Hey all, finally deciding to take the plunge and get ourselves a travel trailer. I have grown up camping in them, from travel trailers to fifth wheels to the classes, but now it's time I get my own.I've spent all day doing the math on towing capability, and I was wondering if someone could double check my math and see if I'm doing this right.I own a 2008 F250 5.4L (gasser, I know), Crew cab with tow package and 4.10 axl ratio. The numbers I have gathered are below:GVWR: 9400 lbsGCWR: 18,000 lbsMax Loaded Trailer Weight: 11,700 lbsRAWR: 6100 lbsAt this time I do not know the exact weight of my truck but I have no tool boxes or other additions.I used the calculator at http://changingears.com, which told me that the max trailer weight should be around 8600. Adding in safety margins of 10% that would put me around 7740 max trailer weight.At first I thought this was low, but the more I'm reading it might be accurate? I've tried to provide as much information as I could that I know, do these numbers make sense to anyone else? I've also seen plenty of people that towed more weight, but I plan on being safe and staying within my limits so I don't want to just overload it because I can.

What is your payload rating?It will have more effect on what you can tow than anything else.Edit: According to the Fleet towing guide you should have around 2200 lbs of cargo capacity. Subtract occupants, gear, and the weight of a distribution hitch, and the remainder will be the maximum tongue weight of the trailer.

westend wrote:What is your payload rating?It will have more effect on what you can tow than anything else.If that is the max payload capacity, I just looked it up and it showed 2850.

4ofUs wrote:westend wrote:What is your payload rating?It will have more effect on what you can tow than anything else.If that is the max payload capacity, I just looked it up and it showed 2850.Do you have the camper package? Regardless, the weight sticker should be on the driver's side door jamb. F250's are all over the map, depending on what you have. I have 4x4 and that derates the cargo capacity significantly. I also have a 3.73 rear end so my towing weights will be less than yours.

You have a chassis capable of towing more, but I would limit loaded trailer weight to under 7,000 pounds with that engine. I owned three late model 5.4's and they are just okay at that weight.

westend wrote:4ofUs wrote:westend wrote:What is your payload rating?It will have more effect on what you can tow than anything else.If that is the max payload capacity, I just looked it up and it showed 2850.Do you have the camper package? Regardless, the weight sticker should be on the driver's side door jamb. F250's are all over the map, depending on what you have. I have 4x4 and that derates the cargo capacity significantly. I also have a 3.73 rear end so my towing weights will be less than yours.Ok went outside and look, max payload capacity was 2303 lbs (max capacity of all cargo and passengers).

Double check the math. Not sure exactly how much I can tow!

19 Replies

Dog_Trainer
Explorer
Jul 17, 2015
I towed about 10,000 miles with my 5.4 in a 2010 F150 with a tow package. I would generally tell people not to waste money on a programer but the SCT tunner I got from 5 star tuning and especially the tow tunes greatly improved the towing experience. my tow weight is 8400 lbs on my TT wet and ready to ride. 1040 lbs of TW 1795 lbs payload. I did change vehicles to the 2500 Ram in my sig but because I wanted a little more grunt with my truck I think I woyld have stayed with my ford had it been the 250. PM me and I will share some additional info on the 5 Star tunes if you are interested.
rbpru
Explorer II
Jul 17, 2015
As stated, your numbers look good.

A trip to the CAT scales with your loaded rig will confirm theory.

Weigh the truck, weigh the truck and TT, you will get the front, rear, and TT axle weights.

Then you can calculate the actual numbers.

As to how many horse power you need, only you can tell if the combination is under powered. My little 200 hp. F-150 had a heck of a time with a 6000 lb. TT in the Ozarks. It wanted to down shift all the time. I upgraded to a 356 hp. E-boost and it pulls fine for me even in the Rockies.

Good Luck
MFinCA
Explorer
Jul 17, 2015
4ofUs wrote:

I used the calculator at http://changingears.com, which told me that the max trailer weight should be around 8600. Adding in safety margins of 10% that would put me around 7740 max trailer weight.

I've also seen plenty of people that towed more weight, but I plan on being safe and staying within my limits so I don't want to just overload it because I can.
You are correct in your calculations. The GVWR of your trailer should be below 8600 to be within the capacity of the truck.

Lots of great TTs for you to choose from! Have fun!
4ofUs
Explorer
Jul 15, 2015
rvsixer wrote:
4ofUs wrote:
...and the fact it only weighs 7000 lbs, we should be good to go.

You do realize that by the time you add necessities (i.e. battery, hitch, water, propane, wheel chocks, hoses, party lights, manufacturer options, etc. etc.), this trailer will actually weigh significantly more than the 7079 lb spec, yes?

More like 7600-7800lb, and now add your clothes and luggage and gear to that.

Oh definitely, without a doubt, I know dry weight means nothing. But all the math and what others have said here (including someone with the same TV setup) has said if I start at a 7000lb camper, I should be ok towing it (although some think I should go a bit lower to be fair). Searching around I have seen a lot of people with my TV towing a lot more weight, but I'm trying to stay within certain limits according to the math and not just go "Well technically I could tow 10k pounds so I'll just go ahead and do that!".
rvsixer
Explorer
Jul 15, 2015
4ofUs wrote:
...and the fact it only weighs 7000 lbs, we should be good to go.

You do realize that by the time you add necessities (i.e. battery, hitch, water, propane, wheel chocks, hoses, party lights, manufacturer options, etc. etc.), this trailer will actually weigh significantly more than the 7079 lb spec, yes?

More like 7600-7800lb, and now add your clothes and luggage and gear to that.
4ofUs
Explorer
Jul 15, 2015
Double post
4ofUs
Explorer
Jul 15, 2015
APT wrote:
Your limitation will be performance expectations. You can tow 11k pounds quite slowly compared to other powertrains. You can have plenty off payload/suspension/frame for 11k loaded.

Fuel? budget 8mpg for any high walled RV, 4000 pounds or 12000 pounds.

Agreed, while most of our trips won't be super long trips, still no reason to be chugging along. In order to go fifth wheel to get what we want it would weigh higher to 11k loaded, so we decided to go with a travel trailer (for now at least). We ended up like the Keystone Bullet Premiere 34BHPR, it's long at 37 feet, but with proper setup (probably getting an Equalizer hitch), and the fact it only weighs 7000 lbs, we should be good to go.
APT
Explorer
Jul 14, 2015
Your limitation will be performance expectations. You can tow 11k pounds quite slowly compared to other powertrains. You can have plenty off payload/suspension/frame for 11k loaded.

Fuel? budget 8mpg for any high walled RV, 4000 pounds or 12000 pounds.
4ofUs
Explorer
Jul 14, 2015
handye9 wrote:
4ofUs wrote:
Thanks, one good thing is we live in south Florida so most of the driving will be flat, we'll have wind, but not much else!

Is the 8000lb limiting factor on weight safety, or just getting horrible MPG? I mean, I would like to know how much I can safely tow minus all other considerations, and then take efficiency, MPG, and work my way down from there.

The 8000lb is a recommendation due to the horse power and torque of the engine. It's more about how pleasant your towing experience will be. Your truck is actually rated to tow higher weight, but, it would struggle to do it.

I have the same year/make/model/engine/gears. Dry weight on my trailer is 7200 lbs. Loaded weight is a little over 8000. The truck has been getting the job done, for seven years.

If you're looking at travel trailers, there are lot of choices in 7000 lb unloaded weight range. When you load it up (dishes, pots and pans, bedding, camping gear, BBQ, water, groceries, etc) for camping, it will be around 8000 with about 1000 lbs of tongue weight.

My truck likes gas, no matter what I'm doing with it. Unloaded it gets 12 MPG, maybe 12.5 with a tail wind. With the trailer it gets 9 - 10 MPG.

Thank you so much for all this information, very helpful! We actually were looking at some last night and found one that we fell in love with that weighed 7076 lbs unloaded, so perfect fit!
coolbreeze01
Explorer
Jul 13, 2015
I would keep the trailer at around 7K max and enjoy it.