Newbie - confused about hitch weight
Well, I am a newbie and just bought my TT the other day. Purchased the Palomino Solaire Eclipse. Its dry weight is 6800#. My TV is a 2005 F150 4x2 5.8L V8 with a 144 WB and max trailer weight of 8600#. I have researched all the tow ratings for five weeks now and made calculations multiple times. Please dont harp on the fact that i am using a 1/2 ton truck to pull this trailer. I had to have the trailer for certain reasons and could afford a new truck. Could have gone with a lower trailer weight but needed the room for 8 people. Hard to find lightweight TT that can accommodate that many comfortably. I have also been reading forums here as well as talking with folks i work with that are experienced towers and 50% say it will tow it but it will not be fun and the other 50% say that should be no problem with that truck. So, its a wash. We live in Florida and so its relatively flat and i will not pull the TT more than a 60 mile radius from the house with this truck
Here is my concern, i am confused about the hitch weight. In all my load calculations the one i failed to realize was the hitch ratings. I have the full tow package on the truck and i will also be using a WDH. Using the WDH the max tongue weight for the hitch is 990#. This seems fine, however my truck is rated to tow up to 8600# and based on the 10-15% rule for the tongue weight that would clearly exceed the hitch capacity at 15%. Why would Ford put a tow package on that has a hitch capacity that cannot accommodate their own max TT weight. Is 15% way to conservative or am i interpreting this wrong. Also, i will not have any cargo in the truck while towing. Does the WDH reduce the hitch weight by redistributing it to the front axles on the TV and the axles on the TT. Please help.
Here is my concern, i am confused about the hitch weight. In all my load calculations the one i failed to realize was the hitch ratings. I have the full tow package on the truck and i will also be using a WDH. Using the WDH the max tongue weight for the hitch is 990#. This seems fine, however my truck is rated to tow up to 8600# and based on the 10-15% rule for the tongue weight that would clearly exceed the hitch capacity at 15%. Why would Ford put a tow package on that has a hitch capacity that cannot accommodate their own max TT weight. Is 15% way to conservative or am i interpreting this wrong. Also, i will not have any cargo in the truck while towing. Does the WDH reduce the hitch weight by redistributing it to the front axles on the TV and the axles on the TT. Please help.
