How do they do it? little vehicle/big trailer

Remember not all F150s are created equal

A lot of the new vehicles are putting out ridiculous horsepower for the size so naturally people will over load them but power is only part of the equation. They also have to be stable and able to stop in a reasonable length of time. The other day I witnessed a probably 29' fifth wheel being pulled by an F-150, from the attitude of the truck it was riding on the spring blocks. Can he pull it? Absolutely. Should he pull it? Absolutely not. That would be one hairy ride down some of our grades.

age old answer,, you can,t fix stupid, people will do any thing and not think of safety.

stay within specs. Trailers can be lighter now than back in the day. Our mileage is 13-14 MPG down about ten MPG with the trailer in tow.

I was towing a Roo 183 with a Jeep Liberty Diesel. With the better tires, I did well on the short trips, but it was too small and a handful on the big trips we take. So I upgraded.

Trailers built 20 years ago are heavier than many modern rigs, some of these 30 footers are light and ultra-light versions weighing a fraction of their sturdier built predecessors.

Even so people will tend to exceed their tow vehicle's realistic ability to tow a RV, understandable as we all want to maximize a situation without breaking the bank.

In this case having to purchase a new tow vehicle along with the new RV is not in most people's budget, something has to give and many will buy bigger than they should for their current tow rig.

In the long run they usually discover they either need to downsize or get a more robust tow vehicle, although some will push their limits, and luck beyond what is considered prudent.

Just because they do it doesnt mean its the right thing to do. That applies to many things in life.

As said not all vehicles are equal in their respective classification. One SUV can have a V6, another a V8. Gearing will probably be different.

The other thing to consider is just because they look like they are towing easy, doesn't mean they aren't experiencing some of the same things you do.

Most times I read where someone says "my at the limits combo tows great" literally have no experience towing with any other combo, or having a healthy margin over and above their trailer's GVWR. In other words, nothing to compare it to. Why this happens is because people buy a vehicle to fit their daily needs, then think "I can tow anything", then of course they try.

While I too have knowingly towed close to my limits, there is a marked difference in towing pleasure having that healthy margin.

All that said, so long as the trailer being towed is within all the specs, not just towing capacity but tongue weight limits and payload, you can safely run any engine at 4000 rpms all day and they will never flinch. Me, I'd rather have some margin and run it at 2400 rpm.

One thing, I'm wondering about the specs on your F150. My Sierra is a 1500 towing a 4750# trailer and it doesn't break a sweat, hardly even down shifts.

I towed our current TT for 8 years and 35K miles with a Dodge RamWagon (window van) and now with the TV in my signature. With the van I had all kinds of comments about "unstable, unsafe, prone to sidewinds & sway," you name it. With the Sequoia the comments are about not having enough payload. IMHO the difference is I did my homework BEFORE the purchase of either TV. Good all the way around with both and decent towing gas mileage to boot. I no longer visit the "Tow Vehicles" section of this Forum because of the "advice" I got.

Having said that - I agree there are a good number of folks out there towing with inadequate tow vehicles. Stay safe out there.

8 mpg and 2,800+ rpm all day. Cruise set 62-65 on the flats and slower up hills.
Not really a big deal.