Wasn't trying to give ya a hard time. Just saying that I have experience with a lesser F150 going well over 1K miles with a large enlcosed trailer (similar to a TT) and truck didnt miss a beat. Even got ok mpg. 11-13 going 65depending on wind. Also it didnt shift down and held O/D much of the time - surprised me.... That truck also towed 10k lbs 50 or so miles a pop at hwy speeds...again no issues. So 8k or 8500 lbs should be just fine to also cover any extra gear and your people cargo... Maybe the place you are looking will let you "test tow" a similar sized trailer so you can see for yourself how well your truck will tow. Best of luck and Go Pack.:beers:

Strongly not advised with a 5.5 foot bed.

Racefan99,

I have a 2009 F-150 Lariat 4x4 with the Max Tow Package and I pull my 30' Keystone Travel Trailer just fine. It weighs around 6500 lbs loaded and on flat highway I can run 65-70 mph and get 11-12.5 MPG and have plenty of power. On the steeper hills it drops down to 55-60 mph and the mileage drops to anywhere between 9.5-11.5 MPG. I came out of a 2008 F-250 with the diesel and this truck pulls this camper just as well as the F-250 (although I do not have much respect for the new 6.4 liter diesel but that's another story for another day). I can say that if you are looking for a diesel that the Ford diesels are not what I would recommend right now. The newer one coming out later this year should be much better but the 6.0 and 6.4 liters have been less than appealing to me and, yes, I have had experience with both. We have a 2004 with the 6.0 that we use around the farm that has had numerous issues and then the 6.4 that I bought 2 years ago was a piece of crap that I got rid of after 53,000 miles.

As for L8 APEX's comments regarding his experience with the 09 FX4 that he drove, these newer trucks with the "drive by wire" or "adaptive shift strategy" computer systems need some time to learn your driving habits. When I first hookup my trailer the truck does seem to be a little sluggish for the first few miles but once the computer senses that the truck is loaded it makes changes to the fuel delivery and shift patterns and then you can really tell a difference. I don't know if he gave it time to adapt but it sounds as though he just ran it for a test run. Also, these trucks don't show their real strength until they have had a chance to break in. I bought mine in May 2009 and now have over 30,000 miles on it and it did seem to run much better after about 3000 miles.

However, with all of that being said, I would not buy more camper than you can comfortably or safely tow. My truck with the Max Tow Package is rated for 11,300 lbs. I can tell you that I would not consider pulling close to that number. For the 1/2 ton trucks with the 3.73 rearend I would not go above 8000 lbs if you plan to tow in any hilly terrain. Anything below that and you will be fine. You may be a little slower on the hills and the new 6 speed trans does downshift quite a bit but you get used to it and you learn how to feather the gas pedal and control alot of that. As for the 5th wheels, I know there are a lot of lightweight "half-ton towables" being marketed out there but I would not feel comfortable towing a fifth wheel with my truck even with it being equipped with the 3.73 gears and the extra leaf spring in the rear. That's just my opinion.

Good luck with your purchase and just get out and enjoy whatever you end up buying.

I have been towing large trailers too long with F250's to feel secure doing so in a half ton grocery getter. I have hauled regularly at 12-14k through the Rockies, it took all the F250 had to maintain the load on steep grades over 12k feet elev where gas motors have one third their rated HP. You guys thinking of hauling 30ft 5'ers with your F150's have been watching too many Ford commercials. It is a great commuter or city truck, it is not an over the road work horse. The tires aren't rated for it, the rear differential is not a full floater, it is a little C clip axle, not designed for heavy weights. It is a free country if you feel secure doing such towing in a half ton pickup that is your right. As for me I will keep the F250 for the heavy towing. I would never put a 5'er in a 5ft bed or in a half ton truck...

I'm trying to set up an appointment to look at a Keystone Passport 2910BH this weekend. It has a listed dry weight of 5542 lbs, GVWR of 7200 lbs and hitch weight of 725 lbs. It has a four bunk layout that should work for us and I think the weight seems to be ok (based on the feedback I've received from knowledgeable folks that are not trying to sell me a trailer :))

If that one doesn't work out there is also the Keystone Passport 2590BH that has a listed dry weight of 4893lbs, GVWR of 7200 lbs and hitch weight of 590 lbs. Biggest con is it only has two bunks but tradeoffs are quite likely in the cards. And I don't know where one is locally to see in person. Such is life.

The problem is not that the truck wasn't up to that wimpy little task, it's that you setup is all wrong. Looking at the photo it's pretty obvious your ball is at least an inch or two low which greatly increases the low pressure area behind the trailer, increases the weight on the forward axle of the trailer and contributes to dangerous sway.

Two axle trailers are actually quite sensitive to proper hitch height. You want the aft axle of the trailer to have at least as much weight on it as the forward axle. Don't blame the truck when you are the one responsible.

I so wish they'd offer a HD payload Screw F150 with a full floater.

That still doesn't fix the gutless 5.4l issue. The hitch was set for my F250 I just did a 5 mile test pull, I wasn't going to reconfigure my hitch for it. Besides with an empty trailer it shouldn't matter, I double the weight when camping racing. I used the weight bars which the F250 doesn't need unless fully loaded. It was unsatisfactory empty, it would surely fail loaded. F150's are meant for trips to the hardware store and hauling a bass boat. Not pulling 8-12k boxes around. Like I said if you want to pull 10K with your F150 go ahead, I feel better using an F250.

It's not a valid test pull if you have it set up improperly!

And the setup on a box trailer like that that hugs the ground can have a HUGE effect on percieved power. The low pressure area that forms behind the trailer at speed is greatly expanded by the tongue-low attitude you used. No wonder you couldn't get out of your own way.

But if you prefer to use brute force over the type of towing wisdom and knowledge that most experienced tow'ers use, that is your right as an American.

Just don't come into forums like this and claim it is the truck that is inadequate to pull 5000 lbs.:rolleyes:

racefan99,

:coffee: What I find interesting is my 2009 “Ford” Towing Guide states the following on page 17:

“While F-150 Supercrew (154” WB) and SuperCab (132.5” WB) 5 ½’ box will accept a fifth-wheel hitch, current fifth-wheel trailer designs are not compatible with these models.”

ie..the box is too short and the front of the fifth-wheel will hit the cab. I know they make special fifth-wheel hitches that are designed to push the fifth-wheel away from the cab when turning to prevent contact, but they are rather expensive.

Note: I could not find the same statement posted in Ford’s 2010 Towing guide, but you still might want to be asking questions regarding this issue before you purchase that new 5th wheel.

\

Puling a 5,000lb empty trailer does me no good. It has to be full of toys to be of any use. Raising the ball 2" isn't going to make much difference. Like I said, you tow your 10-12k lb box with your mighty F150, I'll be doing it with my F250 getting 14mpg with plenty o' power and no worries.

Where did you get the idea that I tow a 10,000-12,000 lb. box? I was addressing your claim that the F-150 was inadequate to tow a 5,000 lb. box safely. That is clearly false and your bad experience was due entirely to an improper tow setup. The photo shows that. Don't try to change the subject from whether it can tow a big 5,000 lb box safely to whether it can tow a big 10-12,000 lb. box.

And your belief that raising the ball to the proper level is not going to make much difference at freeway speeds just highlights that you don't know what your talking about. I can't tell from the photo whether it needs 2", 3" or even 4" but, when properly setup, an F-150 has no trouble towing a 5,000 lb. box of that size and you are greatly under-estimating the aerodynamic effect that proper trailer attitude has on a long, low slung box. The low pressure area under the back half of the trailer and behind the trailer wreaks havoc with the drag coefficient at highway speeds.

Of course if you don't know how to set it up properly you might need an F-250 to tow it comfortably, LOL! :lol:

I dont tow anything bigger than my 14ft and 16ft trailers but my 14 is loaded to the brim with tools and materials and it's about 7000-7500gvrw and my F150 tows it no problem. I was also warned about making sure i used the correct height hitch when i bought my trailer but i was lucky and the hitch is the correct height for my trailer. Even when towing 7500lbs it's in no way unsafe or a handful. Infact it's more comfortable than towing it with our F250. Yeah the F250 has more power but to be honest im not racing with a trailer in tow. I can keep with all traffic even around the mountain roads with zero problem.

You're not racing when towing 7500 lbs? I thought everyone raced when they had a big load.:lol:

Just kidding but I get a kick out of watching other tow'ers show-off when I'm towing the horse trailer. I'll be putting along at 60 mph, getting good fuel range when I'll see another pick-up in my side-view mirror. They are obviously going about the same speed as I because they are not approaching very quickly. Then, they usually wait for a grade and gas it up so they can fly by me with their big trailer at 75 mph, engine roaring. Absolutely hilarious! They are usually younger guys with a loaded work trailer. The RV folks are generally pretty conservative.

If I was younger and less mature I might show them what that 3V 4.6L will do when opened up!:devil:

That happens a lot around here because of all the mountains. The TD's have no problem pulling past me going 60+ mph but im happy staying at 50-60 going up hills with a loaded trailer. I dont think i would want to risk going any faster even with RSC and TSC.