RavensFan24 wrote:
Here is what I found for your towing capacity:
• 3,500-lb. towing capacity with
standard rear bumper
• Can be equipped to tow trailers
up to 5,260 lbs
Source: https://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/towingguides/2003_All.pdf
Depending on the trailer, an 18' will probably be between 3500 and 4000lbs (ballpark).
May be contact your Ford dealer and ask what they'd need to add to your truck to make it properly equipped. My Tahoe has a tow package which includes engine and transmission oil coolers along with the proper hitch and wiring and more. Those features take it from a 5200lb towing capacity to 8200lbs.
If you love pickups I'd upgrade to an F-150 and get a nice 5th wheel. 🙂
NOT SO FAST..
The towing guide states UP TO 5,260 lbs but FINE PRINT also states when PROPERLY EQUIPPED.
Everyone really jumps to conclusions that the "towing guide" is the "bible".. It is not.
In reality what REALLY MATTERS is how much PAYLOAD the vehicle has available..
The trailer tongue BECOMES PAYLOAD of the vehicle and if you do not have enough payload you are out of luck..
The numbers in the towing guide ALSO ASSUME THE BASE MODEL of the vehicle, EVERY OPTION will take away payload and reduce the overall towing capacity.
Here is what the OP needs to find..
The unladen weight of the vehicle.
The GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating).
Both items should be on the drivers side door post, if unladen weight is not listed check your title, it will have it. Newer vehicles also have a tire loading sticker which LISTS THE ABSOLUTE MAX PAYLOAD the vehicle can be loaded to..
Subtract the unladen weight from the GVWR and that is the available payload.
Subtract weight of driver, passenger, fuel and any "gear" you put into the vehicle.
The result is what you have left for the tongue weight.
Now to get to the max towing weight we work in reverse.
We take the tongue weight (which must be no less than 10% and can range upwards of 15% of the trailer weight with 13% to 15% being ideal) and we will calculate the over all trailer weight for the max leftover payload..
So as an example say we have 1,100 payload, we subtract 300 lbs for driver and passenger.. That leaves 800 lbs payload.
25 gallons of fuel is about 200 lbs so that leaves us with 600 lbs.
You put 100 lbs of "gear" in the bed of the vehicle that leaves you with 500 lbs of payload left.
So 500 lbs is the max the tongue can weight.
500 lb at 10% = 5000 lb trailer
500 lb at 15% = 3333 lb trailer
Keeping in mind that those are FULLY LOADED NUMBERS, the trailer "dry weight" which everyone likes to use does not apply since NO ONE HAULS AN EMPTY TRAILER FOR CAMPING..
The trailer dry weight MUST be UNDER the max weight you calculated..
You might also NEED WD (Weight Distribution) hitch, it will also remove payload so you may need to figure that into your numbers..
OP, find the cargo or payload weight for your vehicle, it is the ONLY way to determine how much trailer you can tow..
