The 250 was a 95 and actually had a lower GVWR than the new F-150... Also was about 80HP and 75 ft-lbs weeker... The only benefit the old 250 offered was perhaps the heavier front suspension (leafs) and the 8' bed.
I am not looking for a huge camper and my Mustang is pretty light on a flatbed (4000# plus or minus). I really don't want to run airbags, but it I must, I must. Maybe overload springs would work, but I also don't want to sacrifice the offroad capability of the truck (rear suspension articulation).

7500lbs - agreed completely! And when you do the math, that's all these 1/2tons can really tow (at least if you want to put kids, gas, and a little cargo in the truck in addition to what you are towing) -- regardless of what Ford or the RV dealer tell you. Even Ford's specs are very deceptive when they talk about pulling 11k lbs - yeah, I guess you can do it according to their specs (with no passengers, no cargo, no gas, lose a bunch of weight, etc...).

We bought a 30ft travel trailer last fall, dry weight 5800lbs. Based on many recommendations, I traded in 07 Expedition EL Limited for more "capable" tow vehicle. Loaded up, the trailer comes in right around 7200lbs. Did a break in trip last fall with light load (4 hours each way) which went well, and recently did round trip to FL for kids spring break - 1000 miles each way.

Have '09 F-150 Lariat Screw 5.4, 4x4, 3:73 with Max Tow, short bed, Equalizer WD.

Prior to leaving, I weighed the setup:

Front axle - 3250
Rear axle - 4030
Tongue Weight (used Sherline scale) - 840
Trailer Axles - 6360

After realizing that the rear axle of truck was a little over GAVW of 4000lbs, (and that I was already over the 7200GVWR! on the truck) I made an adjustment to the WD in an attempt to move more weight to the front of the TV and Rear axles of the trailer, however, did not re-weigh it. It was weighed with light load in the bed (maybe 150lbs), me (230lbs) and a full tank of gas (315lbs) - need to add another 250lbs for wife and two kids. At that point, I am over the F-150 GVWR! Gimme a break! The trailer loaded only weighs 7200lbs! And Ford says the hitch with wd setup will handle a 1100lbs?? What they don't tell you is that you just maxed out any weight allocation for passengers or cargo in the truck. Because by the time you are done with Fuel at 9lbs/gallon and the driver, you're maxed out on the trucks GVWR.

Interestingly, I really thought when I bought the setup in Fall that I would have plenty of room to spare, afterall, this is a Ford truck with 11,300lbs towing capacity, right? Not so, according to specs and weights I'm borderline at best.

The good news, the setup tracks extremely well - had major amounts of wind driving from Chicago to Destin, FL, and overall it handled extremely well. From time to time, big gusts of wind were a little nerveracking. Handled great on the way home with little wind. Even through the hills in TN and Kentucky, the truck pulled great- no problems accelerating or passing at 70-75mph - average speed was 65-70mph.

Unfortunately, given rolling terrain and wind, I got 6.5mpg on the way down (7.5mpg on the way back).

Knowing what I know now, and if I had it to do over again, I'd probably go with the 250 diesel - a tow vehicle upgrade is in the future.

Hope this helps.

Without all the data on front and rear axel weights, I tow a 7200# 30' travel trailer with an F150 FX4 5.4L max tow plus weight distribution hitch. We travel to Texas loaded for a four month stay including 2 mountain bikes and two road bikes inside the cap on the bed of the truck. We have done this for 6 years. Five years with a '03 Toyota Tundra and one with an '09 F150. The Tundra did tow the trailer but we had to put new front brakes on every year. The mileage was around 9mpg. Stopping and trailer sway were an issue but I put up with it. So far we have about 4000 miles of towing with the 09 F 150 and there is no comparison. We travel from Massachusetts down I 81 through the mountains to the Gulf Coast, then across to Big Bend National Park in West Texas. Our average mpg is 10 and the trailer sway is not an issue. Not quite scientific but I know it really works.

The old F250 also weighed about 1000 pounds less than your current F-150.

Read your driver's door sticker for how much payload your track is designed for. If you have the max tow package 7700# GVW, then you probably have about 1700 pounds of available payload. A 3000 pound Mustang plus 2500 pound trailer (unless it is all aluminum, then maybe 1500 pounds). will give you about 700 pounds of tongue weight. Finding a camper under 1000 pounds wet is tough. Then you need want to put yourself and however many more people in the cab. It really is not looking good for half tons, even a very capable 2010 max tow package one.

Not that it makes a drop in the bucket as far as weight is concerned, but gasoline is cloer to about 6lbs/gal. :) Only going to be a difference of 100lbs on a full 35-gallon tank, so I'm just bustin yer chops a bit.