Hi,

I have a 2007 F250 4X4 Crew Cab Lariat with the 6.8L EFI V10 engine.

I just bought a 12500lbs 30' stacker trailer to haul 2 race cars (3500lbs each) with brings us to roughly 20000lbs with equipment and tools.

I doubt that the truck will be able to haul that much, any of you know what I can do to increase towing capacity? (i.e: aftermarket parts, reinforcing etc..)

Thanks

Lou

 

A F-250 with a V-10 tops out at 12500 conventional and 16000 5th wheel. A F-350 still won't do 20k, you need a F-450 with a diesel to stay legal.

http://trailmanor.com/WebDocs/Campin...towratings.pdf

 

Legal has nothing to do with what the paper your dealer gave you says. Legal has to do with what your plates are rated at and if you are exceding the axle ratings. A v-10 could pull that load, it's the fuel you burn that will hurt the wallet. As long as you have your truck plates set up for the weight you are hauling you will be fine. If you really want to make sure you have enough axle capacity just add a nice set of 19.5 Medium duty truck wheels and tires. At least that's how it works in FL and GA.

 

Send me your phone number so I can call you every time I drive to be sure I am not on the same road. Legal is one thing. Safety is another thing for both you and the other drivers on the road. You need to trade for an F-450 or sell all your stuff if you can't afford it. I'm sorry if this comes off as harsh, but as a fellow motorist I don't want to get killed.

 

Although there are a few recomendations for the F450 with 20k of trailer, I belive last time I looked the trailer capacity between the F350 dually and F450 are the same. The major differernce is the tongue/bed capacity. An installation of air bags on the F350 dually will get you the same tongue capacity and save quite a bit in vehicle price.

A air bag equipped F350 diesel is plenty for 20k trailer load. (Check out the number of 1-ton duallies towing wedge deck dual tandems or tripple 7k axle trailers all over the country)

Want to pull it like a champ?
F650 with Caterpillar option diesel. (rated for 1,000,000 miles)

As far as upgrade options for the V-10 F250 to pull the trailer.
I highly recommend upgrading/trading it for a 1 ton dually that is equipped with upgraded air bag rear suspension. Your single axle F250 is too light and body roll is very evident and dangerous with over 4000#'s of tonge weight.

I am also not a fan of the 6.0 or 6.4 Ford Diesels.

BTW the new Dodge Cummins 6.7 with the factory equipped exhaust brake pulls and slows down 20k trailers really well compared to the older 12-24 valve Cummins. It almost doesn't even use the trailer brakes....a far cry from any F250.

 

CO, did you look at the PDF I linked in my post? There's not a single F-350 that will legally do 20k. F-450's will do up to 24.5.

Let me clarify what I mean by "legal" - anything over the maximum manufacturer's rated weight leaves you open for liability, and also DOT inspections in some states, regardless of how you plate the vehicle. GVWR, GAWR, and GCWR figures are not a joke. Sure, you can tow more than the rating, but it's not a wise thing to do habitually.

To the OP:

To tow something that big, you really need a dualie. I don't think you can beef up what you have enough to remain safe.

I have a friend who is a roofing contractor. He pulls a 20k trailer with a F-550 dump truck and has enough problems - it's a 99 with a 7.3 PSD, he's been through 8 transmissions.

 

Without getting into a pi$$ing contest.

I am one of the 1st people who will state not to try and tow or haul too much for the tow vehicle. An upgrade in trucks is usually the best solution to tow heavier loads as I stated above.

After looking again at the .pdf it still shows that for the most part the F450 and the F350 have the same or very close to the same tow ratings as far as trailer weight is concerned confirming my earlier post that the difference is the tongue weight or GVW that determines the max trailer weight in that .pdf and on manufacturer's suggested maximum trailer weight.

What is not addressed is GVWR (Gross-Vehicle-Weight-Rating) and GAWR (Gross-Axle-Weight-Rating)

GVWR and GAWR determine if something is legal or not to tow down the road. Whether the trailer is over weight or the tow vehicle, maybe an axle weight or the combined load is in excess of your driver's license weight rating.

In Colorado you are allowed up to 26,000#'s before you need a CDL type license. If you have a GVWR of 12,000 on a 1-ton dually and tow a 20,000# trailer you will need a CDL type license but it will be legal....and I know this to be true in Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas also because we commonly tow there with a 21,000# triple axle wedge deck trailer hauling trailers to and from our bussiness. We do not exceeded any GVW or GAWR or combined tow laws with our CDL licenses....close to maximum length though.

For most duallie trucks any trailer over 14k you will need a CDL.

The kicker here is the Rear GAWR not GVW of the dually. You can still not exceed this rating either. With a 20k trailer and a tongue weight of 4k you will not exceed most 1-ton dually Rear GAWR, so you are still legal as far as weight ratings as long as you have a CDL.

The higher maximum tow rating of the F450 are determined by the rear GAWR, not transmission or engine; which are the same as the F350...or at least used to be. By adding rear air bags and essentially raising the rear GAWR you can effectly increase you maximum tow rating.... and not exceed the factory GAWR to be legal. Ford does this with the F450 by adding heavier rear springs, but also increases the rear GAWR and GVRW.

You could always re-register a F350 with altered suspension to a higher GVWR and higher rear GAWR to make sure you don't get a ticket if you are close to the limits.... but with a 20k trailer you won't be unless you are loaded down in the truck as well.

I just still don't see the benifit of the F450 over the F350 with air-bags.
If you want to go bigger than any 1-ton the F650 chassis is perferable with the Caterpillar diesel. (BTW I believe the F450 was discontinued because people were overloading them trying to use them like a F650)

 

Woops---Double post...having internet problems...sorry

 

Yeah, just like with my F150... the rear axle has rating of 12.5k. However, if I did the 7 lug conversion and the HD suspension package setup, I would be able to legally haul 2x as much without worrying about safety.

Even if I install Ride Rites, I can legitimately change my GVWR and GAWR...

Getting up some hills might be a challenge for the engine... but it'd still be legal.

 

For the most part, yes - but the heaviest F-350 I saw in that PDF is 19.5k, where a F-450 has a 24.5k configuration. The F-450 is still offered as part of the Super Duty pickup line, the F-550 and higher are commercial trucks.

 

I think for a F-550 or higher, don't you need a CDL to operate them?

 

We have pulled 20k with the F250 on a short distance but now with racing, we have to do quite a bit of driving to get where we want. Safety is a priority

I just want to find the right truck for the job. I tough I could modify mine but if I have to upgrade, that's gonna be it.

 

The *right* truck for the job without getting into the full commercial line is a properly optioned F-450 (6.4 diesel, automatic, 4.88 axle). Sure, you would probably be okay with a dualie F-350, but it *never* hurts to have a bit of a cushion to play with. I'm assuming GM and Chrysler both have equivalent packages.

 

A 30' stacker is a nice trailer - I am jealous. If you have that much trailer, pulling 2 cars to the races,you are obviously taking it serious. Sounds to me like it is time to step up to a toterhome. Plenty of truck to pull that and whatever else you want and you can now you can stay at the track with all the luxeries of home. I have friends that have them and once you get over the initial prices they are great, plus you save time traveling to/from the track, and you are there with all your stuff all weekend. NICE. By the way, what the hell are you racing that weighs 3,500 Lbs???

 

don't know where you are located but right here is a good find for you
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...eadExists=true