I want to up grade from a TAG pull behind to a 5th wheeler and I am getting different weights that I can tow safely. I have called Ford dealers, RV dealers and even the Ford Motor co and all tel me I can pull anywhere from 8000 lbs (I know this can't be right), 10,000 lbs to 12,000 lbs to 13,400lbs. I have a 2002 Ford Diesel crew cab w/70,000 miles,7.3L engine and a 3.73 rear end ratio. The Ford people told me the truck came with a standard trailer towing package. I am finding too many folks seem to throw caution to the wind and tell me "man you can pull anything with that truck" I know that's, BS. I want to buy something that I can pull on the flats and hills in Alabama but also pull in the mountains in Tennessee. Advice is appreciated.

if you keep it under 10k dry you'll probably be ok

A mechanic should be able to tell you what you have for towing gear on your truck... suspension, transmission cooler, etc...Does your vehicle not have any labels on it to tell you the info you need? Max towing capacity, gross combined vehicle rating, rear axle weight rating etc... Even the users manual for the truck should give you some of the info you need.

I had that exact truck- 2002 crew 4x4 7.3L F250- and here are my thoughts which I recently posted in a similar thread:Your GVW is 8,800lb. Back then, the ONLY difference between F250s and F350s was the height of the spring block and the presence of an overload spring on the F350. F250s with the "camper pkg," which mine had, got the overload spring.F350s of that era had a 9,900lb GVW. IF you have the overload spring and/or you add airbags, I feel that, for that particular model year and truck, you can think of your GVW as 9,900lb and totally get away with it, without (IMO) compromising safety or reliability.9,900lb GVW minus ~7400lb curb weight = ~2500lb of payload. That's the number I'd work with in shopping for your fiver. Add up what you, the family, and your gear weigh, subtract that from 2500lb, and there's your pin weight limit.

First off, power is NOT the issue. What will kill you first, will be payload! If you have say 1000 lbs of free payload, a tag needs 10% or so hitch wt, or around 10Klbs of trailer. A 5w needs 20-25% HW, so if you have 1000 lbs of payload, you can tow a 4-5K lbs trailer! OR another way, a 10K tag will have 1000-1500 lbs of hw, which needs to be carried by the truck. A 5w will need 2000-2500 lbs of hw! You can not pull as big a 5w with a given size payload truck, as you can a tag! Unlike a lot of people opinions on this. With diesel crew cab trucks, the issue will be payload, or lack there of! This is ANY brand diesel. Marty

luggage wrote:I want to up grade from a TAG pull behind to a 5th wheeler and I am getting different weights that I can tow safely. I have called Ford dealers, RV dealers and even the Ford Motor co and all tel me I can pull anywhere from 8000 lbs (I know this can't be right), 10,000 lbs to 12,000 lbs to 13,400lbs. I have a 2002 Ford Diesel crew cab w/70,000 miles,7.3L engine and a 3.73 rear end ratio. The Ford people told me the truck came with a standard trailer towing package. I am finding too many folks seem to throw caution to the wind and tell me "man you can pull anything with that truck" I know that's, BS. I want to buy something that I can pull on the flats and hills in Alabama but also pull in the mountains in Tennessee. Advice is appreciated.Can Ford tell you what the actual "GVWR" (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) is for your specific truck? Is there a sticker/tag anywhere that tells you? Check doorjambs, glove box, etc.

confusion over weight I can tow | Good Sam Community

hammer21661
Explorer
May 06, 2013
if you keep it under 10k dry you'll probably be ok
Thomson7
Explorer
May 06, 2013
A mechanic should be able to tell you what you have for towing gear on your truck... suspension, transmission cooler, etc...

Does your vehicle not have any labels on it to tell you the info you need? Max towing capacity, gross combined vehicle rating, rear axle weight rating etc... Even the users manual for the truck should give you some of the info you need.
bmanning
Explorer
May 06, 2013
I had that exact truck- 2002 crew 4x4 7.3L F250- and here are my thoughts which I recently posted in a similar thread:

Your GVW is 8,800lb. Back then, the ONLY difference between F250s and F350s was the height of the spring block and the presence of an overload spring on the F350. F250s with the "camper pkg," which mine had, got the overload spring.

F350s of that era had a 9,900lb GVW.

IF you have the overload spring and/or you add airbags, I feel that, for that particular model year and truck, you can think of your GVW as 9,900lb and totally get away with it, without (IMO) compromising safety or reliability.

9,900lb GVW minus ~7400lb curb weight = ~2500lb of payload. That's the number I'd work with in shopping for your fiver. Add up what you, the family, and your gear weigh, subtract that from 2500lb, and there's your pin weight limit.
blt2ski
Moderator
May 06, 2013
First off, power is NOT the issue. What will kill you first, will be payload! If you have say 1000 lbs of free payload, a tag needs 10% or so hitch wt, or around 10Klbs of trailer. A 5w needs 20-25% HW, so if you have 1000 lbs of payload, you can tow a 4-5K lbs trailer!

OR another way, a 10K tag will have 1000-1500 lbs of hw, which needs to be carried by the truck. A 5w will need 2000-2500 lbs of hw! You can not pull as big a 5w with a given size payload truck, as you can a tag! Unlike a lot of people opinions on this.

With diesel crew cab trucks, the issue will be payload, or lack there of! This is ANY brand diesel.

Marty
ependydad
Explorer
May 06, 2013
luggage wrote:
I want to up grade from a TAG pull behind to a 5th wheeler and I am getting different weights that I can tow safely. I have called Ford dealers, RV dealers and even the Ford Motor co and all tel me I can pull anywhere from 8000 lbs (I know this can't be right), 10,000 lbs to 12,000 lbs to 13,400lbs. I have a 2002 Ford Diesel crew cab w/70,000 miles,7.3L engine and a 3.73 rear end ratio. The Ford people told me the truck came with a standard trailer towing package. I am finding too many folks seem to throw caution to the wind and tell me "man you can pull anything with that truck" I know that's, BS. I want to buy something that I can pull on the flats and hills in Alabama but also pull in the mountains in Tennessee. Advice is appreciated.

Can Ford tell you what the actual "GVWR" (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) is for your specific truck? Is there a sticker/tag anywhere that tells you? Check doorjambs, glove box, etc.
skipnchar
Explorer
May 06, 2013
I had a similar truck (2004 model) which has a 12,000 lb. tow rating. Your REAL weight limit for a 3/4 ton truck will be the available payload of the truck as it relates to the PIN weight. YOu mentioned SAFELY towing which indicates you need to watch SAFETY related limits which are GVWR and GAWR of the truck (both located on the DOT SAFETY plate on your door post (required by federal law). Max trailer weight is a warranty issue and it's not likely you have any warranty left on a 2001 model truck. That's the REASON it is not on the safety plate.
Good luck / Skip
sail2liv
Explorer
May 06, 2013
Stay 1000 lbs below GCWR.....Stay below TV front/rear axle WR...weigh TV at CCAT with people/cargo for camping and add 5th wheel hitch weight to that...if one not installed....try and load a 100 lbs where the hitch will be before you weigh to get a better picture of axle weight on each axle...then you can apply the numbers to see what size trailer you can get.....Subtract rear axle weight from rear axle WR to get pin weight...Subtract TV total axle weight + 1000 from GCRW to get max trailer weight.....this is a starting point then apply all the number and make sure your vehicles fall in correct limits.....good luck
JIMNLIN
Explorer III
May 06, 2013
Looking at Fords '02 fleet service spec sheets shows a '02 F350 DRW crew cab 3.73 axle 7.3 diesel has a 12500 lb tow rating.
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/topics/techspec.html.

Check it out to your satisfaction.
rhagfo
Explorer III
May 06, 2013
sail2liv wrote:
Stay 1000 lbs below GCWR.....Stay below TV front/rear axle WR...weigh TV at CCAT with people/cargo for camping and add 5th wheel hitch weight to that...if one not installed....try and load a 100 lbs where the hitch will be before you weigh to get a better picture of axle weight on each axle...then you can apply the numbers to see what size trailer you can get.....Subtract rear axle weight from rear axle WR to get pin weight...Subtract TV total axle weight + 1000 from GCRW to get max trailer weight.....this is a starting point then apply all the number and make sure your vehicles fall in correct limits.....good luck

It's a diesel, the best Ford ever put in it's trucks, take it right up to the GCVWR!
blt2ski
Moderator
May 07, 2013
rhagfo wrote:
sail2liv wrote:
Stay 1000 lbs below GCWR.....Stay below TV front/rear axle WR...weigh TV at CCAT with people/cargo for camping and add 5th wheel hitch weight to that...if one not installed....try and load a 100 lbs where the hitch will be before you weigh to get a better picture of axle weight on each axle...then you can apply the numbers to see what size trailer you can get.....Subtract rear axle weight from rear axle WR to get pin weight...Subtract TV total axle weight + 1000 from GCRW to get max trailer weight.....this is a starting point then apply all the number and make sure your vehicles fall in correct limits.....good luck

It's a diesel, the best Ford ever put in it's trucks, take it right up to the GCVWR!

That motor as ALL the IHC V8 diesels Ford used, can be had in rigs as high as 35-40K gcwr! Does one really think/feel that this motor will not be able to handle 20K gcwr?!?!?!? Probably do just fine. Even my IDI7.3 has a gcwr in a class 6 of 35K lbs, yet ford only gave it at best a 16 to 18 gcwr!

At the end of the day, it will be payload that will kill this truck! as it does for most pickups! of any size or gvwr depending upon what it is you want to tow! Especially 5w/gooseneck style trailers!

Marty