Ford F-250 6.7 SW towing capacity

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russgs

russgs

Active member
Joined
Oct 8, 2016
Posts
27
Location
Cochrane, Alberta
I have an F-250 6.7L Supercrew (Lariat). The sticker on the B pillar indicates a 1980 pound maximum for cargo and passengers. This means that (using the recommended 25% PW percentage) the MOST 5th wheel weight I can handle is 7920 (25% of 7920=1980). 5th wheels with a GVW of 7920 are few and far between.
This seems awfully light !...am I being too conservative?
 
No you're not being too conservative. A lot of that F-250's payload is eat up by the weight of the 6.7 diesel and all the Lariat options. My 2014 F-250 XLT crew cab, short bed with a 6.2 gasser has 2963# of payload according to the sticker.
The weight of all your passengers and anything else that has been put in or on the truck must also be subtracted from that 1980#. The weight of your hitch must also be subtracted from that 1980# also.
 
No, you are correct but the pin weight on the truck can be between 20-25% for many fifth wheels which can give you a bit of room. Some truck options, like Supercrew cabs that are taken into account on that label can really eat into the CCC!!! The hitch weight has to be subtracted as well lowering your CCC even more.
 
You are basically correct.  The F250, and many ? ton trucks are great for towing a nice TT, but not a FW.

From your 1980# payload, subtract 340# for you and dear wife, 40# for an Andersen FW hitch (the lightest available) and 100# for misc cargo.  This leaves 1500# for pin wt.  At 20%, that is a 7500# FULLY LOADED (GVWR) FW.

If you want to keep the truck, look at TT.  Using the same numbers, 1500# for a tongue weight, at 12.5% tongue wt (a bit high, but very realistic), you can handle a 12,000#  GVWR TT.  At 10% tongue wt, you can handle 15,000# GVWR.

I did not adjust for the heavier hitch, but you see the huge difference.

The difference is real in the different spring package on the F350.  My F350 SRW Lariat (see sig) has a CCC of 3543#
 
Hello,

russgs said:
Thank you all for your feedback. I'll go weigh my truck this weekend and see how close the sticker weights are.
Click to expand...

Can you tell what year is your F250, and whether it's 4x2 or 4WD?

Cheers,
--
  Vall.
 
Hi,
It's a 2016 4x4.
Ford documentation (ie on-line brochure) states that a diesel, 4X4, Super Crew, has a curb weight of about 7200 pounds. If I subtract that from the 9900 pound GVW then I should have a cargo/passenger capacity of about 2700 pounds which would be ample for a smaller fifth wheel. The sticker on the B pillar tells me I have a passenger/cargo capacity of about 1980 pounds. The options on the truck include AC and sunroof which I know will detract from the cargo capacity.
 
The brochure weights are just a generalization. The sticker on the pillar is gospel for your particular truck.
 
Could all those who own a Fox Mountain 235RLS let me know what you're towing it with, the actual cargo/passenger capacity of your tow vehicle and any info on how well your vehicle tows it? If you have a measured pin weight % it would also help me out.
I'm looking to buy one and my truck is a F-250 with a low cargo rating of only 1990 pounds so I'm looking for a small lightweight fifth wheel.
 
The "sticker police" are going to criticize me for saying this, but for many 3/4 ton trucks, the payload limit on the sticker is artificially limited based on a 10K pound gross vehicle weight capacity.  If you look at the front and rear axle capacities, your truck's towing capacity may be higher than what the payload sticker says.  For example, I also have an F250 6.7L.  Based on the sticker, I have 2K pounds of payload; if I go by the axle capacities on the sticker and subtract the actual weight of my truck on the front and rear axles, I have 3K pounds of capacity on my rear axle.

Now, I'm not going to load the back of my truck up with 3K pounds, but I think it's good to understand how the payload capacities are calculated.  In my case, I'm not going to sweat it if I go over my rated payload by a few pounds.
 
drewtk said:
The "sticker police" are going to criticize me for saying this, but for many 3/4 ton trucks, the payload limit on the sticker is artificially limited based on a 10K pound gross vehicle weight capacity.  If you look at the front and rear axle capacities, your truck's towing capacity may be higher than what the payload sticker says.  For example, I also have an F250 6.7L.  Based on the sticker, I have 2K pounds of payload; if I go by the axle capacities on the sticker and subtract the actual weight of my truck on the front and rear axles, I have 3K pounds of capacity on my rear axle.

Now, I'm not going to load the back of my truck up with 3K pounds, but I think it's good to understand how the payload capacities are calculated.  In my case, I'm not going to sweat it if I go over my rated payload by a few pounds.
Click to expand...
I'll let you off with a warning this time, but do not do it again!!  ;D

Russ, for reference, my '13 F350  has a "chart payload" (XL, no options) of 3990#.  My Lariat SuperCab, no sunroof, has a yellow sticker of 3453#.  That's almost 550# of options.  The bigger cab alone may account for another 200#.  Please let us know the actual weight / payload!
 
I just responded on the "fifth wheel towing" thread how to calculate the towing capacity of your truck.  It should answer this.  I see you have posted there, too!

If this is not clear, please ask again.  I want you to have the information you need.
 
OK I've just weighed my F-250 with full fuel and no cargo or passengers (curb weight)
4718 Front Wheels
3086 Rear Wheels
7804 TOTAL (curb weight)

at a GVWR of 9900 that leaves me 9900-7804=2096 for cargo/passengers/pin weight
my rear axle RGAWR = 6100 so I have (6100-3086) 3014 of extra capacity for the rear axle so this is certainly not the limiting factor.

My wife and I weigh a total of 320, I'll assume a 150 for a hitch
2096-320-150 = 1626 maximum allowable pin weight
1626*5 (20% pin wt) = 8130 (maximum loaded 5th wheel weight)

A dry Fox Mountain weighs (according to some on this site) 7500 pounds
This means I can load no more than 8130-7500 = 630 pounds of water, propane, batteries, food etc etc etc with nothing added to the truck bed....not enough if my calculations are correct.
It's just my wife and I and we are minimalists but this seems unrealistic.
Comments?
Any fifth wheels out there that are lighter (that aren't made of cardboard?)
My reason for not wanting a TT is fear of trailer sway. Can anyone alleviate my fear?







 
russgs said:
My reason for not wanting a TT is fear of trailer sway. Can anyone alleviate my fear?
Click to expand...

Yes.

Sway is usually caused by one of a handful of issues;

1.  Trailer loaded heavily in the rear.
2.  Weight distributing hitch and sway control missing or improperly set up.
3.  Heavy winds.
4.  Not enough truck to tow the given trailer.
5.  Excessive speed.

Your F250 should be able (properly set up) to tow any conventional RV trailer made today...and do it safely.  I pull a 30' long "ultra lite" which is a portly 7800 lbs gross....I do it with a 2014 Ram 2500 Crew Cab Cummins.....and I have ZERO sway.  The truck manhandles the trailer.  And I still have full use of my truck bed to haul bikes, firewood, gear, or anything else....and still be well under my payload rating. 

You already own the truck.....your options are a small(er) fifth wheel, or a large conventional (ie "bumper pull") trailer. 
 

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I pull close to 9600#, 34 1/2' hitch to bumper. I don't have any sway issues either. (Unless the wind is gusting crossways at 35+ mph)
 
kdbgoat said:
I pull close to 9600#, 34 1/2' hitch to bumper. I don't have any sway issues either. (Unless the wind is gusting crossways at 35+ mph)
Click to expand...

Anything over about 30 sustained, I pull over and wait it out.  But other than that, mine pulls like a dream.  I barely know it's back there. 
 
OK I've just weighed my F-250 with full fuel and no cargo or passengers (curb weight)
4718 Front Wheels
3086 Rear Wheels
7804 TOTAL (curb weight)

at a GVWR of 9900 that leaves me 9900-7804=2096 for cargo/passengers/pin weight
my rear axle RGAWR = 6100 so I have (6100-3086) 3014 of extra capacity for the rear axle so this is certainly not the limiting factor.

My wife and I weigh a total of 320, I'll assume a 150 for a hitch
2096-320-150 = 1626 maximum allowable pin weight
1626*5 (20% pin wt) = 8130 (maximum loaded 5th wheel weight)

A dry Fox Mountain weighs (according to some on this site) 7500 pounds
This means I can load no more than 8130-7500 = 630 pounds of water, propane, batteries, food etc etc etc with nothing added to the truck bed....not enough if my calculations are correct.
It's just my wife and I and we are minimalists but this seems unrealistic.
Comments?
Any fifth wheels out there that are lighter (that aren't made of cardboard?)
My reason for not wanting a TT is fear of trailer sway. Can anyone alleviate my fear?
 
Russ,

Thanks for the weights.  Your analysis and conclusions are correct.

Granted, I'm biased, but you have a great truck.  Can you rent a TT and see how you like it?  As others have said, most problems are caused by too small of a truck, (NOT in your case), improper loading / tail heavy, (you control this), Improper WD hitch setup, (you control), driving too fast, (you control), or wind.  Give the TT a try!
 
russgs said:
A dry Fox Mountain weighs (according to some on this site) 7500 pounds
This means I can load no more than 8130-7500 = 630 pounds of water, propane, batteries, food etc etc etc with nothing added to the truck bed....not enough if my calculations are correct.
It's just my wife and I and we are minimalists but this seems unrealistic.
Comments?
Click to expand...

Depends on the manufacturer's definition of "dry".  Dry weight may not even include the A/C, battery, awning, spare tire, or any other factory options on the trailer.  It's up to the maker of the trailer how they define dry.  The ideal scenario is to load up the trailer ready to camp and head to a commercial scale to find out what it really weighs.  Since that isn't feasible, use gross weight.  If you can't get away with loading the trailer to gross weight and still be within specs, don't buy it.  Minimalist?  Yeah....we all start that way.  Then just one more thing gets thrown in......next thing you know, you've added 1000 lbs.  Lots of people guestimate what it weighs....then when they finally take it to a scale, they are in disbelief of how heavy it really is.

Full water tank alone may be 300 lbs.  And yes, you'll need water to travel with. 

russgs said:
Any fifth wheels out there that are lighter (that aren't made of cardboard?)
Click to expand...

Light means something was compromised to make it lighter.  Cabinets are one thing that gets made thinner.  Frame rails are another.  There is no free ride here.

russgs said:
My reason for not wanting a TT is fear of trailer sway. Can anyone alleviate my fear?
Click to expand...

If I didn't do that on post # 13, nothing will.
 
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