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Finally Hooked up the new F350 to the Trailer

OBSPowerstroke
Explorer
Explorer
I've had my '16 F350 6.7 Powerstroke for about two months now and finally had the opportunity to hook it up to the travel trailer yesterday between a break in the rain and not having to work. The main reason I pulled the trailer out was to make sure I didn't have to make any adjustments to the WDH when I transferred it from the old truck. Fortunately I didn't have to touch it at all. There is some fine tuning I could have done, as all hooked up, the trailer is about 1" lower in front than the rear, but I plan on upgrading to taller tires, which should have the trailer set perfectly level.

Since the trailer was already hooked up and I saved time not having to mess with the hitch, I decided to take it for a quick drive to the closest scales about 15 miles away to get a feel for the new setup before taking it on an official outing. The 6.7 pulls like a freight train and is night and day difference from my old 7.3 in terms of power and comfort. I couldn't believe I was merging on the freeway at the speed limit and not even pushing the truck. In my old truck, I would have had that thing wrung out to get up to freeway speeds on that same ramp.

I was surprised by a lot of the weights I recorded, especially the tongue weight of 1,100 pounds for the trailer! This is with the trailer fully winterized, all tanks empty, and no clothes or food onboard. A full fresh water tank would probably reduce the tongue weight slightly since its aft of the rear axle. I find it really funny that this trailer was advertised as 1/2 ton towable when I bought it, yet the 1,100 tongue weight would use up all the cargo capacity of most 1/2 tons before loading people or gear into the truck!

Some other interesting weights include the truck by itself with a typical load of camping gear in the back coming in at a surprising 8,850 pounds and the whole combination weighing in at 14,900. I weighed all the axles individually both with the WD bars installed and removed and found that with the WD bars installed, I only lost 150 pounds of weight off the front axle of the truck versus empty and the trailer axles came in at 2,500 lbs for the front and 2,650 for the rear. It seems odd the rear axle of the trailer is carrying more weight, but I'm well within the 3,000 lb axle rating. With no WD bars attached, I lost 250 lb off the front axle of the truck and the rear axle carried an additional 400 pounds.

I knew I wasn't going to run into any capacity issues with the new truck, but it's nice having a general idea of where things stand. Now I can't wait to take it out on its first real trip!

Below are a couple pics I took yesterday with everything hooked up:



Josh
'16 Ford F350
'11 Komfort Resort 240RK
Portland, OR
13 REPLIES 13

RedRocket204
Explorer
Explorer
OBSPowerstroke wrote:
I bought the truck as a 10+ year investment and made sure to get the camper and 5th-wheel prep package so that the truck could handle any change I make in what type of RV I want in the future. I'm more likely to go truck camper on my next RV, but I wanted the 5th wheel prep on there just in case. Plus I'm sure these options won't hurt resale...


Just a FYI on Truck Campers/slide-ins. I've got the '11 version of what looks like the same configuration you have. My payload sticker shows at 3263 lbs. I've been researching on Truck Campers and even with the Camper Package, seems I will still be very limited to what slide-in camper I should be comfortable with. In my research, seems I'm looking at 2000 - 2200 pounds for the truck camper which is almost always a camper without a slide. I will also be looking to tow my lightweight ATV trailer with the camper.

All of those really nice Arctic Fox slide-in campers are on the range of 3200 - 4500 pounds dry. Those are more in the range of DRW or 450.


Looks like a very nice truck you got there and I really like the color. My truck pulls my 8500-9000 lbs TT, with my 700 lbs ATV in the truck bed, through the high altitude with no problem. This 6.7L motor is very strong.
I love me some land yachting

Redterpos3
Explorer
Explorer
Me too! I just hooked up and towed to see how it did for my first time. Had my truck now 2 1/2 wks. My setup was off by 5" from my Van, I could move my hitch 3 1/2" and it seems to be good. My RV place said that if they adjusted any more it would just be off the other way a bit. But the fridge is level, and the rig looked level on their concrete pad that was level.

My rig towed great!! It was a joy, and I loved the exhaust brake down the hill near my house. Very controlled descent! And going up was simple now!

ENJOY!! Congrats!
The Travelin' Terrapins!
2016 Ford F-350 SRW;CC;4x4;172WB;6.7PSD;34,000m
2011 Nash 27T 12,995m
2013 Yr1 30nts 3150m
2014 Yr2 52nts 3365m
2015 yr3 25nts 2260m
2016 yr4 46nts 2500m
2017 yr5 24nts 1720m
2018 yr6 4nts 30m

FishOnOne
Explorer III
Explorer III
blofgren wrote:
OBSPowerstroke wrote:
FishOnOne wrote:
Looks like a jewel... These new Power Strokes run like a Stang and pull like a Clydesdale.

We recently purchased a new Conventional camper and enjoy it much better than the fiver.


Thanks FishOnOne and everyone else for the compliments! I bought the truck as a 10+ year investment and made sure to get the camper and 5th-wheel prep package so that the truck could handle any change I make in what type of RV I want in the future. I'm more likely to go truck camper on my next RV, but I wanted the 5th wheel prep on there just in case. Plus I'm sure these options won't hurt resale...


Very nice truck, OP. I wish you many happy travels with it. Be warned though, a bigger camper usually follows shortly after; ask me how I know :B

Not to derail the thread, but out of curiosity Fish what do you like about your new travel trailer over the fiver? I have thought about how it would be nice to have the bed of the truck available with a travel trailer but really like how the fiver tows.


We feel like a conventional camper provides more liveable space
'12 Ford Super Duty FX4 ELD CC 6.7 PSD 400HP 800ft/lbs "270k Miles"
'16 Sprinter 319MKS "Wide Body"

OBSPowerstroke
Explorer
Explorer
Bedlam wrote:
I wonder if dropping one hole in the WDH would even out the trailer axle weights? It looks good sitting behind the truck, but slight nose down does not hurt. You may find as you load the truck and trailer up for a trip it will set a little more down anyway.


Yeah, I'll likely dial in the WDH setup a bit more once I get my bigger tires and have both the truck and trailer fully loaded for a longer trip. At least I now know I can comfortably do a couple weekend trips to the coast this winter.
Josh
'16 Ford F350
'11 Komfort Resort 240RK
Portland, OR

OBSPowerstroke
Explorer
Explorer
campigloo wrote:
Keep an eye on the speedo. A friend asked if I had and trouble keeping it at 70. Ha! The problem is keeping it under 70. Congrats, enjoy it.


Ha! I can already tell I'm going to have to pay more attention to the speedometer. I took the truck to Idaho for Thanksgiving, and in one of the 80 MPH zones I looked down at one point and noticed I had crept up to 90 without even realizing it! I always knew when I got above 75 in my 7.3 between the noise and vibrations. This truck, smooth as glass at that speed.
Josh
'16 Ford F350
'11 Komfort Resort 240RK
Portland, OR

Bedlam
Moderator
Moderator
I wonder if dropping one hole in the WDH would even out the trailer axle weights? It looks good sitting behind the truck, but slight nose down does not hurt. You may find as you load the truck and trailer up for a trip it will set a little more down anyway.

Host Mammoth 11.5 on Ram 5500 HD

blofgren
Explorer
Explorer
OBSPowerstroke wrote:
FishOnOne wrote:
Looks like a jewel... These new Power Strokes run like a Stang and pull like a Clydesdale.

We recently purchased a new Conventional camper and enjoy it much better than the fiver.


Thanks FishOnOne and everyone else for the compliments! I bought the truck as a 10+ year investment and made sure to get the camper and 5th-wheel prep package so that the truck could handle any change I make in what type of RV I want in the future. I'm more likely to go truck camper on my next RV, but I wanted the 5th wheel prep on there just in case. Plus I'm sure these options won't hurt resale...


Very nice truck, OP. I wish you many happy travels with it. Be warned though, a bigger camper usually follows shortly after; ask me how I know :B

Not to derail the thread, but out of curiosity Fish what do you like about your new travel trailer over the fiver? I have thought about how it would be nice to have the bed of the truck available with a travel trailer but really like how the fiver tows.
2013 Ram 3500 Megacab DRW Laramie 4x4, 6.7L Cummins, G56, 3.73, Maximum Steel, black lthr, B&W RVK3670 hitch, Retrax, Linex, and a bunch of options incl. cargo camera
2008 Corsair Excella Platinum 34.5 CKTS fifth wheel with winter package & disc brakes

campigloo
Explorer
Explorer
Nice truck! My trailer is about the same size as yours. About 1200 on the tongue loaded. I too got out of a 7.3. I also had a Banks git kit on it, so it would run. Traded up to a Cummins 6.7 in 2012. Man what a difference. You'll be amazed the first time you really need some get up and go! Keep an eye on the speedo. A friend asked if I had and trouble keeping it at 70. Ha! The problem is keeping it under 70. Congrats, enjoy it.

OBSPowerstroke
Explorer
Explorer
FishOnOne wrote:
Looks like a jewel... These new Power Strokes run like a Stang and pull like a Clydesdale.

We recently purchased a new Conventional camper and enjoy it much better than the fiver.


Thanks FishOnOne and everyone else for the compliments! I bought the truck as a 10+ year investment and made sure to get the camper and 5th-wheel prep package so that the truck could handle any change I make in what type of RV I want in the future. I'm more likely to go truck camper on my next RV, but I wanted the 5th wheel prep on there just in case. Plus I'm sure these options won't hurt resale...
Josh
'16 Ford F350
'11 Komfort Resort 240RK
Portland, OR

OBSPowerstroke
Explorer
Explorer
Old-Biscuit wrote:
Curious.....

Do you have trailer weights with it loaded up 'camp ready'?

Right now with it empty you only have 500# of capacity on front axle and 350# capacity on rear axle before being at axle weight ratings. (2500/2650----3000AWR)
That is running pretty close with an empty trailer.
And 1100# tongue weight on an empty trailer :H

(14,900# combined weight minus 8850# truck weight -------6050# trailer. 1100# tongue weight on a 6050# is 18%)


I have weighed the trailer quite a few times fully loaded for two weeks and with 50 gallons of fresh water and have never been over the axle ratings, but I've been right there. Obviously they should have put at least 3,500 pound axles on it when it was built, but we all know how much manufacturers like to cut corners. My friend's Lance 1575 is at or slightly over it's axle rating all the time and they haul light, knowing its limitations and they've still experienced a blowout on a gravel road that resulted in them buying new wheels and commercial highway rib tires to at least make sure the tires were up to the job.

I wouldn't hesitate putting better axles under mine if I had to, but this trailer has seen probably close to 30K miles all over the western US, including some rough logging roads, and I've never had an axle related issue. I installed some Maxxis D-rated tires (upgrade from the stock C-rated China bombs) and got it properly aligned 1.5 years after I bought it and the tires are still looking great.

As far as the tongue weight, it's always been a heavy beast, which I'm guessing is due to the axles being so far back on the trailer. I also have two 7 gallon propane tanks and two 6-volt golf cart batteries mounted up front, which doesn't help. The under-bed storage is packed full of gear, and I plan on going through there this winter to get rid of some of the extra weight, but, best case, is I'll pull out 50 pounds of unnecessary gear at most. I don't mind the heavy tongue though, as both my trucks can handle the weight, and the trailer is extremely stable to tow. The trailer A-frame was replaced in August with much heavier grade of tubing since the original one started buckling. The shop that did the work also put in a ton of reinforcement on the front end. I'm sure all the additional steel from that repair is also contributing to the very heavy nose.
Josh
'16 Ford F350
'11 Komfort Resort 240RK
Portland, OR

FishOnOne
Explorer III
Explorer III
Looks like a jewel... These new Power Strokes run like a Stang and pull like a Clydesdale.

We recently purchased a new Conventional camper and enjoy it much better than the fiver.
'12 Ford Super Duty FX4 ELD CC 6.7 PSD 400HP 800ft/lbs "270k Miles"
'16 Sprinter 319MKS "Wide Body"

Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Explorer III
Nice looking combo.............and that 6.7L shouldn't even cough with that trailer in tow!

Curious.....

Do you have trailer weights with it loaded up 'camp ready'?

Right now with it empty you only have 500# of capacity on front axle and 350# capacity on rear axle before being at axle weight ratings. (2500/2650----3000AWR)
That is running pretty close with an empty trailer.
And 1100# tongue weight on an empty trailer :H

(14,900# combined weight minus 8850# truck weight -------6050# trailer. 1100# tongue weight on a 6050# is 18%)
Is it time for your medication or mine?


2007 DODGE 3500 QC SRW 5.9L CTD In-Bed 'quiet gen'
2007 HitchHiker II 32.5 UKTG 2000W Xantex Inverter
US NAVY------USS Decatur DDG31

romore
Explorer II
Explorer II
That is a very nice set up. :C Congratulations!!!