How big of a truck do you need?

[WCMLSX]

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.

[yillb]

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]

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]

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]

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]

A 3 valve 4.6 with the 6 speed is an entirely different animal than a 2v with 4 speed.

[js6343js6343]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[stevenicol]

...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!

[TurnThePage]

My '97 F150 with 4.6 couldn't get out of its own way. It sounds like yours is much more capable. I wouldn't get near that 7800 lb limit, and I'd probably stay away from any major mountain ranges, but that 6 speed transmission will help a lot compared to the old 4 speed. The truck itself should be very capable of handling the trailer you're considering.

[WCMLSX]

Max trailer weight according to the manual is 7800 pounds.

[KD4UPL]

So what's the tow rating of the truck. I would think that would be an important consideration but haven't seen it mentioned.
OP, the truck's GVWR is NOT it's tow capacity, the tow capacity will be found in the owner's manual.