Question for the towing experts

Question

Hi, my question is - what is easier to tow or would they tow the same: see below.
An all aluminum 20 foot flat bed trailer with dual axles that weighs 1400 pounds loaded with an 800 pound ATV and a 3500 pound SUV. Total weight - around 5700 pounds - give or take a little.

OR

a new Ford 4x4 pickup which weighs around 5500 pounds loaded with an 800 pound ATV. Total weight - around 6300 pounds - give or take a little.

Both have four wheels on the ground. Does it make any difference whether it is a pickup or trailer? This will be pulled by a Ford V-10 Class C.

sch911 · Answer

Most likely neither....Your V10 Class C likely has only a 4K to 5K limit on it's towing capacity.Sorry.

ehoefler · Answer

The trailer would have less rolling resistance, no drivetrain to spin.

hmknightnc · Answer

The trailer would be easier but like the first poster said, your class C doesn't have the kind of capability (Doesn't mean you absolute can't but sure does mean you clearly shouldn't) and I don't think the Class C has that heavy of rated Hitch and may not have the chassis to support an aftermarket (This does mean you can't)

john___angela · Answer

harmsal wrote:Hi, my question is - what is easier to tow or would they tow the same: see below.An all aluminum 20 foot flat bed trailer with dual axles that weighs 1400 pounds loaded with an 800 pound ATV and a 3500 pound SUV. Total weight - around 5700 pounds - give or take a little.ORa new Ford 4x4 pickup which weighs around 5500 pounds loaded with an 800 pound ATV. Total weight - around 6300 pounds - give or take a little.Both have four wheels on the ground. Does it make any difference whether it is a pickup or trailer? This will be pulled by a Ford V-10 Class C.Good morning. The trailer would be easier to tow overall for a few reasons in my opinion. 1.  The trailer can be backed up. The truck can not (unless you unhook it). 2.  The trailer would be easier to hook up although 4 down setups are not bad for hookup. 3.  Braking is easier to deal with on a trailer than on a 4 wheel set up. Make sure you are within  your towing limits and make sure your class c can handle the tounge weight of your trailer.  Good luck with the project.

vintageracer · Answer

A difference not mentioned so far is tongue weight - the flat tow will have no tongue weight while the trailer will have substantial tongue weight - probably 600 - 700 lbs if you can get the load balanced correctly, which may actually be quite hard to do. With a long Class C you usually have a very long tail behind the rear axle, which makes the effect of tongue weight quite high. While I prefer to tow a trailer for all the reasons given above, the tongue weight in this situation would make me favor the flat-towed truck.

Brian

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