1/2 TON QUESTION

[The_Painting_Te]

Of all the 1/2 ton TV's out there (2009 or newer), which has the highest tow rating and load capacity? Will be using 1/2 ton as second vehicle year round with only round trip to Fla on flat I-95 for smaller 5th wheel to snowbird. Camp on!

[bmanning]

2112 wrote:

TomG2 wrote:
I do feel sorry for the non-expert who sees the advertisements or reads on here how a half ton can haul over 3,000 pounds and tow nearly four times that much. He goes in, the dealer sells him a F150, which, without the HD option is a pretty ordinary pickup.

You just describe a coworker of mine. His DW wanted a camper, he has a 4Runner, sells the 4Runner for a fancy F150 Platinum, 3.55, 1400 payload, no tow package, integrated controller, transmission cooler, etc... Mates it to a 30' TT and can't understand why the TV struggles and it's all over the highway. The TV salesman said 'yes, this can tow a camper' while the TT salesman says 'yes, this is 1/2 ton towable'. He learned the hard, expensive way. He is so far upside down on both he is stuck.

Mine is not HD but Max Tow and does very well for me.

Ouch, I feel badly for your friend. I guess the only saving grace is he can (at his expense unfortunately) add things like uprated springs and/or bags, E-rated tires, a trans cooler, and an aftermarket brake controller...but it does stink that his salesman didn't earn some good karma and steer him towards a better-equipped version of his truck of choice.

[CKNSLS]

2112 wrote:

TomG2 wrote:
I do feel sorry for the non-expert who sees the advertisements or reads on here how a half ton can haul over 3,000 pounds and tow nearly four times that much. He goes in, the dealer sells him a F150, which, without the HD option is a pretty ordinary pickup.

You just describe a coworker of mine. His DW wanted a camper, he has a 4Runner, sells the 4Runner for a fancy F150 Platinum, 3.55, 1400 payload, no tow package, integrated controller, transmission cooler, etc... Mates it to a 30' TT and can't understand why the TV struggles and it's all over the highway. The TV salesman said 'yes, this can tow a camper' while the TT salesman says 'yes, this is 1/2 ton towable'. He learned the hard, expensive way. He is so far upside down on both he is stuck.

Mine is not HD but Max Tow and does very well for me.

There is no concept of payload with most first timers. THAT is the issue.

[2112]

TomG2 wrote:
I do feel sorry for the non-expert who sees the advertisements or reads on here how a half ton can haul over 3,000 pounds and tow nearly four times that much. He goes in, the dealer sells him a F150, which, without the HD option is a pretty ordinary pickup.

You just describe a coworker of mine. His DW wanted a camper, he has a 4Runner, sells the 4Runner for a fancy F150 Platinum, 3.55, 1400 payload, no tow package, integrated controller, transmission cooler, etc... Mates it to a 30' TT and can't understand why the TV struggles and it's all over the highway. The TV salesman said 'yes, this can tow a camper' while the TT salesman says 'yes, this is 1/2 ton towable'. He learned the hard, expensive way. He is so far upside down on both he is stuck.

Mine is not HD but Max Tow and does very well for me.

[kw_00]

I never had issues with cooling system temps on my first 1/2 ton truck. It was a 2000 Chevy 5.3 with 3.42 gears. Pulled a small 7k fiver with it for a few years. When not pulling that trailer it was used for pulling landscape trailers hauling wood. Never an issue. Had over 150k on it, sold it to my best friend who used it for camping a few more years. Never any issues with cooling or anything else for that matter... Oops well I did lose one fuel pump... But that's common for GMs though.

[Hybridhunter]

I just hauled 2000lbs with an F150 HD. I can attest to its capacity, it was hardly noticeable. Funny our abused shop truck is still fine after 3 years and 70000 overloaded CITY miles. No sign whatsoever of the abused life it lives. It replaced an F250. Nobody missed or misses the "buckboard express".

[jerem0621]

CKNSLS wrote:

maxwell11 wrote:
I guess I got a bad taste in my mouth pulling with a 1/2 ton GMC. It was a great truck driving around town,

my TT dealer told me the truck could pull my new 24ft bumper pull trailer with no problems

Problem: never had to look at the gas gauge, because my eyes were always glued to the coolant temp gauge. The truck just did not have the cooling cap to handle that load. with a auto transmission your radiator is also cooling your transmission.
That was why I traded up to a gas 3/4 ton truck, the cooling system was so much bigger, plus more power to pull the trailer and was more stable on the road.

my latest truck purchase is a Dodge diesel 2500, now I feel comfortable pulling my new 27ft bumper pull trailer and I can stop the load in a reasonable distance.

most folks that use the truck for daily use do not want a long bed, but the longer the truck, the more stable the rig on the highway, so a double cab long bed would be the best tow vehicle.

notice that is the type truck used by most camper transporters.

we just got back from a trip up into the Smoky Mountains, do not remember seeing any 1/2 ton trucks pulling travel trailers up in that area.

If you traded solely for the cooling system issue that's too bad. The cooling system could have been fixed for less than $1,000.00. Most all half-ton trucks with the proper axle could tow a 24 foot trailer with no issues. Maybe that was your trouble.

I just towed my 29 foot-5,500 pound travel trailer 8,000 miles in 8 months, with ZERO ISSUES. The truck was a 2011 Siverado Crew Cab with the 5.3. Axle ratio was 3.42 w/ a 6 speed auto.

Mine was a 1997 F150 with a 5.4, 3.55 rear axle, pulled a 31 ft 6500 lb loaded TT all over Tennessee with no problems. The temp needle never budged.

Thanks,

Jeremiah

[CKNSLS]

maxwell11 wrote:
I guess I got a bad taste in my mouth pulling with a 1/2 ton GMC. It was a great truck driving around town,

my TT dealer told me the truck could pull my new 24ft bumper pull trailer with no problems

Problem: never had to look at the gas gauge, because my eyes were always glued to the coolant temp gauge. The truck just did not have the cooling cap to handle that load. with a auto transmission your radiator is also cooling your transmission.
That was why I traded up to a gas 3/4 ton truck, the cooling system was so much bigger, plus more power to pull the trailer and was more stable on the road.

my latest truck purchase is a Dodge diesel 2500, now I feel comfortable pulling my new 27ft bumper pull trailer and I can stop the load in a reasonable distance.

most folks that use the truck for daily use do not want a long bed, but the longer the truck, the more stable the rig on the highway, so a double cab long bed would be the best tow vehicle.

notice that is the type truck used by most camper transporters.

we just got back from a trip up into the Smoky Mountains, do not remember seeing any 1/2 ton trucks pulling travel trailers up in that area.

If you traded solely for the cooling system issue that's too bad. The cooling system could have been fixed for less than $1,000.00. Most all half-ton trucks with the proper axle could tow a 24 foot trailer with no issues. Maybe that was your trouble.

I just towed my 29 foot-5,500 pound travel trailer 8,000 miles in 8 months, with ZERO ISSUES. The truck was a 2011 Siverado Crew Cab with the 5.3. Axle ratio was 3.42 w/ a 6 speed auto.

[mark5w]

smkettner wrote:
Now we just need curb weight to see how much the truck itself takes away from GCWR.

From the
2013 FORD BODY BUILDER LAYOUT BOOK : 5845 lbs 4x4 Super Crew HD Package

[time2roll]

Now we just need curb weight to see how much the truck itself takes away from GCWR.

[mark5w]

smkettner wrote:

mark5w wrote:

smkettner wrote:
8200, smallest cab, XL no other options, no passangers.

8200 crew cab, xlt, full options. Passengers are always an negative number for any GVWR.

Sticker on my door

Crew cab has lower payload than standard cab last I looked at the payload specifications on the Ford website.

http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/payload/

And for the ecoboosters the 5.0 seems to have more payload.




Total tow rating (GCWR) ecoboost is king. Although crew cab is slightly lower.

http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/towing/

Look at the ford site again, the regular, supercab, and supercrew all have a 8200 rating. Look at the asterisk for the correct option needed. Heavy duty payload.

Also, GCWR of crew cab is one of the highest.

[TomG2]

Don't get me wrong, I think Ford did a marketing masterpiece in building a F150 with enough upgrades to take the top rating. I do feel sorry for the non-expert who sees the advertisements or reads on here how a half ton can haul over 3,000 pounds and tow nearly four times that much. He goes in, the dealer sells him a F150, which, without the HD option is a pretty ordinary pickup.

[TomG2]

smkettner wrote:
"1/2 ton" is a body style not a weight rating.
F150 8200 gvwr is tops on payload in the "1/2 ton body style" line of trucks.

F150 is a body style, 1/2 ton is a weight rating. Even I know the difference between what something looks like and what it is rated to haul. One can quickly see the difference between a F150 and a HD F150, or at least I can.

[time2roll]

mark5w wrote:

smkettner wrote:
8200, smallest cab, XL no other options, no passangers.

8200 crew cab, xlt, full options. Passengers are always an negative number for any GVWR.

Sticker on my door

Crew cab has lower payload than standard cab last I looked at the payload specifications on the Ford website.

http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/payload/

And for the ecoboosters the 5.0 seems to have more payload.

Total tow rating (GCWR) ecoboost is king. Although crew cab is slightly lower.

http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/towing/

[time2roll]

"1/2 ton" is a body style not a weight rating.
F150 8200 gvwr is tops on payload in the "1/2 ton body style" line of trucks.