Ford F-250 6.7 SW towing capacity

All very good information thank you!
One last question...
Why would the GVWR of a vehicle be more restrictive than the front and rear gross axle weight ratings?
It seems odd that I can place 3000 pounds on the rear axle and meet the RGAWR but be 1000 pounds over the trucks GVWR.

russgs said:

All very good information thank you!
One last question...
Why would the GVWR of a vehicle be more restrictive than the front and rear gross axle weight ratings?
It seems odd that I can place 3000 pounds on the rear axle and meet the RGAWR but be 1000 pounds over the trucks GVWR.

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A truck (or any vehicle for that matter) is a grouping of systems, not just axle capacity.  Whatever is the weak point in that grouping will be the limiting factor.  The old "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link" thing. 

There's more to a truck than axle capacity.  There is drivetrain, suspension, steering, cooling, braking, charging, etc.....any of which could be the limiting factor.  To that point, you could pull the rear axle off a new F350 truck with a 4000 lbs payload and 22K lbs of towing capacity and mount it under a 2005 F150.  That doesn't mean your 2005 F150 can now carry 4000 lbs and tow 22K lbs.  The braking, steering, suspension etc is still very light duty.  A Ram 3500 with a Cummins and Aisin will have a much better tow rating than the same truck with a 5.7 gasser and a 68rfe transmission, despite them both having the same axles.

It's good that you're doing your homework before trailer shopping....because the salesman is going to tell you "Your can pull anything on the lot" just to get you to write the check.  He cares about his commission, not your safety.  Believe NOTHING an RV salesperson tells you.

Very good information from Frizlefrak.

May I add that IF the front and rear axle load limits EXACTLY equalled the GVWR, you could never reach GVWR without overloading one axle or the other.  You just do not load a truck that way.

russgs said:

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?

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I have your same truck.  I worked for a guy as a kid who builds pools and I still keep in touch.  He tows heavy machinery every day of his life.  He's been through a number of trucks.  As I asked him about my towing capacity, he told me (1) the numbers are all about lawsuits, when you are still being reasonable at least and (2) if you tow heavy, your transmission will be the first to go. 

That's a summary.  He wasn't telling me I could tow whatever I want, but he did say I could tow over 15k if I wanted and be able to stop and go.  I was planning on keeping the GVWR below the 23,500 which means I would be somewhere around 15k fully loaded.  After talking with him, I figured I'm willing to gamble but not too much.  So I've now found a 5th wheel that's sitting around 12,800 loaded.  I've done the math over and over just like you and it simply is not something I can accept.  Just like you, I came up with under 10k that I could tow "safely" when I follow all the calculations.  I plan on using the truck.  If the transmission goes out, hopefully I'll be under warranty as I'll still be within the parameters of the owner's manual.  I just will now have all this other margin of error type stuff baked in. 

Anyway, that's my plan.  Stay within owner's manual and hope for the best!  Didn't buy a diesel to tow get an extra 1000 lbs of towing capacity.  And a DRW was not realistic.  You only live once!! 

Thanks for the reply. I'm still looking around, mostly at TTs now. Best of luck with your choice of 5th wheel and we do have VERY nice trucks!  ;D

I have a 2013 F250 crew cab swb 6.7 I was pulling a 24' tt  I now have a 2015 32' cougar lite fifthwheel. I love pulling the fifth wheel compared to the tt. I looked at the Fox Mountains when I was looking at new trailers but did not like the weight issue. I know the reason they are heavier is because they are well built. I really don't think you would have an issue with that trailer, but it is what ever you are comfortable with not anyone else. Really to bad you can't pull one before you buy it.

Just so you know, the F250 and F350 are EXACTLY the same except for the springs and sometimes the spring riser blocks.  You can bring yours up to the F350 specs rather cheaply and easily, the only thing that will be different is the "high performance" weight sticker, if you worry about that.  If you have the snow plow prep package the front springs are the same already.

I was going to start a new thread but figured that this would be a good one to piggy-back on:

We have a Puma 20QB and tow it with a 2008 Ford F-250 Lariat with the 6.4L diesel. We live in North Florida and occasionally venture to the mountains of North Georgia. The F-250 tows the Puma effortlessly. The problem is that the truck sucks diesel so voraciously that towing the trailer is pretty much all we use it for. Not only that, but it is 4WD which we never use and it's just a beast. Way more truck than we need. We have a 1999 Toyota V6 4-Runner that we used for towing before we bought the Ford. The 4-Runner does OK in the flatlands of Florida but I'd never consider using it in the mountains. We use the 4-Runner for commuting and routine trips to town. But it has nearly 200k miles on the clock.

We'd like to get rid of the 4-Runner and the F-250 buy a pickup that we can use for everyday as well as tow the trailer to the mountains. We've been looking at F-150's which seem to be much more manageable in terms of size (easier to park, etc). But which engine do we need to look at to handle the trailer? There are two V6 Ecoboost - turbo and normally-aspirated - in addition to the venerable 302 V8. I've read good things about the Ecoboost engines and they seem to get great mileage. But will either one handle the trailer reasonably well?

I would get the turbo V6, way more power and slightly better fuel mileage.  Most Eco-Boost owners are very happy with that engine.  Yes, it costs more, and should have premium fuel when towing heavy.

I was extremely disappointed in the weight my f-250 6.7 could handle. A drw f-350 wasen't an option. My wife and I found a nice 2011 keystone 36ft but at 9500lbs dry ... I don't think it's manageable even with the plow prep package Springs and extra leaf in the rear. You're right ... finding a fifth wheel under 8000lbs are far and few in between.

If you look on the Ford website though and owners manual it says the f250 4x4 with 6.7 diesel can tow 5th wheels up to 15100 lbs. In my case 18.75% of the pin weight. The hitch weight of the 5th wheel we are looking at is 1800lbs which doesn't leave much wiggle room at all.(9600lb 5th wheel) loaded at 1000lbs we're at 1900lbs hitch weight. 'l

I have a 2001 F250, 7.3, 6 speed manual tranny and pulled this for 5 years.
4800 pounds tongue weight and grossed 31,800 pounds.  72'10" long Never felt overloaded and could top Mt. Eagle at 55 MPH in 4th. Pulled through 15-18 states and was never stopped or questioned.
I agree about the Lawyers.
Marvin

GA_Boy said:

I have a 2001 F250, 7.3, 6 speed manual tranny and pulled this for 5 years.
4800 pounds tongue weight and grossed 31,800 pounds.  72'10" long Never felt overloaded and could top Mt. Eagle at 55 MPH in 4th. Pulled through 15-18 states and was never stopped or questioned.
I agree about the Lawyers.
Marvin

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4800 pounds hitch weight?  Or combined hitch weight and cargo including passengers?

2016 F 250---------------4800# extra above the weight of my F250.
4800 # is the 5th wheel tongue/hitch weight.
BTW Towing package on truck and loaded the distance from the front and rear fender to street level was the same.  28" IIRC.
I would not try that with a gas burner or most automatic transmissions, Allison being the exception. 
Marvin