that is total of every thing that I load onto my truck. I know about frontal area but take a look and Ford even states that the E series cut aways  make impressive MH chassis and then you look up  and they recommend a frontal area of no more than 60 sq ft. Then you could only have a 8'X8' frontal area on  class c MH. There pictures on their towing spec page shows a big cabover class c MH. Kind of double talk I think.

But for someone to say that a 350/3500 DRW truck is only good for up to 16,000# GVWR is ludicrous. Also I'm not one that runs over on my weights. Like I stated I have a dually 14,000# GVWR truck and I'm pulling a 12,000 GVWR trailer with a 2510# pin weight.

This IMO 

Truck is Lariat supercrew 4x4.  No kids, no wife so travel light. (travel with light beer too). Its about 12k loaded and about 2500 on the hitch.

Very rarely do you ever hear that " I have too much Truck.... But you very often hear I wish I had bought the Bigger Truck.... Listen to the people that tow... Many wish they had stepped up a notch, but for everyone who admits that they have too little of a truck there are 5 more that will not admit it...They rationalize their decision and many times are towing an unsafe load behind the truck...By More Truck... You will not regret it....

ysidive said:

Very rarely do you ever hear that " I have too much Truck.... But you very often hear I wish I had bought the Bigger Truck.... Listen to the people that tow... Many wish they had stepped up a notch, but for everyone who admits that they have too little of a truck there are 5 more that will not admit it...They rationalize their decision and many times are towing an unsafe load behind the truck...By More Truck... You will not regret it....

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If you believe you can't have too much truck why aren't we all driving Freightliners or Peterbuilts?

Oldgator73 said:

If you believe you can't have too much truck why aren't we all driving Freightliners or Peterbuilts?

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Would if I could afford it.....!

Who ever thought an F-150 would cost $60k?

ammotroop1991 said:

Truck is Lariat supercrew 4x4.  No kids, no wife so travel light. (travel with light beer too). Its about 12k loaded and about 2500 on the hitch.

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My guess is you are overloaded.  Your truck is almost identical to the one I had (2148 lbs payload).  Mine wasn't even a Lariat, which will have less payload than I had with an XLT!  What does the white/yellow on the driver side door post say for payload?

I can not comment specifically on your setup. but I see far too many trailers with an F-150 under them where an F-350 is called for.

I've driven an F-350 Custom, Nice truck.

I tow a fairly light (8500 lb) fifth wheel with a 2500 (3/4 ton) RAM with 6.7 diesel engine and tow package - 3.73 rear end.

If I was going to tow anything heavier I would want a 3500 RAM with diesel. 

It's not just what it will tow, it's also the pin weight  in the bed, and the ability to STOP and control the trailer on the road.

You CAN buy a diesel RAM without all the fancy **** you don't need for the price of a fancy F-150 EB.  Look around, don't be stuck on one brand, and deal only with FLEET Managers at the dealerships.  The regular salesmen only want to sell what's on the lot.  I've seen some lots where they only had one or two trucks really well set up for towing (wrong rear axles etc.). 

Ron

John From Detroit said:

I can not comment specifically on your setup. but I see far too many trailers with an F-150 under them where an F-350 is called for.

I've driven an F-350 Custom, Nice truck.

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Just drove through Florida this past week and was pretty surprised the amount of 1/2 ton trucks pulling 10K lb + trailers...they were pulling them but it wasn't pretty.  Have a work acquaintance who tows a 38 ft 10K TT with 1500.  He refuses to tow in the mountains...don't condone it but its his choice.