Hi folks. I am new to the RV world and this will be my first purchase. I have a Ford F150 XLT (2 wheel drive) with the 4.6L V8. It has a trailer package installed. The listed gross vehicle capacity is 7800 pounds. I have set a limit of 5000 pounds dry weight for my RV purchase. This may limit me a bit to what I can buy, but I am finding several that I like right around this weight. Weight wise, am I setting my sites too high? Too low? From what I have observed on the highway, it appears that most trailers (TT or 5th wheel) are being pulled by Super Duty type pickups. Will my 1/2 ton be out of its league? Thanks for your input.

Forget dry weight, nobody travels with a bare bones trailer straight off the carrier. You need to be more concerned with how much it is loaded with propane, water, groceries, bedding etc. Did I mention beer and Cheetos?That trailer will weigh 7,000 + lb ready to go. Having tried towing with a 4.0 Ranger I would suggest your F-150 won't be up to the task. Power won't be there, handling will be marginal and gas mileage will be somewhere south of Argentina.

Do you understand what dry weight is?

My TT has a GVWR of #5000... Towed it with a 97 F150 with the 5.4 in it and it did pretty good for the most part...I only had the 4 speed trans and 3.55 gears, but I was in 2nd gear on most grades over 4 percent.. Towing on the flats, 3rd was best for all around towing. It would go into 4th going down hill or on the flats with a tail wind.. ;)But, it towed it comfortably, no sway, no worries.. Just had to deal with the high rpms.. Not a bad thing, really, but....Then I got my current F150.. Tow the same TT with it and OMG... What a different towing experience it is..My wife and I can actually hear the radio or carry on a conversation while pulling a grade now.. I have never had to 'mat' the gas pedal going up a grade, or just trying to merge into traffic with the new truck.. With the old 97... Well, that pedal went to the floor at times..JMO, but I'd stick to something in the #5000 GVWR for a TT with the 4.6... Good luck!Mitch

If you keep your loaded weight to about 6500 or less you should be fine, 300/320 and a 6 speed will get that kind of weight going just fine unless you have the least tow friendly gears. For comparison the fast lane truck guys took a 2016 GMC with the 5.3 (350/380) and pulled a 9,000lb horse trailer up the Ike (11,000 feet, 7 percent grade), 60/60 isn't going to make a 33 percent lighter trailer any more difficult to tow.

You will be close to maxed out. I believe with the 6 speed trans the truck will pull and stop ok. More than likely you will be less than impressed with its towing ability. Where you will really notice the lack of power and stability is on longer days, you will stop in the evening and be exhausted from driving.

How big of a truck do you need? | Good Sam Community

yillb
Explorer
Jun 11, 2017
WCMLSX wrote:
Thanks for the input folks. Yes I understand what dry weight is. We honestly do not plan on traveling with the TT loaded. Granted a 40 gallon water tank and full propane tanks will add about 400 pounds, but otherwise, we plan on buying food, etc, when we get to the destination. Our goal will be to keep the total traveling weight at 6000 or less.

I thought the exact same thing. Come back in three months this and let us know how that goes, guarantee it won't stay that way. No matter how hard you try lol
GrandpaKip
Explorer II
Jun 11, 2017
stevenicol wrote:
...if you will be driving your current combination, please notify us when you will be on the road so that we can choose to stay off it!

I am the most confident pulling a camping trailer, loaded or not with a vehicle which is way more than necessary. If I ever have an incident with high wind gust, a trailer tire blow-out, or an accident, I want to have the most control possible; this means having a vehicle stout enough to handle any bad situation.

Please carefully evaluate your RVing choices before planning and embarking on any excursion; this forum is a good start!

Good luck, and happy RVing!

Perhaps all of us without "stout" vehicles should post our itinerary.
WCMLSX
Explorer
Jun 11, 2017
stevenicol

Thanks for the comment. I will be happy to let you know when I am on the road so you can stay off. Less traffic.
WCMLSX
Explorer
Jun 11, 2017
Thanks for all the posts and suggestions. We settled on a 4000 pound dry weight TT and planning on going conservative with loading it. We will see how the 4.6L 3V, 6 speed handles it.
seaeagle2
Explorer
Jun 11, 2017
A 3 valve 4.6 with the 6 speed is an entirely different animal than a 2v with 4 speed.
js6343js6343
Explorer
Jun 11, 2017
For what it is worth. My TT is 8,250 dry. My suburban 2500 with an 8.1 liter is rated for 12,000.

I still wish I had more truck. No joke.

I know it sounds extreme, but I believe it. Get as much truck as you can reasonably afford. Or go lighter than you think you need to.
Fireballsocal
Explorer
Jun 10, 2017
IdaD wrote:
harley-dave wrote:
We travel with propane full, water only 5-6 gallons for the toilet. Why carry unnecessary weight. If boon docking fill towards the destination when possible. If not boon docking we never fill the tank, run off park water.

Dave

Where does one fill a water tank in the woods?

I always travel with a full fresh tank, even on the relatively rare occasions when I'm going to a place with hookups. I like to be prepared.

I boondock almost exclusively and always start out from the house fully loaded, with full freshwater tank and all my gear. I know my water is clean and that, barring a leak, will have what I need when I get to my destination. I can understand those that try to stay light but for me, it's not convenient to try and save a few hundred pounds. My little 4.7L tundra does just fine.
Hannibal
Explorer
Jun 10, 2017
We towed a 4400 lb weighed ready to roll TT with a '94 F150 with 300cid I6, 5spd manual and 3.08 rear end way back when. Maybe my expectations weren't high but I thought it did a fine job around the south east with one trip to Cherokee NC.
IdaD
Explorer
Jun 10, 2017
harley-dave wrote:
We travel with propane full, water only 5-6 gallons for the toilet. Why carry unnecessary weight. If boon docking fill towards the destination when possible. If not boon docking we never fill the tank, run off park water.

Dave

Where does one fill a water tank in the woods?

I always travel with a full fresh tank, even on the relatively rare occasions when I'm going to a place with hookups. I like to be prepared.
drsteve
Explorer
Jun 10, 2017
For most half ton trucks, payload is the limiting factor. The tongue weight of the trailer is the number to worry about, because it counts against your payload. Too much tongue weight and you run out of capacity to carry passengers and cargo. A trailer in the 5000-6000 lb. range loaded will generally have a tongue weight of 650-800 lb.

Your truck's payload capacity is on the tire loading sticker.

Forum Discussion

How big of a truck do you need?

About Travel Trailer Group

Related Content

Truck

Truck warranty

Does a truck need anti sway bars carry a camper?

Truck caps

Which Truck?