F150 - Over GVWR

[AndrewM]

Wife keeps wanting to buy a travel trailer and I keep telling her we have to get a small one. Like oil and water. So like so many other threads, here's my situation:

2011 F150 AWD
6.2L v8
3.73 axle
tow package with receiver, integrated brake controller, trans cooler (not max tow or HD payload)
22" wheels
Michelin Premier LTX tires 285/45R22 (2601 lb load rating)
GVWR: 7350 lbs
F&R GAWR: 3850 lbs
GCWR: 13500 lbs

Scaled weights with full tank of fuel, wife, and misc stuff in the bed. Pretty close to what it would weight ready to camp, minus the WD hitch.

Steer axle: 3780 lbs
Drive axle: 3100 lbs
Gross weight: 6880 lbs

That only leaves me 470 lbs available payload for tongue weight and hitch. Other than a tiny TT or popup, no way I'm going to stay under that. But I am 750 lbs under the RGAWR. If I aim to say under my axle ratings, my options open up some. Thoughts on exceeding my GVWR by ~300 lbs but not exceeding any other ratings?? It will just be the wife and I. Kids are grown. And this will be a temporary solution because she wants a MUCH bigger trailer. Dually territory big.

[TomG2]

They should discontinue the "Yellow stickers". If it has four tires, engine, transmission, and an emblem on the fender, it is good to go. If it was good enough for Grandpa, it is good enough today.

[badercubed]

I don't think there is a 1/2 ton truck on the market I wouldn't feel comfortable hooking up and towing a 7,000lb, 26ft trailer with.

[AndrewM]

Thunderbolt wrote:
If his truck is actually AWD instead of 4 wheel drive that is probably where the limit comes from. That's just a guess.

lbrjet wrote:
I am clueless why you would have a GCWR of 13,500 with the 6.2L/3.73 combination. Lack of cooling equipment is the only thing that would make it that low.

I agree with peeps and would tow 7K with your truck.

My truck does have AWD. In 2011, Ford had three 4-wheel drive transfer cases:

• Borg-Warner 4418 manual shift transfer case. (XL's?)
• Borg-Warner 4419 electronic shift transfer case.
• Borg-Warner one-speed torque-on-demand (TOD) transfer case. (Lariat Limited, HD)

So I have 4x2, AWD, 4x4 high.

In 2012, the TOD transfer case added 4L, so those trucks had 4x2, 4Auto, 4x4 high, 4x4 low.

[Thunderbolt]

If his truck is actually AWD instead of 4 wheel drive that is probably where the limit comes from. That's just a guess.

lbrjet wrote:
I am clueless why you would have a GCWR of 13,500 with the 6.2L/3.73 combination. Lack of cooling equipment is the only thing that would make it that low.

I agree with peeps and would tow 7K with your truck.

[AndrewM]

For some reason Ford limited the tow capacity of the Harley Davidson and Limited editions. But other than 22" wheels, it's no different than any other trim level (minus max tow and HD payload). It has receiver hitch, 7/4 pin plug, transmission cooler and trailer brake controller. It has a low payload because it literally has every option available. Plus the 6.2 is a heavy engine. Then I added a ARE hard tonneau cover and sprayed in bed liner. I've had the bed loaded full of equipment for work, four guys in the cab, and a 3500 lb cargo trailer wo brakes. Truck performed flawlessly. Thinking back, I had to have been way over my GVWR then.

[jerem0621]

lbrjet wrote:
I am clueless why you would have a GCWR of 13,500 with the 6.2L/3.73 combination. Lack of cooling equipment is the only thing that would make it that low.

I agree with peeps and would tow 7K with your truck.

Maybe it's a Raptor?....on edit...should have looked at the OP's sig :S

[lbrjet]

I am clueless why you would have a GCWR of 13,500 with the 6.2L/3.73 combination. Lack of cooling equipment is the only thing that would make it that low.

I agree with peeps and would tow 7K with your truck.

[Nate1979]

Wow, your truck is heavy. My last truck, a 2012 1500 Silverado weighed 5900lb loaded.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Here's where I'm at on this deal.

My dad towed a 7,000lb TT twice to Alaska with a 69 Chevy half ton. This truck had a 12 bolt with 3.73 gears, a 350 and a turbo 400 and drum brakes all the way around. He also did 10's of thousands of miles across the US with the same combo. He also had a cap on the truck that weighed about 300lbs or so and a 15' aluminum Gregor on top of that which weighed about the same. He also loaded the bed with a 50lb+ outboard motor, tackle, poles and a freezer....yes a freezer to keep the fish he caught up there!

The truck you has about twice the power if not more. It has a WaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaY better engine, a Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better tranny and the brakes aren't even in the same universe as the 4 wheel drums he and I had.

I also towed a car trailer with a 3,200 lb race car on it with this truck for many, many years. Never a problem with handling or any other problem.


The bottom line for me is your truck is light years and then some ahead of the truck I had up to a few years ago. It is FAR superior in every single category.

I would tow a 7,000 lb trailer with your truck in a heart beat no matter what that little mylar sticker on the door says.

But that's just me. If you feel you need a class 4 truck to pull a 7,000, lb TT like some on this board do; buy one. Better yet, buy a class 8 truck because you never know when your going to move up in trailer size. :B

[BenK]

OP...since an engineer (hope in the hardware side)...you should understand 'duty cycle rating'

Yes, over loading just a few hundred won't have the wheels instantly fall off...but
they will sooner than if under the rating

One of my first mentors while still in college taught me much...two that apply
here....

#1 Design it for the idiot and gorilla, as if they can mis-use it and/or break it...they will

#2 Design it to the specification and beyond to the company specified margins

Should add that all things designed/engineered are NOT for the good days out there,
but for the day Mr Murphy crossed your path. Either your spec plus margin is
enough or not

That is where the fine print of all ratings and specifications kicks in...they
are modifiers to the specification numbers...AKA CYA legalese, weasel words...

[jerem0621]

Op...great job on getting the actual numbers.

I loved my F150...loved that truck....

I ended up with a F350 Dually because overload situations are one of those things that keep me up at night. I know the F150 is capable...mine towed my 32 ft ft like a boss...yet I knew I was close.

Some people can live on the ragged edge of ratings...some can even live past the edge...some get by with it for years and years...others are not so lucky.

Funny thing about Mr. Murphy and Mr. Luck...neither are certain...but can be mitigated with proper planning...proper equipment...proper experience.

A HD truck helps you prepare for those days when Mr Murphy is riding in the truck with you...and Mr. Luck is on vacation... Then...when Mr Murphy strikes...is not the time to shop for the right vehicle....set up the hitch right..check the tire pressure...balance the load...no...when Mr. Murphy strikes you have to rely on your preparedness and your planning and your prep work.

Right move getting a Dually now...you will be able to manhandle the trailer when Mr. Murphy is there.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[AndrewM]

Thanks for the replies. We did find a TT with a rear kitchen, which would make it easier to load the trailer closer to 10-12% tongue weight versus 13-15%. Dry, it's at 10.7%. As an engineer myself, I really hate playing close numbers games like this. But I also recognize safety factors, so I doubt my truck will explode with a few hundred lbs extra payload.

Also, no mountains anywhere near here. Biggest hill around here is the landfill. It's bound to handle better than my previous 2002 Dodge Dakota and 19 ft travel trailer, which was perfectly acceptable.

I keep talking myself into and out of this. Just need to be convinced it won't be unsafe for towing in the southeast US.

[rhagfo]

AndrewM wrote:
Wife keeps wanting to buy a travel trailer and I keep telling her we have to get a small one. Like oil and water. So like so many other threads, here's my situation:

2011 F150 AWD
6.2L v8
3.73 axle
tow package with receiver, integrated brake controller, trans cooler (not max tow or HD payload)
22" wheels
Michelin Premier LTX tires 285/45R22 (2601 lb load rating)
GVWR: 7350 lbs
F&R GAWR: 3850 lbs
GCWR: 13500 lbs

Scaled weights with full tank of fuel, wife, and misc stuff in the bed. Pretty close to what it would weight ready to camp, minus the WD hitch.

Steer axle: 3780 lbs
Drive axle: 3100 lbs
Gross weight: 6880 lbs

That only leaves me 470 lbs available payload for tongue weight and hitch. Other than a tiny TT or popup, no way I'm going to stay under that. But I am 750 lbs under the RGAWR. If I aim to say under my axle ratings, my options open up some. Thoughts on exceeding my GVWR by ~300 lbs but not exceeding any other ratings?? It will just be the wife and I. Kids are grown. And this will be a temporary solution because she wants a MUCH bigger trailer. Dually territory big.

SouthpawHD wrote:
How do only have 470 pounds of available payload? Seems low to me. What is the payload per the yellow sticker?

Also, verify your owner's manual about a full tank of fuel, I know some manufacturers say that is already included before calculating what is available (per the sticker).

Also, maybe you could take some stuff out of the bed of your truck to give you some more capacity. The 6.2L motor is quite capable to tow, now you just need to give your suspension a chance to tow it.

Really doesn't matter what the Yellow sticker states!!

The OP did things the correct way, loaded the truck as ready to camp then headed to the scales, and had the truck weighed!!

Then subtracted the scale weight from the trucks listed GVWR, getting available payload.

AndrewM, I wish we could get first post like this all the time makes answering questions much easier!

Even at 750# you will not find a lot of TT that you will be happy with.

See what you can do to get a bigger TV, depending on DW desires, either a 350/3500 SRW, or really cover 99 percent of your bases with a 350/3500 DRW.

[ronharmless]

You have an F150 that weighs almost 6900 lbs. I think you need to take that cord of firewood out of the bed of the truck.

[TomG2]

Congratulations for getting scale weights instead of guessing, like most do on here. Let you wife read some of the descriptions of what it is like to drive an overloaded tow vehicle or let her find out on a deserted piece of highway. Get the Supersprings, Timbrens, LT tires, exotic hitches, and other band aids if you like spending money. Otherwise, lighten your load and tow a lightweight trailer until you have a more capable tow vehicle.