Doing My Homework First
My wife (Herself) and I are finally retired and able to plan our escape to serious RVing. We are in the early planning stages and not in a rush. We would like to use our 2001 F150 4X4, but only if we ...
Forum Discussion
ependydad wrote:
I wrote this What Can I Tow? page specifically for my father-in-law who was asking the same question.
Basically, you have to ignore GCWR as you'll likely never hit it with a F150. Your biggest limiting factor is how much the F150 can carry (you, your wife, your stuff, your hitch and pin or tongue weight).
Once you find your actual available payload, you can then do the math to find the trailers that you can safely handle. Typically, you can have a larger travel trailer than fifth wheel because TT's have 10%-15% tongue weight where as fifth wheels have 15%-25% pin weight.
^^X2 Dan.
Fifth wheel is out of the question with that truck. I have basicily the same truck. For longer trips, and in the mountains, high altitudes etc. Your truck will struggle, and if you encounter high winds also. If you plan on venturing far I would recomend getting a newer half, or better yet a 3/4, or 1 ton truck. I'm going to be doing that myself soon. I'm sure you'l have a much better experience towing if you do. The added benifit is you can shop for your trailer without as much worry as to weights.
On edit: Kudos to you for "doing your homework", and asking. It's much better to plan it out first.
