Hi to everyone. I have a question. I have a 2002 F150 two wheel drive Supercrew with the 5.4 engine 3.55 transmission and factory tow package. I am looking into pulling a 28 foot bumper pull Jayco travel trailer with an approximate dry weight of 6500 to a wet weight of approximately 8000 lbs. or so. First of all, is this enough truck to safely tow this vehicle? Second question, do you guys have any tips or advice on pulling a trailer of this size? I will have the braking system installed as well as an equalizer hitch and sway bar. Thanks in advance, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Welcom aboard ZP,

I can tell you now, that you will get many different opinions here regarding your question.

There are people that will pull a 12K pound 32ft Fifth Wheel with a half ton, and some will pull a Tent Trailer with no less than a 3/4 ton F250. But most are somewhere in the middle.

I, speaking only for myself, would probalby make a decision about a setup like yours depending on the type and frequency of camping you're going to do. If your out every weekend, or for months at a time criss crossing the country, I'd look into a bigger rig. If you plan on camping localy, or not to hilly terrain, and leave the trailer parked for a few weeks at a time, and are tedious about regular maintenance, then you should be OK even with the odd trip accross the state/province. I, with the type of camping I do, and the terrain I drive on, would have no problems with your setup. That is assuming proper WD Hitch and Brake setup, as you mentioned.

Also, on longer trips, if you make sure to empty your holding tanks, and keep only minimal fresh water for the occasional stop along the way, and fill your fresh water when you get there, this will go a long way to help keep the weight down.

As for tips on how to pull: Don't try to keep up with the fastest trafic, If you notice a lot of cars behind you (in a single lane highway,) I like to wait for a small downgrade, and pull over to the side and slow down to let cars go by. And don't follow to close, bring a couple good CDs, Keep a couple cold ones in the fridge for when you get there. (If cold beer is your thing).

Have Fun

Dpostman

 

Most people recommend the 80% rule, meaning what most people are comfortable with is 80% of tow rating.

I think your tow rating is 8000 or 8300 pounds depending on 17 or 16" wheels. Your truck will pull it, but you may not be comfortable doing it.

 

I just wanted to add that you may wish to read up in the towing and hauling section. There's a whole lot of info from many good people in there. Have a look at the number of posts that the posters have under their belts and weigh their opinions accordingly. (this is usually a good indication)

Ex: MitchF150, seventeen hundred something posts... = go with what he says.

Me, Dpostman, one hundred forty someting posts... = well, my advice is free anyway

Dpostman

"Edited to add APT (Although just a young fella )that also has many posts under his belt."

 

just looked at my window sticker and was wondering what all the stuff means pertaining to towing. i will eventually be getting a Weekend Warrior "Toy Box" sometime in the future. my stats are... F150, V-8 5.4 Screw, with a gear ratio of 3.73 limited slip axle and 6750# GVWR package, trailer towing group; class 3. Now what does that all mean? Thanks guys! Willie

 

I have the same truck as you, except mine is 4X4. I towed a 23 foot weekend warrior. I had brakes, best hitch available, anti-sway, and it did really good, besides the gas mileage. Never get in a hurry and you can get about 10MPG.
Personally I would rather have a diesel to pull anything over 5-6000lbs. I always felt safe, if that was what you were asking and I never had any close calls. With the equalizer and sway on the hitch, it handled really nice. 8000 pounds is pushing the limits and I would never like to live on the edge. I have seen trucks with bumber trailers in the ditch and it aint pretty. At that load of 8000 lbs, I sure wouldn't take that thing up or down any large hills. Good luck.

 

My guess at the tow package with 6750 is probably related somehow to a class III hitch ... Mine is 7200 on the invoice and class IV ... You will need at least a class IV to pull just about any toy hauler or camp trailer I've seen over 19'. I've only seen one GVWR for the screw 5.4 and that's 7200lb for the chassis.

I am waiting delivery of the Weekend Warrior toy hauler SL RK2100 (TH) to pull behind my 04 supercrew 4x4 (TV) that just got new 4.56 gears for the job. Have calculated a wet & loaded weight of 7Klb on my high side for the TH (based on door sticker - not a brochure) and my TV comes in at almost 6400lb wet/loaded ... leaving me around 800lb free GVWR for tongue weight. I've looked at these trailers and all the water tanks are on the tongue side of the axels ... so if the dry hitch weight is 650 plus I'd sure guess that it will be considerably more wet, even with a distribution hitch.

So those numbers mean to me ... Though GCVWR of 14k or 15k has a some room (900-1900lb), the GVWR of the truck is or will be max'd +. The WW TH has a hitch to weight ratio of around 16% empty depending on the SL model and no options ... add up those options that just happen to be on the front/tongue side of the TH ... and you get a bit higher percentage. So now you must throw some heavy stuff in the far back of the TH (toys) to counter balance and take as much weight off of the TV as you can to keep under the TV's GVWR. Ya, right ... I'm sort of doubting it can be done! ... but I'll give'r a try ...

My personal opinion is 7Klb is pushing the safety & reliability limit for us f-150 drivers!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RuddellDC
[B]I have the same truck as you, except mine is 4X4. I towed a 23 foot weekend warrior. I had brakes, best hitch available, anti-sway, and it did really good, besides the gas mileage. Never get in a hurry and you can get about 10MPG.

hey RuddellDC, thanks for the advice. had a few questions. with a 23 footer Weekend Warrior, how many "toys" were you putting in it and what was your total weight with all the tanks full? i will be getting bigger brakes no doubt, and what kind of hitch do you have? also, what is a sway bar, and equalizer? where does it go and how much does it cost? thanks for the write back, good to see someone out there with pretty much what i have as far as truck goes, and to what i want in toy haulers. do you have any pics of your TH you can send? went to a dealer and saw one for $19 large. only thing was that there was no master bed, and the toilet was all up next to the shower, making it hard to get in/out of the shower. but i think that was a "sand storm"anyway, thanks again. my email is aholeiwilldigg@yahoo.com

 

I have a 2001, 5.4, 3.55, trailer package and tow a 5500# 25ft trailer. The truck pulls it with no problems and I have never had the feeling I didn't have enough truck. Our trailering is limited as we never go more than 10-12 hours from home and only a few times per year. I also have a hensley hitch, which I would highly recommend.

I am having the same debate with myself as we would like to move up to a 28ft 8000# max weight trailer. In my opinion it is borderline and if we buy it I will be prepared to get a bigger truck if I find I don't feel comfortable pulling it with the Supercrew.

 

Newbie to the forum, but been around the Blue Oval & towing all my life. I've got an '01 5.4l 4x4 with 3.55. I pull a 30' Keystone travel trailer with a super-slide, fully loaded under 8,000lbs. Pulls no problem, even up steep grades. I've got the load stabilizers & friction sway bar set up & I always feel under control. With BFG Mudders, I only get about 8mpg when towing however. I've got the tow package on the truck with the PS & Trans coolers. I'd like to get a 30+ foot fifth wheel, but I'll have to wait until I can afford an F350 with a diesel for that!

 

what are load stabilizers, and sway bars? what will i need to get, not want to get, but need to get if i end up getting a 25 to 30 foot weekend warroir toy hauler and use the S'Crew to tow it?

 

yea thats right big daddy o is back and heres the poop doops
big daddy says hookem up and tow baby. it will tow anything with a good weight distribution hitch. i towed with the 2001 model and now with the 2004. theres is a remarkable difference because of the stance of the 2004. its a dream to tow with . just hookem up and go bro you will not be sorry. late out b.d.

https://www.f150online.com/galleries.../gallery97.jpg

 

You might need some tractor weights for the front of your truck to keep the wheels on the ground! ... ha, ha, just kidding, but I'd look long and hard at the weights.

Ok, I'll take the bait of the last message!

Weekend Warriors in the 25-30 lengths are NOT the SuperLights that some pull with half tons! They are quite hitch heavy! Toy Haulers can not be compared to other travel trailers as they are much heavier per foot of length. Also, everything heavy is on the tongue side other than your toys.

I personally got to learn second hand from a friend who ended up with his wife's gotta have'it 30’ bumper pull (bless her hart). His hitch weight alone ended up around 1600lbs. even with the toys as far back as they’ll go, with a mere total weight of over 11,000lbs. The brochure said 5800lb UVWR, dry with hitch at 950lb. The door sticker had UVWR at 6700ish when he picked it up. He can’t figure where the weight came from as he swears the toys and gear couldn’t be over 2000lb!? Anyway, he ended up trading for a different tow vehicle and the long planned first family vacation in the new trailer was fizzled due to the axle nearly resting on the bump-stops! Note: he has a family of 4, 2 atv’s and 2 kids motorbikes.

For a 25-30’ TH add several hundred pounds to the door posted weight or roughly brochure + 800lb and then start adding up water, gear, toys etc… most people are really surprised and find that they estimate at least 1000lbs shy of what they end up being when they hit the scales!

Another quick easy way to look at how much a trailer will likely weigh in actual use is to use at least 93% of the trailer’s GVWR.

Might even look into legal things like liability, possible insurance claim effect of being overloaded, etc…

Not trying to rain on the toy parade … but! ??? Strapping what could end up being 10,000-12,000lbs on your f150’s tail might be worth some long thought and a few basic calculations.

I think you’d be find with one of the Weekend Warrior SuperLights or other similar but I’ve not seen one over 23’.

Good Luck on your venture!

 

You'll be within 1000 pounds of a toy hauler's GWVR when you add trailer options, toys, travel gear, water and gas. Tycreek is right, stay away from 25-30ft toy haulers for light duty trucks.

Yes, you'll want a weight distributing hitch for over 4000 pounds.

Check out the forums at www.rv.net for some good info on toy haulers, toy vehicles, and hitches.

 

thanks guys, will hit up that RV site soon APT. again thanks, i did not think of it all like that! it's good to look at the big picture i guess huh? willie