Think I messed up

irish4 wrote:
My wife and I finally decided to take the plunge and buy an RV. We visited a local major RV dealership, and the first question asked was what am I using as a TV. We had just purchased a 2012 F150 FX4 a couple of months back as our first truck, so I gave them the information I had from the window sticker stating I had the tow package with a 3.73 gear.

I was told that I could haul 11,300lbs so I was gtg for almost anything on the lot, so after some looking and many trips back we settled on a 2013 Springdale 303BHSSRWE for $17,900.

I was talking to a friend at work regarding our new purchase and he stated that we might have bit off more then we could chew, and that we needed to check our trucks GVWR. Well after looking at the sticker on the inside of my door we found out that its only 7200# which led me to find out that our max trailer weight is 9700# not the 11,300 stated at the dealer.

I don't know for sure if we messed up really bad, so I am looking here to find out.
Here is the info I know:
TV:
2012 Ford FX4 Eco boost V6
GVCW: 15,500
Max trailer weight: 9,700
GVWR: 7,200
Front GAWR: 3,750
Rear GAWR: 4,050
I went to a weight station and got the current numbers for my truck with full tank and me in it.
Front axle: 3,320
Rear axle: 2,700
GVW: 5,920

TT:
Weights done at dealership by my request.
Hitch weight: 900
Weight w/bottles and battery: 7,820
Fastway WD hitch and sway

We pick up the trailer for the 1st time on Friday 12 December. Please someone smarter then me in this let me know if we just wasted money on a trailer I cant tow safely.

You might want to call the dealership with the sad news, and ask about changing to a lighter weight model. At least you have not signed the final loan paperwork on this unit, and you should be able to change your mind about it.

Will you be over the GVWR? Probably. Unsafe? Not really.

The 'listed' hitch weight might be accurate, or might be off by as much as 200 pounds. Once you have loaded the trailer, then the hitch weight will change, perhaps by another 200 pounds? Not saying that it will ever go over 1,000 pounds of hitch weight, that is pretty high on a 8,000 pound trailer. But if all the conditions are right, then the fresh water tank might be really close to the front, and might add more weight that you desire on the hitch. Probably the fresh water tank is just forward of the axles, so most of it's weight will be on the trailer axles, not the hitch.

As someone stated, the weight distribution hitch will come in a crate, about 100 pounds of steel! Then add 900 pounds of hitch weight, and your 'generous' 1,300 pounds of cargo has pretty much gone away, leaving little room for passengers without going over the 7,200 GVWR.

Look back at the 80's and 90's. Most trucks where over the GVWR and the owners never took it to a scale, so they blissfully drove down the freeways un-aware! You will be within about 300 pounds of your GVWR.

If you could find a trailer with a 650 - 700 pound hitch weight, that would be much better.

AS far as power, the truck can handle 10,000 pound trailer, even if you will be a little over the tow capacity with regards to the 3.73:1 rear axle ratio. The trailer will lower the rear of the truck by about 2", and that is not to bad. Just like loading it up with 1,000 pounds of gravel, it is fine for your truck and it's factory springs.

Are you sure that the hitch weight is really 900 pounds? Do they have a scale or something? Or rely on the manufactures published weight or based on a scale at the manufactures that measures EACH RV leaving the factory? Yours is probably within 200 pounds of the 'average' Springdale 303 trailer. But even production units can change from one unit to another.

Yes this is a very common question. Many write saying "I bought a 2500 truck and the dealership said their diesel pickups can tow anything!" And they are right - the Diesel F-350 and dually 3500 series trucks can tow just about any fifth wheel and carry the 5,000 pound pin weight with no problems. The 2500 series trucks are limited to about 2,000 pounds of pin weight - about what the cargo rating is on the specially equipped F-150 Ecoboost. The new 2.7L F-150 Ecoboost has a even higher cargo rating, due in part to a much lighter engine! That still has over 250 HP! I think that some of them have a 2,500 pound cargo rating now! That is with the aluminum body and it is 700 pounds less curb weight.

Still I think that you can tow a slightly shorter trailer with ease. Ask about what your options are to change to another model. If not, perhaps something in your credit rating or whatever can change the deal to a no deal.

Good luck,

Fred.