Weigh Scale Shock
 

Yesterday I took my 2004 F-150 Supercrew 4X4 to the local vehicle inspection station to have it weighed. I was expecting it to be in the 5,700 - 6,000 lb range based on the information I have read on this website and others. The truck weighed 6,437 lbs, with me a full tank of gas and my 2 lb dog in it. I have a canopy on it which according to the manufacturer weighs 200 lbs.

I need to add the weights of my wife and three kids into this figure which is an additional 300 lbs. That brings me up to a total of 6,737 lbs. The GVWR of my truck is 7,200 lbs. 7,200 - 6,737 leaves me with an available payload of 463 lbs. 463 lb / 12% gets me a max trailer weight of 3,858. So that 8,700 lb towing capacity listed by Ford has dropped down to 3,858 lbs.

Something doesn't seem right to me as there seems to be many people who tow much more than 3,858 lbs with their F-150's? Is there any chance the scale could be inaccurate? I weighed it at a vehicle inspection station that weighs all the big rigs. I am thinking the chances of it being wrong are slim.

Has anyone else ever taken a curb weight on their F-150 Supercrew 4X4?

No, but I am pretty sure your truck can tow way more than 12% of its own weight! Your GCVW should be 14,000-15,000. I would say you should be ok with a 6000lb trailer, that would put you at around 12,737.

He's figuring the tongue weight of the trailer will be 12% of the total trailer weight. Maybe the scale is not as accurate when the the vehicle weight is low? I'm not sure but is seems like an awful heavy truck.

The last time I went through the scales, with a 16ft trailer on mind you, I weighed in right at 6700 lbs, when I had the trailer loaded, I weighed in at 14800. I am pretty sure the scale might have been off by a little

And this is why I say 1/2 ton trucks shouldn't tow more than 6000 pounds. They're quickly over GVWR when reayd for traveling with a family.

That does seem a little high, though. Was the bed empty? anything extra in te cab when you weighed it?

The bed was empty with the exception of the rubber bed mat. I have a canopy which according to the manufacturer weighs 200 lbs. The only thing extra in the cab were two car seats.

Let's see - 8700 towing capacity and 7200 GVWR. You are using 12% of the trailer weight for tongue weight, but I believe the old rule is no less than 10%. This means if you hook up a 8700# trailer and use 870# for tongue weight, the truck needs to be kept down to 6330#. Take off the canopy and you will have a 6237# truck and your wife better be pretty tiny to ride with you. All within limits. All the manufacturers use this type of math for advertising purposes, not real world situations.

Sounds about right

My '07 Screw weighed 5300 without me in it and about a half tank of gas. So add you, 200lbs plus 100lbs of gas and That's 5600 plus the canopy that's 5800. That's still 637 pounds more and basically the only difference is the 4 wd and the dog (grin). Seems pretty heavy.

His 04 4x4 with a full tank of gas, no options ... 5610lbs curb weight

This is why I don't go to the scales :) :) :) Truck tows great and I'm happy! Ignorance is bliss. (If you're gonna start in now about the legal aspects of my actions/comments...don't)

Gvwr
 

I believe you need to weigh the rear axle only as the 7200 lb is gross vehichle weight rear. The payload on our trucks is around 1500lbs not a couple hundred.

No, GVWR stands for Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. You have GAWR, that's Gross Axle Weight Rating and that sure as hell ain't 7200 pounds.

Curb weight is 5610, GVWR is 7200, that's 1590 pounds payload, that sounds about right. Your fat @$$ is considered payload :D

So Curb Weight, No options per earlier post: 5,610
Bed Topper: 200 lbs (could be more)
Original Poster 200 lbs (could be more or less)
Bed Mat 50 lbs (My guess)
Fuel 6 lbs per gallon x 25 gallons =150 lbs


That's 6,210 lbs before you add for the dog, car seats and any optional or aftermarket equipment on your vehicle.

Also, Ford could be off on their weight. Maybe they weigh the truck with skinny wheels and tires? An upgraded, optional wheel and tire package could add 100 - 200 lbs right there. And maybe Ford's weight does not include the spare tire and jack. Who knows if they even ever weigh a truck at all? They probably just add up the weight for each part on some computer spreadsheet.

All the manufacturers play the tow-rating game, but Ford really stretches the numbers. Sometimes it seems the only way to legally tow the max is if you have no gas, no options and a 90 lb driver. Add 1,000+ lbs for the things everyone brings on a trip (gas, humans, luggage,camping gear, loaded ice chests) and there is not much left over for trailer tongue weight. If you really carry alot of weight in the truck (fire wood, ATV, etc...) and you start with a heavy 4x4 extended cab 1/2 ton, it's easy to shrink your 'legal' tow ratings down to nothing.

That's exactly my point. The 1/2 ton truck market is one of the most competitive markets on the planet and the manufacturers are getting really creative with their advertising to convince people that they can do things with them that used to be reserved for 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. This is *partially* true - a properly equipped 1/2 ton can do things that the 3/4's from years ago wouldn't even think of doing. Example is the old F-250 with the Y-block 360 - even a 4.6 has more guts than that thing had.