I never said my hitch weight was 1400lbs... i said it was 1280 per the manufacture specs, the other numbers being thrown around are simply figuring out what percentage of the total weight is the dry hitch weight which is not an exact number and cannot be directly proportional simply due to how trailers are designed.

I never said my rear axle was rated for 6600lbs... i said my "tires" have that capacity on the rear. Each tire can hold 3300lbs if maxed out... which means 3300 x 4 = 13200lbs.... so technically for just the tires I would have to surpass a GVWR of 13,200lbs, which is not going to happen ever.

The GAWR is 7950 the front axle rating is 3900 and the rear axle is rated at 4050. This is a 200lb difference from the GVWR, which is likely due to the passenger car tires that come stock on the f150s unless you upgrade to the HD payload package. I've already done the research on the difference of the max tow vs HD payload and in reality the axle, differential, and shocks are identical. The differences are the wheel assemblies, wheels themselves, tires, and an added leaf spring in the rear. But it only grants 500lb capacity more according to the GVWR which is 8200 on the HD payload pkg. If you don't believe me, feel free to look up the parts from ford parts using a VIN number to an HD payload truck(which I did previously). So NO I do not need the HD payload pkg.

Now my total hitched up and loaded weight is 15,620lbs... which is 1400 under my GCWR.

Unless you are an engineer from Ford that calculates ratings or know what the actual breaking point is on the hardware I would suggest you troll another thread.

This is a reputable RV dealer that has been around for 50+ years and they calculated and weighed everything to make sure it was safe and legal to leave their lot.

 

Even if all of your stuff was overweight, who cares?! If it broke your truck in half, it's your truck. If someone says it's a safety issue for other people, it might be. But if something was close to breaking, it would give warning signs. I'm tired of everyone always arguing about whether or not someone is over their limits. There are idiots driving around all over this country with canoes loosely strapped to their roofs about to fall off, and trailers fixing to rust through with dry-rotted tires AND over their limits. At least if Prime was over limits, his truck is new and could take it for a while. But it isn't. So give it a rest. He isn't going to buy another new truck (3/4 ton) or return his new trailer. And he can't ask Ford to remanufacture his truck with the unnecessary HD payload.

 

^ Agree'd. He's done more math than I ever would have done for myself in his situation. All the numbers he's ran add up to him being just fine on the road with his set-up IMHO.

 

^^ I agree with the agree'ed... and the thing about math.

Question... do you have the 5th wheel slider or is it not needed? I am looking to buy soon and value your input.

V/R
FB

 

Once you get the trailer loaded up for a trip with everything and you have the truck loaded with the family and gear then go to your local Cat scale. Just get the truck weighed with the trailer attached along with just the weight that's on your rear axle. Then come back and tell me you did your math. Also please show me where you read that that the rear suspension is the same on the HD vs. max tow?? I thought the HD pkg came with thicker 7 lug axles and bigger ring and pinion gears? That doesn't seem identical to me..
Most(98%) Rv salesman would sell a trailer to a person driving a Prius just to make a buck! For the record, I have the exact truck as you with 150lbs more payload and at my local Cat Scale with my trailer and it's loaded 940lbs of tongue weight I only have a 160lbs left before my trucks GVWR is maxed out. So this is the only reason why I'm finding it hard to believe you are within your trucks GVWR and RAWR's with that size trailer. You tell me you don't need the HD pkg for that trailer, i try and explain why you do and I'm just a troll....

P.S. You never said the hitch weight was 1400lbs. I'm telling you the weight is 1400lbs even before you add a single thing to the trailer. Just with the trailers (DRY) pin weight of 1280lbs plus the weight of the fifth wheel hitch itself 150lbs+/- is more than 1400lbs!!!!!

 

Please show me how the #'s add up?? Because I seem to be having a very hard time. The only #'s he is good with is his tow rating(11,300lbs) and his GCWR(17,100lbs).
Here is the #'s for his trailer.

Specifications
Specification Description
Length 31'0"
Width 8'0"
Height 12'6"
Hitch Weight 1,280 lbs
Dry Weight 7,980 lbs
Gross Weight 11,440 lbs
Cargo Weight 3,401 lbs
Fresh Water Capacity 60 gals
Grey Water Capacity 100 gals
Black Water Capacity 50 gals
Furnace BTU 30,000
Sleeps 4
Tire Size ST235/80R16/E
Slides 2
Interior Color Steel

He is already over his trucks GVWR now with with the trailer weighing 9300lbs with a pin weight of about 1400lbs and it isn't fully loaded yet. Overtime you will be amazed how things(weight) start to add up in the trailer that you don't think about. So after a couple seasons figure the trailer now weighs 10800lbs which is still well under the GVWR of the trailers 11,440lbs. You are looking at 1728lbs for pin weight which is 16%. Now add the fifth wheel hitch itself that is about 150lbs. So now he will have 1878lbs in the bed of his truck, that is 320lbs over his available 1555lbs TOTAL payload which is suppose to include passengers.. So again please tell me how his #'s add up??

 

He took his truck to the scales entirely loaded up like they were headed out for the weekend, with a full tank of gas, and his numbers checked out. Read everything please. Not that you're lying, Kevin, but I highly doubt you happen to have the EXACT same Wildcat in the EXACT same size

 

The slider was given to me by my RV dealer just as a precaution in case I got in a very tight spot. His thinking was better to have it and not need it than to not have it and need it. It also depends on the trailer nose and hitch that comes with the trailer. Some fifth wheels come with the Reese Revolution hitch which changes the pivot point from the hitch itself to the trailer effectively gaining plenty of room to turn without having a slider.

 

The research I did included taking a HD payload truck VIN # and searching for the actual axle part numbers. The axle on my truck and an HD payload truck is identical, the difference is in the wheel assemblies which attaches to said axle. Same goes for the rear end, both are 9.75 rear ends only one is limited slip and mine is e-locker. You cannot get HID headlights with the HD payload pkg, and the HD payload is not available with the FX4 or offroad packages. The effective payload rating per the door jam on the HD payload truck I compared was 1830lbs. So roughly 300lb difference from the current truck.

If 300lbs is going to break the truck, then it's going to break the truck. I've upgraded my tires and nothing more has been done to my truck, no helper springs no airbags. If my trailer was truely 1400-1500lbs on the hitch my truck would be sagging significantly.

When I went to the scales the trailer was loaded up completely because we were leaving town that evening, food, accessories, clothes, and full propane bottles. The layout of my trailer and the fact that it is an extralite is what makes the difference.

 

Thanks for the info!

V/R
FB

 

The guys i talk to that are towing fifth wheels with there F150's with the HD payload pkg have between 2100-2350lbs of payload depending on options. Never seen one with only 1830lbs?? I cant believe you would say "If my trailer was truly 1400lbs on the hitch it would be sagging significantly". So you must think the manufacturer is wrong about the dry pin weight of your trailer?? It must be much lighter because your truck doesn't sag.
For the record, I pickup wood pellets every year for my stove and those skids are 2000lbs and my truck barley sags either..

Whatever.. I give up, You win... Good luck!

 

So your saying I lied? This specific truck is what I ordered previously and the dealership backed out of the deal we had originally agreed upon.
http://services.forddirect.fordvehic...VW1ET3DKD36572

The door jam said 1830lbs as the above truck was configured. The only difference is the wheel assemblies, tires, extra leaf spring, and wheels... effectively changing the GVWR to 8200lbs. I'm willing to bet the extra leaf spring adds 50-100lbs to the weight of the truck.

 

Never called you a liar. Just never saw or talked to anyone that had a truck with the HD pkg with so little payload. Listen this is getting old, The fact of the matter is your over the posted payload and more than likely the rear axle ratings of your truck with that trailer. Doesn't matter what you think the minimal differences are between the max tow and HD payload pkg. If god forbid you ever get into an accident I will guarantee you that the first thing your insurance co. does is see if you are over your posted ratings just so they can get out of paying your claim.. Good luck trying to convince them about the minimal difference between max tow and HD pkg

 

So do I, and apparently my definition of bad sag is much different than yours. 1 ton will settle these trucks down a lot.

 

I never said i had a Wildcat. I said my trailers tongue weight is only 940lbs and having almost the exact same truck as his I'm only 160lbs from going over my GVWR. My trailer GVWR is 8200lbs his is 11,440lbs!!

Maybe you should READ EVERYTHING PLEASE!! Go back to the first page post #12. He said himself that at 16% of the trailers 9300lbs would be 1502lbs of pin weight. Then said "that's not to bad". How is that not to bad when his truck only has 1555lbs of available payload????? You do realize that passengers and whatever crap you load into the front of the truck is suppose to be included into that 1555lbs right !!