1/2 Ton Limit

[Gene_K_2]

Current set-up
2018 F150 Screw 4x4 3.5EB (1907 lb payload).
Husky Centerline TS Hitch
Jayco 22FB (6000 GCWR).
No real stability issues.

I usually have 1500+ lb left for tongue weight (I'm solo). I've been looking at a GD 2250RK (7495 lb) as a replacement.

Thoughts on whether it should be any real issue towing with a half ton. I'm sure I'll be okay on tongue weight (15% would be 1125 lb) but I really don't know how much is to much with a half-ton.

[Gene_K_2]

I've pulled 11,000 before behind a 1/2 ton but I suspect a 36'+ Flagstaff might be an entirely different experience than a relatively short low profile load.

[Grit_dog]

^ Or to put Marty's experience into laymans terms, you can tow quite heavy with a smaller truck "if" its the right combination of weight, tongue weight, trailer axle placement, tow rig wheelbase, trailer length, etc.
And you can have issues with a bigger truck if the above considerations are "wrong."

As usual, no one size fits all answer. Hence why those who aren't as knowledgeable or don't care to get into the details often opt to "over truck" the combo, which generally never is a bad thing. Regardless of whether it's necessary or not.

[blt2ski]

Tandem axle kenworth with 20' flatbed towing a tandem axle tilt deck with typical metal sheets for road ditch excavation covers. Could not go over 55-60 or trailer swayed.
Reality, longer the trailer on a given WB rig, closer tow rig is to being square, is length wb equal width of tires, the easier it is for a rig to have uncontrolled sway.
Or Kenworth mentioned, plates hung off rear to far, so trailer had unconrolled sway due to too low hitch wt. Have had issue behind a one ton dually flatbed, and my navistar with improperly loaded trailers too.
Hence where some of us back before gcwr ratings as they are known today went with
Max trailer WT of two times grawr.
Max gcw two times gvwr or three times grawr.
Biggest motor most gears in trans, lowest gears in axle.
Another rule of thumb
Max trailer 20' for wheelbase if iirc 110". Additional foot per 4" wb. Rule said not to pull with shorter WB rigs. But I would suggest smaller by a foot per 4".
This is for a ball mount car back in 50's 60's and before.
5w because it's over the RA, you should be able to go a bit longer. Heavier chassis also a bit longer in length.
There is way more to proper safe towing that fitting into a weight rating(s) in reality. Even the newish gcwr rating specs are not great imho on some of the specs.

Marty

[Mike134]

Gene K 2 wrote:
1. Astro Van with a 19' (Box Length) Travel Trailer. 65 mph and regained control after dropping to 45-50 mph.

2. S-Blazer 4-Door with 19' (Box Length) Travel Trailer. 65 mph and regained control after dropping to 45-50 mph.

3. Explorer with 24' (Box Length) Travel Trailer. 70 mph and ended up upside down in the median.

Lengths are approximate and I don't know anything about how they had them loaded. The Explorer certainly looked marginal for that size trailer.

Apricate the info. All little vehicles, and as the 70 mph showed stability gets worse the faster you go.

[Gene_K_2]

1. Astro Van with a 19' (Box Length) Travel Trailer. 65 mph and regained control after dropping to 45-50 mph.

2. S-Blazer 4-Door with 19' (Box Length) Travel Trailer. 65 mph and regained control after dropping to 45-50 mph.

3. Explorer with 24' (Box Length) Travel Trailer. 70 mph and ended up upside down in the median.

Lengths are approximate and I don't know anything about how they had them loaded. The Explorer certainly looked marginal for that size trailer.

[Mike134]

Gene K 2 wrote:

mkirsch wrote:

Gene K 2 wrote:
Thanks Guys...

I guess I'm gunshy because of all the sway issues I've read about with 1/2 tons and longer heavier travel trailers.

What about all the sway issues you've read about with 1/2 tons and shorter trailers? Shouldn't that scare you away from towing altogether?

I've seen it once or twice. I've not experienced it and would like to keep it that way.

Please give more details, what were their estimated speeds, what was the final result, etc. for each one. Thanks

[Gene_K_2]

mkirsch wrote:

Gene K 2 wrote:
Thanks Guys...

I guess I'm gunshy because of all the sway issues I've read about with 1/2 tons and longer heavier travel trailers.

What about all the sway issues you've read about with 1/2 tons and shorter trailers? Shouldn't that scare you away from towing altogether?

Frankly I am not sure what sway issues you've read about, because nearly all of the supposed "sway" I've read about on here is NOT SWAY. The trailer bobbles a little and comes right back in line. That's called rough road. That's called wind. That's called a large vehicle passing at high speed. If it didn't require active correction and/or did not kill you, it was NOT sway.

Besides if you take precautions and load the trailer with some common sense, you won't have sway to begin with. Use a good integrated sway control for "belt and suspenders" protection, and you have nothing to worry about.

I've seen it once or twice. I've not experienced it and would like to keep it that way.

[mkirsch]

Gene K 2 wrote:
Thanks Guys...

I guess I'm gunshy because of all the sway issues I've read about with 1/2 tons and longer heavier travel trailers.

What about all the sway issues you've read about with 1/2 tons and shorter trailers? Shouldn't that scare you away from towing altogether?

Frankly I am not sure what sway issues you've read about, because nearly all of the supposed "sway" I've read about on here is NOT SWAY. The trailer bobbles a little and comes right back in line. That's called rough road. That's called wind. That's called a large vehicle passing at high speed. If it didn't require active correction and/or did not kill you, it was NOT sway.

Besides if you take precautions and load the trailer with some common sense, you won't have sway to begin with. Use a good integrated sway control for "belt and suspenders" protection, and you have nothing to worry about.

[Gene_K_2]

APT wrote:
6k dry is my standard recommendation for the more capable half tons. People that but 7kdry+ and have someone like your truck generally report some form of stability issues when towing @highway speeds. There are exceptions for certain needle in haystack half tons like Ford's Max Payload package or GM's NHT package. That GD 2250 is 5500 pounds dry, Even at 7k loaded, 1000 pound TW, you have 900 pounds of payload to load in on cab and bed. Seems like plenty of margin to me. 🙂

Well seeing as how it was placarded for 6,995 until just recently it does at least meet my Grandfather's old smell test of Trailer Weight = Truck GVWR. I doubt he would be a fan of 14,000 lb Trailers and 7,000 GVWR Trucks.

[Sjm9911]

goducks10 wrote:

Sjm9911 wrote:
That was always very common, especially in pop ups , not sure how it is with TT. The published weigjts were out of the factory, anything added at the dealer was extra weight. So everything was an add on. But it does list tanks adding up to 190 gallons, so black, greay and fresh, filling those at 8.3 gallons adds 1570 or so lbs. So it needs a high gvwr or you would not be able to use the tanks it has.

Explain a common situation where you'd travel with all 3 tanks full.

We dry camp, water/elec camp and FH camp. When dry camping we empty our 80 gal fresh into the black and grey. So only 80 gal total.

When we FH camp we dump the grey and black and may fill the fresh if we're heading to a dry camping spot.

If we're on water/elec only then the fresh is not filling and we would dump the grey and black leaving nothing or again maybe filling the fresh for future use.

In our short 11 years of RV'ing we've never had all 3 tanks full at once.

There isn't one. , I was just stating the capacity of the tanks, if you travel with them full. I have traveled like that one, due to no dump station between trips and filling my fresh water before the next one. Had to dump where i could. Just because there isnt a need dosen't mean they dont have to build that into the weight carring capacity.

[Mike134]

Gene K 2 wrote:
Thanks Guys...

I guess I'm gunshy because of all the sway issues I've read about with 1/2 tons and longer heavier travel trailers.


At 27' 11" a 2250RK doesn't really appear as small to me as I'm sure it appears to some of you. 1.5' longer and 25% Heavier seems like a significant change

Don't forget "all" the issues you read about are recycled stories told over and over by the same 6 folks on a forum.

I'm pulling a tip to tail trailer of 28' loaded at 6300lbs with a 15-16% tongue weight and it follows the truck like it's on rails even with a 20-25 MPH (flags straight out) crosswind. I put back 50-75% of the weight on the front axle with the WDH. Like you I'd read ALL the "horror" stories but discovered they either hadn't set THEIR rig up properly, or just don't know. And let me add if you quiz them they travel at 70-75 mph, 1/2 tons are very capable at reasonable speeds of 65 mph.

[goducks10]

Sjm9911 wrote:
That was always very common, especially in pop ups , not sure how it is with TT. The published weigjts were out of the factory, anything added at the dealer was extra weight. So everything was an add on. But it does list tanks adding up to 190 gallons, so black, greay and fresh, filling those at 8.3 gallons adds 1570 or so lbs. So it needs a high gvwr or you would not be able to use the tanks it has.

Explain a common situation where you'd travel with all 3 tanks full.

We dry camp, water/elec camp and FH camp. When dry camping we empty our 80 gal fresh into the black and grey. So only 80 gal total.

When we FH camp we dump the grey and black and may fill the fresh if we're heading to a dry camping spot.

If we're on water/elec only then the fresh is not filling and we would dump the grey and black leaving nothing or again maybe filling the fresh for future use.

In our short 11 years of RV'ing we've never had all 3 tanks full at once.

[APT]

6k dry is my standard recommendation for the more capable half tons. People that but 7kdry+ and have someone like your truck generally report some form of stability issues when towing @highway speeds. There are exceptions for certain needle in haystack half tons like Ford's Max Payload package or GM's NHT package. That GD 2250 is 5500 pounds dry, Even at 7k loaded, 1000 pound TW, you have 900 pounds of payload to load in on cab and bed. Seems like plenty of margin to me. 🙂

[Gene_K_2]

Thanks Guys...

I guess I'm gunshy because of all the sway issues I've read about with 1/2 tons and longer heavier travel trailers.


At 27' 11" a 2250RK doesn't really appear as small to me as I'm sure it appears to some of you. 1.5' longer and 25% Heavier seems like a significant change