Can my truck handle this rig?

[Baja_Man]

Well, I found a 27' 5er that I want to purchase. Here are 5er specs:

2003 Forest River F27RLSS
GVWR: 11,010#
UVW: 7180#
Water: 381#
LP: 58#
CCC: 3830#

With water, LP, and camping gear, I will be at around 8300#
5er hitch is around 100#

I am concerned about my trucks ability to tow this rig safely and legally

My truck: 1992 Ford F350; Crew Cab; 7.5L gas (460ci); 2WD; long bed
Great condition, 60K orig miles, with new trans cooler, new radiator, belts, hoses, brakes, new LTX MS2 tires (E rated)....runs XLNT.

Truck Door jamb sticker lists.....
GVWR at 9200#
front axle# 4000
rear axle at 6084

So, what is the dry weight of my truck?

If I use 6700# as dry weight....

Dry weight 6700
Hitch 100
passengers and fuel: 900#
Trailer pin weight: 1500#
Total Gross weight: 9200....exactly my GVWR

Now, add trailer weight of 8300# PLUS loaded truck 9200#....
Equals: 17,500# My owners manual says 15000 with a 3.55 rear end
and 18,500 with 4.10 rear end

Can someone also tell me how to read the chart from my owners manual (see pic).

It states that my rear end can tow up to 10500# trailer with a 3.55 rear end at a MAX GCWR of 15,000# That doesn't make sense. If trailer is 10,500 and truck dry is 9200, this would equal 19,700.

Thanks

[Baja_Man]

OK, so weighed truck tonight.

Great news!!!

CAT scale with both tanks full of fuel, me siting in front (280#) and buddy sitting in back seat (260#). Also, I have a camper shell (see my avatar).

Front axle: 3540#
Rear axle: 3040#
Total weight: 6580#

Now if I remove passengers (540), shell (est. 150) , and fuel (190), truck weighs 5700#

But for towing purposes, let's use the .................................................. ...6580
My buddy weighs more than my two kids combined... 2 kids (210); dog (20)....-30
camper shell............................................. ...........................................-150
wife.............................................. .................................................. .....120
hitch............................................. .................................................. .....150
ice chest, gear in truck............................................. ................................75
Total............................................. .................................................. ...6745

Truck GVWR.............................................. ..........................................9200
Truck, fuel, passengers, grear in truck, hitch...........................................-6745
Available payload........................................... ......................................2455
With these numbers I am still under my axle ratings (FT: 4000; Rear: 6048)

So, I can tow a 5er with hitch weight up to 1600 comfortably and with a loaded weight of up to 8255 (6745+8255= 15000)

or

up to 11,755 loaded if I change rear axle to 4.10 which would also increase hitch weight to around 2000 which is still under the 2455 I have available

This is great news for me as I was feeling depressed that my F350 could tow a 27' 5er!
Now, what is depressing,........................the 5er I was looking at sold today

So, the search for a clean 5er continues, with a renewed enthusiasm that my truck can get the job done!

So, do my numbers add up or did I miss something?

[oldbeek]

Reread your original post. Mine is a 4X4 stick shift. 4.10 gears. If you are a BAJA man , you need the 4x4. come get it for parts and do a conversion. Running gear good. cab is shot.

[oldbeek]

I have the same truck. I used to pull my current 12,500 gvw Alpenlite. The weak part is the brakeing compared to newer 4 wheel disc. With the fuel you are going to burn, you are not going to tow very far. Very adequate for a weekend hauler. I moved up to a 92 dodge 3500 dually. Still weak on brakes. Milage went from 6mpg to 10 mpg. Moved up to current Dodge. Much better brakes and power and 12.5 mpg. Still have the Ford in the back yard. Can't give it away.

[Baja_Man]

My confusion is this....

If an overhead camper weighs about 2000# this would be in addition to the passengers, fuel, and hitch (1000#) in truck. Total with camper (3000#). Plus the weight of the truck..haven't weighed, but let's say 6500#. That would be 9500#, 300 pounds OVER the GVWR of 9200#.


5er has about 1500# of pin weight. That is 500# less than overhead camper. So, GVWR would be 9000#....200# under GVWR.

My confusion is that how can a camper be used (by previous owner for years with no issues) and not this 5er?

Since the pin/hitch weight is 1500#, does it get counted again as tow weight? In other words, should it be subtracted from the 8300 loaded trailer weight when determining GCVWR?

Perhaps I am not confused if my explanation is correct.

Perhaps by changing my rear end to a 4.10 will solve this issue, if there is one, of GCVWR.

Thoughts?

[Baja_Man]

Thanks for the comments an info on weights.

Can anyone comment on my logic about overhead camper and how it relates to my post question?

Thanks

[rhagfo]

Likely will do the job, my lame 89 F250 with a weak 460 and C6 auto. Did ok, with a 1986 28' King of the Road.

Keep in mind when calculating, GCVW with a 5er ONLY the 5er's axle weight is added, as the pin is part of the GVW of the TV.
So you are looking at 9,200#+ 6,800# = 16,000#
Not likely you are going to get 3,800# of stuff into the 5er, more like 1,500#.


ON EDIT: That owners manual, likely has a statement about frontage area, not to be exceeded.
I was never so happy when I got rid of my F250, 460, and got my Ram 2500 Cummins, difference of night and day. I will admit that my 460 was at less than 100%, and a regular cab, not worth putting money into to fix.

[Baja_Man]

another confusion.....

what about overhead campers.....they weigh about 2000-2500#

My truck was used with a camper by previous owner....

From factory......It has additional added leaf and has a Ford paper in glove box listing it as camper ready. Previous owner added Firestone air bags.

Example of a camper on my truck.....

2000# of bed weight (weight of camper), plus cargo added to camper equals about 2500#
VS
My intended 5er hitch weight of 1500#

The camper would be 1000# MORE than the hitch weight of the 5er!!!

Am I missing something?

Below is from my owners manual

[Baja_Man]

Thanks Lee.....I did assume 1500# for hitch weight (see my 1st post). I also added 900# for passengers and full fuel.

I also added UVW (trailer weight) 7180#, full water 381#, 58# LP, and 681# of cargo. I will probably not travel with full water as we usually stay at parks with water. so say 1/2 full....reduce my weight by about 190#.

[Leeblev]

While I think your tuck will tow this rig, I think you missed some things. It looks like you are figuring TOWing a trailer NOT a 5er. A 5er has pin weight of at least 1500 lbs. If you figure two persons, I would figure 450-500lbs there. Fuel weight? I had a 91 ford that hauled 34 gallons. Should figure on that, if you have the same tanks, if not, total cap of the two tanks.
As to the trailer: I guarantee you will have more weight than what you have figured.
You need to outfit the 5er with everything you will be or might be hauling-you will most likely take more than you think. Fill the truck up with fuel, hook up the 5er and take it to a scale. First weigh the combination to get your Combined Vehicle Weight (CGW), then weigh only the truck on the scales with the 5er attached, and wheels not on the scale. Now weigh the truck, again with passengers, full fuel and anything you will put in it, alone on the scale. The difference betweent the two weights is the hitch weight (how much weight the 5er puts on the TV. Now weigh the 5er alone on the scale, unhooked with the TV not on the scale. That is the trailer weight. Again, you need full water and waste tanks full, as well as anything you will put in the trailer.
I think a 350 SWD will be ok, BUT BE SURE!
Finally, look at the GCVWR (weight of both vehicles). You really should not exceed 80% of that weight. Yes, you might get away for a while, but since I had a 91 diesel and loaded it to the gills and put two trannys in it because I always ran at the max CGVWR or just over it. I learned my lesson. Don't learm fromexperience. The ride is more fun when you stay within specs.
Having said the above, you probibly won't have trouble,.