F150 asa TV for 5th wheel

demiles wrote:
FYI, The maximum pin weight you will find on a 2017-2018 F150 is 1755 lbs. Ford doesn’t come right out and list max pin weight but it is 15% of the TWR of the truck regardless of available payload. So even if you have 2300 lbs of payload Ford says you can’t use that for pin or hitch weight, only truck payload. I contacted them directly and this is Ford’s explanation of how it works not mine.

That's because there still needs to be payload available for a driver and cargo.

I agree, though the F150 is a fine tow vehicle, it's not the best choice for a 30 foot long bunkhouse 5er. The OP has 3 kids and a dog. That means a lot of additional stuff comes along.

Can you tow a 5er with an F150? Yes. Can you do it and be under all the ratings? Yes. Will the OP be under all his ratings with the 5er in his sig and a family of 5 (with a dog)? Not a chance.

Palindat wrote:
What if you were to tow a 11000 lb trailer with a (i think it called a toad) with zero hitch weight. Is that posible.

Zero not sure, but there are a couple tow dollies out on the market that allow towing a 5er with a SUV, that looks like would have a very low "hitch" weight.

What if you were to tow a 11000 lb trailer with a (i think it called a toad) with zero hitch weight. Is that posible.

Where is the OP? I think Blanch is a troll trying to get up a war over the best truck and what can haul what. Fords are the best and can do anything....I think he has succeeded.

You bet, a half ton can tow a large 5er with ease.

Let's do the math. The max payload you can build on a F150 is a RC, 5.0, 141"WB at 3270lbs. It is tow rated at 11,000 lbs. All these numbers are from the Ford guides. In reality getting 3270 payload would be very difficult without the truck being pretty bare bones. But we'll go with it.

So if you load up to the max of the truck's rated towing capacity with a 11,000 lb 5th wheel, your pin weight per the guide should be between 15% (1650 lbs) and 25% (2750 lbs). That's well within all ratings for the truck, RAWR included. No, it doesn't leave you much headroom at full max PW but it will tow it safely. Maybe the truck is for a single guy and his dog, living the RV life and fishing all across the country and he doesn't need more. Ok, my personal fantasy got in the way there.

The math is clear, but there are many variables for each build and trailer. Yes, a 250 gasser would have way more headroom. So would a 350 or 450. It's a matter of the right tool for the job.

M

What the SAE standard does is allow the manufacturers to pump up the TWR using the minimum 15% pin weight recommended for fifth wheels. To do that they use as much pin weight as they can and still keep it SAE compliant. So if Ford allowed you put 2,000lbs of pin weight on the truck that would put the TWR out to 13,335 lbs to be SAE compliant. So my next thought was that is was ok to have a lighter overall trailer weight and the pin weight could be higher as long as it doesn’t exceed the payload and rawr. Ford said no to that and said that exceeding a pin weight higher than the %15 of the TWR in the towing guide was exceeding the limit. I’ll take that as the maximum pin weight allowed for the truck.

I agree that we are all used to having pin weight only limited to available payload or RAWR. Ford is is changing the rule by limiting the TWR well below available payload and RAWR on the F150 most likely because of the SAE standard. Vehicle dynamics are quite different between a truck alone loaded to GVWR/RAWR and one that’s pulling a 5th wheel that’s 11,000 lbs with 2,000 lbs pin weight.

Just know that most ALL of the OEM's use the lightest TV as their basis for their MAXIMUM tow/haul ratings.

Nature of that beast driven by Marketing to folks who are ignorant (uneducated) on the matter. AKA...King of the Hill bragging rights that folks post here most of the time as an absolute

Back to the OP

Your decision.

If you have desire for a new, albeit lower class TV than your current TV...go for it

But, know and understand you are stepping DOWN in TV class

Use their OEM ratings and understand how that system works

Of most importance are the actual weights of your new setup. The limiting factor of all TVs of any class are the RGAWR among the other ratings

Most all of the weight put on/in any TV is generally going on the rear axle. As in most cases, the drivers rear door edge is at the center line between the front/rear axles...and the bed is behind that center line.

Good luck !

Work with facts, not rumor

Well lets not call it "rumor" or BS. Obviously Ford has two contradicting documents.

The Trailer Towing Guide DOES state 15%. The eSource document states 15-25%. So no, it's not rumor. It's in black and white.

As well, Ford needs to work on their accuracy in their documents. The 2017 eSource document keeps referring to the 8200lb payload package in some of the notes which does not exist in 2017.

demiles wrote:

Call it whatever you want but it’s no claim on my part, it came right from Ford. First from a Ford commercial truck salesman then a phone call to Ford. Your right they don’t come right out and say what the max pin weight is, which is the reason I asked in the first place. If you check any other manufacturers ratings you will find that the max pin weight is 15% of the 5th wheel TWR.

Ok, still BS is what I'll call it. Here's the eSourceBook 2017 F150 guide. https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/topics/2017/2017_F-150_eSB_Specs_1-23-17.pdf

It's got every published rating for a 17/18 F150. RAWR/GVWR/GCW is what matters. 5th wheel pin weight should range from 15-25% of total trailer weight per the guide. There isn't a single word on "maximum pin weight".

OP, if your 5th wheel is within the specs for the HDPP build you'd want, you should be fine. Will a modern 250 do it better? Probably. The 150 max GVWR is 7850 and that's pretty light compared to the 250s, esp the gas motor version.

Work with facts, not rumor.

Lot of FUD in this thread. Stay in the ratings and you will be fine.