Towing with our truck- what too heavy

[mandmhunter]

Should start by saying this is all new to us- so please be patient!

We just got a 2008 Ford F150 mostly for the purpose of towing a trailer, on the door sticker the GVWR is 7200 lbs- seems pretty straight forward, right???

Well... now there is allot of advertisements that say something along the lines of "1/2 towable" but the trailer weights is above our GVWR (between 7500-7700 lbs). NOW FOR THE QUESTIONS:--how does going over the GVWR affect our towe? Do you recommend going over the vehicle GVWR by a few hundred pounds or is that a bad idea?

thanks

[Hokie_Camper]

I also have a 2008 F-150. My truck is an FX-4 with the HD tow package, and the 3.73 gears. It does have the 20" wheels though. Those reduce the towing capacity by 500lbs. In my case, when all is said and done the max towing is 8,900lbs.

OP needs to determine if they have 18 or 20" wheels, and which gear ratio. Then they just need to figure the max tongue weight for their truck.

I know in my own case, I wouldn't hesitate to tow a 9,000 trailer but it wouldn't be something I'd do on a regular basis. Of course, I upgraded the tires when I replaced them. But as I get more and more serious about finding the right trailer, I'd like to keep it as light as possible. I'd recommend the same for OP.

I dont know about them, but on a one time deal towing a trailer at the limit is ok. But it gets old if you're doing it all the time. To me having a setup that is comfortable and handles well is important as I won't want to do mess with something that I dont enjoy.

[elkhornsun]

With a tow vehicle the max tow capacity stated by the manufacturer for standard, weight distributing, and king-pin hitches are a maximum. For a trailer add 1000 lbs to the dry weight to have a ballpark loaded weight (confirm later at a CAT scale to be sure).

Gross Combined Weight or GCWR is equally important and that is the combined weight of the tow vehicle along with passengers and pets and gear and the weight of the trailer fully loaded. This number takes into consideration the engine, transmission, rear end gearing, frame, suspension, wheels, etc. for a maximum load overall.

The rear axle load is not going to be the limitation. The tires might be but they are easily changed if this is the case. Check the sidewalls and add the two tires to know the maximum rear axle load with the vehicle, passengers, gear, and tongue weight of the trailer.

With a max tow rating of 7200 lbs. I would be looking for a trailer with a dry weight of 5000-5500 lbs., leaving capacity for fluids in the holding tanks, batteries, food, gear, etc. in the trailer.

It depends in part on where you tow, central USA or the Rockies, and the amount of time spent towing. Where someone tows 1500 miles or less during the course of the year it is going to be less "severe" use of the truck than towing 15,000 miles each year. This also affects recommended lubricant and other servicing intervals, often dramatically.

[ependydad]

JimM68 wrote:
GVRW means little as far as towing.

Many will disagree with you. I'm of the opinion that I won't exceed any ratings of my truck. Scaled, my family, I, our hitch, stuff we added onto the truck and random carp we carry with us adds up to about 1,200 pounds. I'd run out of payload and exceed my GVWR on a 3/4-ton truck long before hitting towing capacity.

In fact, I'd be willing to bet that many 1/2-ton and 3/4-ton trucks pulling campers of any size and especially fifth wheels are over on GVWR. (That's not to say everyone is over, of course.)

[JimM68]

complicated....

GVRW means little as far as towing.

GCRW is what you should be concerned with.

Weigh your truck, grain scales are good.
GCRW from the sticker on the door minus the actual weight is how much trailer ford says you can safely tow. I personally would aim for 1000 lbs less.

[rockportrocket]

And unless I AM mistaken, YOU are gonna be shocked at how little you can actually haul, if you stay legal.

[Peg_Leg]

A lot of grain elevators around here will weight your truck for free. Give one a call and ask. Take the actual scale weight, with the people, fuel and cargo you plan to haul in the truck. Subtract this weight from your door sticker 7200#. Now whats left is going to be available for hitch weight.

[bikendan]

the higher numbers in the Ford towing guide, are only for those vehicles with the factory tow package.
some may have a regular package and some may have a Heavy Duty tow package.

based on the guide, you have 8300lbs. or 9300lbs. towing capacity, depending on which rear end ratio you have, 3.55 or 3.73

[ependydad]

mandmhunter wrote:
Confused here!---

Our truck is a 4x4, has a trailer package (factory), the largest cab ford makes (supercrew), 5.4 triton off-road, short bed (5.5 feet I think),not sure about the HP . So should we be going with the door sticker on the truck for max GVWR? (is that sticker customized just for our truck, OR is that the GVWR for all F150 for that year whether they are regularcab, crew cab, 4x4 or not). Rely on the truck sticker for weight or the Ford 2008 towing brochure???

Also if we are equipped with a trailer package (with all other factors being the same) - does that give us the ability to towe more????

Your truck stickers are specific to your exact truck. These and only these are the numbers that matter.

The very best thing that you can do is load up your truck like you were going camping (all passengers, stuff in the cab, stuff in the truck bed, etc.) and go to a scale to get weighed. Subtract that weight from the truck's gross vehicle weight (that GVWR number on the sticker). What is left over is what you have available for tongue weight.

The tongue weight is typically 10%-15% of the loaded camper's weight. (Not the fictionally low "dry weight".)

NOW- as for what happens if you go over GVWR? (Read this in jest.) The truck literally falls apart. It starts with trim work, then the tailgate falls off, the bed falls apart in 5 pieces and finally the doors come off. Your insurance will deny all claims the instant you go over by 1 pound. And, cops everywhere have a trained eye for overweight rigs. They'll pull you over, arrest you, compound the truck and camper.

In reality, many people knowingly and unknowingly tow over their trucks ratings. For many, for some reason, they've decided that the rear axle weight and tire load capacities are more important and those are the "gospel" to not be exceeded.

For me, I want to be within all of my truck's ratings. For others, a little over should be OK. However, a lot over is not OK.

[Playtime_II]

As a F150/SC/5.4/SB owner, use the sticker on the door, the manual has a table and you would need to know all of the configurations of your truck. A trailer package is unique to the model/year but often comes with a 7-pin elect connection on the rear, a 2" receiver hitch, a transmission cooler, electrical pre-wire for trailer brake controller, maybe more but not tow more. A weight distribution hitch will allow you to tow a heavier tongue weight trailer BETTER as it transfers some of the weight to the front axle (better handling/steering/braking. However, you hitch will be stamped with two weights; using a drawbar (probably 500lb) and a wdh (Probably 1,000 or 1200). Without a wdh, you bumper will drop several inches when you hitch up. My trucks listed stats are:
UVW 5871
Avail Cargo/Hitch 1329
GVWR 7200
GCWR 14500
Gear 3.73
FGAWR 3750
RGAWR 3850
MAX TT 8700

My Rockwood 2902SS was listed as:
GVWR 7598
UVW 5432
Hitch 614
CCC 1833

However...TT loaded with pot/pans/clothes for 3-pax-4days/propane; 1/4 fresh water, no passengers, two bins in the bed I weighed in at:

Steer 3140
Drive 3960
TT 6040
CGW 13140

With a wdh and dual cam sway controll I never had a towing problem even with big rigs, high winds, etc. However, if the fresh water tank was empty and I loaded the rear bunk with gear I did get sway. loaded the TT forward of the axle and I was fine.

Just my data to hopefully educate you.

[mandmhunter]

Golden_HVAC wrote:
Do you have the 5.4L V8 with 300 HP or a smaller engine?

Auto trans? 4 wheel drive? Towing package?

The towing package usually includes a larger transmission cooler, and if you want to tow above about 8,500 pounds GVWR for the trailer, then a larger transmission cooler would always be a good idea.

Like stated above, the GVWR of the truck is what can be put on those 4 tires, and try your best to not exceed the 7,200 pound rating. The tires, rims, axles, brakes, and other items like the transmission strength are all limiting factors that Ford used to decide the F-150 has a rating of 7,200 pounds.

Ford also takes a hand built 2008 truck and loads it up to 7,200 pounds and takes it all over the test tracks. They brake with it, do many full throttle tests, then full braking, and see what happens. Do the brakes overheat at 7,500 pounds? If something looks unstable, they will only allow a lower GVWR, to make sure the truck will last a full 100,000 miles without undue problems showing up. Such as overheating brakes when you are driving in city traffic and go to 35 MPH for 600 feet, then a complete stop for 20 seconds, and repeat for about a hour. If the brake pads had started to glow, then it would indicate something not "Ford Tough".

And while testing, they have all kinds of gauges on the trucks. Measure transmission temps, axle oil temps, test the brakes then measure the rotor temps, and on and on.

Basically the 1/2 ton can carry about 1,000 pounds and still have ability to carry a driver, full tank of gas, and other small items.

So basically start looking for a 6,000 pound trailer with about 600 - 750 pounds of hitch weight. You can go over a few hundred pounds, but towing might be slower up the hills, or not? Anyway in 2011, the 3.5L Ecoboost 365 HP engines came out with a 7,600 pound GVWR (give or take a few hundred pounds) and it can tow 10,500 pound trailers. They did not declare that you could actually carry 6 passengers while towing that 10,500 pound trailer, but you can carry about 500 pounds of passengers and still tow the trailer.

Fred.

Confused here!---

Our truck is a 4x4, has a trailer package (factory), the largest cab ford makes (supercrew), 5.4 triton off-road, short bed (5.5 feet I think),not sure about the HP . So should we be going with the door sticker on the truck for max GVWR? (is that sticker customized just for our truck, OR is that the GVWR for all F150 for that year whether they are regularcab, crew cab, 4x4 or not). Rely on the truck sticker for weight or the Ford 2008 towing brochure???

Also if we are equipped with a trailer package (with all other factors being the same) - does that give us the ability to towe more????

[wbwood]

As someone else mentioned, look at the ford towing guide and see what it says for your truck and go from there. Do not go over what your truck is rated for. A good number is to stay n a 75-80% margin of what the truck rating is. That's the trailer gross weight. Not its dry weight.

But let me give a little advice. You don't have to go to the maximum weight. Go as light and as small as you will be comfortable with. Storage space is prime. You can get two 20' tts and they weigh literally the same. One may look smaller inside because it has more storage space. The fact is, at you will have to store stuff. Where will you store it when you are set up and camping. Having a place for it all is so much better than tripping over it in a TT that doesn't have organized storage. All those cupboards and drawers will be a god send later on.

[handye9]

Here is a good read about figuring out what you can tow.

Here are some things to keep in mind, when you go looking at trailers:

1. Many trailer sales people will tell you, as long as dry (hitch, empty, shipping, unloaded) weight is within your tow capacity, you're good to go. DON'T LISTEN TO THEM, NOBODY TOWS EMPTY !!

2. Advertised dry weights are only accurate until the unit arrives at the dealer. The the dealer adds propane, battery, and various options.

3. Average camping load (dishes, bedding, camp chairs, BBQ, water, food, etc) is 800 to 1000 lbs.

4. Towing at max weight can be quite unpleasant.

[I_am_still_wayn]

mandmhunter wrote:


We just got a 2008 Ford F150 mostly for the purpose of towing a trailer, on the door sticker the GVWR is 7200 lbs- seems pretty straight forward, right???

A primer on some terms:

GVWR means Gross Vehicle Weight Rating or the maximum the vehicle can weigh. That would include the vehicle itself, fuel, passengers and cargo. That is not its towing capacity.

GCWR means the Gross Combined Weight Rating is the maximum the vehicle can weigh including any trailer it is towing.

Somewhere in your owner's manual you should find more information on the tow rating for your vehicle. If not, a little research on the manufacturer's website or even using Google will get you the tow rating.

After you find the tow rating, only consider trailers that have a GVWR equal to or less than your truck's tow rating. Never consider the dry weight of a trailer, which is a confusing and meaningless term.

[2012Coleman]

Like stated above, the GVWR of the truck is what can be put on those 4 tires

This provided that the tires currently on the truck meet or exceed OEM standards.