I am considering purchasing a travel trailer.
On the Ford Website it says that max travel trailer weight should not exceed 5000 lbs. Most of the trailers I have seen are around 6000 range.
Did I read the Ford information right ?
Seems a bit low.
What have you experienced out there?

My truck:
2013 F150 supercrew. FX4 appearance package. 6.5 foot box. Towing package. 3.55 rear end

 

I think you may have been reading the capacity for the Edge? Your truck would be good for 9,000lbs or so. See Prime81's post "my new 5th wheel". You'll get some great numbers off the thread. There are some serious weight guru's here.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...fth-wheel.html

 

Your towing info should be in your manual. You must have read for the wrong vehicle. Even my truck has a max trailer weight of around 6300. Yours is definitely more capable than mine.

Edit* You might have read the rating for an F150 without a towing package. The bumper is rated for 5k max.

 

Your max tow in that configuration is 7500# with a 5.0 and 9500# with a EB.

http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/towing/

However, unless you have the MAX tow package, you have a 7350# truck GVWR, which effectively limits your max payload to around 1500#. Payload is everything you add to the truck (people, cargo, etc.) PLUS the trailer tongue weight. This applies to EITHER engine.

 

I have re-read your info and I do see that I made a mistake and the max tow on my truck is 7500 lbs.

I have a tow package with the brake controller but I do not know if its a MAX TOW package.
Any clues as to how I could find out ? The salesman who sold me the truck is gone and the dealership is less than helpful.

 

The max tow pkg comes with the big tow mirrors, 3.73 gears and either 7650lb or 7700lb GVWR. Along with a tow rating of around 11,200lbs and is only available on the Ecoboost or 6.2L...

 

What is the GVWR on the door jamb sticker? I'm betting it's 7350#, which is not max tow.

You will be limited by your ~1500# max payload before you will be limited by the 7500# tow rating.

 

You are correct.
The GVWR on the door sticker is 7350.

It does not have tow mirror or higher gear ratio so it must only have the basic package. Thank you Kevin for the info.

Sorry if I am such a noob but I want to make sure I understand it correctly. The maximum I can have in my truck including the occupants is 7350 minus the weight of the truck. Is this correct?

The 7500 tow rating must include the occupants and load of the truck plus the tongue weight. Correct?

Most trailers I have looked at have a tongue weight of around 500 lbs which leaves me with 1000 left to fill the truck with. Being close to 270 pounds myself it doesnt leave a lot of room for comfort if the GVWR of the trailer is 5000 pounds.

Someone told me that if I get an equalizer hitch that I can now tow more. Any truth to this considering the payload issue? I am very confused right now.

 

No, the 7500 tow rating is the maximum weight the trailer can be. This is just one of the limits. Your payload limit is what will run out first. Yes, that's ~1500# for the contents of the truck plus the trailer tongue weight.

An equalizer hitch will not increase the capacity, but it's required if the tongue weight is over 500# *OR* the trailer weight is over 5000#.

To find out what your REAL tongue weight limit is, load up your truck with all the cargo and people you will have in it when towing the trailer, go fill the gas tank, and get the truck weighed. Subtract that weight from 7350, and that's how much you have left for the trailer tongue. Most trailers have about 12% of the weight on the tongue.

So, in order to tow a 5000# trailer without exceeding GVWR, you need 600# to play with.

Do people tow over limits? Yes, every day. Should you? That's a decision only YOU can make.

 

Thank you GLC.

I just want to be safe with my family on board so this is why I am asking so many questions not being familiar with this.

I do wish that I had bought the max tow package now. When I bought the truck a few months ago I was not even contemplating towing a trailer. Its amazing how fast things change....

Too late for me to trade in as I would be taking a huge hit on it.

I guess you learn from your mistakes.

I do love my F150 (aside from some sync issues). Its a great truck and its so comfortable for someone of bigger size like myself. Just wish I would have thought a little further ahead of my needs for the truck.

I don't see how I can have a full tank of gas plus 3 passengers and a trailer tongue weight of 400-500 # and a few supplies. Seems a little skinny. On top of this most trailers are 4000-5000 lbs dry which means another 2000 lbs when fully loaded.

I am beginning to think it may not be feasible to get a trailer at all.

 

Look at ultra-lights. We have a Flagstaff (and had one before) and it is great. Our previous trailer was a Flagstaff 28BHSS. It was 27' (30' with hitch) bumper pull with a large slide and weighed in at 4400 lbs unloaded with less than 400 lbs of hitch weight. I towed that with my '05 F150 along with my family of 5 and our dog, usually had some firewood, bikes, cooler, etc. in the truck, and it towed great! I towed it with my '99 regular cab short bed when we only had 1 kid, and while high winds would cause it to sway a bit due to the short wheelbase of the truck, the truck towed it just fine.

Don't take more stuff than you need, don't fill your water tank before you leave, make sure you dump your gray and black tanks before you come home, and you will be fine.

Don't give up, there's a perfect trailer out there for you!

Flagstaff

Forest River also makes Rockwood trailers:

Rockwood

 

Go do that, then post the numbers off the weight slip - front and rear axle weights. Go to a truck stop that has a CAT scale, it will cost around 10 bucks.

 

Post your VIN# up and we can tell you your GVWR and what tow ratings you should be using.

Jayco also makes some nice ultra lite trailers that would probably fit your parameters.

 

We already know his GVWR and tow rating, we don't need the VIN.

 

Thank you so much for everyone's help. I am going to continue my search. There has to be a trailer that works.