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Real world numbers

slickmick
Explorer
Explorer
Hello all! My wife and I are thinking of towing a Cherokee 274VFK with my F250 (CC, 6.2 gas, 4WD, 3:73). The 274VFK is 7695 dry (at the dealer)/ 11,237 GVWR which is under the rated 12,000 of the F 250 but I was wondering if anyone has any real world experience with towing such numbers. Am I really gonna add 3,000+ lbs to the dry weight for long weekend trips? Thanks!

I wanted to clarify some things based on some of the excellent feedback I've gotten in the replies so far; I live in Virginia and travel (and plan to travel) in the South and South-Eastern parts of the U.S. = some "hills" for sure but nothing like the mountains I used to climb when I drove OTR. I'll plan on taking my time. I never have enough time off work to go anywhere for more than a week at a time so the gear for DW and I will be relatively minimal. It sounds like a WDH will be needed for sure. Is it better to go with a heavier rated WDH than I calculate or will that cause handling issues? Thanks again!
Because of Calvary...
19 REPLIES 19

myredracer
Explorer II
Explorer II
dup...

myredracer
Explorer II
Explorer II
No issue with towing capacity on the F250, but tongue weight easily *could* be a factor for the receiver and WDH rating. Assumptions are being made at this point that could get you into trouble later on.

I did a detailed weighing of our new 29' TT last year - on the way home after picking up at our dealer, weight of all mods and weight of all "stuff" loaded into the TT. Actual weight of TT after picking up at dealer was 190 lbs higher than UVW sticker inside TT (after subtracting propane + battery). Weight of all mods was 119 lbs. (shocks, Dexter equalizers, 2nd TV, etc.). Weight of all "stuff" loaded into the TT (sewer stuff, BBQ, food, clothing, etc.) was 555 lbs. Grand total above the UVW sticker was 864 lbs. IMHO, 1000 lbs is a good conservative average round number above factory dry weight to use. Don't forget that if you travel with a full holding tank(s), each tank is 300+ lbs. Carrying FW can change tongue weight a lot, depending on where the tank is. Some owners could drive the weight higher by storing spare tools in the TT, carrying a generator and/or adding a bike rack and bikes, etc. Too many people throw numbers out there (above the UVW) without ever having gone through an accurate before and after weighing procedure, covering everything that is added. And there WILL be variations between makes and models, so there is no standard answer.

I would go with a realistic conservative TT weight loaded up and ready for camping of 9,000 lb. Average tongue weight is typically 12-13% but can sometimes be up around 15% (as in our case). At 13% and 9K GVW, that would be a TW of 1170 lbs. The receiver is probably rated 1250 lbs (using a WDH) and if looking at a WDH rated at 11,000 lbs, it could have a max. TW rating of 1,100 lbs.

You may need to have a WDH with a 1,500/15,000 lb rating (Reese for ex.). You definitely do not want undersized spring bars because you can end up not being able to restore enough wt. back onto the steer axle. Forget about the 600 lb advertised TW. Ain't gonna be anywhere near that low, and will be more like twice that. It's possible you may even need to upgrade the receiver.

At this point, you are purely guessing on the GVW and TW. *IF* the actual TW is above 13%, the actual weight of the TT is more than 9K lbs or you tow with fresh water in the holding tank and the tank is ahead of the axles and/or you want to install a rack for a genny or bikes above the tongue, the actual tongue weight *could* potentially be much higher than 1170 lbs. Not only that, the particular TT being considered has a high CCC, much higher than a lot of other TTs. If you wanted to go on a long trip somewhere, you might want to store a lot more gear, food and other things in the TT to take advantage of the spare CCC. Usually, to be on the safe side when shopping for a new TT, you would assess it by using it's GVWR and applying an expected tongue weight %. So for the Cherokee, that would be 1461 lbs at 13%. I also see that the Cherokee TT is a front kitchen design, which *could* possibly raise TW more depending on how you load it.

I highly recommend that you go to a scale and weigh your F250 to find the actual available payload capacity. Load everything into it you would take on a camping trip along with kids, DW and pets. Subtract that weight from it's GVWR figure. I think you could find that your actual available payload is quite a bit less than you thought - we did with our F250.

FWIW, you don't say where you live, but if towing in mountainous areas like say the west coast which can have long steep hills, you could find the F250 wanting a little more power with an 11K lb TT. I know I do with our 6.8L F250 towing a 7K lb TT. If towing mostly in flatter areas, not an issue.

wing_zealot
Explorer
Explorer
mbopp wrote:
Figure the actual dry weight will be 400# over the brochure weight, and that you'll add 1000# of gear. The only questions are what the tongue weight is and the payload on the F250.
I have to disagree, it all depends. My first trailer came in exactly 8 lbs over the brochure dry weight. My brand new trailer is 70 lbs over the brochure dry weight. So your 400 lbs would be way off in both cases. But all you have to do is check the sticker on the TT on the lot and you can have real world numbers instead of seat of the pants guesses.

4X4Dodger
Explorer II
Explorer II
mbopp wrote:
Figure the actual dry weight will be 400# over the brochure weight, and that you'll add 1000# of gear. The only questions are what the tongue weight is and the payload on the F250.


A THOUSAND LBS OF GEAR! you must be joking. When I put everything I could possibly need or want in my trailer, I weigh it all as it goes in, and I have never exceeded 400#.

What on earth are you carrying?

Even if I added full tanks and propane (2/30# tanks) I wouldnt exceed a thousand lbs. But I drive with empty tanks and usually one propane filled.

dwayneb236
Explorer
Explorer
I have basically the same setup. 2013 F250 6.2 gas 3.73 4wd pulling a 35' trailer and tow it at around 9500 lbs. Does fine, no issues and gets along pretty good down the highway. No problem with hills.

Need to add that I have an Equalizer hitch.
2016 Ford F350 XLT DRW 6.7 SuperCrew 4X4 8 Ft Box
2016 Brookstone 395RL

Community Alumni
Not applicable
Depending upon where we are going and what we are doing, we'll add 600 lbs to 800 lbs.

RJCorazza
Explorer
Explorer
2011 F250 CC LB 6.2L 3.73 towing actual 8410lb trailer without issue. Most common comment about the 6.2l engine is the high towing rpm's, and hunting gears between 4th 5th and 6th. I almost always lock out 6th when towing.
For comparison, our trailer had a brochure / shipping weight of 7000lbs, and 8410lbs loaded for travel including 60g water. Tongue weight is 1050lbs.

slickmick
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks for all of the input!! Excellent information. It looks like I will go with perhaps an 11,000# Equalizer or Reese WDH since the posted tounge weight is 600 for he F250. Thanks again for helping a newbie!!
Because of Calvary...

goducks10
Explorer
Explorer
mbopp wrote:
Figure the actual dry weight will be 400# over the brochure weight, and that you'll add 1000# of gear. The only questions are what the tongue weight is and the payload on the F250.


x2

TheGriswolds
Explorer
Explorer
I have a 2011 version of that truck and have a 35 foot camper with comparable weights. I have weight distribution and air bags (I didn't like any squat) and it tows fine. I think you will enjoy it.
2011 F-250 Supercrew 4x4
2013 Keystone Cougar 31 SQB

mosseater
Explorer
Explorer
I think typically folks add around 1000 lbs+/-. I put on about 2000 lbs between he truck and trailer with about half being on each. You should be fine with that set up.
"It`s not important that you know all the answers, it`s only important to know where to get all the answers" Arone Kleamyck
"...An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." Col. Jeff Cooper
Sunset Creek 298 BH

fla-gypsy
Explorer
Explorer
Plenty of truck for that camper
This member is not responsible for opinions that are inaccurate due to faulty information provided by the original poster. Use them at your own discretion.

09 SuperDuty Crew Cab 6.8L/4.10(The Black Pearl)
06 Keystone Hornet 29 RLS/(The Cracker Cabana)

westend
Explorer
Explorer
If they are still putting the same Class III hitch on them that came with mine, you'll need a WDH to meet the hitch rating. Beyond that, happy camping.
'03 F-250 4x4 CC
'71 Starcraft Wanderstar -- The Cowboy/Hilton

Raymon
Explorer
Explorer
Your truck will be okay, but don't plan on winning any races going up steep grades. On flat land it will perform nicely. I drove to Alaska and back with a very similar rig. Of course I wasn't in any hurry and we enjoyed our trip. Wish you the best.

Ray