Half-ton toad

praisetoGod wrote:
I've been seriously looking at the Fleetwood Pace Arrow 35e DP. It has a 340 hp Cummins engine. This will be our first motorhome. I figured as long as I can tow a half-ton truck, and put all of our bikes in the back (6 of them), some firewood, etc. in the back of the truck, then I won't miss our 5th wheel toy hauler. Then I started thinking about towing capacity. I was surprised to see that it says it's rated for 5,000 lbs towing. The only half-ton that fits that description is an aluminum body F150. Do any of you tow a half-ton truck with that size engine? What is your experience? Do you ever tow slightly more than your DP is rated for? I know that the rating is not a suggestion, but certainly there is a range of capability. Thanks for your experience and thoughts.

upgrade to a 7500 or 10K rated hitch. watch the load you put in the MH
its a work around that will work isb340HP is weak power though
any way u look at it being as its a ISB most likely can get a HP enhancement add on device of some sort

praisetoGod wrote:
I've been seriously looking at the Fleetwood Pace Arrow 35e DP. It has a 340 hp Cummins engine. This will be our first motorhome. I figured as long as I can tow a half-ton truck, and put all of our bikes in the back (6 of them), some firewood, etc. in the back of the truck, then I won't miss our 5th wheel toy hauler. Then I started thinking about towing capacity. I was surprised to see that it says it's rated for 5,000 lbs towing. The only half-ton that fits that description is an aluminum body F150. Do any of you tow a half-ton truck with that size engine? What is your experience? Do you ever tow slightly more than your DP is rated for? I know that the rating is not a suggestion, but certainly there is a range of capability. Thanks for your experience and thoughts.

Hitch and frame can always be beefed up if necessary, but that's not the whole story.
GCWR less GVWR is what can be towed in spec, as well and no matter what the hitch is rated for.
With overloading, the engine is the last to suffer and it's usually the transmission that will over heat first. Not always though and especially with DP rear radiators that tend to clog with debris.
We towed all over the country in a gas coach, with a ton of overload, doing the math and even though the Jeep was well under the 5K rating.
Only made a difference, when climbing long 6% grades.
Even with this drawback, one can always pull to the right, 4 ways on and lumber over the top in low gear at 25mph, if this should be a problem. This usually provides one with 25% more climbing power.
All this is in general and you shouldn't have any of this, with the rig you've described. Just do the math and have the hitch inspected for possible reinforcement or replacement and most all have at least 10% or more built into them.

I just tow to hitch regulations!

I have the 275 HP 660 ft.lbs. torque cummins and tow a 3/4 ton 4x4 chevy with a Polaris rzr in the bed. I also just inherited a 2015 ford f 150 that I am going to set up as a toad.

It can definitely be done. You won't be the fastest to the top of the hills and acceleration will be a bit slower. Dinghy towing is not the tongue weight but the pushing and pulling on the hitch. Find a good welding shop and have them reinforce the hitch.

I am underpowered but the 6 speed Allison definitely makes it doable. during my research I found that a 5000 lb. hitch was installed as most of the units at that time had the 5 speed Allison which limited it to 5000 lbs.. The chassis was rated for 10,000 lbs..

Is the hitch rated any higher WDH? towing the truck 4 down will place almost no weight on the hitch and generally that weight is based on carrying the trailer load. I would be completely comfortable using the higher WDH number as the load on the hitch will be much less the this.

Personally I would not worry about that hitch rating for towing a half ton 4 down. the truck will need its own brakes either way.

praisetoGod wrote:
I've been seriously looking at the Fleetwood Pace Arrow 35e DP. It has a 340 hp Cummins engine. This will be our first motorhome. I figured as long as I can tow a half-ton truck, and put all of our bikes in the back (6 of them), some firewood, etc. in the back of the truck, then I won't miss our 5th wheel toy hauler. Then I started thinking about towing capacity. I was surprised to see that it says it's rated for 5,000 lbs towing. The only half-ton that fits that description is an aluminum body F150. Do any of you tow a half-ton truck with that size engine? What is your experience? Do you ever tow slightly more than your DP is rated for? I know that the rating is not a suggestion, but certainly there is a range of capability. Thanks for your experience and thoughts.

Smart idea. This way you have the "trailer" function of the truck bed for those "outdoor items".

I am curious though, why not a smaller utility pickup? May be easier to tow - much lighter and they usually hold a lot of gear.

This has been posted many times before, but here it is again...don't guess, do the numbers:

Tow rating is the lower of...

1. Coach's hitch rating.

2. Coach tow rating.

3. Chassis tow rating (sometimes different than the coach's).

4. The difference in weight between the coach's GCWR and the coach's actual weight when ready to tow.

Remember also that the F150 will need to be a 4X4 to be towable four down!

I believe the Pace Arrow is basically their gas motorhome chassis with a diesel engine in the back, thus the lower tow rating. Winnebago also built some Adventurer 'DPs' and they also had similar issue.

As note, there are plenty of good options available with 10,000 lb tow ratings.

Tinstar wrote:
It has little to do with the size or HP of your engine but more with the hitch and the frame in which it's connected.

True. The engine would be functional, the frame and receiver are a bit on the light side.

IMO there are better choices without the questionable limits. Lots of 10,000# capacity MHs to choose from.

On a side note, I own a '16 F150, just an awesome vehicle. Good choice there.