How Long Can I go?

myredracer wrote:
Don't know if this will help you - we have a circular driveway in front of our house. Has an inner radius of 18' and outer radius of 34' on one side and a few feet more on the other side.

With our old F150 standard cab and long box towing a 20' TT, I could could drive around and around all day long easily and hug the inner curb.

We now have an F250, supercab with long box. I believe the wheelbase is 155". Without the TT, just the extra 20" or so of wheelbase makes a HUGE difference going around any street corner. I often have to watch how I set myself up going into a corner if it's on the tighter side.

We now have a 29' TT and when I tow it around our circular driveway, I can just make it around. If I'm not really careful and get tight to the outside curb, I can end up going over the inner curb in one spot.

I can't believe the turning radius really is 50.4' If I can drive our F250 (without TT) around our driveway with an outer radius of 34' and still have lots of room to spare, something doesn't make sense. It must be "curb to curb turning circle".

The length of trailer you can get will bed limited by your payload capacity, not towing capacity. And if you have a crewcab or supercab, that will take away from the payload capacity. You may not have to worry about a long trailer getting around the cul-de-sac.

Based on our own driveway experience, if your cul-de-sac radius is 27.5', the max. trailer I think you'll safely get around the circle is maybe 24'. But it may only be 20'. Don't forget that the outer rear corner of the trailer will overhang the curb a wee bit too and you don't want to take out mailboxes or lamp standards or whack anyone standing on the sidewalk. The placement of the axles relative to the tongue will have an affect too and each trailer is a bit different.

I think the safest way would be to "test drive" from a dealer and find a big empty parking lot and drive around in circles. Or trade your truck in for the shortest wheelbase one you can find then you'll be okay.

The turning radius number is what Ford publishes for our F-150. Yes, the mailboxes that sit right at the curb all the way around the cul-de-sac mean that any overhang is a big deal.

Just bought the truck, so that's the last solution on the list, LOL!

"Test Drive" is a great idea. Thanks.