based somewhat on info/advise received, i could be buying a weekend warrior fb1900, sticker on cabinet door says 4296lbs. i will put an 800lb harley in it and then whatever is normal gear for extended trip. my 2006 ford f150 as it sits, indicates i can pull up to 6900 lbs, the very top end weight. what is the opinion of those knowledgeable rvers. will this work well, ok, poorly or dont do it. thanks for thinking about it. don
can i tow it SAFELY
- Thread starter dgoodbmw
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Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Is that the unladen "dry" weight? Generally that is not a relevant number. Just assume the trailer will be loaded to its max (the GVWR) and go with that as your estimated total trailer weight. That way you don't have to estimate the actual weight and you will know it will be safe.
Please know that the 6900 lbs of tow capacity assumes nothing in the truck except fuel and a 154 lb driver. And even if you are that light, anything else you load onto the truck, even the trailer hitch itself, has to be subtracted from the max tow number. So your real max towing figure is lower.
We generally recommend a 10% safety margin when towing in the East (20% in the West).
At a guess, a toy hauler trailer that is 4300 lbs dry will end up around 6000-6500 lbs when loaded, which means you will likely be pushing the limits of your truck. Indications are that you area a motor sports guy, so you probably won't be happy with the performance.
What engine and transmission do you have and what body & bed on the truck? And what rear axle?
Carl L
Moderator Emeritus
dgoodbmw said:
Your truck has a tow rating of 6900 lbs. The maximum trailer GVWR that you should tow with that rascal is 6200 lbs in the East, and 5520 lbs in the West.
The weight dry, no gear, food, water, propane, nor I suspect any awning --- certrainly no 800 lb Harleys. Your trailer likely has a GVWR of over 10,000 lbs. The actual GVWR should be on the DOT plate on the drivers side front of the trailer exterior. Toy haulers generally have a high carrying capacity for obvious reasons. Generally we recommend comparing tow ratings with trailer GVWR. With toy haulers the weight of your toys counts for a lot. Be careful alloting cargo weights. Assuming you have 1500 - 2000 lbs of personal gear for living including water and propane. Add the 800 lbs of Harley and that F150 begins tow wheeze east of the Mississippi and dies west of it.
Frankly you will be a lot happier with a F-250 and a diesel than your F-150. Based on my own experiene with my rig, see below, and the West, I would say that F150 is not the choice for a toy hauler at all.
thanks for your input, but, perhaps im not getting it .if the trailer sticker says 4300lbs as it sits, and my bike is 800lbs. that equals 5100lbs, with a truck towing capacity of 6900lbs, that leaves 1800lbs at the max for everything i might take. that seems like a lot of junk, clothes ,pots etc. the gvrw of the trailer says 7650lbs, that number is 750lbs over my truck limit and not something i would consider doing. am i missing something? the numbers sem to make sense, i think. even with your numbers of towing only 6200lbs, still leaves 1100lbs of junk to take.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Don,
It's pretty easy to get 1100 lbs of junk onboard, if not on day one, shortly thereafter. You are going to add around 60 lbs of propane right off the bat and the water tank won't be completely empty either. Water is 8.4 lbs/gallon and adds up quickly. Then add canned goods, beverages, etc.
And what about tools? I'll bet you carry a bunch and maybe some spare parts too. You can get a couple hundred lbs in a hurry.
Everybody says they will never carry much stuff and just about everybody soon makes a liar of themselves, adding this and that until the weight has grown considerably. But only you can decide. If you take the gamble, please weigh the rig when loaded for the road. Do it soon after you get it and do it again in 3-6 months. Let us know the results, but I'll bet you are shocked at the way weight has grown.
The FB series is a travel trailer, so you won't have a lot of money invested in the installation of a fifth wheel hitch. It probably won't cost much extra to move your towing gear to another truck if you decide to upgrade the truck after towing a few times.
almost
By the way, get a good quality weight distributing hitch. Don't skimp on that part. We have heard a lot of good reports on the Equalizer brand lately, but the Reese Dual Cam WD hitch is the tried and true solution.
One more factor: your 4.6L engine is a very small block (small displacement) and they don't have much reserve capacity for heavy loads. If you had even a 5.0L I would be less concerned about performance, but these little engines rely on RPMs to generate horsepower and their low end torque & HP is all but n-existent.
It's pretty easy to get 1100 lbs of junk onboard, if not on day one, shortly thereafter. You are going to add around 60 lbs of propane right off the bat and the water tank won't be completely empty either. Water is 8.4 lbs/gallon and adds up quickly. Then add canned goods, beverages, etc.
And what about tools? I'll bet you carry a bunch and maybe some spare parts too. You can get a couple hundred lbs in a hurry.
Everybody says they will never carry much stuff and just about everybody soon makes a liar of themselves, adding this and that until the weight has grown considerably. But only you can decide. If you take the gamble, please weigh the rig when loaded for the road. Do it soon after you get it and do it again in 3-6 months. Let us know the results, but I'll bet you are shocked at the way weight has grown.
The FB series is a travel trailer, so you won't have a lot of money invested in the installation of a fifth wheel hitch. It probably won't cost much extra to move your towing gear to another truck if you decide to upgrade the truck after towing a few times.
almost
By the way, get a good quality weight distributing hitch. Don't skimp on that part. We have heard a lot of good reports on the Equalizer brand lately, but the Reese Dual Cam WD hitch is the tried and true solution.
One more factor: your 4.6L engine is a very small block (small displacement) and they don't have much reserve capacity for heavy loads. If you had even a 5.0L I would be less concerned about performance, but these little engines rely on RPMs to generate horsepower and their low end torque & HP is all but n-existent.
