Did I buy enough truck?

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Olpueblo55

Olpueblo55

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 19, 2016
Posts
110
Location
Tucson, AZ
I just bought a 2005 Ford F350 super duty 6.0L turbo diesel to pull my '05 Holiday Rambler Alumascape which has a GVWR of 16,950 lbs.  I believe the axle ratio on my truck is 4.10.  I was confident (and assured by salesman) that this truck would easily tow a 17,000 lb. fifth wheel.  Researching on the internet I'm finding all kinds of conflicting information.  Anywhere from 13,000 towing capacity to 18,600.  So now I'm concerned and confused.  The rear GAWR is 9000 lbs. and the GVWR of the truck is 13,000 lbs.  It also looks like the GCWR is around 23,500 which wouldn't be good.  I hope I didn't majorly screw up!  Any opinions will be appreciated!  Thanks
 
Olpueblo55 said:
(and assured by salesman)
Click to expand...

Uh oh, this is never an indication of success... ;)  Partially kidding, but salesman are often most interested in making the sale, and not always in giving you the most accurate, verified information.  It sounds like you were confident at the time of purchase though.

I'd say that the Ford towing guide and the Trailer Life Towing Guide are your best / most accurate references, and the number should match between the two.  Trailer Life guides are located here, click on your year (2005) and look up your truck's year/make/model/options for the F-350 series.

That TL guide I referenced has numbers in parentheses for Fifth Wheel tow ratings.  For instance, if your 2005 F-350 6.0L diesel truck is Single Rear Wheel (SRW) Crew Cab, the max rated fifth wheel weight is 15,900# for 2WD truck and 15,400# for 4WD truck.  Total GCVWR is 23,000#.  (That may not be your combo, I just pulled one out of the guide.)

HOWEVER on the F-350 Regular/Super cabs with SRW, or the Crew Cab with DRW, there is something called the "Tow Boss" package that pumps those numbers up considerably.  Almost 3000# increases across the board.  Tow Boss is denoted with a (b) in the TL guide.  So post some more details about wheels and cab in your truck, check out the guide, and you'll know for sure.

That's why you are finding so much variation... there are a lot of options that affect the tow capacities.
 
If you have one of the versions with Tow Boss, then it looks like you are good to go.  Without it, everything comes in under 16k GVWR on the Ford tables.  That might still be okay for you, depending on whether you ever anticipate fully loading your trailer. 

My Wildwood's GVWR is 11k# and my Suburban is rated for 10k#, but I know (from weighing my trailer when loaded for my purposes) that I am only towing 9k# or a little over.  The dry weight of my Wildwood is 7900# so I have a pretty big cargo margin.
 
Thanks.  I just bought it Saturday and am still trying to figure out exactly what it's equipped with.  It already has the integrated brake control so I think that means it has the tow command/boss option (I am hoping).  It is a DRW also.  I'll be back at the dealership tomorrow and get all of the specs.
 
Your RPO codes (on a sticker probably attached to the inside of the glovebox) will spell out exactly what options your truck has.  You should be able to find a Ford RPO list online that explains what every 3-4 digit code means.

From some quick "Tow Boss" Googling (which led me to some Ford and diesel truck forums), it sounds like the main upgrade of Tow Boss is 4.30 gears instead of 4.10 or 3.73.  If worse comes to worse, you can have the rear end gears swapped out for a 4.30 set and essentially accomplish the same increased towing capability.  Note that I picked that up in about 2 minutes of other-forum browsing, so you'd probably want a more scientific conclusion that that from a Ford rep (NOT the salesman).

If you are going back to the dealer soon, make them show you the documentation that proves (and that the salesman assured) that your truck can "easily" tow a 17k# fifth wheel.  Take the page of the TL towing guide with you.  If they gave you bad advice, they need to make it right in some way or another.
 
Jbcain said:
Tow boss is much more than a set of gears
Click to expand...

Educate us, please!  The OP could probably benefit from knowing, and like I said my conclusion is incomplete at best from a few minutes of Googling the term.
 
Did you buy the 2005 Ford from a dealer or private party? Are you aware of the issues that Ford customers had with the 6.0 diesel? Not to scare you, but some owners of the 6.0 had major issues with that motor. Ford sued Navistar, the company that built the 6.0, for 493 million. They used that money to pay customers that retained lawyers due to repair bills for numerous repairs due to Navistar design problems.
My 2005 had about 4,000.00 in addition repairs, but my cousin who owns a 05 just like the one I owned has never had a problem. It seems like it was hit or miss with the 6.0.
You might want to check with the previous owner or the dealer to see what work has been done.
Happy camping.

Stan
 
Olpueblo55 said:
Thanks.  I just bought it Saturday and am still trying to figure out exactly what it's equipped with.  It already has the integrated brake control so I think that means it has the tow command/boss option (I am hoping).  It is a DRW also.  I'll be back at the dealership tomorrow and get all of the specs.
Click to expand...

Being that you got the DRW you will be fine towing 17k with that.  Actually the 2005 DRW has a GCVWR of 26k so that should help you as well.
 
Elkhounds said:
Being that you got the DRW you will be fine towing 17k with that.  Actually the 2005 DRW has a GCVWR of 26k so that should help you as well.
Click to expand...

Yep, according to the TL guide again, every 2005 6.0L diesel F-350 DRW has the Tow Boss package.  Fifth wheel weight capacity is 18,700# if the truck is 2WD or 18,300# if the truck is 4WD.

I think you're good!
 
Keep in mind those numbers are just numbers.  By the book mine says I can 5th wheel tow 13,400 pounds with a GCWR of 20,000 and 9,900 GVWR.   

Full of diesel and two adult passengers my truck is right at 8k pounds at one time.  It only weighed 7400 at a CAT scale this last time full of diesel.  The base curb weight shows 5200.   

With that knowledge I know that I can't tow anything over 12,000-12,6000 pounds depending on the scale.  I go with 12,000 pounds as my total LOADED trailer limit to stay under the GCWR since 8k has been my max and I know I'll be less more than likely to keep it under the GCWR.  I'd get the truck scaled, full of diesel and "loaded" with whatever you normally take with you to get an accurate truck weight. 
 
Great replies everyone.  Thanks so much for all of the helpful comments and suggestions.  I did buy the truck from a Ford dealership and am aware of the 6.0 issues.  Carfax didn't reveal any information on major repairs so I'm hooping I got one of the good ones.  I will definitely get the truck weighed at a CAT scale to get an accurate weight for it.  My truck has the factory installed TBC but the axle code on the door pillar says 4n which is 4.1 axle ratio and the tow boss is supposed to be 4.3.  I think I'll be good if I limit my cargo weight in the fifth.  The CCC of the fifth is 4200 lbs. after factoring in the holding tanks and propane, so hopefully we can get by with keeping the GVW of the 5th at 16,000 or less.
 
as far a the 6.0 goes be very very meticulous about the service and have the coolant flushed regular at the ford dealer as there is a specific additive in there coolant for the 6.0 and it is one of the bigger reasons the egr cooler goes bad but also look up http://powerstrokehelp.com/ and on you tube they are a very good shop in Atlanta GA that only do powerstroke .
 
Thanks Smily.  I've been reading maintenance is key to minimizing problems on the 6.0 engine.  I got the truck weighed at a CAT scale...weighed a little more than I thought at 7455 lbs.
 
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