1/2 Ton Towable 5th Wheel

[rollindownthero]

Hello:

Does anyone have a 5th wheel that they say can be towed by a 1/2 ton truck? Are you actually towing it with a 1/2 ton truck and what kind of truck do you have?

I had originally thought that when I retire I would get a motorhome with a toad. However, I wasn't planning on "traveling" all the time. Was going to find a location and be there for a month, then move to the next spot and stay a month or two. The more I thought about it the more a 5th wheel or TT made more sense to me. Wouldn't have to worry about another engine to maintain, additional tires to replace, and gas for two vehicles. I had a Jeep that could be towed 4 down, but would need to get a truck for a 5th or TT.

I looked at trucks and my budget (or what I was willing to pay) was for 1/2 ton. Found a 2019 F150, XLT, 3.6L ecoboost, 4x4, 145" wheelbase, 20" tires, 6.5 foot bed, 3.55 rear axle ratio, pay load of 2,030 lbs. I did look at RAM, Chevy and GMC but the Ford had the highest tow rating.

After researching and scrolling though numerous websites and Ford's website I can conventional tow 12,700 lbs. with this truck. Ford says 13,200 with the Max Towing package, which I don't have. The only thing I don't have in the towing package is the transmission cooler. From what I found so far for a 5th wheel it says 10,000 lbs.

Wondering what kind of experience you have towing the 5th wheel with a 1/2 ton truck. I know the majority are going to tell me to get a bigger truck, but again the budget dictates a 1/2 ton. I know a TT would work well for me, but just investigating the possibility of a 5th wheel.

[eurojet]

just to add to my previous post here is my set up

I have been on a CAT scale and my pin weight after subtracting drive Axle with 5ER connected from just truck is 1660 pounds This was also with my old B&W Patrot hitch and not my new Pullrite Superlite which is a lot lighter
also my trailer weights 9540 pounds loaded so that would put me at 17.4% of a pin weight if i am doing my math correct


So I have a 2018 Crusader 30bh Pulled by a 2018 F150 3.5l eco SuperCrew with 3.31 rear end , 6.5' box
payload from Door sticker is 1812#
as per Fords 2018 towing guide my truck can town a 5er weighing max 10300# with a GCWR of 16100#
so my combination seems to work
GCWR is 15400#
payload/pin weight 1660# 17.4% pin weight
trailer weight is 9540#
Im even under my trailers GCWR UVW + CCC
My only measurement that was over was my Drive axle maximum weight i was over by 460#s , one of the reasons why i switched hitches and I removed so unnecessary things I dont use camping and also instead of using the residential queen spring mattress I bought a lighter Memory foam , I was also carrying 2 tool boxes one in my bed and one in the trailer , i have removed the Bed tool box so I can say i am maybe at this point only 200# over my rear axle ratings i do need to weight this new set up, but even if i am over my axle rating by 200# i am not worried

https://primetimerv.com/fifth-wheels/crusader-lite/30BH/1722

[eurojet]

what i find funny is all the doubters about 1/2 tons towing 5er's and saying people need 3/4 minimum but even if you have a 3/4 ton towing a 5er which is supposed to be the "right size truck for the job" when i am out either heading to the camp grounds or driving somowheret , I see 3/4 ton trucks not set up properly and either with a TT or 5er, the trucks even with WD hitch is so low to the ground and the nose so high , even 5er's i see that. That tells me they are over weight they do not have the right truck for the job or they are not educated on how to set things up properly. Does this mean the 1 ton guys are going to say they need a 1 ton truck. Driving like that is unsafe no matter what size truck you have (having little steering due to the nose being so high)
It comes down to education and research and knowing you trucks limits honestly i laugh when i drive by a 3/4 truck nose high and trailer low and my 1/2 rides perfectly level so i have proper steering and my headlights are in the right place not to mention being able to use my front brakes properly , I know that my 1/2 set up correctly (even a bit over my payload ratings will stop better then a 3/4 not set up properly no matter if they have the correct brake size to stop the weight.
people need to get over the 1/2 3/4 1 ton debate if someone with a 1/2 ton chooses to tow a 14000# trailer that is on them it is no different then 3/4 choosing to tow a trailer out of there limits.

Use common sense and make sure you are set up properly
it is possible to tow a 5er with a 1/2 many of us are doing it safely

[spud1957]

People need to read the fine print of the published tow ratings. It has all the details with "ifs and buts", like hitch weight, passengers and truck options etc.

The published ratings are the best scenario ratings and are out of touch with reality.

[patperry2766]

rollindowntheroad wrote:

patperry2766 wrote:

rollindowntheroad wrote:
Ok I finally give!!! I understand that I wouldn't be able to tow a 5th wheel. With calculations I've come up with the max I could even tow a travel trailer is 7,000 lbs. A far cry from what Ford advertises.

That's not correct either. Per the 2019 Ford trailer towing guidelines and based on the info from your original post, max tow weight is 10,700 lbs

2019 Trailer Tow

look on page 19

You are correct. I called numerous Ford dealers and they all came back with a towing capacity of 10,700 lbs. That makes me fell much better. Even though a 5th wheel might not work, a TT will.

Remember that you'll still be battling cargo capacity. Trailer tongue weight just like 5th wheel pin weight will have a direct/immediate impact of cargo weight capacity of the truck which will affect trailer size and weight. Probably would think that if you stay somewhere 7K max trailer weight, then you should probably be OK

[rollindownthero]

patperry2766 wrote:

rollindowntheroad wrote:
Ok I finally give!!! I understand that I wouldn't be able to tow a 5th wheel. With calculations I've come up with the max I could even tow a travel trailer is 7,000 lbs. A far cry from what Ford advertises.

That's not correct either. Per the 2019 Ford trailer towing guidelines and based on the info from your original post, max tow weight is 10,700 lbs

2019 Trailer Tow

look on page 19

You are correct. I called numerous Ford dealers and they all came back with a towing capacity of 10,700 lbs. That makes me fell much better. Even though a 5th wheel might not work, a TT will.

[laknox]

camp-n-family wrote:

patperry2766 wrote:

rollindowntheroad wrote:
Ok I finally give!!! I understand that I wouldn't be able to tow a 5th wheel. With calculations I've come up with the max I could even tow a travel trailer is 7,000 lbs. A far cry from what Ford advertises.

That's not correct either. Per the 2019 Ford trailer towing guidelines and based on the info from your original post, max tow weight is 10,700 lbs

2019 Trailer Tow

look on page 19

Yes, that's the listed "tow rating". What the OP is saying, and what most don't understand, is that once you load the vehicle with gear and passengers etc he only has enough payload left to support the tongue weight that a 7k trailer would have. Rarely will you ever get to anywhere near a vehicles tow rating without exceeding 1 or more other ratings first.

A travel trailer weighing 10,700lbs would have an average tongue weight over 1300lbs! That would exceed the receiver rating and nearly max out many 1/2 ton trucks on payload without anything else in the truck.

Um, you've never heard of a weight distributing hitch? Transfers weight to the truck's front axle and trailer axles by "bridging" the hitch. Hell, I remember the old Chevy Citation ads that showed it towing a nice flat bottom ski boat, with NO REAR WHEELS, because it's front wheel drive and they used a weight transfer hitch.

Lyle

[laknox]

2012Coleman wrote:
Weights listed in the brochure or on a web site are grossly inaccurate. Dry weight is usually nothing loaded, including battery and propane tanks. Since your calculating capacities, most people will say to take the gross weight of a TT and multiply it by 13% to calculate tongue weight. This gives you some wiggle room because your most likely not going to load it to it's full capacity. So if you took a TT with a 6000 lb gross weight * 13%, it gives you 780 tongue weight. Subtract that from your TV's payload - you mentioned 1772, and you have 992 lbs left over for everything else.

I was under the impression that you already bought the truck.

Some mfrs, Jayco in particular (because I was shopping them), has a yellow sticker on all their rigs, that shows the net CCC for =that= specific rig as it left the factory. That includes one 12v battery and 2 =full= 30 lb propane bottles. It also shows the fresh water tank size and weight, when full. I need to re-check the sticker on my KZ 'cause, for the life of me, I can't remember.

Lyle

[troubledwaters]

Was going to comment but changed my mind.

[Michelle_S]

Don't forget, you can pull the Space Shuttle with a 1/2 ton, and I'm sure that's a lot more than 19K.

[buc1980]

I see a guy pull a 36 ft.FW Montana with a Ford 150.He say it pull very good the truck don't even feel it.

[TXiceman]

valhalla360 wrote:

TXiceman wrote:


That is fine unless you are full time. 50% or more of the time we are towing our 19000#, 40 ft 5er. So we want a truck rated to tow more than 10% of the time.

Ken

What 1/2ton is rated for a 19k lb 40ft 5er?

None are. The point is to get the right truck for the job, never mind what the salesman says or what you best buddy is towing with.

Ken

[valhalla360]

TXiceman wrote:


That is fine unless you are full time. 50% or more of the time we are towing our 19000#, 40 ft 5er. So we want a truck rated to tow more than 10% of the time.

Ken

What 1/2ton is rated for a 19k lb 40ft 5er?

[valhalla360]

bid_time wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
Yes, the motor can put out those numbers but doing so really limits the duty rating.

That must be why you see so many reports of dead ecoboosts everywhere - Oh Wait - I haven't seen any such reports - must be a bunch of malarky.

Could you explain?

What I basically described is the motor is capable for short bursts of putting out lots of power but it's OK because very few do more than that...hence most don't exceed the duty rating.

[TXiceman]

valhalla360 wrote:

mt1729 wrote:
Just to add a little bit more information. The ford 3.5 v6 ecoboost puts out 375 horsepower & 470 foot pounds of torque. How a little mostly aluminum engine of that size can handle twin turbos and that much power is mind boggling. However they seem to be holding up as well as any other gas engine that's out there.

I think it comes down to very few tow at the max ratings or even tow much at all (ie:90% or more of miles are running empty).

If Ford was comfortable towing 10k on a regular basis, they would be putting it in the 3/4 & 1 ton trucks.

Yes, the motor can put out those numbers but doing so really limits the duty rating.

That is fine unless you are full time. 50% or more of the time we are towing our 19000#, 40 ft 5er. So we want a truck rated to tow more than 10% of the time.

Ken