New F-150 with 13,200 lb tow rating!

[KC10Chief]

I just purchased a brand new 2018 F-150 Lariat with the 3.5L Ecoboost motor a couple nights ago. It has the max tow package and the 3.55 gears giving it a tow rating of 13,200 pounds! I used to have a 2002 F-250 with the 7.3L diesel and I don't think the tow rating was much more than that. That truck had a lot more torque though.

So anyways, I realize that I'd have to be insane to try and tow 13,200 with my new truck. I'm no stranger to towing. We want a travel trailer. It's me, my wife and our 12 year old daughter. I didn't want to spring for a 3/4 ton or more right now since I'll be using this truck on my commute and I need it to fit in my garage. HA! The 1/2 ton made the most sense. When we had a travel trailer ten years ago, we used it all the time. I suspect we will be in it at least every other weekend. Probably camping within 100 miles of home which is Oklahoma City. It's fairly flat around here but there are some hills.

I've always kind of told people who don't know anything about towing, to never exceed 80% of your vehicles tow rating with a gas motor. For my truck though, that's over 10,500 pounds! That just seems excessive to me for a 1/2 ton truck. These newer trucks with smaller turbo gas motors are different. It has 470 ft pounds of torque and is currently the most powerful half ton you can buy right now including the diesel trucks. The Raptor has a little more torque but a much lower tow rating. I realize a lot of the tow rating is based on the frame, brakes, etc.

(TLDR) What I'm looking for, is a realistic number to stay under for my truck and the GVWR of the trailer. We are already trailer shopping. Most camping will be around here in Oklahoma but maybe a couple of longer trips of 1,000 miles or more every year.

[GordonThree]

What's the payload sticker on the door jamb say?

[carringb]

The 2002 7.3L was rated at 520 ft-lbs of torque, and the new EcoBoost makes 470 ft-lbs of torque (I don't think you can get the max-tow in the 510 ft-lb Limited Model).

The 10R80 has a 4.69:1 1st gear ratio, vs 2.71 in the 4R100, which means the F150 can put down far more tractive force than a diesel 1-ton from last decade!

[joshuajim]

That’s an impressive number, but consider this. Typical tongue weight will be 12 to 15%. That is 1200 to 1500#. Will you be able to haul anything like your family or camping gear?