Hitch for 3/4 ton TV and 37-ft TT

JBarca wrote:

dsmith3 wrote:
Here are towing specs from 1999 Ford Super Duty Towing Chart (F-250 SRW)

GCWR 20,000
GVWR 8,800
Payload 2,900
Rear Axle Rating 6,830

Available payload (2,900 lbs) to be calculated as follows: weight of all cargo in bed of truck + weight of passengers + trailer tongue weight

Dave

Hi Dave,

I'm just checking in case you made an error, does your door sticker actually say the GAWR-Rear is 6,830#? The F250's are usually at 6,000#, Your older truck and the lower GVWR of 8,800 sounds OK and this aligns with the lower payload for that vintage, but that rear axle spring pack sounds off.

As a comparisons, my 05 F350 has a GVWR of 11,000# and a rear spring pack rating of 7,000#

37 foot camper is a lot of camper when loaded to 10,000#. You need to be looking to make sure and get a good 13 to 15% loaded TW which if you fill the camper is 1,320 to 1,500# TW.

Your GVWR is low, the older SD's where and you have the diesel up front too. Have you scaled the truck with full fuel and added people?

Odds are high you are going to go over the GVWR without too much trouble. Suggest a trip to the scales to sort this out.

As for a hitch, The Reese DC when set up correct is a good tool. However you may find the edge of just how good it may be at 37 feet and 10,000#. Everything will need to be optimized including your truck tires and pressure. If they are too soft, the DC is not going to hold the truck steady. That said, there is nothing wrong going with the Hensley or PP in a camper of this size regardless of the F250.

Hope this helps

John

Howdy, John -

Thank you for your excellent questions and comments.

The "6830 Rear Axle Rating" was pulled from a website that had the towing chart for my truck. I honestly didn't know what this figure was supposed to represent but included it in case it was informative (e.g., to someone just like you!). I went out this evening and looked at my door sticker and here are the GAWR limits:

~ Rear GAWR 4410 lbs (at 50 PSI)
~ Front GAWR 4970 lbs (at 55 PSI)

As a "newb" and as someone who has never owned an RV or really towed anything of substantial weight over long distances I am learning all I can (and it's been quite an education - all the RV-related stuff and then all the stuff related to towing -- hitches, brake controllers, weights, etc., etc.).

I've had my '99 F-250 PSD since 2000 (August '98 production) and now that our kids are getting older (4th, 7th and 9th grades) we are fired up about all the new adventures the RV-ing lifestyle will bring to our family.

We have not scaled the truck/trailer but do plan on doing that (won't have the trailer until December).

Sounds like we may want to seriously consider the higher-end hitches (Hensley/Pro-Pride). I also like that Blue Ox SwayPro (1500 lbs).

NOTE: Our thoughts for long-term are that we'll use this TV/TT setup until the kids are out of school (about ten years). By then we'll probably want to upgrade to a 5-er and a new Ford Powerstroke (probably F-350 DRW). Any thoughts on the towing capabilities of today's newer PSD's compared to my old 7.3?

Many thanks,
Dave