Towing Capacity F-150

Your question ifs a lot like asking how many rooms are there in a building. Much more detail about your particular truck is necessary to Answeer your question. The maximum rating is 11300 lbs but only if your truck is so equipped. It could also be as Little as 6000 lbs.

Provide more information on the truck and you will receive better answers.

I towed a 5500lb loaded TT with a 1997 extended cab, 4.6L, 3.55 for 8 years. It did fine on the flat lands but NM and CO was a challenge.

For what it is worth:
I tow a 5000 pound trailer with mine with a few hundred pounds of gear, etc, and then I have another few hundred pounds in the truck, and, I wouldn't want to pull anything heavier regardless of what the book says.
I can, and do tow at 70 MPH, on the intersdtates but on the steep mountains in western NC, it labors in D2 at 35 MPH

Jack L

K Charles wrote:
You said " I can tow long distances" tow rate, GVW and tongue weight have nothing to do with distance, eather you can or you can't.

That's like saying if your car will run one mile, it will run 1,000,000 miles. Stresses accumulate over time and distance. If you're well under your limit, you can. If you're well over you limit, you can't. But if you're borderline, how far you plan on taking it can make all the difference in the world. I can push a car the length of my driveway, I can't push it across town. I can, however, easily pedal my bike across town.

You said " I can tow long distances" tow rate, GVW and tongue weight have nothing to do with distance, eather you can or you can't.

flaspike wrote:
I have a 2004 F-150. Would like to know maximum weight trailer I can tow long distances.

As mentioned, your F-150 also has to have enough payload capacity to support the "loaded" tongue weight of the TT. RV and WDH manufactures recommend that the loaded tongue weight be 10% to 15% of the "loaded" weight of the TT (13% being ideal in most cases).

I would recommend that you take your F-150 under "loaded" conditions (passengers, full fuel, simulated camping cargo) to your local CAT scale and weigh it (simple process). Subtract the CAT scale weight from the noted GVWR on your driver's door....., the delta is the remaining Payload Capacity you have for a trailer's "loaded" tongue weight and any other weight (ie; 60lbs for WDH, fire wood, etc.) in the F-150 not accounted for at the CAT scale. Knowing how much actual remaining Payload Capacity you have will eliminate a lot of the guess work when sizing a TT.

Also, I'm sure your Owners Manual will list the Tow Rating for your model F-150, but note that the published Tow Rating is based on the "Curb Weight" of your particular vehicle model. Curb Weight includes the base F-150 model in question, a 150lb driver, full fuel, and all other fluids required for the vehicle to be operational. The published Tow Rating doesn't include the combined weights of the vehicle's options, passenger weights, and cargo weight.

Hope this helps.

Bob

Look for a sticker on the door or door frame that says "tire and loading information". This will tell your cargo capacity. Go from there. BTW your cargo capacity does not include the driver but your towing capacity does. That means you as the driver are cargo for the truck.

You will be limited by your payload (and which engine you have - 4.6 or 2 valve 5.4), or lack there of. It is doubtful that you will be able to tow your rated "Tow Capacity" as you will run out of payload long before reaching max tow rating. Whatever your trailer really weighs you will need roughly 13% of that weight as tongue weight (which must be subtracted from your available payload).

My 2006 F-150 was rated to tow 8,600# but any TT over 6,000# would have put it well over its GVWR/RAWR. To answer your original question necessitates knowing your trucks actual payload. Crew Cabs and 4X4's usually come in at around 1400# or less which does not leave much for the nearly 900# of TW (don't forget the WDH which weighs in around 100#).

If you stay with a trailer under 6,000# of actual weight you should be fine. Above that depends on what your payload is. Whatever you do, IGNORE ALL so called "DRY WEIGHTS"! They are meaningless and dangerously misleading....nobody tows an empty trailer.

As Always..... Opinion s and YMMV. :C