Question on Pin Weight and Toy Haulers
Take it easy on me - I am a female still learning about this stuff, so I apologize if this is a loaded or dumb question! Our truck, a 2003 F-350 PSD, allows for 2100 lbs. of pin weight. The toy hau...
Forum Discussion
Yes the 9900 GVWR on the 2003 F350 is pretty lame compared to the 11,500 rating that they have now. Your truck has essentially the same rear axle as my 2011, but they just didn't rate the trucks very high back then. My brother had a 2003 and other than a difference in power, he would tell you the same as me that it was no less capable than our 2011s.
Unfortunately, a 2003 just doesn't give you much room legally for a decent toyhauler. Most toyhaulers are going to be more than 2,500 lbs with many coming in closer to 3,000 lbs on the pin weight. I'm not going to tell you that your truck won't do it safely because contrary to what the weight police will tell you, people do it everyday and you just don't see any number of catastrophic accidents to prove their contempt of it. Safety factors rely heavily on driver skill, defensive driving techniques and the mechanical fitness of the tow vehicle. Not knowing the abilities or driving style of the driver, my hesitation in your situation would be that you have a 10 year old truck. Regardless of the number of miles on the truck, 10 years is getting long in the tooth for pushing the limits unless the truck has seen some serious preventative maintenance.
As others have said regarding pin weight, unless the weight was concentrated against the ramp door, you aren't going to leverage much weight off the pin. With 1,300 lbs in my garage, I don't notice much difference in pin weight. If the weight is centered in the garage, at best you may see an 8 to 1 ratio meaning you would leverage 1 lb off the pin for every 8 lbs that you add to the garage. It is nearly impossible to leverage more than 150-200 lbs off the pin on most trailers.
Unfortunately, a 2003 just doesn't give you much room legally for a decent toyhauler. Most toyhaulers are going to be more than 2,500 lbs with many coming in closer to 3,000 lbs on the pin weight. I'm not going to tell you that your truck won't do it safely because contrary to what the weight police will tell you, people do it everyday and you just don't see any number of catastrophic accidents to prove their contempt of it. Safety factors rely heavily on driver skill, defensive driving techniques and the mechanical fitness of the tow vehicle. Not knowing the abilities or driving style of the driver, my hesitation in your situation would be that you have a 10 year old truck. Regardless of the number of miles on the truck, 10 years is getting long in the tooth for pushing the limits unless the truck has seen some serious preventative maintenance.
As others have said regarding pin weight, unless the weight was concentrated against the ramp door, you aren't going to leverage much weight off the pin. With 1,300 lbs in my garage, I don't notice much difference in pin weight. If the weight is centered in the garage, at best you may see an 8 to 1 ratio meaning you would leverage 1 lb off the pin for every 8 lbs that you add to the garage. It is nearly impossible to leverage more than 150-200 lbs off the pin on most trailers.
