Newbie looking for some assistance

[danv1317]

I'm a travel nurse as well as my girlfriend. We decided we want to buy an RV to live out of for the next year as we travel the country (including alaska) to work. We have a brand new F150 v6 Ecoboost 145" wheelbase, 3.31 electronic lock RR axle, 7200# GWR, and the integrated trailer brake. A lot of the numbers i'm seeing are somewhat confusing to me. All the different payload, towing, tounge and so on...

The other kicker is i have to bring my 450lb motorcycle as i use that to commute and my girlfriend uses the truck.

We are trying to find out how big/heavy of a trailer we can purchase that my truck can handle. Any advice is appreciated. We are looking for used RV since we new to this. Only requirement is that it needs a shower. We are both 6 feet tall so we obviously want big as we can, but we realize that are truck will be the limiting factor.

Please let me know what is within my range. Thanks again for any advice you can offer.
Thanks
Dan

[TomG2]

Get some scaled weights and come back when you can post them. You are going to be very disappointed/surprised when you find out how small your future trailer needs to be. If you want a guess to work with, here it is. Payload remaining after people, stuff, and mc are loaded, plus or minus 600 pounds. Tongue weight of 5,000 pound gvwr trailer at 13% = 650 pounds. I doubt that I am off more than a hundred pounds. Looking forward to being proved wrong.

[atwowheelguy]

danv1317 wrote:
I'm a travel nurse as well as my girlfriend. We decided we want to buy an RV to live out of for the next year as we travel the country (including alaska) to work. We have a brand new F150 v6 Ecoboost 145" wheelbase, 3.31 electronic lock RR axle, 7200# GWR, and the integrated trailer brake. A lot of the numbers i'm seeing are somewhat confusing to me. All the different payload, towing, tounge and so on...

The other kicker is i have to bring my 450lb motorcycle as i use that to commute and my girlfriend uses the truck.

We are trying to find out how big/heavy of a trailer we can purchase that my truck can handle. Any advice is appreciated. We are looking for used RV since we new to this. Only requirement is that it needs a shower. We are both 6 feet tall so we obviously want big as we can, but we realize that are truck will be the limiting factor.

Please let me know what is within my range. Thanks again for any advice you can offer.
Thanks
Dan

As a starting point, find this sticker on the door of your truck.

[agesilaus]

With a 3.31 rear end I'm guessing he doesn't have a towing package on that truck.

[MFL]

Dan, check your private messages.

[danv1317]

DougE wrote:
If you have the direct injected V6 engine you can pull a 9000#+ trailer using a weight distributing hitch. I'm assuming (yeah, I know) that you have a 2014 but you didn't specify which cab (it makes a few hundred pounds difference). Here's the 2014 Ford Towing website. Don't forget to deduct the MC and the several hundred pounds of gear that you'll be hauling in it.

I have the superCREW style.

[1oldtruck]

It would be worth while to load your bike in the truck and have it weighed and compare the numbers to your vehicles gross ratings for axles and payload.

[lanerd]

Unless you have the heavy duty payload package (option 627),your limiting factor will definitely be the payload capacity of the truck.

In most cases you can figure your payload capacity by getting the truck weighed and then subtract that amount from the door sticker that shows the truck's GVWR. The difference will be the payload capacity. You then have to add up all the weights (including driver, passenger, equipment, tools, etc) that you are going to put "IN or ON" the truck and subtract that figure from the payload capacity figure you previously determined. Don't forget to include the MC, and hitch.

What is left over is what you can figure for the trailer's tongue weight. Typically, you can find that figure by multiplying 12.5% times the trailer's GVWR.

Good luck

Ron

[DougE]

If you have the direct injected V6 engine you can pull a 9000#+ trailer using a weight distributing hitch. I'm assuming (yeah, I know) that you have a 2014 but you didn't specify which cab (it makes a few hundred pounds difference). Here's the 2014 Ford Towing website. Don't forget to deduct the MC and the several hundred pounds of gear that you'll be hauling in it.

[donn0128]

Tent trailer and a small one at that. You have a great commuter car, but it is just not suitable to tow a sufficient sized trailer to live full time in and carry a bike in the bed. Particulary if your plans include the northern US in the winter

[DougE]

Your MC isn't all that large but you're probably going to have trouble with tongue weight if you carry it in the bed of the pickup. That kind of limits you to getting a toyhauler style trailer so you can put the MC in it. So start there.

[hawkeye-08]

Just posted this on another thread, seems to apply here too. Since you already have your tow vehicle, use the door sticker to figure out what you can get.

This is all being driven by the OEMs claiming every increasing tow capacity. The truth is, the payload is the critical factor when pulling travel trailers. It would be rare that you are at the towing capacity with a travel trailer and not over on the payload (talking normal 150/250/350 trucks)... especially with the options folks are getting on trucks.. another story if we are talking boats. Tongue weight on travel trailers tend to need more than a boat or car trailer.

Payload is not a hard rule (one that 5 lbs over is going to break everything) but is a guideline. Give yourself some margin and you will be more comfortable typically rather than at the spec limit and wondering all the time.

The way I look at it is, your budget is going to limit most folks. You can cut most of the BS out by simply using the facts.

Take pictures of the door sticker on trucks you are interested in. Make notes that go with the pictures so you can remember which is which. Do the same with trailers, most trailers now have a sticker that shows weights as shipped from factory. Add the dealer installed options and you get a base weight to work with. You will need to do some math to see what would the expected tongue weight would be based on the trailer weight. Remember to count batteries and propane. Invest in a Sherline tongue weight scale and take it with you when looking at trailers. I weighted many trailer tongues when we were shopping for our first trailer. It kept us from buying something that we obviously would not be able to tow.

When it is said and done, you will find a tow vehicle that meets your needs and has xxx available payload, which tells you what you can reasonable tow. Based on the payload available (give yourself some margin), you can then select a trailer. If you don't like the choices in trailers that a given payload will handle, then change tow vehicles.

BTW, we did this and still ended up with a less than desirable combo because we had an SUV that was not ideal for towing (P rated tires, soft suspension, limited hitch capacity, hitch that flexed too much, etc). We ended up trading for 2500HD pickup after 3 years of less than desirable towing experiences. After trading for the 2500, towing was a pleasure... of course more TV meant we could go bigger on trailer, but with the experience of the first trailer and TV, we found the trailer we wanted that tows very nice behind the 2500 (with new hitch and WDH). If you are guessing at tongue weight, use 13% of the trailer GVWR (max trailer should weigh). This will give you a reasonable estimate (note that toyhaulers are generally higher on tongue weight unless you load up the toys in the back).

Ask all the questions you want on the forums, it is much cheaper than buying something that does not work.