What trailer wt could I tow safely?

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Dealers are mostly FOS. But you should know that anyway. Most drummers will repeat anything they hear but really don't know.

Think more about what can your truck carry. What is it’s payload?

Ignore "towing capacity" or GCWR figures. Payload capacity is the important number for towing TTs. Truck manufacturers and dealers love to promote what their trucks can "tow" instead of highlighting payload capacity.

Remember the episode of Gold Rush when Parker towed a humongous wash plant across a river with a Ford pickup? That's towing capacity!
Hahahaha.....

I suggest taking your truck to a scale to determine the actual available payload capacity to handle the tongue weight of a TT. While you *could* use the truck manufacturer's published payload capacity, the better way is to load it up as you would for camping including pets & passengers, plus a full tank of fuel and subtract that total weight from the GVWR on the door pillar sticker. What's left is the actual payload capacity you have left for a TT.

Then... The tongue wt. of a TT is typically in the 12-13% range of the actual wt. of a TT (not UVW). Since you can't take a TT to a scale until you own it, to ensure your truck can handle a particular TT, take your available payload capacity and divide that by 13% and compare that to the published GVWR of a TT. Note that some TTs can have tongue weights up to 15% of the GVW (actual weight).

Snomas wrote:
I have a 2018 F150 2WD w/ the 5.0 L V8. Dealer said it can tow 12200 lbs. What Maximun Trailer wt should I consider to tow safely and comfortably?

Before you can know anything. You need more information. You need to know the Rear gear ratio. A 3.73, can tow a whole lot more than a 3.15, or 3.31. Your manual will tell you the difference.


You also need to know the GVWR of the truck, to find avaliable payload. The higher the beter. Some will have a 6500lb GVWR while others will have 7350lb or higher. Once you find that you can weigh it, and see what type of payload you have. That you have a 2wd is a plus in that 2wds have a higher tow capacity than 4wd.

I seriously doubt it.

The highest gross combined vehicle rating among all the configurations of 2018 F-150 (combined weight of trailer and truck) is 16,600 lbs. In order not to exceed that rating the weight of the truck with all passengers and gear would have to be 4,400 lbs or less.

The curb weights for all configurations run 4,069 to 5,265 lbs and I'm pretty sure the weight on the 5.0L (largest engine) is going to be closer to the 5,265 lbs number.

So my thinking is no way the truck is towing a 12,200 lbs trailer and not exceeding one or more of the max. weight ratings.

payload is going to limit you. check your door sticker to get payload, subtract weight of everything in the truck (gear and people) and any aftermarket accessories added, then subtract weight of your hitch (usually 90 ish lbs). whatever is left is approximately your available tongue weight which should be around 13 percent of trailer weight (I say work with 15 for safety factor)

example

1800 lbs payload
- 500 lbs passangers
-200 lbs gear
- 90 lbs hitch
=1010 lbs
1010/.15=6733.3 lbs max loaded trailer weight.

this is a good place to start

Snomas wrote:
I have a 2018 F150 2WD w/ the 5.0 L V8. Dealer said it can tow 12200 lbs. What Maximun Trailer wt should I consider to tow safely and comfortably?

The tongue weight will likely be the limiting factor.

Jebby14 wrote:
payload is going to limit you. check your door sticker to get payload, subtract weight of everything in the truck (gear and people) and any aftermarket accessories added, then subtract weight of your hitch (usually 90 ish lbs). whatever is left is approximately your available tongue weight which should be around 13 percent of trailer weight (I say work with 15 for safety factor)

example

1800 lbs payload
- 500 lbs passangers
-200 lbs gear
- 90 lbs hitch
=1010 lbs
1010/.15=6733.3 lbs max loaded trailer weight.

this is a good place to start

Actually there are a number of 2018 F-150 5L configurations that have payloads in the 3,000 lbs range so payload may not be an issue.

Actually there are a number of 2018 F-150 5L configurations that have payloads in the 3,000 lbs range so payload may not be an issue

That 3000 lb payload is a gvwr based payload.

There is no F150 that has enough RAWR to carry 3000 lb payload in the bed.
About the most the HDPP 4800 RAWR can carry in the bed is in the 2400 lb range depending on cab/drive train selections.

Fords F15o has 19 different GVWRs from 6000 on up to 8200 lbs
F150 has 5 different RAWR from 3300 up to 4800 lbs. Plus all the cab/engine/drivetrain selections.

Like others are asking....we need your trucks GVWR/RAWR/axle ratio/etc to give you a good recommendation on max size TT.