Forum Discussion

Gald65's avatar
Gald65
Explorer
Jan 18, 2020

Would I ever be happy towing with a half ton truck

Back story-impulsively purchased a 2006 keystone 26tbl. Loaded weight about 7700 lbs. At that time towing with a 08 Sierra cc. Obviously not enough truck. Purchased a 11 Sierra Denali cc with the 6.2. It definitely does much better. It has plenty of motor but the handling leaves a little bit to be desired.
The question- eventually I plan on upgrading my trailer to something that has a loaded weight of around 8500 lbs. I know that I won’t be happy with the Denali. Is anyone out there towing that type of weight with one of the newer F150’s with the 13000lb configuration? Are you happy with the handling? Should I stop being a tight a$$ and get a 3/4 ton truck?
TIA
Tow Vehicles
  • ShinerBock's avatar
    ShinerBock
    Explorer
    Jan 24, 2020
    blt2ski wrote:
    Lantley wrote:
    blt2ski wrote:
    "Buy what you think will work, at the end of the day,. You can only hope it meets your needs. Or as many do, you buy a known bigger power output truck, chassis etc than is truly needed, as many on here say you should do"

    Trucks are way too expensive to buy a truck and hope it works!:S.
    I don't believe everyone needs a dually. I do believe additional margin/capacity is a good thing.

    Hoping it works is a worst case scenario, One must do enough homework
    to know the truck will do the job.
    Buying the right truck on the 2nd go around is always a costly mistake.


    Hence why I do not trust tow specs from manufactures. Even the new everybody is supposed to meet tow specs, are too easy to meet in some ways. A min 12%grade pull in first gear! I can name multiple roads steeper than this that one would stall out on! Min speed of 40mph on a 5% freeway grade, 35moh if over 15000gvwr truck. Some on here would poop bricks going that slow. If I can't go up a 30% grade and start on a 30% grade I poop bricks.
    Know what ratings mean, how they effect you, and reduce accordingly!

    Narty


    When it comes to speed, the 3.5L Ecoboost and 6.2L Ecotec provide more power than what the truck can handle. The opposite is true for the 3/4 ton gas engines. I am not sure about the new gas 7.3L, but so far it is looking to be the same way. We are also talking about a trailer the weighs just 8,500 lbs. Does one really need a 3/4 ton gasser that is slower, uses a lot more fuel, and is a lot harder to maneuver for just an 8,500 lb trailer. No doubt the 3/4 gaser would be more stable towing, but we are just talking about 8,500 lbs here.
  • blt2ski's avatar
    blt2ski
    Moderator
    Jan 24, 2020
    Lantley wrote:
    blt2ski wrote:
    "Buy what you think will work, at the end of the day,. You can only hope it meets your needs. Or as many do, you buy a known bigger power output truck, chassis etc than is truly needed, as many on here say you should do"

    Trucks are way too expensive to buy a truck and hope it works!:S.
    I don't believe everyone needs a dually. I do believe additional margin/capacity is a good thing.

    Hoping it works is a worst case scenario, One must do enough homework
    to know the truck will do the job.
    Buying the right truck on the 2nd go around is always a costly mistake.


    Hence why I do not trust tow specs from manufactures. Even the new everybody is supposed to meet tow specs, are too easy to meet in some ways. A min 12%grade pull in first gear! I can name multiple roads steeper than this that one would stall out on! Min speed of 40mph on a 5% freeway grade, 35moh if over 15000gvwr truck. Some on here would poop bricks going that slow. If I can't go up a 30% grade and start on a 30% grade I poop bricks.
    Know what ratings mean, how they effect you, and reduce accordingly!

    Narty
  • Lantley's avatar
    Lantley
    Nomad
    Jan 24, 2020
    blt2ski wrote:
    "Buy what you think will work, at the end of the day,. You can only hope it meets your needs. Or as many do, you buy a known bigger power output truck, chassis etc than is truly needed, as many on here say you should do"

    Trucks are way too expensive to buy a truck and hope it works!:S.
    I don't believe everyone needs a dually. I do believe additional margin/capacity is a good thing.

    Hoping it works is a worst case scenario, One must do enough homework
    to know the truck will do the job.
    Buying the right truck on the 2nd go around is always a costly mistake.
  • blt2ski's avatar
    blt2ski
    Moderator
    Jan 24, 2020
    Busted axle in my Navistar with a 16'500 Spicer axle. Sorry, dot class one and ld class 2 trucks under 8400 gvw per manufacture are not the only vehicle that break axles.
    With this said, I happen to like U-Hauls slogan. "Any vehicle can tow something" granted my 69 Convertible VW bug with it's 1600cc 60hp motor will not tow what my class 6 Navistar will tow. But it can be set up to tow 500 or so lbs. Safely I might add. I would not want to have a BIG boxy trailer either. A small cargo trailer, inflable rib boat, laser sailboat or equal.
    An old rule of thumb I was told in late 70s, tow no more than 2x the grawr. So a current 15 series truck like I am thinking about, 3900 grawr, max trailer 8000 lbs. My C2500 with a 6k grawr, 12,000 lb trailer.
    Of course now one needs the drivetrain to meet YOUR performance specs. You need to include total weight, frontal area and aerodynamic drag, number of tires on the ground, type of tires, type of road bed you will be on, grade of road you want to go up.
    IF you DO NOT take into account, any and all of these factors and more, you will end up with a useless tow rig! I can name TWO 35 series Game I've had, total useless POS trucks.
    I don't trust manufactures GCWR numbers. GRAWR, yes, GVWR, in LDT rigs, again, total sham! Should be the sum of axle ratings. Not some reduced figure from a warranty factor.
    Getting correct performance, it would take a book or directions 20-40 pages of formulas, explanations etc.
    Buy what you think will work, at the end of the day,. You can only hope it meets your needs. Or as many do, you buy a known bigger power output truck, chassis etc than is truly needed, as many on here say you should do!

    Marty
  • burningman's avatar
    burningman
    Explorer II
    Jan 23, 2020
    These uprated half-tons are rated for about all they can handle.
    On paper it looks like 3/4 tons aren't that much better, but the truth is they're a LOT stouter and can handle a lot more than the so-called ratings say.
    They aren't rated by the engineering dept., the ratings are based on taxable licensing numbers.
    You can find Dana 80 rear axles under 3/4 ton pickups. Dana rates that axle at 11,000 pounds. Its the same one Ford used to put under the F450.
    If you look at the actual components instead of brochure "ratings", you'll see how wimpy half ton, non-floating axle rear ends with one small bearing at each end, riding directly on the axle shaft, are and how strong full-floating axles with two large bearings at each end and a hub to take the load instead of putting it right onto the axle shaft are.

    I've broken half-ton axle shafts using them for heavy work.
    They're car axles. Not truck axles.
    You buy a half ton when you want a nice daily driver that can carry a dirtbike or an occasional appliance or a few sack of mulch.
    You buy a 3/4 ton or 1-ton if you intend to carry or tow heavy.
  • BenK's avatar
    BenK
    Explorer
    Jan 23, 2020
    IMO...A Mr Murphy moment...when he crosses your path...or you cross his path...

    Either you have it spot on...or not...no time to go back to the store...nor time to reset up...nor time to learn the HOW2’s. On seat belts, either they are clicked on...or not...

    Always hope no one ever meets MR Murphy and it doesn’t only happen to the other guy...

    Folks range from high risk to conservative...lower risk...AKA playing the odds

    Bottom line just be cognizant of the risks and manage your risk management decisions...

    This is an RV forum...recreation...so be safe and enjoy your time RV’ing
  • Lantley's avatar
    Lantley
    Nomad
    Jan 23, 2020
    But my point was;;;;;; You don't NEED seatbelts until you do. Same can be said for a stouter TV. vs. a marginal one.

    Which brings us full circle back to those laws of physics.
    At some point,on some level,imagine any scenario you want. The stouter truck will be able to manhandle the trailer in ways the lighter truck simply cannot.
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    Jan 23, 2020
    GDS-3950BH wrote:
    Huntindog wrote:
    I understand the luxury and virtues of having more truck than needed, but also understand that it's not always in the cards or necessary either.



    One could look at seat belts the same way.



    Not really. Seatbelts are required by law. Having more truck than needed is only suggested by the weight police on RV forums.
    Yes the manufacturer has to equip the truck with them.... But there is nothing to force the owners to use them... Though there are some localities with seatbelt laws, they are generally weak secondary prioritys with LE..IOW, you will not be pulled over and cited for non use, unless you are pulled over for another reason.

    But my point was;;;;;; You don't NEED seatbelts until you do. Same can be said for a stouter TV. vs. a marginal one.
  • BenK's avatar
    BenK
    Explorer
    Jan 23, 2020
    Understand axle helper springs...this is from my 1980 Silverado. 1 ton coils using the bump stop as the upper end locator. Plus LT class tires most of it's life during my ownership. It did get KYB MonoMax's a few years ago

    Regularly hauled over 3,000 lbs of groceries for dad's grocery/butcher shop when he owned it. Gave it to me and continued to haul over 3,000 lbs of wood/gravel/woodpellets/etc till I donated it last year

    First time the rear axle bearing went was just like what happened on my 1973 K5 (decided to change out to GM 14 bolt and Dana 60 front). The bearing would lose a roller and dropped the backing plate onto the drum's rim. So added new bearing to the Silverado's maintenance routine


    Click For Full-Size Image.


    Again, personal choice stuff...and nothing is wrong there...just that on these freebie forums. When someone asks, they most likely do NOT have the background 'most' of the advisors have...which has me provide conservative advice to do their homework and make their own risk management decisions
  • ShinerBock's avatar
    ShinerBock
    Explorer
    Jan 23, 2020
    Also, the use of suspension aides is not limited to half ton owners. Many people from 250/2500 trucks all the way up 550/5500 trucks use suspension aides. My techs even use them on their F550 trucks with utility beds that carry welders, a crane, tools , and so on. Heck, there are even a lot of class A, B, and C RV owners that use suspension aides. Class 7-8 semi trucks have both regular leaf springs and air bags. The air bags used to be an aftermarket add on many years ago, but manufacturers started adding them as standard equipment to increase their carrying ability.

    The reason why there are more half ton owners that use them is because there are just more half ton owners out there than 3/4 and 1 ton owners.

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