Making sense of Tow #'s
Looking at buying my first truck and need some help with Towing. We're planning to get an RV in a year or 2 and I want it to do it right the first time! Looking at a 2011 F150 Supercrew Ecoboost w...
Forum Discussion
itguy08 wrote:IMO, you can ignore the TT's GVWR unless you actually plan to load the TT to 100% of its CCC -- most people do not.
All have gross weights between 8,400 lbs and 10,300 lbs. and about 30-36ft. I worked up a spreadsheet based on 10 and 15% tongue weight and it looks like at 10% we're good as we have 820 and 1010 payload left. At 15% it gets a lot closer and in some cases only 300 lbs.
Is this doable and with a Weight Distributing hitch would it make sense or should we be looking elsewhere?
Try to find the TT's factory-delivered weight (look for the UVW value on a yellow sticker located on the left outside near the front).
Then estimate how much cargo you will carry in the TT. Some people get by with as little as 500%, many report cargo weights around 1000#, and some load as much as 1500#. Whether you plan to travel with liquids in the fresh water and waste tanks will make a difference.
Add the estimated cargo and liquids weight to the UVW and assume the tongue weight will be about 13% of the total.
With a properly-adjusted WDH, a load equal to approximately 80% of the tongue weight will be added to the TV
You also must estimate the weight of occupants, cargo, and added equipment for the TV. Don't forget to include about 100# for the weight of a WDH. These weights plus about 80% of the tongue weight should not exceed the TV's "payload capacity".
I agree with those who recommend trying to find a F-150 which has both MAX Tow and the HD Payload Pkg.
Also the #'s I came up with on young weight are much different that the RV brochures. Is that normal?The brochure TW values are not intended to represent what the TW of a loaded-for-camping TT is likely to be.
The brochure TWs are typical values of TW for an empty TT with no optional equipment.
Ron
