Too much trailer?

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a_tack

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Sep 11, 2016
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Hi all, new to the forum! I currently camp in a 2002 Coleman Sedona pop-up and am looking to upgrade in the near future. I am towing with a 2013 F150 Supercab 4x4. 5.0 with 3.55 gears, tow package, and upgraded E load tires. As equipped, Ford rates this truck at 7,800# tow capacity. I'm not sure how they came up with this as there is no industry standard for rating tow capacity on a truck and I have owned much less powerful, higher geared trucks that were rated to tow almost a ton more. Anyways, I am looking at 2 different Keystone travel trailers.
Hideout 27dbs DRY 6,500# GVWR 7,790#
OT
Passport 2670BH DRY 5,100# GVWR 6,960#

Locally there is about a $4,500 price difference between the two trailers with the Passport being more expensive.

I will be towing mainly in eastern Kentucky with the average trip being no farther than 60 miles one way. May take it as far as 250-300 miles maybe once every other year.

All that being said, should I shell out the extra money for the passport, or would the hideout be just fine?

I will also add that I will be the only occupant in the tow vehicle along with maybe 200 lbs of firewood. I have 3 kids so my wife drives separately with the kids, pets, and bags of clothing. Sorry for the long post, thanks in advance!
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. There are lots of experts on towing who will be along to provide advice. The first thing to do is check your truck's door panel for a yellow sticker and get the numbers from that. All trucks are different and the manufacturers towing specs are not specific to each vehicle, just a guideline. You need to consider wet weight of trailer, ie loaded as that is most important. Good luck and happy travels!  :)
 
Welcome to the Forum!

Thanks for most of the information I would have asked about.

There is a standard for tow ratings, and the advertising department loves it!  For the 2013 model year, the rating is based on a base model (XL) truck with no options, one 150# driver, NO passengers, NO cargo and a full tank of gas.  For every additional pound added to the truck, deduct a pound of towing capacity.  Note this includes the weight of all options! 

The GOOD NEWS is you travel alone.  Thank you for that comment!! it really helps!!

To find your true capacity, start with the yellow label Jackie mentioned.  It is on the driver door B pillar.  That max capacity is exactly what is says.  Add together your weight, 200# for firewood, 80# for a WD hitch and the tongue wt of the TT (use 10% of GVWR as a good estimate).  This must be less than the CCC from the yellow sticker.  Without the weight of the wife, kids, pets and cargo, you have a good chance to be okay either way.

One question, are you looking new or used?  You can save quite a bit going gently used, and not have the hassle of returning to the dealer for all the warranty repairs a new TT will need.  It allows more time for camping!
 
Thanks for the info! I will do some number crunching and check it out. I'm not opposed to buying used, but I'm waiting until my truck is paid off in March to purchase in case I want new. I will be debt free and have somewhere between $7-9000 to either purchase used or make a down payment on a new one then. Worst part I'm seeing locally is the used ones weren't taken very good care of. If I found a nice used one, that's the route I'd go.
 
I think the least bias way to determine towing capacity is to use the SAE J2807 standard.  Please consider Googling it.  Prior to the J2807 standard manufacturers tended to inflate their numbers.

Keep all the weights in mind, i.e. trailer weight, tongue weight, GVWR, towing capacity, etc.

A good WD hitch is a must, even if it does put 80 (or more) pounds on the hitch.  We have gone from Central Florida to the Blueridge Mountains on three occasions since we purchased our rig and we have not experienced significant sway.  On our way back from our most recent trip we saw a Jeep Wrangler pulling a midsize car on a trailer and that trailer was all over the place and he was barely doing approx 55 on the freeway.
 
Thanks for the info. The last articles I had read were written pre-2013. I didn't know about the newer SAE standards. I'm still not sure I understand why there is such a drastic difference in the GCVWR from 2wd (14,900) to 4wd (13,500). I wouldn't think the front differential and transfer case would account for a 1,400lb difference in GCVWR.
 
If you are debt free, you know what that financial freedom is like... don't go into "red" for a new RV!  They depreciate like crazy and you'll be upside down on the loan instantly.  That "right" used unit (that you can afford in cash) will come along, if you do the research and scour classified ads long enough.  It may require some travel on your part, but the deal is worth it once you find it!  :)
 
scottydl said:
If you are debt free, you know what that financial freedom is like... don't go into "red" for a new RV!  They depreciate like crazy and you'll be upside down on the loan instantly.  That "right" used unit (that you can afford in cash) will come along, if you do the research and scour classified ads long enough.  It may require some travel on your part, but the deal is worth it once you find it!  :)
Click to expand...
X2!!

There are several sites to track, including    RVTrader.com,    RVT.com,  E Bay,  and local dealers.  PPL in Texas has a great web site and consignment inventory.  The perfect for you RV may take a bit to find, but the hunt is part of the fun.  A cash sale is a great bargaining chip for private sales, too!
 
Thanks again for the great advice! I have been looking into used ones as well. I can probably scrape together around $10k for the right used travel trailer. I'm even considering units with no slide.
 
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