Question about vehicle max towing capacity.

[notanlines]

Somehow I knew this would turn into one of those "I only came here to have y'all stroke me over how great my 3/4 ton beast is..... I'm not buying a new truck no matter what."
Now we'll have to listen to the whiners about how bad we treat the newbies.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by danvanvb

I agree. I wasn't taking tare weight into consideration.



But still not giving up on the 5th wheel and not buying another truck.

There's no need to "give up on buying a fifth wheel"... I'm "living proof" that a diesel F250 (heavier than your truck which means less payload) can tow a smaller fifth wheel and stay under the truck GVW, payload, RAWR and FAWR while also staying under the GCWR.... IT CAN BE DONE !!!!!

But, it is impossible to do with a fifth wheel with a 15,000 GVW.... You need to stay in the "under 11,000 pound category and even then, some models will have a pin weight that's too heavy... You can compare two different floorplans in the same 11,000 GVW trailer and have one pin weight that's 20% and another with "heavier things in the front" that comes in at 26%...

Our trailer weighs 7200 empty, has an advertised pin weight (from Keystone) of 1120. In reality, we usually range from 1600-1800 pounds when ready to travel.

Your truck is "very well suited" to tow a fifth wheel and will do a great job on most models and floorplans under 10000 GVW and will do an adequate job on many with GVW's in the 11000 range.... It's "very iffy" that you'll be able to find a fifth wheel with a GVW more than 11000 that will not "overload your truck" when the rig is ready to travel.....

I'll agree, your F250 with a 7.3L gas engine can "pull" a 14000 pound fifth wheel. But there's loads more (pun intended) to "safe towing" than simply making the trailer travel forward... You also have to be able to support the load, keep it between the white lines at 65-70 MPH, even when a gust of wind pushes you over into the next lane and all that, while also being able to stop the whole rig in the event of an emergency while changing lanes rapidly to avoid crashing into something.....

"Towing" is significantly more complex than "pulling"......

[danvanvb]

Thanks pal. Just what I need is your 'as an American BS'. This is why i started the string in the first place because of all the misleading info from manufactures. My comment wasn't 'damn it all I'll get what i want because I'm an American' but trying to get educated so I buy the right RV.



BTW, I have a 17 year old niece and a 18 year old nephew running the roads in TX. Good luck with that.

[danvanvb]

Originally Posted by Northofu1

Hi Dan,
My set up is a 10k gvwr Cougar xlite.
It may not be built as sturdy as a regular cougar, but works well.
It tows great with my truck, at approximately 50 lbs I opted for the Andersen Ultimate to keep payload for pin weight. The numbers add up for the TV and 5er GVWR's as well as the GCVWR. There is no way I'm stuffing 2550 lbs of cargo into that trailer, I'm at 500 now, without out groceries and tools.
I wouldn't dream of going bigger.
Good luck to you.

I will definitely look into the lighter 5th wheeler. Thanks for your advice on the Cougar models.

[danvanvb]

Originally Posted by notanlines

Somehow I knew this would turn into one of those "I only came here to have y'all stroke me over how great my 3/4 ton beast is..... I'm not buying a new truck no matter what."
Now we'll have to listen to the whiners about how bad we treat the newbies.

No dude, my truck is a 2021 and really I am not buying a new one. no need to stroke my ego or anything else.

[bill777x]

Geez, all the guy did was say he was THINKING about buying a fifth wheel and wanted some advice or pearls of wisdom based on the weight rating for his truck. Besides a couple of sane answers all he got was static. Dan, in my humble opinion you'll be fine with a fifth wheel up to 12k gvw. Will you ever load it that heavy? Doubtful. Will your truck like pulling 12k? I doubt it also but it will do it and the moon won't crash into the earth and the gates of hell won't open and swallow us all.

Your owners manual or Ford's website will tell you more than you need to know about what your truck will carry and/or pull. If you stay at or below 80 percent of its max I'm sure you'll be fine. Wait a sec, FORD, hmmmm, better stay at 70 percent :-)

(my advice is worth exactly what you paid for it by the way)

[sourdough]

OP there has been a lot of good info shared in the thread addressing the towing of a 5th with your truck. Here's some things I go by;

You own the truck and will not change. That's fine - I do the same thing. That then predicates that the TRUCK and its limitations dictates what you can have as a trailer; you pretty much knew/know that and that's why you are asking. A gasser has more payload as you know. A gasser will run out of "oomph" long before a diesel will...always. Now you're in the "3/4 ton/gas/payload/oomph" box...seemingly where I stay (or stayed).

Pin weight of the trailer WILL be 20+%. Since you don't have a trailer you must use gvw to be safe and practical; 10,000 x .20 = 2000lbs. - MINIMUM. Now some may say they travel with only 5-600 lbs. over the dry weight of the trailer; to me that is an army mess kit, sleeping bags, a couple of shirts and a few toiletries. The rest would be eaten up by tools, leveling blocks, shop vac, etc. So no, IMO, you need to use gvw to be on the safe side.

The question is/was will my new Ford truck pull a 5th wheel trailer and how big. 15k is 100% out of the equation. If you in fact have a 3400 lb. payload (at a 6600 cat scale I'm wondering what all you had, or didn't have, in the truck, ie; tools, people, ice chests; etc. That's pretty light for a loaded truck). But IF you have that 3400 payload then you could look at the shorter, lightweight 5th wheels and I think the truck would be OK weightwise and "oomph" wise.

What axle ratio do you have? Tranny? They make a world of difference in the towing. I very much considered a 12k gvw 5th wheel with my last 3/4 ton but wouldn't pull the trigger because I didn't like the weight with the engine/axle/tranny I had. Post your thoughts on something that would fit your truck but the larger 5th wheels should not be in consideration.

[B_and_T]

Originally Posted by danvanvb

But still not giving up on the 5th wheel and not buying another truck.

I was in a similar situation. My old 5th wheel was too old to be worth all of the repairs it needed. Buying a new truck wasn't in my budget. My wife and I want to spend more time in the RV now that we're both retired, so we wanted to get something roomier. This led me on a search for something that didn't feel cramped, but wouldn't crush our 2013 Chevy 2500.


We were looking at Cougar half-tons when we stumbled on the 307RES. Our truck has a payload capacity of about 2000 lbs after taking the hitch, passengers and "stuff" into account. I weighed the loaded trailer this week. It came to 11160 lbs with 1660 of that on the pin. I know I'll need to be vigilant about not adding more cargo to the front of the trailer or the bed of the truck.



Braking and stability on curvy roads and moderate crosswinds have been good. The rear end squats more than I'd like (2 inches) but even with some unexpected big bumps things have felt controlled.

[Ribtip]

To answer your question i would start by looking at trailers with a gvwr of 12k to12.5. 12k may still bring you to your max or close to your max payload depending on the trailer and your trucks payload(check that first). But its a place to set the high at and work down from there.15k is to much.happy shopping. Its fun to camper shop.

[Gegrad]

As others have said, a 3/4 ton gasser like yours (and mine) will be fine carrying no more than about an 11k 5th wheel. If your yellow sticker payload is 3400 lbs, you might be able to safely carry a 12k GVWR 5th wheel if you are not carrying a huge family or a bunch of heavy tools (20% of 12k is 2400 lbs, plus hitch and family. That also gives you some leeway if the actual hitch weight is 25%). There is precisely zero way you will be able to legally carry a 15k rig. Since the truck is brand new, stick to a 12k max rig as you search.

[danvanvb]

Thank you everybody for all of this awesome information. I have deleted all 5th wheelers above 12k GVWR from my brain. For now towing my 31RE with a GVWR of 8k is not a problem so time is on my side.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by danvanvb

If my GVWR is 10000# (per door sticker) and the CAT weight is 6600# the delta of 3400# is the number I'm looking for? The manufacture of the 5th wheel has the hitch weight at 2315# plus the 150# for the hitch I would assume I'm good at 2465#. Don't worry about any other weights?

Well this is the only post I see where the OP comes close to posting his payload. I think the 6,600# CAT weight seems light to me, but if true and he doesn’t carry a bunch of stuff in the truck, he could likely go as big as 12,000# 5er.

[Ken / Claudia]

I cannot give advice the PAYLOAD rating from the yellow/white sticker was never given. CAT wt. for a f250 at 6600 does not sound right. More like 7500 to 7800 would be more likely.

[xrated]

Originally Posted by Ken / Claudia

I cannot give advice the PAYLOAD rating from the yellow/white sticker was never given. CAT wt. for a f250 at 6600 does not sound right. More like 7500 to 7800 would be more likely.

The 6600 lb weight of the truck may in fact be fairly accurate. If you remember, he's got the gas motor, not the diesel. The diesel/transmission option usually adds, on average, around 800 lb and if that number were added to the 6600 number, that would put a diesel truck in the 7400 lb range....which then would be approx. 2600 lbs of payload, with a 10,000 lb GVWR.

[danvanvb]

Originally Posted by xrated

The 6600 lb weight of the truck may in fact be fairly accurate. If you remember, he's got the gas motor, not the diesel. The diesel/transmission option usually adds, on average, around 800 lb and if that number were added to the 6600 number, that would put a diesel truck in the 7400 lb range....which then would be approx. 2600 lbs of payload, with a 10,000 lb GVWR.

The truck is 2 weeks old and I wanted to know the weight before I had anything in it except a full tank of gas. I stepped off the scale also.

[Northofu1]

Originally Posted by Ken / Claudia

I cannot give advice the PAYLOAD rating from the yellow/white sticker was never given. CAT wt. for a f250 at 6600 does not sound right. More like 7500 to 7800 would be more likely.

I know my truck is a GMC and it was 7040 lbs with Serena and I and a full tank of gas. I'm no light weight

[Gegrad]

Originally Posted by danvanvb

The truck is 2 weeks old and I wanted to know the weight before I had anything in it except a full tank of gas. I stepped off the scale also.

Yeah, and you have a Ford- they use a lot more aluminum in their body panels than other manufacturers, so that sounds like a very reasonable weight for a 3/4 ton gasser.

[Ken / Claudia]

I guess they really a heck of alot lighter. My 2008 gasser f250 CC 4x4 XLT short bed, 26 gals of gas was under 8,000 with a V-10. Tool box loaded with rescue gear it weighted in at 8200 lbs.
What does the payload sticker say?
Edit: I completely forgot to take into account 6 tubes of sand I placed in the bed for traction. I left that it there year round. That would add about 360 lbs. That truck could have been around 500 lbs less or close to 7500- 7700 empty.

[xrated]

Originally Posted by danvanvb

The truck is 2 weeks old and I wanted to know the weight before I had anything in it except a full tank of gas. I stepped off the scale also.

It's never a bad idea to weigh them, even though theoretically, the Payload sticker number subtracted from the GVWR number should get you pretty close as long as the truck has not been modified at all from the way it was built. My Dually, when loaded up with a full tank of fuel in the truck tank...AND a full tank of fuel in the aux. tank, a truckbed toolbox, and myself and my wife, comes in right at 9500 lbs. That leaves me with about 4500 lb of payload....based off of a 14,000 lb GVWR for the truck. The payload sticker on the driver side door post states....5270 lbs.

[Beast2017]

Originally Posted by notanlines

No, your 3/4 ton is not made to HAUL that much weight. I don’t want to start another 4 page argument with those who think their 3/4 ton will do it all nor those who think an F450 is required to tow an Rpod. Search this site and the arguments go on forever.
Any reason you bought the truck before the RV? The RV is always the deciding factor in what truck you buy. And your gasser is better suited to an RV less than 12K, preferably closer to 10K.

But the 4 page arguments are fun to read!! 😂