TRAILER TOWING

[ARPDUDE]

I'M NEW AT CAMPING. MY QUESTION IS : WITH A FORD F-150 SUPERCREW
(5.4 LITER ENGINE), CAN I SAFELY PULL A CAMPER WEIGHING 8000 LBS.
LOADED?
I HAVE HEARD I CAN BUT YOU KNOW THE SALESMEN WILL SAY ANYTHING TO
GET A SALE. ALSO HOW IMPORTANT IS TONGUE WEGHT?

EXCUSE MY IGNORANCE, I JUST RETIRED AND DON'T WANT TO SCREW UP.

THANKS
ARPDUDE

ARPDUDE

 

[Vern M]

TRAILER TOWING

It sounds like a lot of trailer for a smaller truck. You can get the exact towing capability of your truck from Ford if it is not shown anywhere on stickers on door posts or in the owners manual. And it is not the ability to tow that is all-important. It is your truck's ability to stop and control such a load that is equally worth very careful analysis.

Hitch weight is also imporatnt. It needs to be enough to make the load behave but not too much. The goal is 10 to 15 percent of the entire trailer weight on the hitch point.

We tow a trailer with a full size, 3/4 ton GMC conversion van. It weighs 5400 pounds and the trailer no more than 5600 loaded (4600 empty weight) to meet our van's total combined safe towing weight of 11,000 pounds.

Vern M.

 

[C Nash]

TRAILER TOWING

I agree with Vern. Does your truck have the trailer towing package? It probably will tow the 8500 but, I think you will be exceding your tow limit. Safely no, remember if you are moving you have to stop and the F150 brakes are not designed for this kind of weight.

Chelse L. Nash
fulltimer03@yahoo.com

 

[thumbs]

TRAILER TOWING

It's also important to remember that these trailers have brakes. Even if your trucks breaks may not hold the entire load it can still pull a pretty good trailer. Just make sure the trailer brakes work.

 

[Will Daniels]

TRAILER TOWING

The truck may be able to tow that much but you wont be happy driving it.What does your owners manual say? I have a F-150 Supercab with the 4.6,towing pkg.and 3:55 rated at 7000 according to manual.The "dry" weight of my little trailer is only 3450 but with the other junk I carry I'm sure we are about 4500 when traveling,and that is OK,but I cannot imagine towing anywhere near 7000.About 5000-5500 would be a safe maximum.Dealers will tell you anything-they just dont know or dont care.

 

[Coastie]

TRAILER TOWING

ARPDUDE,

I have a Supercrew with the 5.4 liter. We have just over 3000 miles pulling a Trail-Lite 8403S (30 foot TT, about 5700 pounds loaded (I always travel with empty tanks and am a weight czar when we are loading), load distribution and anti-sway). We have not been in any mountains other than the little ones in the UP of Michigan but have not had any problems getting up the hills and keeping up on the Interstate. Bottom line though is I am max out. I feel safe (w/wife and 3 kids) pulling this trailer and have been in a few extremis situations where I have had to brake really hard in heavy traffic and can pass comfortably up to about 70 mph. If I keep the speed around 60 mph I generally get an honest 9.5 mpg on the highway. I have a friend with a little heavy trailer and a Chevy Sierra 2500 6.0 liter and I generally out accelerate him. Again I am maxed out with this trailer and weight. I had a dealer (big well known dealership in Michigan)try to sell me a much heavier trailer and really put the screws to me when I backed out of a deal because I was uncomfortable with the weight. Your right to be uncomfortable with the dealers. As a side note I was on a Ford dealership lot today looking at Supercrews and the listed GVWR on the 2002s is 6300 pounds. My owners manual says 8000 pounds also but am suspecting that Ford may have changed its mind. My advice after a full season is don't exceed 6000 pounds (fully loaded), around 5000 pounds would give you a nice comfort zone with your Supercrew (5.4). Hope you enjoy your Supercrew but the F-250 may be a better vehicle if you are unhappy with what's out there in the 5000-6000 pound range.

Best of Luck,
Kevin
2001 F-150 Supercrew
2001 Trail-Lite 8403S

 

[Les Adams]

TRAILER TOWING

ARPDUDE,

In a word NO!!!

You cannot "safely" tow that much weight with a 1/2 ton chassis...

I have towed upwards of #6500 with a previous F-150 (1/2 ton chassis)and the trucks chassis and brakes are NOT up to a task of that magnitude...

Now, will it move the TT forward??? Yes it will... Will it tow the #8000 TT safely... Not in my opinion!!!

An #8000 TT will have a tongue weight somewhere in between #800 and #1200 assuming 10-15% of total TT weight... Aside from the fact that you will require a Class V hitch to handle this much tongue weight, that tongue weight (and hitch weight) MUST be added to the trucks GVWR figure as it is carrying that weight as well as a full fuel load, all passengers and cargo... You are almost certain to exceed the trucks maximum GVWR (#6600) if your carrying any kind of passenger and cargo load...

Beyond that, my personal opinion is that #8000 is way too much load for a 1/2 ton chassis regardless of what the Ford specs say...

I think you would be well served in either downsizing the load or upsizing the truck...

Best Reagrds,
Les

2000 Ford F-250 Super Duty, XLT SuperCab, 4X4 Off Road, SWB, V10/3:73LS/4R100 towing 1999 Skyline 27' Nomad, Model 2700, Pullrite Hitch, Jordan Ultima 2020 brake controller

 

[DennisH]

TRAILER TOWING

I have learned so much from reading these and other Forum discussions. My wife and I are also just getting ready to enter the RV world. "Buy the most truck you can afford" was sound advice. That advice resonates in this discussion. Now that we own a 2001 3500 Silverado Dooley that I "stole" from a Chevy dealer (nobody wanted to buy it), we'll begin doing our homework on a trailer. At least I know I have enough truck for just about anything out there. Thanks again for the candor of the discussions.

DennisH, 2001 Silverado 3500 Dooley LB CC, VORTEC 8100

 

[Les Adams]

TRAILER TOWING

Dennis,

Congrats on the new truck... Now you certainly have enough truck to tow just about any trailer or fifth wheel you want... The only exception I can think of is a very large 5er that would require a medium duty truck...

Get yourself a good hitch, a good brake controller (I'm partial to the Jordan Ultima 2020 and Pullrite hitches) and your in business...

Good luck with the aearch for the "ultimate trailer"...

Best Regards,
Les

2000 Ford F-250 Super Duty, XLT SuperCab, 4X4 Off Road, SWB, V10/3:73LS/4R100 towing 1999 Skyline 27' Nomad, Model 2700, Pullrite Hitch, Jordan Ultima 2020 brake controller