Truck Towing Capacity?

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A F350 Diesel WILL handle a 15,000# FW!

FW generally tow better for several reasons.  The main one is the pivot point on a FW is above the rear axle.  With a TT, it is a few feet behind the rear axle.

Basically, all salesmen lie.  Be better educated than the salesman before you go shopping.  Thankfully, this is not too hard.

Forget about tow capacity.  There is a huge difference between towing 10,000# of brick and 10,000# camper!

If you choose the FW first, here is the calculation.  Assume 20% of the FW  GVWR as your pin wt.  See Lynx above.
Add the pin wt, 200# for a hitch, weight of all passengers, firewood, tools, snacks and other cargo you plan to carry in the truck.  Your truck MUST have a payload higher than this number.  When you shop, open the driver door and look for the yellow banner placard on the latch post.  It will state the maximum weight of passengers and cargo shall not exceed XXXX lbs.  This is the Payload for THAT truck it left the factory.  If the payload is too low, close the door and keep looking.
 
Thank y?all much!  Literally sat in dealers office today reading this thread while making a decision. 

Here?s the truck we?re looking at getting:  https://www.butlerford.com/new-Ashland-2018-Ford-Super+Duty+F+350+SRW-XL-1FT8W3BT0JEB11663

They are outfitting it with a FW plate/package and rolling it into the loan.  Since it?s a 2018 they are frothing at the mouth to get it off of the lot before the end of the year.  It is priced low because it does not have carpet, power/leather seats, etc.  However it does have cruise control, power windows, etc.

I am still confused on what the truck will tow.  The weight limits are confusing to me (pardon my denseness of understanding  :-[).  The link above says GVWR 10,500 lbs. payload package, which doesn?t sound like it pulls what we would need?

Is there anything specific that I should tell them regarding the FW set up? 

And, they also said that a gas F-350 is much cheaper than a deisel, but doesn?t pull nowhere near as good.  Is this accurate?  We would save about $150/Mo. - which is huge to full timers, as you know.

Making a final decision this weekend.  Any further advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
10,500 GVWR seems light for a one ton nowadays. My SRW Chevy is 11,500. Like previously mentioned, you need to look at the payload sticker in the door. This will almost certainly be your limiting factor.  Add up all your gear and people that will be in the truck, add 20% of the loaded 5er weight (3000 lbs for a 15000 5er) and if it?s less than what?s on the sticker you?re good. How much of a margin you want is up to you.
 
The link above says GVWR 10,500 lbs. payload package

Not sure what that link is trying to say but when we talk GVWR it is usually the trailer GVWR we need to calculate what load it will put on the truck. The information needed on the truck is to be found on the door sticker (usually with yellow borders) where it states the maximum payload or CCC for that particular truck as it left the factory. Of coarse, you don't have that available in a new truck unless the particular truck is in stock and sitting in front of you.
 
By definition truck GVWR is the most the truck was designed to weigh when fully loaded.  Payload is GVWR minus actual truck curb wight.

I am a bit confused, too.  I believe the "normal" GVWR for that truck is 11,500.  There is an option to derate the capacity to 10,500 for states where license / tax is paid on truck GVWR.  Check the driver door label to find the Payload for that truck, as mentioned above.  If it is really a 10,500 GVWR, it may lack the Payload you need.

This truck, with XL trim should have higher than normal payload because of the weight of all the options to does NOT have - power seats,  leather seats, etc.  It IS a diesel, which is more expensive and heavier.

The diesel develops max torque at low - maybe 2000 rpm, so it will easily pull a hill at 2000 rpm where the gasser develops max torque at much higher rpm, maybe 4000 rpm.  It pulls the same hill with the engine screaming at 4000 rpm. in a lower gear.  Yes, the diesel is a much more comfortable towing experience.

I assume the Brake Controller is installed as part of the tow package?  It is a required option!

If the truck has the options you want AND the Payload you need, go for it!
 
Okay, finally sinking in a bit  :-[.  I wish I could upload the document he sent me today stating the specs of what this diesel will comfortably tow, but it is much higher than I was adducing.  It is a factory document & it says this particular truck will tow 19,800 lbs.  The FW we?re looking at only weighs approximately 11,000 lbs., so I think this truck will work fine (fingers crossed).

The dealer explained to me how the brake system works, but I cannot recall it all.  Was very simple, but so much data was being thrown at me that it got lost in the mix.  There was some kind of a way to gear down so that I don?t have to be riding the breaks down the hills.

I wish there was some sort of an RV boot camp in Oregon that we could attend to educate us further, but I would also surmise that this forum is just as informative. 

I do think this is a good deal since we?re only going up on our note by $120/Mo...for so much more truck (and a brand new diesel).  The dealer told me that oil changes cost a good bit more than gas vehicles though, which makes me nervous.  Also wonder how much our insurance will go up (?).

Thanks again for all of the input!
 
You can answer all those questions before you buy.  Call your insurance. Call around and ask about oil changes.

I would still be cautious about what the dealer said. If that document is in PDF you might be able to attach it to a post here. The tow rating is often not the limiting factor, but rather the payload (how much stuff is ?in? the truck) is.

Given the truck?s lower GVWR of 10,500, you may very well run into a payload limit. Now, if that lower GVWR is simply paperwork for taxes and licensing...well then, you might be in a whole different argument.

When buying my truck the dealer tried incessantly to convince me a 2500 was fine since that?s what we?re on the lots. I finally wrote down the numbers and showed him that I had done my research, and he finally put a dealer trade in place to get a 3500 I wanted.

Edit:  that truck with the lower GVWR could have a lower weight rating on the rear axle, which could also affect hour payload rating. It might not be simply paperwork.
 
ip076 makes a good point especially with the F350 SRW truck.

Look on the drivers side door post at the trucks certification sticker. That sticker (regardless of the dealers invoice)  tells you what the trucks GVWR is and more important what RAWR number from the factory. The RAWR will be carrying all the weight in the bed.
GVWR is for state licensing issues if any or DOT licensing issues as required or insurance issues/etc.

Ford F350 srw has over a dozen GVWR numbers.  They can give a 10000 gvwr or 11500 gvwr for the same identical truck.

The F350 srw also has a 6340 rawr.....6730 rawr...and a 7230 rawr packages. The lower rawr packages come with lower rated 17" tires and wheels. Of course the higher rawr packages comes with 18" and 20" tires and wheels

    JMO but Ford marketing all those different gvwr and rawr package on the F350 srw is very confusing to new folks  getting into the trailer tow world.






 
Good comments above!

My F350 Diesel oil change at a local Ford dealer a couple months ago was $120, including filling fluids and DEF.  The cost of the oil, filter and DEF was about $95.  It takes 13 qt of oil.  It only needs one when the system computer says so, at 5,000 - 10,000 miles, depending on use - towing or not.
 
Excellent.  Will look at the sticker more closely next week.

Well, it?s a done deal!  Signed paperwork today & handed them a down payment.

Perhaps I am wrong, but I figure at least I can tow something far better than I could have with my F-150. 

I guess I could always go with a TT as opposed to a FW if need be.  Long bed truck, which does make me rather nervous after reading about Sarge?s episode with the height of his truck bed.

Next is to begin looking for an actual RV.  New thread incoming  ::).
 

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