Found a TT, what tow vehicle do I need?

downtheroad wrote:
The dry hitch weight is meaningless.
Let's pretend that you fully load the trailer to it's 7600 lbs. Your hitch weight will be around 1000 lbs. That only leaves about 600 lbs of payload for everything except you in the truck...

Probably..hopefully you won't load your trailer to the max, but it does happen. I think you are probably ok with the towing end of it, but are going to be close, with very little margin on the PAYLOAD side of it all.

Good luck with it.

Small correction if I may - payload numbers do NOT allow for a 150# driver, so the driver weight will be part of that 600#. I suspect the OP will max out that 7350# GVWR truck. The HD F150 (8200# GVWR) would be a better bet.

The confusion is that "Max Tow Ratings" DO include a 150# driver in the truck (but nothing else).

alexleblanc wrote:

PAThwacker wrote:
At campgrounds: 8 lugs rule all. I only see 1/2 ton crowd on this forum.

come to Canada, 1/2 ton's rule the campgrounds. Mostly because the cost of trucks is much higher here and people seem to tough it out with the 1/2 tons. I love my F250, but the F150 was a great matched tow vehicle with my previous TT.

I don't know where PAT camps -- maybe exclusively at RV resorts and such -- but at 'normal' state parks and such around here, there are lots of 1/2 ton trucks (or smaller) towing all sorts of trailers. I'm actually often surprised at the combos I see -- they would give some folks on here nightmares! And yet, some how, some way, they are at the GC having a good time!

As the OP has indicated, there is more to the equation than just finding the ideal tow vehicle. For many of us, our tow vehicle is used for far more than just towing. For our family, where towing is only 5-10% of the annual mileage and things like unloaded mpg, ride comfort, size and ease of maneuverability factor in, we decided we are fine "making due" with a 1/2 ton SUV for our relatively few and short camping trips. Sure, we don't have a ton of GVWR to spare and aren't winning races up the hills, but we are happy with our decision.

Good luck!

JordanH wrote:
I would check the dry weight on the trailer because the manufacture list my trailer as having a gvw of 7492 lbs, while its dry weight is only 4348 lbs. Thats a cargo capacity of 3144 lbs, I really cant see me having the cc this high. This may or may not be the case for you as well.

I agree. If OP can tell us what TT they have in mind, maybe we can help a little more. Having over 3000lbs of cargo capacity in the trailer is the exception, it does happen, usually for the shortest trailer on the next size up frame and axles. With a 450lbs dry tongue weight, it may actually be the case. More often than not the trailer has a low cargo capacity and just adding normal stuff and water puts it at its max which is why most of us default to that position without more details.

I still feel they would be best served with a 7700lbs or 8200lbs GVWR F-150 which will have enough capacity to keep loading and towing from being too stressful.

I would check the dry weight on the trailer because the manufacture list my trailer as having a gvw of 7492 lbs, while its dry weight is only 4348 lbs. Thats a cargo capacity of 3144 lbs, I really cant see me having the cc this high. This may or may not be the case for you as well.

Thank you, that helps a lot

PUCampin wrote:

Ncm86 wrote:
So a f250 would be better, would the engine size matter? 5.4 or bigger?
The reason I was leaning towards an f150 is that I was looking at only towing 3-4 times a yr. Have a wife and 3 small kids but want to have some room for when they get older

Hi! First off welcome to RV.net!!

I was originally going to reply that with that trailer you would be marginal but ok with the F-150 you mentioned, but with 3 kids it will not work. A growing family will add more weight both to the truck, and add more stuff to the trailer (look at my sig to see how I know this!! :))

F-150s come in many different configurations ranging in payload from under 1000lbs to over 3100lbs!! So no general statement can apply to all F-150s.

With stuff for a family of five, 2 batteries, propane, water, food etc. your TT may approach it's GVWR.

With 5 people, growing kids, and a 7600lb GVWR trailer, you need to be looking for a payload of at least 1800-1900. You DO NOT HAVE to get a F-250, there ARE F-150 with this much payload, and some with more. Look for a "max tow" equipped truck with a 7700lbs GVWR, or ideally look for one that has the "HD Payload" package (not just max tow) The HD payload F-150 has 2 easy markers, a GVWR of 8200lbs, and 7 lug wheels.

Good luck in your search!

Ncm86 wrote:
So a f250 would be better, would the engine size matter? 5.4 or bigger?
The reason I was leaning towards an f150 is that I was looking at only towing 3-4 times a yr. Have a wife and 3 small kids but want to have some room for when they get older

Hi! First off welcome to RV.net!!

I was originally going to reply that with that trailer you would be marginal but ok with the F-150 you mentioned, but with 3 kids it will not work. A growing family will add more weight both to the truck, and add more stuff to the trailer (look at my sig to see how I know this!! :))

F-150s come in many different configurations ranging in payload from under 1000lbs to over 3100lbs!! So no general statement can apply to all F-150s.

With stuff for a family of five, 2 batteries, propane, water, food etc. your TT may approach it's GVWR.

With 5 people, growing kids, and a 7600lb GVWR trailer, you need to be looking for a payload of at least 1800-1900. You DO NOT HAVE to get a F-250, there ARE F-150 with this much payload, and some with more. Look for a "max tow" equipped truck with a 7700lbs GVWR, or ideally look for one that has the "HD Payload" package (not just max tow) The HD payload F-150 has 2 easy markers, a GVWR of 8200lbs, and 7 lug wheels.

Good luck in your search!

Half tons will be likely payload limited. Confirm the as equipped payload per driver's door Tire and Loading sticker, not brochure/web site payload. With 450 pounds dry TW and 7500 pound GVWR, I expect you to have closer to 700 pounds loaded TW. Pretty hard to add 550 pounds of TW. It should be a good match.

However, with 3 small kids, you may consider an SUV. We got our TT when my kids were 1/2/5. Traveling with 3 kids in child seats in a crew cab truck was not enjoyable. Everyone could reach each other. We lasted 2 summers before replacing it with 3- rows of seats, more personal space.

You'll be fine with the F150 for your 2-3 times a year. Nobody loads their trailer to GVW unless it has a really low cargo capacity.
What's the dry weight of the TT? Add 1000lbs to that. Now figure 12% for TW. It's not rocket science. If the TT weighs around 6000-6500lbs loaded then the TW will be around 750lbs. Your truck has a payload capacity of 1560lbs so with a TW of 750lbs you have 810lbs left.
Plenty for 2-3 trips a year.

The F250 with the 5.4 is a dog. The 5.4 is low on power plus the F250 weighs more than the F150 so even when towing the same TT the F250 will be working harder.

The 2011 F150 also has the select shift feature which helps keep the tranny form hunting for gears. The 5.0 is a solid motor like the 5.4 but should net you a little better mpg when not towing.

For only towing 2-3 times a year an F250 is overkill IMO.

The biggest issue would be payload. You will always be on the edge and not able to haul any additional items with you, like firewood, bikes, children, etc. A reasonably aged 3/4 with any engine combination would give you the payload you need to not be concerned.

My wife tootses around with our dedicated tow vehicle 6.0 k2500 sub once and around. It gets anywhere between 10 and 16. Daily driving it would be a 1,000 per month fuel budget easy.