towing with 1/2 ton towable trailer.

[blacktop]

I have a Cougar lite that weighs 7,000 lbs empty. I load it up to another 800 lbs, so I'm around 8,000 including myself. The hitch weight is around 1200 factory, but I'm sure that's up to 1800 by now.
Presently, I tow with a Dodge 2500 and it doesn't feel the weight behind it. Tows great. I only plan to go to the end of the warranty on this truck and then buy a new one. Next time, I would like to tow with a 1/2 ton for the better ride and price. Anyone towing an 8000 lb 5th wheel with a half ton truck? How well does it tow?

[tdsxt51]

Kevin O. wrote:

IdaD wrote:

Kevin O. wrote:

tdst51 wrote:
My sig fifth wheeler is advertised as " half ton towable ". I WOULD NOT tow it with a half ton truck. My previous fiver we towed with our half ton, and it was not pretty. The only saving grace was that we went locally to the same campground the whole time we owned it. No more half ton towing for me, ever!

You didn't mention what 1/2 ton you were towing with??? Not all 1/2 tons are setup for towing. Some far exceed others! There are some F150's with 2500lbs of payload with a 11,200lbs towing capacity. I'm willing to bet those #'s are close to what your 2500 is rated at. 😉

Ratings are all well and good, but his 2500 would tow the pants off any F150. It can also handle a lot more weight than the official payload rating without issue because that number is a product of a high curb weight and an artificially low GVWR.

His RAWR is 6500 lbs and I think the max of any F150 is 4800 lbs. His official max tow rating should be in the 17k and change range.

We were not talking about carrying MAX weight(17K+). I would never expect any F150 to tow better than a 2500 with a Cummins diesel. That's ridiculous! He mentioned that he would not tow the OP's 8000lb(wet) trailer with a 1/2 ton truck. I just wanted to know what 1/2 ton truck he towed with that gave him such a bad experience? I can guarantee you it wasn't an F150 Ecoboost with HD payload and Max tow pkg.

It wasn't a really bad experience per se, but like I said, we really didn't wander too far from home. You are right. My half ton was the smallest V8 they made for that truck, and the only thing extra I had done was to add a tranny cooler. And yes, my 2500 is good for 17K.

[Kevin_O_]

IdaD wrote:

Kevin O. wrote:

tdst51 wrote:
My sig fifth wheeler is advertised as " half ton towable ". I WOULD NOT tow it with a half ton truck. My previous fiver we towed with our half ton, and it was not pretty. The only saving grace was that we went locally to the same campground the whole time we owned it. No more half ton towing for me, ever!

You didn't mention what 1/2 ton you were towing with??? Not all 1/2 tons are setup for towing. Some far exceed others! There are some F150's with 2500lbs of payload with a 11,200lbs towing capacity. I'm willing to bet those #'s are close to what your 2500 is rated at. 😉

Ratings are all well and good, but his 2500 would tow the pants off any F150. It can also handle a lot more weight than the official payload rating without issue because that number is a product of a high curb weight and an artificially low GVWR.

His RAWR is 6500 lbs and I think the max of any F150 is 4800 lbs. His official max tow rating should be in the 17k and change range.

We were not talking about carrying MAX weight(17K+). I would never expect any F150 to tow better than a 2500 with a Cummins diesel. That's ridiculous! He mentioned that he would not tow the OP's 8000lb(wet) trailer with a 1/2 ton truck. I just wanted to know what 1/2 ton truck he towed with that gave him such a bad experience? I can guarantee you it wasn't an F150 Ecoboost with HD payload and Max tow pkg.

[jrp26789]

Having done what you are talking about, I would do it. But only if you don't tow a lot. I traded my 98 ram 2500 for a 2012 ram 1500. Then in 2015 I traded my 2012 for a 2015 ram 2500. It was expensive to upgrade, and while it tows better, it rides worse for all the other miles I drive. Wish I would have just upgraded the tires and rolled on. That being said, I never really loved my last truck. But I love this one. The full crew is nice. And so is a 6.5 box. Which wasn't available in a 1500.

[SkiSmuggs]

Like Shadow Grey, I towed my 10K fiver for 3 seasons and 12,000 miles with my 2011 F150 Ecoboost Max Tow. I traded for a F350 diesel not because the F150 couldn't do the job but because I wanted more capacity for batteries, solar, etc, plus I expect the next fiver to be heavier.
This link is must reading for 1/2 ton fiver towing:
http://fifthwheelst.com/2015-half-ton-truck-towing.html
Read the whole thing. But here is a summary of findings:
Q3: "Can a F150 or 1500 or half-ton truck tow a fifth (5th) wheel trailer?"

A3: As evident in the picture (left), we at FWS have determined that for typical RV use, most half-ton trucks do not meet the load requirements for the weight of these trailers. The GVWR and the GAWR will most likely be overloaded, and some driving conditions may be unsafe, even with the lightest fifth wheel RVs touted for half-ton trucks.

However, we have discovered one truck brand that may tow fifth wheel trailers up to 11,712 pounds and not exceed the ratings. That truck is the 2015 Ford F150 with the 3.5L V6 EcoBoost. The configuration that meets this requirement follows: 3.73 gear ratio, 4X2, 163.7" wheel base, SuperCab. With two passengers, the loaded vehicle weight is 5,388 pounds. The GCWR = 17,100 and the GVWR = 7,850. Especially for any half-ton truck, weigh it fully loaded without any trailer attatched and use RV Tow Check 2.0 to calculate the realistic tow capacity.

Obviously, there are several half-ton trucks towing fifth wheel trailers on the highway. One's ability to tow a fifth wheel doesn't prove exceeding the ratings is okay. The question that must be answered, is, "Are they towing a fifth wheel while not exceeding the truck's ratings printed on the Certification label?" (i.e. GVWR and GAWRs)
- See more at: http://fifthwheelst.com/2015-half-ton-truck-towing.html#sthash.BcAHEhfM.dpuf

[IdaD]

Kevin O. wrote:

tdst51 wrote:
My sig fifth wheeler is advertised as " half ton towable ". I WOULD NOT tow it with a half ton truck. My previous fiver we towed with our half ton, and it was not pretty. The only saving grace was that we went locally to the same campground the whole time we owned it. No more half ton towing for me, ever!

You didn't mention what 1/2 ton you were towing with??? Not all 1/2 tons are setup for towing. Some far exceed others! There are some F150's with 2500lbs of payload with a 11,200lbs towing capacity. I'm willing to bet those #'s are close to what your 2500 is rated at. 😉

Ratings are all well and good, but his 2500 would tow the pants off any F150. It can also handle a lot more weight than the official payload rating without issue because that number is a product of a high curb weight and an artificially low GVWR.

His RAWR is 6500 lbs and I think the max of any F150 is 4800 lbs. His official max tow rating should be in the 17k and change range.

[JIMNLIN]

blacktop wrote:
I have a Cougar lite that weighs 7,000 lbs empty. I load it up to another 800 lbs, so I'm around 8,000 including myself. The hitch weight is around 1200 factory, but I'm sure that's up to 1800 by now.
Presently, I tow with a Dodge 2500 and it doesn't feel the weight behind it. Tows great. I only plan to go to the end of the warranty on this truck and then buy a new one. Next time, I would like to tow with a 1/2 ton for the better ride and price. Anyone towing an 8000 lb 5th wheel with a half ton truck? How well does it tow?

A 1800 lb pin weight plus a 250 lb hitch plus 150 lb of folks and other stuff that adds weight to the trucks rear axle and your looking at around 2200+ lb load which sits over the trucks rear axle.

The only new 1/2 ton truck with enough rear axle capacity for a 2200 lb load is the F150 5.0 or 3.5 EB engines with the 4800 RAWR.
Owners report these trucks rear axle weights in the 2200-2300 lb range which leaves 2500 lbs or so for a payload.

Ram doesn't have a 1/2 ton with enough rear axle numbers for a 2200 lb load.

The NHT package for the new 1500 GM trucks offer higher 7400-7600 ? GVWR and 4200-4400 ? RAWR numbers. Maybe someone knows what they actually are. However a crew cab 4x4 with lots of options would eat away these small payload numbers.

There are several older '00 era 1/2 ton truck that will have no problems with a trailer that size.
..'00 to '06 GM 1500HD 6.0 8600 GVWR and 6000 RAWR..
.. mid '00 1500 Dodge Mega cab with 8510 GVWR and 6000 RAWR..
..and of course a F150HD 8200 GVWR and 4800 RAWR.....all had plenty of RAWR and power to pull.

[Kevin_O_]

tdst51 wrote:
My sig fifth wheeler is advertised as " half ton towable ". I WOULD NOT tow it with a half ton truck. My previous fiver we towed with our half ton, and it was not pretty. The only saving grace was that we went locally to the same campground the whole time we owned it. No more half ton towing for me, ever!

You didn't mention what 1/2 ton you were towing with??? Not all 1/2 tons are setup for towing. Some far exceed others! There are some F150's with 2500lbs of payload with a 11,200lbs towing capacity. I'm willing to bet those #'s are close to what your 2500 is rated at. 😉

[tdsxt51]

My sig fifth wheeler is advertised as " half ton towable ". I WOULD NOT tow it with a half ton truck. My previous fiver we towed with our half ton, and it was not pretty. The only saving grace was that we went locally to the same campground the whole time we owned it. No more half ton towing for me, ever!

[Cummins12V98]

RustyJC wrote:

Merrykalia wrote:

IdaD wrote:


Nail on the head right there. By the time you option out a half ton with all the heavy towing and payload options, you may as well just buy a 3/4 ton cause they don't cost any more at that point and you get a lot more truck for your money.

True, but the ride of the 1/2 ton F-150 is so much better when not towing than the 3/4 ton F-250 Superduty! If you only tow 1/10 of the time, that is a lot of uncomfortable travel.

Perhaps that used to be so, but (to stay out of a brand war) some 3/4 ton trucks offer full air suspension now so that the ride when not towing isn't compromised. You can mush down the road like you're in a Lincoln, if that's your preference. Having said that, I don't find the ride of our 4x2 independent front suspension 1-ton dually to be uncomfortable at all.

Rusty

My Dad has the exact same truck as your except it's a 2012 and does ride very nice!

[IdaD]

sele wrote:

IdaD wrote:

Kevin O. wrote:
The F150 with the Max tow and HD payload pkg will handle your trailer with no problem. The problem is trying to find a used F150 with these pkgs. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack. And if you went to order a new F150 with all the towing goodies you will be in the same price range as a new 3/4 ton truck.. Not sure if it would even be worth it?

Kevin

Nail on the head right there. By the time you option out a half ton with all the heavy towing and payload options, you may as well just buy a 3/4 ton cause they don't cost any more at that point and you get a lot more truck for your money.

I hate to disagree but mine was about $12,000 cheaper than a 3/4 ton, Granted it is an xlt loaded and it does have max tow haul package with a 3.73 rear-end. Again I think you need to be realistic with what you expect we are very pleased. This pickup is also my daily driver I have about 53,000 miles on it with right at 10,000 from towing. It does a great job with both.

Sorry, but there's nowhere near a $12k price difference. I paid $39k for the truck in my sig in June, and a co-worker got a similar discount on a '15 F150 and he paid $35k a couple of months later - and it's a 2.7 without max tow or HD payload (as far as I know haven't been any HD payloads produced on the new models yet). We both bought from high volume dealers so the trucks were discounted pretty heavily off MSRP. I could have paid about $6k less had I gone with a gasser.

Both were crew cab 4wd models with pretty similar options. Maybe a half ton super cab runs quite a bit less, but I can't imagine it would grow to a $12k gap.

[sele]

IdaD wrote:

Kevin O. wrote:
The F150 with the Max tow and HD payload pkg will handle your trailer with no problem. The problem is trying to find a used F150 with these pkgs. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack. And if you went to order a new F150 with all the towing goodies you will be in the same price range as a new 3/4 ton truck.. Not sure if it would even be worth it?

Kevin

Nail on the head right there. By the time you option out a half ton with all the heavy towing and payload options, you may as well just buy a 3/4 ton cause they don't cost any more at that point and you get a lot more truck for your money.

I hate to disagree but mine was about $12,000 cheaper than a 3/4 ton, Granted it is an xlt loaded and it does have max tow haul package with a 3.73 rear-end. Again I think you need to be realistic with what you expect we are very pleased. This pickup is also my daily driver I have about 53,000 miles on it with right at 10,000 from towing. It does a great job with both.

[RustyJC]

Merrykalia wrote:

IdaD wrote:


Nail on the head right there. By the time you option out a half ton with all the heavy towing and payload options, you may as well just buy a 3/4 ton cause they don't cost any more at that point and you get a lot more truck for your money.

True, but the ride of the 1/2 ton F-150 is so much better when not towing than the 3/4 ton F-250 Superduty! If you only tow 1/10 of the time, that is a lot of uncomfortable travel.

Perhaps that used to be so, but (to stay out of a brand war) some 3/4 ton trucks offer full air suspension now so that the ride when not towing isn't compromised. You can mush down the road like you're in a Lincoln, if that's your preference. Having said that, I don't find the ride of our 4x2 independent front suspension 1-ton dually to be uncomfortable at all.

Rusty

[Merrykalia]

IdaD wrote:


Nail on the head right there. By the time you option out a half ton with all the heavy towing and payload options, you may as well just buy a 3/4 ton cause they don't cost any more at that point and you get a lot more truck for your money.

True, but the ride of the 1/2 ton F-150 is so much better when not towing than the 3/4 ton F-250 Superduty! If you only tow 1/10 of the time, that is a lot of uncomfortable travel.

[IdaD]

Kevin O. wrote:
The F150 with the Max tow and HD payload pkg will handle your trailer with no problem. The problem is trying to find a used F150 with these pkgs. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack. And if you went to order a new F150 with all the towing goodies you will be in the same price range as a new 3/4 ton truck.. Not sure if it would even be worth it?

Kevin

Nail on the head right there. By the time you option out a half ton with all the heavy towing and payload options, you may as well just buy a 3/4 ton cause they don't cost any more at that point and you get a lot more truck for your money.