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Old 09-18-2012, 06:48 PM   #1
Kcarr
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Did I go too BIG?

Picking up my 2013 Laredo 303TG in the morning. (7360Lbs dry)

Pulling it with my 2004 F150 supercab. 5.4 v8. 3:73 gears. 145" wheelbase.
Can pull 8800lbs according to ford and owners manual. But the GCWR is 14500.

Had my truck weigh done with 1/4 tank gas (35Gallon). 5940lb.

What do you think? Do I need a bigger truck?

Thanks for the advise
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Old 09-18-2012, 07:27 PM   #2
W5WI
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Congrats on your new rig! I'm sure you will enjoy it!

You are probably at or rapidly approaching the maximum towing weight for your truck.

Of course, whether or not your truck can handle the weight is dependent on how much you will haul and where you are planning to travel. Air shocks will increase the load limit somewhat, but they won't compensate for the overall loaded weight of the vehicle.

If you are going to do much mountain driving I think you may be to heavy for your trucks capability. That's not saying your truck can't pull the trailer fully loaded with a full tank of gas, but I'm saying your performance will be marginal at best...

Good luck!
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Old 09-18-2012, 09:04 PM   #3
Festus2
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Kcarr -
If I were in your situation, I wouldn't be pulling that Laredo 303TG with your truck. Briefly, it is just too much for that particular F150 to pull safely. Air bags/air shocks might level the two units out and make your ride more comfortable, but they will not increase the towing capabilities of the truck.
My recommendation would be to upgrade your truck.
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Old 09-19-2012, 02:17 AM   #4
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Seems to me you already have the tv and tt to be picked up today. when you leave the dealer today pull it to a scale and weigh it, then you will know where you stand with regards to payload and gross weight, and go from there. I suspect as others have said you will be very close to max by time you load it for camping. I am sure your tv will pull it and if your satisfied with the ride and performance and not over weight then go for it. I would make sure you have a good tranny cooler and temp gauge so you dont over heat the tranny. Good luck and congrats on the new trailer
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Old 09-19-2012, 07:15 PM   #5
Kcarr
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Thumbs up

Well, I picked up my Laredo today. Dealer installed my equalizer hitch, then I drove around lot to set my brake controller. Pulled away a little nervous about how my truck would do. I must say that I was surprised how well it pulled and handled. Don't get me wrong, you can definitely tell it was back there. But I had no problem getting up to speed on expressway.
I think I will be ok, especially since we will have trailer at seasonal site mostly. Thanks for you advise.
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Old 09-20-2012, 10:55 AM   #6
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I'm afraid to tell you that after you load the truck up with fuel, family and camping gear the truck will probably be well over it's payload rating and over it's factory hitch rating. What does your door sticker say you have for payload?? And also look at the sticker on your hitch for it's rating.The GVWR on that trailer is 9000lbs. You should figure 12% of that 9000lbs will be your tongue weight which is 1080lbs when the trailer is fully loaded and ready to camp. Plus you need to add the weight of the Eqaul-i-zer hitch which has to be atleast 100lbs. That trailer is also a couple inches shy of 36' long. Depending on how far you plan to travel it may cause you to have some serious white knuckle experience. Congrats on the beautiful trailer but i just think its a little to much for that truck..
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Old 09-20-2012, 11:37 AM   #7
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That's a very nice trailer, the DW and I looked at one before we chose the Passport 2890RL because of the towing capabilities of out 2011 F-150. The Laredo was well beyond anything I wanted to tow with a ½ ton, and after two white knuckle trips with the Passport we ended up trading for an F-250 with a diesel because the DW refused to ride in the ½ ton if I was going to pull the trailer with it... By the way the loaded weight of my 2890RL is less that the dry weight of your trailer... The problem wasn't power to pull the trailer, it was the 145” wheelbase it was just squirrelly on the highway and nothing I did with the hitch adjustment made an appreciable difference... I might as well have been driving a CJ-5
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Old 09-21-2012, 08:52 AM   #8
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I would say its not only the pulling. You can pretty much pull most trailers out there. You could hook up to a 38 foot raptor if you wanted and go down the road but the stopping is what would get you. Ofcourse the the wear and tear on the truck would be immense and eventually break something. You would find the weak point pretty soon. Im kinda in the same boat as you. I have a 06 gmc denali p/u with 410 gears and can tow 10k but Im upgrading my front rotors. I have a set of timbrens back there now but going to get air bags just to help. Another thing is what type of terain are you going to travel in? Flatlands I wouldnt worry to much unless its stop and go all the time. Hills and mountains? Na , deff need to upgrade.

Just my 2cents

We bought a sprinter 323bhs but our dealer actually wanted to put us in ( and gave us a hell of a deal ) on a wildcat 344qb at 38ft and 10500 dry wieght!!! Awesome Awesome camper and our dream camper but just too big for what I have for now.
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