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?

This estimator may help you.Calculate

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.

What trailer wt could I tow safely? | Good Sam Community

Jebby14
Explorer
Aug 02, 2018
prittymuch anything not filled with cement under 20 feet as mentioned will be fine. id shoot for a loaded weight around 6k leaving a bit of wiggle should you go up a bit. also love to see a build sheet for an f150 with 3000 payload.
johnwoodland
Explorer
Aug 01, 2018
I have a 2006 Toyota Tacoma 4wd with the 4 cyl engine. I understand the weight rating issues (full timed for several years with a triple a letter fifth wheel and FL 60 Freightliner) Am looking at one of the small trailers like a TAB. Will meet all weight issues but what should I expect in terms of speed on hills? I don't have any need to be fast but don't want to be a hazard.
APT
Explorer
Jul 24, 2018
6000 pounds dry is a good number to stay near for the more capable half ton pickups.
Bobbo
Explorer II
Jul 23, 2018
bob213 wrote:
This estimator may help you.
Calculate

I tried out this calculator. It is actually quite good. This should be posted in a sticky somewhere.
rbpru
Explorer II
Jul 21, 2018
Well as you can see. What you can carry is vehicle specific. The TV dealer opens up the Towing Guide and quotes what the vehicle can pull. He has no way of knowing what your particular vehicle cargo capacity is.

There are indeed some "1/2" tons that are built by the factory to handle well in excess of 2000 lbs. of cargo. They are rather rare.

If buy "safe towing" you mean within the weight ratings of your vehicle that is an easy number to figure out with the max cargo capacity on the door jamb sticker and the local CAT scales.

However, safe towing also involved the total rig set up.
drsteve
Explorer
Jul 21, 2018
2edgesword wrote:
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.

True. But, my understanding is that those max payload trucks are hard to find on the dealer's lot. Usually they have to be ordered. Also, you can move up to an F-250 for not much more than a tricked out half ton.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Jul 21, 2018
Snomas wrote:
The TT world is a whole different thing. I really like the lite wt TT's 4Kto 5K 16 to 20 ft size and I think I can make one of those work. I love my new F150 for daily use. The DW and I are really down sizing! LOL

That's quite a "downsize" but if you're serious one couple's model in that size you can easily tow with your F150 is mine - a Coachmen Freedom Express 192RBS, has pretty well the same amenities as much larger rigs but in a shorter, easy to tow, easy to park anywhere trailer. Mine is a 2014 model, new ones are even better. Pics are in my gallery. :B
Snomas
Explorer
Jul 21, 2018
Thanks for all the info guys, I had a Newmar Dutch Star 33000 lb DP for 15 years towing my 2012 Explorer. The TT world is a whole different thing. I really like the lite wt TT's 4Kto 5K 16 to 20 ft size and I think I can make one of those work. I love my new F150 for daily use. The DW and I are really down sizing! LOL
Kavoom
Explorer
Jul 21, 2018
Unless you like towing a house around, look in the 6K range plus or minus a thousand. You can do that all day with your rig I'm thinking. AND you can drive down the road without worrying about it all the time. Makes the trip much more pleasant.
JIMNLIN
Explorer III
Jul 21, 2018
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.