Will This Work?

csamayfield55 wrote:
I know I will catch HE double hockey sticks from the weight police here for saying this but here goes.

If you have the 3/4 ton and don't want to buy a 1 ton then get a set of air bags and call it good. The only difference in your truck and a 1Ton is a set of overloads and a sticker. That truck will tow 16K all day long if it has been properly maintained and still in good order. I have seen it done for years. Splurge on an onboard air control so you can adjust the level to fit the load. Your not in dually country yet so why buy something you don't know

Chris

I think on some of the older models there were some functional differences. Maybe not on all of them but some. Any truck from the last few years and you're spot on. Throw airbags or Timbrens on it and make sure the tire ratings are good, and you've got a SRW one ton. If a guy with a 3/4 ton wants to spend a ton of money to get new sticker on the door jamb I guess that's up to him but I wouldn't do it.

The jump in actual functional capability comes when you move up to a DRW.

Another thing to think about. We had a 2004 31RLBS Sandpiper real close to the trailer you are talking about with very similar listed weights. Actuall weight loaded was 8800 on the tires and 3300 on the pin. I pulled it 2 years with an 06 F-250 before I weighed the trailer. The last few years we had it, it was on a DRW F-350 and it was a dream to tow.

That was similar to the setup I had several years ago. The engine had the power to pull the trailer, but I had issues with the E40D transmission. I started having transmission overheating issues when I was backing up.

Chris brings up a good point.
Just to add..... if that F250 has the heavy service package from Ford its the same as a F350 SRW in load load carrying ability.

Just about all 250 and 350 SRW trucks can have the same tow rating as they all have the same engine/tranny and front and rear axles.
AS was mentioned the difference is in the trucks rear spring packs and possible higher rated tires and wheels....unless of course the 250 has the HS package.

If your going to full time I would recommend a late model one ton SRW or DRW truck unless your capable of fixing old worn out trucks on the road. Just be aware of Fords 6.0 and 6.4 engine issues in later years.

I know I will catch HE double hockey sticks from the weight police here for saying this but here goes.

If you have the 3/4 ton and don't want to buy a 1 ton then get a set of air bags and call it good. The only difference in your truck and a 1Ton is a set of overloads and a sticker. That truck will tow 16K all day long if it has been properly maintained and still in good order. I have seen it done for years. Splurge on an onboard air control so you can adjust the level to fit the load. Your not in dually country yet so why buy something you don't know

Chris

MikeSherman wrote:
Looks like I may be shopping for a dually 1 ton, F-350 with the 7.3 diesel, but the Ford chart shows same towing capacity as a F-250 (13,000#). The 5th wheel we want shows ULV as 10,500# with a GVWR of 14,100#, so I'm still confused (which is not difficult!).

Like the other guy said: You missed the fine print.

13,000 requires that the trailer is balanced perfectly so that you're not putting too much weight on the truck. That rarely happens in real life.

Power and braking won't be your problem. Suspension and handling will be the issues.


If the pin weight on that 5th wheel is low, you could probably get away with it. If you put airbags and bigger tires on the truck, you could probably get away with it. Depending on who you ask, those won't be the best approaches to the system. Also you may not be happy with the results after throwing a bunch of money at an old truck, and end up going for something newer and bigger anyway. You will be 100 percent happy with a DRW truck and that trailer, though, unless something is very very wrong with you or very very wrong with the truck you choose.

MikeSherman wrote:
Looks like I may be shopping for a dually 1 ton, F-350 with the 7.3 diesel, but the Ford chart shows same towing capacity as a F-250 (13,000#). The 5th wheel we want shows ULV as 10,500# with a GVWR of 14,100#, so I'm still confused (which is not difficult!).

you haven't posted two things:

the pin weight of the trailer
the payload capacity of the truck

both of these are more important when towing a 5th wheel.

MikeSherman wrote:
Looks like I may be shopping for a dually 1 ton, F-350 with the 7.3 diesel, but the Ford chart shows same towing capacity as a F-250 (13,000#). The 5th wheel we want shows ULV as 10,500# with a GVWR of 14,100#, so I'm still confused (which is not difficult!).

YEP.....

But if you look for and read the FINE print you will find that those are MAX TOWING Numbers based on 150# driver and 20# cargo

Every pound you add in passengers/cargo/stuff to truck you have to subtract from the towing numbers

Your vintage F250 can handle 12K GVWR 5th wheel.

Any heavier and you will be OVER WEIGHT in almost all ratings for that year 3/4 ton Class II pickup truck


Real life example:
My 2007 3500 and the 14K 5th wheel we tow
I have higher truck ratings then your 2001 F250 (GVWR, AXLE, Payload, GCWR) and with my 5vr scaled weight at 13,873 (highest it was when Full Timing) I was OVER on GVWR, slightly OVER RAWR and right at REAR Tire MAX Load ratings

And my GVWR is 10,100# with a MAX Tow rating of 16,200#

Stay with a 12K GVWR 5th Wheel and you will be good.

Looks like I may be shopping for a dually 1 ton, F-350 with the 7.3 diesel, but the Ford chart shows same towing capacity as a F-250 (13,000#). The 5th wheel we want shows ULV as 10,500# with a GVWR of 14,100#, so I'm still confused (which is not difficult!).

Agree with C.B. We tow a heavier fifth wheel with a newer F350, SRW, LB and are within our weight limits.